Cricket 1909

232 CR ICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J u l y i , 1909 . “ URINE” For cleaning and whitening Backskin and Canvas Boots and Shoes, Cricket Pads, &c. Packed in spunzinc container,with sponge. Of all dealers, or post free 6 d . WILL NOT RUB OFF OR CAKE. STANLEY FEAST & CO., B S S S I : H. GRADIDGE And SONS, Man ufacturers o f a ll Requisites for Cricket, Lawn Tennis, Racquets, Hockey, Football, a n d a ll British Sports. PATENTEES AND SOLE MAKERS >F THE Used by &11 the Leading Players. Made In Men’s, Email Men’s, or Cellefe, 6, 5, 4, d 8 sizes. P r i c e L i s t s F r e e o n ▲ p p l l c a t l o a . Of all First-Class Outfitters and Dealers. R ebladlng a S p eciality. Factory; A r tille ry Place, WOOLWICH. CiicUet: A WEEKL Y RECORD OF THE GAME. 168, UPPER THAMES STREET, LONDON, E.C. THURSDAY, JULY 1 st , 19 09. | 5 airilum © 0 sstji. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time. — Uamlet. T h e record of the Australians is now as follows: Matches played, 16; won, 6; lost, 3 ; drawn, 7. They have won the toss eight times and lost it eight times. T h e team which will represent England against Australia in the match which commences to-day at Leeds will be chosen from :— A. C. M'acLaren (captain), W. Brearley, C. B. Ery, (}. L. Jessop, A. 0. Jones, Haigh, Hnyward, Hirst, Hobbs, Lilby, Relf (A. E.), Rhodes, Sharp, Tyldesley. The inclusion of Brearley 'and Jessop in the list has given satisfaction everywhere, though it remains to be seen whether the state of the ground will allow the former to take part in the match. The honour accorded Sharp, after his many fine performances this year, is fully deserved, l’lie team should prove much stronger than the one which took the field at Lord’s, and if it is beaten Englishmen will have nothing to complain of on the ground of unrepresentativeness. It is hard on King that, after batting so well on the first day of tho Lord’s match and bowling with such poor support frpm the field, he should be passed over, but room for only eleven players can be found in the side and it is difficult to see who, apart from Fry, could have been left out for him. “ No doubt,” said the club window gossip of the Liverpool Post last week, “ the next English Eleven will be abso­ lutely representative; Lord Hawke will be personally responsible for that. Nothing can wipe out the blunders during his absence from England, blun­ ders in which it is universally believed Mr. MacLaren had no share. Cricketers actively engaged in the game, except the captain, ought not to choose representa­ tive elevens. They have too many axes of their own to grind—too many personal grudges to pay off.” The statement would have been quite as valuable, and would have lost nothing in accuracy, had the last sentence been omitted. T h e unseasonable weather experienced of late has been deplored by cricketers all over the country, but especially must it have been by the Australians, two of whose most interesting matches—against Yorkshire at Bradford and a combined team of Lancashire and Yorkshire at Manchester—were completely ruined by the rain. Idle days spent in pavilions mean a serious loss in receipts, and it is now almost certain that the takings of the Australians during their tour will fall a good deal short of the figure anticipated by the Australian Board of Control. Last week’s rain alone must have made a difference of several hundreds of pounds. On the second day of the Yorkshire match the receipts were only one shilling ! E s s e x , one of the counties which can least afford to bear a financial loss, have been very hard hit. Their matches with Leicestershire and Middlesex at Leyton were obliged to be abandoned without a ball bowled, and, seeing that the players’ expenses had to be paid, the County Club would have been better off if the matches had never been arranged. It was cruel' luck to befall a struggling side, and may perhaps seriously jeopardise the continu­ ance of the Club. W h e t h e r a pronounced improvement in the meteorological conditions is im­ minent, as many experts declare, remains to be seen. It is devoutly to be hoped that their forecast will prove correct, for it would be nothing less than tragedy were the Test, University and Eton v. Harrow matches, to say nothing of the two games between Gentlemen and Players, ruined by the weather. As we go to press a promising report comes to hand of the outlook at Leeds. “ L o n g -L e g ” of the Sporting Life recalls that “ It was the terribly wet year of 1903, when the Oval was a quagmire and Lord’s a pool, that gave birth to the story of the umpire who went out to inspect a pitch and fell in. But he was a conscientious man, and as he rose to the surface for the third time before sinking to a watery grave, he did his duty by announcing in a feeble voice, ‘ No play before lunch.’ The state of the wickets at the end of last week was such as to bring that pathetic tragedy vividly to mind.” ______ I h e a r on good authority that the receipts of the recent match at Glasgow between the Australians and West of Scotland amounted to .£750. T h e following interesting communi­ cation was published in last Friday’s Sportsman :— REVERSAL OF UMPIRE'S DECISION. Sir, - When the original draft of the “ Instructions to Umpires’’ came before the M.C.C. Committee, it contained the words, “ the umpire’s decision is final, but not irrevocable.” .These words were, after con­ sideration, cut out as being far too dangerous.— Yours obediently. W. E. DENISON. Ossington Hall, Newark, June 23. In the M.C.C.’s pamphlet on the Laws it it stated that “ An umpire may alter his decision if in the hurry of the moment or by a slip of the tongue he has given a wrong one. Provided that such altera­ tion is made before the next ball is bowled,