Cricket 1909

Nov. 25, 1909. CR ICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 457 H a rris used never to w eary of exhort­ ing cricketers to eschew competitions, championships, and averages. It would have been nice to see h im unsheathing his oratorical sword to say something against Tests, in w h ich there is such weak breath o f the game.” C o n g r a t u l a t io n s to M r. Jo h n H . Stogdon, of the H a rro w E lev e n of 1893-4-5, upon his m arriage at St. Jam es’, Paddington, on the 4th inst., to M iss W in ifre d G. M oore ! A lso to M r. W alter Brearley upon the b irth o f a son and heir on M o n d a y last. A m a r r ia g e w ill shortly take place between M r. Thom as E d g ar M anning, captain o f the Northam ptonshire County Eleven, and M iss Frances D orothy R andall, youngest daughter o f Sir H e n ry and L a d y Randall, and sister o f H erbert R andall, the w e ll-k n o w n jockey. Sir H e n ry Randall, who is probably the only K n ig h t whose son is a professional jockey, is a w ell-know n figure in the N ortham p­ ton shoe trade, in w h ich he has made a large fortune. H e was Conservative candidate for the borough at the 1900 election, and as he did not succeed in ousting M r. Labouchere he was consoled, says the S ta r , w ith a Knighthood. H e is a Free Trader, and resigned the presi­ dency of the L o ca l Conservative Club rather than be false to this principle. M r . A . E . L a w t o n has resigned the captaincy of the Derbyshire County C ricket C lub ow ing to business reasons. M r. J. Chapmam , who was educated at U p pin g h am and Oxford, and plays under the residential qualification, was appointed to succeed him . S t u d e n t s o f cricket history are w ell aware that in early V icto ria n days the Clapton C.C. was one o f the strongest in the L o n d o n district. In a “ T a lk About O ld Lo n do n ,” published by T h e E v e n in g N e w s of October 28th, M r. H . F . Sanders, who has lived at Stam ford H ill for seventy-six years, remarked that “ Cricket Field R o a i is all there is nowa­ days to commemorate the ground of the Clapton Cricket Club, where I spent many long hours of my boyhood. It was a large field, about the size of the Oval, and im­ portant matches were played there. I often saw the famous Walkers play, and one of the best known members of the club was Mr. Craven, a wealthy brickmaker, who lived in a big mansion in the Clapton Boad. “ Most of tbe gentlemen who played there were members of the M.C.C., and all, of course, wore the cricketing costume of the time—which included the inevitable top-hat.” M r. Craven, of whom a notice is to be found in the second volume o f Scores a n d B io g ra p h ie s , was chosen more than once to play for the Gentlemen. H e never, even in the hottest weather, wore a cap w hilst playing. M r . F r e d A . B r o o k e , of F artow n Lodge, Huddersfield, rem itted £'56 to L o rd Londesborugh, the amount which has been subscribed in Huddersfield and district towards D a vid H u n te r’s testi­ m onial fund, w hich is being promoted at Scarborough. D u r in g tho past season D r. E . M . Grace scored 51 runs w ith an average of 39 2 and took 119 w ickets at a cost of 19'32 runs each. In all matches during h is remarkable career he has made 76,751 runs and taken 12,078 wickets. L o r d H a w k e , w ho states tlie Y orkshire County authorities know nothing o f an)' accession of strength next season iu the shape of good am ateur players, says he hopes “ to take part in one or two matches at fifty.” E a rly in the N ew Y ear he is going off to South Am erica fo r some big game shooting. I r e g r e t to hear that M r. Lu d fo rd Docker, the old D erbyshire and W a rw ick ­ shire cricketer, has found it necessary to leave E n g lan d on account o f his health, and that the E a rl of Jersey, who was President of the M .C .C . in 1894, is lyin g ill at M iddleton Park, Oxfordshire. A t the recent annual dinner o f Cross- ley’s C.C. an old cricketer was honoured in C. H aydock, of W orksop, w ho is seventy-six years o f age and claim s to be the oldest active player in En glan d. L a st season, for W orksop Thursday, he took all ten o f Crossley’s w ickets for 34 runs, and he was now presented w ith the ball he used, mounted on a silver stand. H e played for the W orksop Tow n C.C. for sixty years, in tw enty o f w h ich he carried off the bow ling prize. N ew s of the success o f the veteran recalls that “ F e lix ,” the most delightful of gossips, once w ro te : “ It is, indeed, one o f the especial charms o f cricket that the com ely face of youth and the furrow ed cheek of age can together participate in the m anly game, and nowhere in the w orld had I such evidence of this pleasant fact as on village greens at home, where I have seen quite old men follow ing up the game w ith a ll the friskiness of youth. H o w often do I th in k now of T om P in c h ’s ride to London, and the lines, 1Y o , ho, beside the village green, where cricket players linger yet, and every m ark o f bat or ball upon the green tu rf sheds out a perfume on the night.’ T h is is as sweet to me as even the master’s account of D in g ley D e ll versus A ll Muggleton.” A n o t h e r member of the famous Foster fam ily has left En glan d, “ H . K . ” having sailed for the L in g g i Rubber Estate, Straits Settlement. “ G .N .,” as all read­ ers of C ric k e t m ust be aware, has for some tim e past been located in India. M . F alcon (H a rrow and Pembroke) has been elected captain of Cam bridge for next season, and J. F . Ireland (M a rl­ borough and T rin ity ) secretary. N . C. T u fn e ll (Eton and T rin ity ) is the new assistant-treasurer. A . G. P a w so n (W inchester and C hrist Church) w ill be the new captain at Oxford, and A. J. E van s (W inchester and Oriel) the secretary. T h e latter is the son of A. H . E van s, w ho played in his tim e for Oxford and the Gentlemen. W il l ia m B e s t w ic k , whose retirement from D erbyshire cricket was recently announced, has been engaged for next season by the N elson C.C. in succession to George W ilson, the ex-Worcestershire fast bowler. T h e annual meeting o f the H am pshire County Cricket Club is to be held to­ m orrow at the R o y a l H otel, Southampton. In their report the Comm ittee state that the deficiency o f .£974 in 1908 has been reduced to £111. Despite the bad weather, the w orkin g of the C lub this year shows, apart from the Test matches, a profit of £206. T h e A n n u al General M eeting o f the M iddlesex C ounty C.C. w ill be held at the C h aring Cross H o te l on AVednesday next at 5 p.m. There was a loss of £936 15s. 2d. on the year’s working, but, as the report points out, “ T h is was only to be expected as almost every home m atch was interrupted by heavy ra in .” T h e annual report o f the South A u s­ tralian Cricket Association shows that over £258 was spent during the year in improvements on the Adelaide O v a l; £116 was paid to the ground bowler, and there was a special grant and bonus to M r. C resw ell of £125. Despite these outgoings a credit balance of £456 w ith w h ich the year began increased to £889. The gross receipts from football were £3,839, against £3,366 in the previous year. It is interesting to note that in the home cricket matches against N ew South W ales and V icto ria the takings amounted to £130, whereas in the previous year, when in lieu of fixtures in Adelaide the V icto ria n and N ew South W ales Associa­ tions allowed South A ustralia a propor­ tion o f the gross takings at Melbourne and Sydney, the receipts were £252. T ow ard the B o ard of Control expenses in connection w ith the Au stralian Eleven £506 was advanced, but the opinion is expressed in the report that although the takings w ill not reach the £18,000 estimated by certain members o f the Board, no loss to the Associations con­ cerned w ill be incurred. T h e membership roll o f the South A u s­ tralian C ricket Association is now 884, against 872 in 1908. S ir E d w in S m it h , the President, speaking at the A n n u al General M eeting o f the S.A.C .A., referred to the hom e­ com ing of the Au stralian team and said they w ould be glad to give them all a welcome. W’hen Arm strong headed the batting and b ow ling averages in 1905 the South A u stralian Cricket Association presented him w ith a gold m edal to com ­ memorate the event, and Arm strong told