Cricket 1909

152 CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M ay 27 , 1909 . H. GRADIDGE A n d S O N S , Manufacturers of all R e q u i s i t e s f o r C r i c k e t , L a w n T e n n i s , R a c q u e t s , H o c k e y , F o o t b a l l , and all British Sports. PATENTEES AND SOLE MAKERS Used by all-the Leading Players. Made In Men's, Small Men’s, or College, 6, 5, 4, * 8 ilzea. P r i c e L i s t s F r e e o n A p p l i c a t i o n . Of all First-Class Outfitters and Dealers. OF THE R ebladin g a S p ecia lity. Factory; Artillery Place, WOOLWICH. “ URINE” For cleaning and whitening Buckskin and Canvas Boots and Shoes, Cricket Pads, &c. Packed in spun zinc container,with sponge. Of all dealers, or post free 6 d . WILL NOT RUB OFF OR CAKE. STANLEYFEAST&CO,, K TS; Cvicket: A WEEKL Y RECORD OF THE GAME. 168, UPPER THAMES STREET, LONDON, E.C. THURSDAY, MAY 2 7 t h , 1909. Pavilion Gossip. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time. ■— Hamlet. H is Royal Highness the Prince of "Wales, accompanied by the Princess of Wales, visited Ilford on Saturday and opened the new ground of thirty acres which the London Playing Fields Society have acquired at Fairlop. Their Royal Highnesses motored to the ground lrom Marlborough House and were received by Lord Alverstone, L.C.J. (President of the Surrey County O.C.), the Bishop of Barking, and the H igh Sheriff for Essex (Mr. J. H. Horton). The Prince and Princess motored round the field and witnessed about a dozen matches in pro­ gress, and, on arrival at a special tent, Mr. Edward Buxton read to the Prince a statement concerning the history of the ground, and asked His Royal Highness to declare it open. T h e Prince consented, and did so in the following terms :— “ The Princess and I are very glad to come here this after­ noon, and I should like to take this opportunity of congratulating Mr. Edward Buxton and the many other supporters ot the London Playing Fields Society on having provided this splendid recreation ground for the residents of London. I have now great pleasure in declaring open the Fairlop Oak Playing Field.” T h e Fairlop Oak Playing Field is named after the famous oak which seems to have stood, in the ancient forest of Hainault, upon the very ground which has been made into cricket pitches. The ground is about thirty acres in extent and was acquired from the Crown at a cost of .£4,500. A f t e r the form they showed in the first three matches of their tour the Australians must have been very dis­ appointed with their performances at the Oval and Lord’s last week. In each case they were called upon to play on a wicket which caused the bowling to be carefully watched, and on each occasion they failed to maintain their reputation as a great run-getting side. In criticising their doings it should not be forgotten that the majority of the team are paying their first visit to England and that, having been reared on the perfect pitches of Sydney and Melbourne, they could not well be expected to show their best form when called upon to bat, for the first time, on a sporting English wicket against bowlers able to make the most of the circumstances. B u t if the Lord’s match is carefully analysed, it will be found that the Australians, although beaten,have nothing to be ashamed of. The team pitted against them contained five first-rate bowlers, and was so strong in batting that Buckenham was ninth on the list. Every effort had been made to put as powerful a side as possible in the field, the M.C.C. for once exercising their right of first call upon a county’s professionals engaged at Lord’s. The Australians bowling was very true and their ground fielding admirable, and had Whitty not missed both Warner and Tarrant in the final stage of the game the result might well have been different, in which case we should 'have heard little concerning the visitors’ disappointing batting. The blunder in Warner’s case was serious, for he was let off when 22 and survived to carry out his bat for 54. Whittymust have been the most miserable man alive after his second mistake, and, judging by his appearance, probably wish­ ed that the earth would open and swallow him. Perhaps he recalled the dictum of Andrew Lang that “ To lose a trout is only loss, not ‘ infinite dishonour,’ like missing a catch.” In any case, he will have good reason to remember his first game at Lord’s. B u t what handicapped the Australians most of all was the lack of a fast bowler. As the wicket was, the presence of Cotter would have proved a tower of strength, especially on the last day, when his bowling on the worn wicket would in all probability have pulled the side through. T h e Australians were entertained by the M.C.C. at dinner in the members’ dining pavilion at Lord’s on Thursday evening, under the presidency of the Earl of Chesterfield. In addition to the guests and the amateur members of the M.C.C., there were present the Earls of Crewe, Lichfield, and Jersey, Lord Harris, Hon. T . A. Cogblan, H on. J. W . Tavener, Hon. W . Hall Jones, Gen. Sir John Ryder, and Messrs. A. J. Webbe, C. E. Green, 0 . R. Borradaile, F. E . Lacey, 0 . P. Lancashire, and C. H . Benton. After the usual loyal toasts the chairman gave “ Our Guests, the Australian Cricket Team .” Other toasts w ere: “ Australasia,” “ The High Commissioner of New Zea­ land and Agent-General of Australia,” and “ The Chairman.” Vorzanger’s Austrian Band played during the evening. T h e results of matches between the Australians and M.C.C. and Ground are as follows:— 1878. Australians won by nine wickets. 1882. Drawn. 1884. M.C.C. and Ground won by an innings and 15 runs. 18S8. Australians won by 14 runs. 1890 / ^-C.C. and Ground won by seven wickets. \ M.C.C. and Ground won by four wickets. 1893 I I M.C.C. and Ground won by seven wickets, i M.C.C. and Ground won by an innings and 1 8 9 6 IS runs. ' ( Drawn. 1899 { Australians won by eight wickets. 1Australians won by nine wickets. 1(1 0 2 J Drawn ( Australians won by an innings and 34 runs. 1905. Drawn. 1909. M.C.C. and Ground won by three wickets. All the above matches were played at Lord’s. The fixture arranged for 1886