Cricket 1909

J u l y 8 , igog. CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. variety, and Buchanan, in the opinion of most good judges, erred in failing to put him on until Evans and Salter had hit up 50 in 23 minutes, which is pretty fast scoring at the start of a University match, to put the matter very mildly. W it h reference to the above, it may be added that one very good judge of the game declared emphatically, as soon as he saw what Buchanan had done, that the Cambridge captain had presented Oxford with an advantage, if not indeed with the match, by following the Lord’s tradition of starting with his two fastest bowlers. There are exceptions to all rules, and though Lord’s has been the scene of more triumphs for fast bowlers than any other ground, contrast is desirable, especially when you have one bowler who can disconcert batsmen for the other to get them out. One recalls in this connection the first Test match of 1905, when, in England’s first innings, Cotter terrorised and demoralised the batsmen while Laver dismissed them. T h e rate of scoring by Oxford varied in most striking fashion. Thus the first fifty runs were made in 23 minutes and the first 90 runs in an hour. The remain­ ing 177 runs occupied three and a-half hours. For the altered rate Bruce-Lock- hart was responsible. The Oxford men did not dare to hit him ; those who tried this plan fell to catches in the long-field. A. J. Evans played much the best cricket in the match, and for a freshman making his first appearance was phenomenally cool or, at least, if he were nervous or anxious, his state of mind was not reflected by his batting. Evans comes of a cricketing stock and big things are predicted and expected of him. Ireland, Prest, and Salter also enhanced their reputations, while Macleod, though not coming off in one way, rendered his side excellent service by the clever way in which he abandoned his natural game for defensive cricket when Cambridge were doing so badly during the last hour of the first day. He also bowled well in Oxford’s second innings, while his field­ ing was brilliant. In this last respect he was second to none. O x f o r d showed a plentiful lack of enterprise on the third day. After losing practically a whole afternoon on Tuesday, they should have forced the game on Wednesday, for with all their wickets in hand they were 118 on. Instead of play­ ing daring cricket with a view to a bold bid for a win most of the batsmen adopted cautious methods until the last 50 minutes or so of the innings. Oxford might of course have lost the match by adopting too daring methods, especially against such a bowler as Lockhart, but on the other hand, it was their best chance of winning and the risk should have been run. The game was worth the candle. I n the end Cambridge had 276 to get in two hours and three-quarters and though they lost two wickets for 15 runs in 45 minutes Ealcon and Ireland gradually placed the side in a safe position. With the score 89 for four wickets rain put an end to the match, but by that time a draw had been assured and interest in the proceedings had naturally diminished. It was very regrettable that the weather interfered with the game to such an extent, especially as it was obvious that each side was stronger than in the majority of recent years. A c o r r e sp o n d e n t draws my attention to a match played on the Bickley Park ground on June 28th between Veterans and Boys. The age qualification for the former was 00, or 50 if not in regular practice : for the boys, 16, except in the case of their captain who, on account of his defective sight, was considered qualified. The said captain, E. B. Beade, was obliged to ask the umpire if the opposing batsman was ready to receive the ball as he could not see so fa r; yet he took six wickets ! All the Veterans but two ran their own runs, the eldest, aged 69, making top score (51) and running out his hits. R e s u l t s of matches between the Australians and Warwickshire :— 1880. Drawn. 1888. Australians won by an innings and 150 runs. 1S90. Australians won by 132 runs. 1893. Australians won by ten wickets. 1896. Australians won by an innings and (JOruns. 1899. Australians won by nine wickcts. 1902. Drawn. 1905. Australians won by an innings and 51 runs. 1909. Drawn. Nine matches in all, of which the Australians have won 6 and 3 have been drawn. T h e remarkable tenth-wicket stand by Woolley and Fielder is deserving of bold advertisement in G o s sip inasmuch as it establishes a fresh record for important cricket. The players named exceeded by 5 runs the partnership of 230 made by R. W. Nicholls and Roche for Middlesex against Kent at Lord’s ten years ago, and each, moreover, had the personal satis­ faction of making his highest score in a match of note. Fielder, as is everywhere recognised, made a hundred for the first time in his career, and had the most unusual experience of obtaining so large a score upon going in last. Can it be that he aspires to be chosen for the Test matches for his batting ? A t a meeting of the Yorkshire County C.C. Committee at Bradford on Monday, Lord Hawke presiding, the circular letter issued by the M.C.C. on the subject of the proposed triangular contest in 1912 was considered, and it was unanimously agreed to support the scheme. Mr. Edwin Barber, of Sheffield, was elected a vice-president in place of the late Mr. J. B. Wostenholm for many years sec­ retary of the Yorkshire County Club—at whose death Lord Hawke expressed his great personal sorrow. Grants of £5 each were made towards the benefits of Lewis (Somerset), Blythe (Kent), Bowley (Wor­ cestershire), J. E. West (Middlesex), and Iremonger (Notts). E v e r y w h e r e it must be acknowledged that Surrey have experienced cruel luck this season. The limit of their mis­ fortunes, one might have been excused for thinking, was reached in their match with Lancashire at the Oval, when they had the worst of the wicket and Leveson- Gower and Lees were injured during the game and obliged to retire. The return between the same sides, however, has witnessed a continuance of their ill - fortune, inasmuch as they were obliged to bat upon a wicket damaged by rain, and after their opponents had run up 337, had Hobbs and Crawford incapacitated. In the circumstances their defeat, heavy though it was, can be understood. T h o se who are interested in coin­ cidences may have noticed the somewhat remarkable similarity between the first innings totals of Sussex and their opponents in three consecutive matchcs recently. Thus:— At Brighton At Worcester At Leyton J Sussex ................. 272 ( OxfordUniversity ... 270 JSussex ................. 192 *•* 1 Worcestershire ... 199 ( Sussex ................. 207 pE ssex............................ 207 or a difference of only 11 runs in the three games. Mr. F. F. Kelly, of New York, also draws my attention to a curiosity in figures in connection with the match between the Crescent Athletic Club and the New York Veterans, played at Brooklyn on June 19th. The “ half­ moon ” bowlers had the following figures on that occasion :—W. F. Jackson, 42 balls for 42 runs; W. Bonnar, 54 balls for 54 runs; and J. O. P. Humphreys, 20 balls for 20 runs. T h e following are the teams for the Eton v. Harrow match which commences at Lord’s to-morrow :— E ton . — B. H. Twining (captain), Hon. A. Windsor-Clive, W. A. Worsley, B. St. L. Fowler, B. O. B. Kenyon-Slaney, E . W. S. Foljambe, J. C. Hollins, J. Kekewich, J. D. Boscawen, B. H. Lubbock, and W. T. Birohenough. F. L. Harvey is twelfth man. H arrow .— A. H . Lang (captain), G. E. V. Crutchley, G. F. Earle, W. L. Everard, T. O. Jameson, T. B. Wilson, G. W. V. Hopley, J. M. Hillyard, A. C. Straker, T. L. G. Turnbull, an.d W. Falcon. S id n e y B a r n e s followed up his fine bowling in last week’s Test match by a splendid performance on Monday last. Playing at Stoke for Staffordshire against Northumberland, he took sixteen wickets during the day for 93 runs. The news of such a feat makes one regret more than ever that he is not seen more frequently in the great matches of the day. C. W. K. P f e if f e r , the well-known Metropolitan cricketer, took all ten wickets for 61 runs in a total of 137 for Belsize against South Lynn at Eastbourne on Monday. A v e r y sensible suggestion has been made that the secretaries of the leading clubs around London should hold a meet­ ing in October in order to arrange fixtures