Cricket 1909

S e p t . 16, 1909. CR ICK E T : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 4°3 The construction of the Demon Drivers is fully described in The E vo lu tio n of a Cricket B a t , which may be obtained free upon applica­ tion. n CRICKET BALLS IlMFROVEDMAKE-KEEP THEIR SHAPE-LASi~ LOMCERl CATALOGU E UPON APPLIC ATION . CATALOGU E UPON APPLIC ATION . CATALOGU E UPON APPLICATION . FOOTBALLS IMPROVEDMAKE-KEEPTHEIR SHAPE-LASTLONGER CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION . B U £ # E Y S Q ^ D E M O N D R I V E R S • J U ^ | J ARC OUTAMD OUT THE BEST, f Q ‘.im m tiusd m CATALO GU E UPON APPLICATION TO GEO. G. BUSSEY & Co., L td . 36 & 38, Queen Victoria St., LONDON. Manufactory — Timber Mills — PECKHAM, S.E. ELMSWELL, SUFFOLK. A gents all over the w orld. AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. By F. S. A sh le y -C o o p e r. O LD K E N T IS H C R IC K E T PO EMS. II.— T h e K e n t is h C r ic k e t e r s . Last week we saw that Surrey’s success by 153 runs over Kent at Bishopsbourne in July, 1773, was celebrated in verse by the Rev. John Duncombe in a poem entitled S u rry T riu m p h a n t: or the K entish-M en's D efeat. When, later in the season, the sides met on the Vine ground at Sevenoaks, and Kent won by six wickets, what should be more natural than for someone to put pen to paper and issue a counter-blast to the poem mentioned? Such a person was at hand in Mr. John Burnby, a Canterbury attorney-at-law. Whether Mr. Burnby knew very much about cricket is doubtful. One would have thought that a Kent victory over such time- honourel and redoubtable opponents as Surrey would have enabled him to give to the world a stirring poem, dealing w ith every turn in the game and the characteristics of all the players. But his verses, if the truth must be told, are somewhat disappointing. H is introductory remarks seem, at least to a cricketer, rather long-winded, and one is tempted to skip the few opening pages. The author’s moralising is somewhat over­ done, and at times strikes one as being out of place, as, for instance, when, having apparently settled down to the subject of the match, he breaks o ff:— “ Indulge me Reader for a Thought.” Such interruptions are decidedly irritating, and lead one to suppose that the author cannot have been very attached to the game. The poem was first published in 1773, as a quarto pamphlet of 22 pages. Its rariety is evident from the fact that the late Mr. Haygarth was unable to obtain a copy of the verses for inclusion in Scores an d B io g ra- phies. The title-page is as follows :— T H E KENTISH CRICKETERS: A P O E M . B y J o h n B o e n b y , Attorney at Law, in Canterbury. A R e p ly to a late Publication of a Parody on the Ballad of C h e v y C h a ce ; INTITULED, S U R R Y T B I U M P H A N T : OR, THE K E N T I S H M E N ’S D E F E A T . Justituepartes sunt non violare homines: Verecunditx non offendere. Tull. Justice consists in doing no injury to M en: Decency in giving them no Offence. C anterbury : Printed by T. Smith and Son : And sold by them, and W . Flackton: Also, by B. Law, in Avemary-lane; Messrs. Richardson and Urquhart, under the Royal Exchange, L ondon ; and all other B ooksellers . 1 7 7 3. It is not generally known that the author reprinted the poem in a book entitled " Summer Amusement: or, Miscellaneous Poems: inscribed to the frequenters of Margate, Ramsgate, Tunbridge Wells, Brightelmstone, Southampton, Cheltenham, Weymouth, Scarborough, &c. By John Burnby, Author of an Historical Description of Canterbury Cathedral; and An address to the Public on the Increase of their Poor-Rates. London: Printed for J. Dodsley, Pall-Mall; And sold by all the Booksellers in Great Britain and Ireland. M,DCC, L X X II.” The correct date of publication of this octavo volume of 94 pages was 1783. The cricket verses appear on pages 40 to 52 under the heading:— THE K E N T IS H C R IC K E T E R S : In Answer to a Parody on Chevy Chase, intituled, S u r r y T r iu m ph a n t : OR, THE K e n tish -M e n ’ s D e fe a t . The other poems in the book treat of a variety of subjects, some of the titles being :— “ Occasioned by a Lady’s leaving a fond Adm irer and marrying another; ” “ On seeing a Lady with a large Head-dress at a Concert;” “ To Mr. Gabriel Watkin, who wished to preserve at his Death his Body from Putrefaction; ” “ On seeing a Lady feed a favourite Cat from her Mouth ;” and “ Wrote on Sir H. P .’s Breast when hung in Effigy.” Kent and Surrey met four times in 1773, the former winning at Sevenoaks and Surrey at Laleham (twice) and Bishopsbourne. It was the match at Sevenoaks which called forth The K en tish Cricketers. The score was not given in the pamphlet, but was reported thus in the newspapers :— The following are the particulars of the great match of cricket played last week at the Vine, Sevenoaks, between the Kent and Surrey gentle­ m en:— K ent . 1st ins. 2nd ins. Duke of Dorset 14 c by Yalding 23 b by White Wood . . . 36 b by Lumpey 5 not out *Miller . . . 42 b by White 32 not out Simmons . . 0 c by Woods Bookham . . 0 c by „ Newman . . 1 b by ,, Frame . . . 6 c by White Fish . . . . 14 c by Francis Pattenden . . 1 not out 6 c by Lumpey Louch . . . 0 c by Philips 0 c by Francis Minshull . . 21 c by Yalding 32 c by Page bye-runs . 7 2 142 100 100 Total . . 242 Lord Tanker- ville . . . Woods . . . Palmer . . . White . . . Francis . . . Yalden . . . Philips . . . Childs . . . Page . . . . Lumpey . . Blake . . , bye-runs . S u r r e y . 1st ins. b by Duke of 13 Dorset 16 c by Simmons 20 run out 59 c by Wood 14 b by Fish 8 b by Bookham 14 c by Miller 0 run out 2 b by Bookham 8 not out 8 b by Bookham 9 2nd ins. 18 c by Frame 5 b by ,, 20 c by Simmons 0 c by Munshull 9 b by Frame 3 b by Duke •' Dorset 3 c by Simmons 8 b by Duke of Dorset 1 c by Munshull 0 b by Frame 0 not out 171 70 70 Total. . . 241 Some of the names are given incorrectly above— e.g ., Bookham should be Booker— and in a few other respects the account differs from that to be found in Scores an d B iographies. But the fact that Kent won by six wickets is beyond dispute.