Cricket 1909

CRICKET : a w e e k ly r e c o r d o f t h e game . SEPTEMBER 2, 1909. ‘‘ Together joined in CricRet’s manly toil.”— Byron. No. 823. v o l . x x v m . T H U R S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 2 , 1 9 0 9 . o n e p e n n y . ACHAT ABOUT MR. WARWICK ARMSTRONG. Mr. W . W . Armstrong, the big man of the Australian team in more senses than one, was born on May 22nd, 1879, and is now taking part in his third tour through England. During each trip, too, his a ll­ round cricket has proved of the greatest value to the side. If a collapse has set in he is an ideal player to have at command, for, apparently not knowing what it is to be troubled with nerves, he can always be relied upon at a crisis. On the other hand, if it is found desirable to keep the runs down he is again the man for the occasion, his wonderful accuracy enabling him to keep even very free-scoring batsmen q uiet; and he can bowl almost for hour after hour without losing his precision. From this it must not be inferred that he is merely a run-saving bowler. He is very much more than that, as dozens of batsmen can attest. On his day he is deadly and to be feared. One of his greatest triumphs with the ball was on the third day of this year’s Test match at Lord’s, when, on a good wicket, he got rid of Hobbs, Tyldesley, George Gunn, King, H irst and A. E . Eelf for 30 runs and thereby rendered possible the victory by nine wickets which Australia obtained. The more critical the occasion the better does he perform, and it is on this account that his true worth to a side can seldom be gauged by a perusal of statistics. A score of 40 or 50 made at a time when three or four wiokets have fallen in quick succession is often of more value than a three-figure innings played when everything is going w e ll: and Armstrong has very frequently been sent in at such a critical moment, and the occasions upon which he has failed have been very rare indeed. To say that he is one of the three greatest all-round cricketers ever p ro d u ce d by A u s tra lia , M. A. Noble and George Giffen being the others, is^ merely to state what all who_ are in a position to express an opinion are in complete agreement upon. Armstrong’s introduction to senior cricket — his early knowledge of the game was acquired at University College, Malvern— was in 1898-99 when he at once made his mark as a batsman with several good scores for South Melbourne, the best of them being 173 against St. Kilda. H is form was so good that he was chosen to represent Victoria against Tasmania and New Zealand, and although he did not do anything remarkable against either side his play showed that he was a young cricketer of more than average promise. During the next few years each successive season marked a further develop­ ment of his powers, and on New Year’s Day, 1902, he took part for the first time in a Test-match between England and Australia. Another player destined to play au important part on the world’s cricket stage in the person of E. A. Duff was also making his debut in a match of such im ­ portance. The latter, with 32 and 104, proved the highest scorer in each innings, whilst Armstrong made 4 and 45 aud on each occasion was unbeaten at the close. In the second innings the pair put on 120 together after the ninth wicket had fallen and thereby turned the game in favour of Australia. Duff’s performance was the more noteworthy of the two, but, to quote C ricket, “ Arm ­ strong’s 45 not out was in no way inferior, and his coolness and nerve at a very critical time were worthy of the best traditions of Australian cricket.” H is doings from that date w ill be common knowledge to all who follow the game at all closely : suffice it to say that during the past seven years he has been a tower of strength to Victorian cricket and that rarely has an Australian team taken the field without him. H e has experienced an occasional period of non-success, such as is bound to fall to the lot of every player now and again, but on the whole his cricket has been marked by consistency, and few indeed have boen the matches in which he has not rendered his side good service either with bat or ball. So far his most successful season has been that of 1905, when, in addition to scoring 2,002 runs with an average of 48'82, he took 130 wickets at a cost of 17 ’60 runs each. During his first visit to England, when he made 1,087 runs and obtained M B . W ARW ICK W IN D B ID G E A RM STRON G. Photo by] [Haiokins &Co., Brighton.