Cricket 1909

S e p t . 16, 1909. CR ICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 409 1800.—v. An England XI. The England side won by an innings and 38 runs. 1S00.—v. An England XI. Drawn. 1002.—■v. An England XI. Drawn. 1005.—v. An England XI. Drawn. 1009.—v. An England XI. The England side won by 133 runs. O f the twelve matches played only five have been finished, the Australians w in ­ ning tw ice and losing three times. O n two occasions— in 1878 and 1880— tlie Australians have played X V I I I . of Scarborough. In the form er year they won by an innings and 46 runs, but in the latter were beaten by 90 runs. The 1880 m atch was their twenty-seventh of the tour and it marked their first defeat. N early all their games, however, had been against odds, and they were subse­ quently beaten by X V I I I . of Stockport, by E n g la n d at the Oval and by N o ttin g ­ ham shire at T ren t Bridge. T h e success of Tyldesley and H utchings in last w eek’s m atch was naturally very popular. B o th m en played faultless cricket, but H utchings, being brillian t in addition, gained the greater share of attention. T h e partnership of the pair— they added 125 in an hour and a-quarter, the first hundred com ing in 47 m inutes— furnished the brightest play seen during the Festival. H utchings, when he had settled down, made some superb hits, in cluding two 6’s— an on-drive and an off-drive—in the course o f an over from M acartney. H e also obtaiued 6 for an on-drive at the expense of Laver. Scarborough w ould seem to be one of his favourite grounds. I t was there that he made 79 for the South against the N o rth three years ago, 33 and 56 (the highest score in each innings) for M.O.C. and G round v. Y o rksh ire in 1907, and 120 for Gentlemen v. Players, and 57 for the M .O .C .’s Au stralian team against L o rd Londesborough’s E n g lan d X L last year. T h e 120 m entioned was a par­ ticu larly attractive innings, seeing that he made the runs in 100 m inutes w hilst only 44 others were obtained. F r o m th e M o r n in g P o s t :— “ There are signs that the county pro­ gramme w ill within the next few years be diminished automatically by the disap­ pearance of some competitors from the arena of the County Championship. Several of the county clubs have to make annual appeals to charity in orJer to avoid bank­ ruptcy, and the resources of the charitable do not increase in proportion to the calls made upon them. Budgets and other regret­ table incidents make people reconsider the lists of their subscriptions. No man can say which of the existing county clubs w ill first terminate their existence, but the position of tbe other strugglers w ill be improved by their disappearance. The public can and w ill support a certain amount of first class cricket, and those clubs which prove themselves the fittest to survive w ill inevitably share that support between them. Some will, of course, get more of it than others, but even the least fortunate w ill find sufficient means of liveli­ hood.” M ountain, on ice, by candle-light, on horsebaek, and even in a river, but on Thursday last what w ould seem to be a new departure was made when a side led by K . L . H u tch in gs played the O lym pia team on roller-skates at Scarborough. The game took place at the O lym pia B in k, and M r. H utchings' side w on by 8 runs, scoring 26 against 18. The umpires, w ho wore opera - hats and nightshirts, were the E a rl of W estm ore­ land and M r. Leveson - Gower. The stumps were fixed in blocks of wood and the players wore orthodox cricketing dress. M u ch amusement was caused by the falls and unrehearsed antics o f those taking part. The score of the m atch is w orthy o f record in G o ss ip :— K. L. H u t c h in g s ' VII. R. O. Schwarz, run out .......................... 0 F. L. Fane, run out .. 1 Q. J. V. Weigall, not out .......................... 12 W. Russell, b Nicholl 1 A. J. Hopkins, Ibw, b Niclioll .................. 1 W. S. Bird, run out ... 0 K. L. Hutchings, st Niclioll, b Mumby ... 8 Ilyes, &c............... 3 Total 20 O l y m p ia . Lyne, run out ... ... 2 Longstaff,st Schwarz. b Weigall.................. 1 Flaxton, c Fane, b Schw arz.................. *2 Cresswell, run out ... 3 Nicholl, not out.......... 2 Mumby, st Schwarz, b Weigatl ................... 1 Longcten, run out ... 1 Byes, &c............... G Total 18 C r i c k e t has been played on the G ood­ w in Sands, by electric light, on Table A law n-tennis ball was used, and the pitch appeared very hard and fast. B e f e r r i n g to the Test matches, the T im e s says that the Selection Comm ittee themselves adm it that to discard Bhodes for George G unn and not to play a fast bowler in the L o rd ’s m atch were blunders o f a grave kind. T h o s e who were present at H astings on Thursday, tbe opening day of the match between the Gentlemen and the Players o f the South, saw some re­ markable cricket. D u rin g the first two hours and a-quarter the batsmen had matters so m uch their own way that 171 runs were made for the loss o f only one wicket. Th en Douglas and M c D o n e ll were so irresistible that the rem aining nine went down for 10 runs in 37 balls in 40 minutes. The collapse was as com ­ plete as it was unexpected. Langdon, Marshal, and the elder B e lf were dis­ m issed by Douglas in four balls, and on two occasions three wickets fell w ith the total unchanged. T h e bowlers continued to trium ph when the Gentlem en went in, four wickets going dow n for 20 in 35 m inutes. Therefore, in the course of an hour and a-quarter’s cricket thirteen men were sent back w hilst only 30 runs were made. been delighted to see h im make a score. I t was w hilst the G entlem en o f the South were at the w icket that a very u n ­ fortunate accident happened, Heygate, w hilst batting, putting out his knee and being thereby prevented from taking further part in the match. H e had been showing .such good form this year that his absence was bound to handicap the side to no sm all extent, as w e ll as disappoint the spectators, who, being for the most part Sussex men, w ou ld have A l b e r t S e l f ’s performance w ith the ball during the first innings o f the G e n ­ tlemen was somewhat remarkable. H e was unchanged throughout and bow led fourteen overs for 9 runs and three wickets. The total o f the side was 60. V in e was seen to great advantage each time the Players batted, his scores being 60 and 69. H e is so sound and con ­ sistent that it is surprising he has not been chosen more frequently for repre­ sentative matches. H is average is over 36 runs an innings, but that fact gives one no true idea o f his worth to a side, for his steady tactics frequently wear down the bow ling for those w ho go in later. Furtherm ore, he is a splendid field, and at times very useful as a bowler. A t no tim e during the last six or seven years w ould he have been out of-place in an E n g lis h side visiting Australia. M r . C h a r le s A l b e r t S t e in , for more than a-quarter o f a century a m em ber of the Surrey C ounty C.C. Comm ittee, and estate valued at .£'1,462 gross. left A t a Comm ittee meeting o f the G lo u ­ cestershire C ounty C.C. last week the advisability o f qualifying W oolley (C. N.), elder brother o f the K e n t player, was discussed at length. W oo lley has been engaged this year by the Stroud C.C., for w hich he has taken between seventy and eighty wickets and has an average o f 50 w ith the bat. It appears that several members o f the C ounty C lub object very strongly to any steps being taken to secure the services of a player from beyond the borders of the County, and therefore the Comm ittee decided not to assist fin an cially in obtaining players from other districts. In the event, however, of a man born outside Gloucestershire acquiring a qualification and then offering his services, his assistance w ould not be declined. Th e consequence is that, unless a firm or private in d ividu al provides W oo lley w ith w in ter work, he is not likely to complete his qualification. I t is stated that A . C. M a cL a re n has joined a M anchester firm of m otor en­ gineers. “ T h e professional b illia rd - player," says H . W . Stevenson, “ must not attempt the more vigorous pastimes such as cricket, golf, tennis, etc., or any other ball game beyond that played on the b illiard- table. H e w ould put his arm out of gear and spoil his touch. The b illia rd ist has to look carefully to his cue-arm to keep it in condition. H e must not indulge in carrying weights or take any strenuous exercise.” M r . J a m e s H o r n e r , treasurer o f the Lancashire County C.C., and M r. T. J. M atthew s, the secretary, have each received from the members o f the A u stralian team a large framed photo