Cricket 1909

472 CR ICK E T : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. Dec. 2l, 1909. tion to the num ber of runs scored for h it s :— Fourer, 1 p o in t; sixer, 4;J points ; sevener, 7 p o in ts ; eighter, 10 points. B u n s to be ascertained from scoring books, and only to be counted for the boundary hits (not overthrows). P l a y in g for St. M a rk ’s, Fitzro y, against H o ly T rin ity , Coburg, in M elbourne on October 30th, A . Boss bowled unchanged through the latter’s second in n in gs for the follow in g figures :— O. M. E . W. 5 5 0 6 T h e total amounted to 11, of w h ich as m any as nine were extras. T h e V icto ria n C ricket A ssociation has re-elected. P. A . M c A lis te r sole selector of inter-State teams for 1909-10, w ith M . E llis as deputy in his absence. “ L o v e r s o f cricket w ill be pleased to fin d that there is now every prospect of a satisfactory adjustm ent o f the financial d ifficu lty between the M elbou rn e Club and the V icto ria n C ricket Association,” says “ F e lix ” in T h e A u s tr a la s ia n . “ A t a prolonged m eeting at the M .C .C . offices on M o n d ay [November 1st] the Trustees and the V .C .A . representatives arrived at an agreement, w hich w ill be subm itted to the M .C .C . It w ill mean more m oney than the £800 offered by the M .C .C ., but, in the interests o f cricket, I dare say the executive o f our great club w ill acquiesce in the proposals subm itted.” I f it should prove true, as reported, that first-class cricket w ill kn ow M . A . N oble no more, the game has lost one of the most accom plished exponents it has ever know n. Great men, however, often have a pleasant knack o f m aking a series o f farew ell performances, and all followers o f the game w ill unite in hoping that N oble w ill continue to be seen in the great matches for some seasons more. It w ill be very interesting to see how N ew South W ales w ill fare this season, for w ith N oble retired, M acartney in N ew Zealand, S. E . G regory not getting younger, and T rum p er seldom, i f ever, available, the constitution o f the team is bound to differ considerably from w hat it has been d u rin g recent years. B u t so m any young players o f prom ise are available in Sydney that the side, however it m ay be composed, is almost sure to give a good account of itself. A t r ia l m atch between the F irs t and Second Elevens of N ew South W ales was commenced on the Sydney ground on N ovem ber 13th. T h e second Eleven batted first and, ow ing chiefly to F . Gow (110) and H . Cranney (117), w ho put on 182 for the second w icket in 70 m inutes, scored 444 for eight wickets. T h e Sydney R e fe re e records that A . Chambers, a youth o f 17, p layin g for Websdale, Shoosm ith against T h e W o r k e r on October 16th, carried his bat through the innings, and in the next m atch, on October 23rd against W . E . Sm ith & Co., he did so in each innings, m aking 25 and 26. C. W . G r e g o r y (143) and A . C. K. M acken zie (51) made 126 in 70 m inutes for the first w icket of W averley against N o rth Sydney on the latter’s ground on October 16th. Gregory made h is runs in 140 m inutes and h it a 6 and nineteen 4’s. “ I t was one o f those in n in gs,” said a w ell-know n critic, “ so marked by power, ease, grace and variety o f strokes, w h ich makes you wonder how or w h y such a batsman has never been in a representative Australian team. W o u ld that ‘ C. G .’ could show his brother’s vitality in the fie ld !” A r e q u e s t from B roken H ill for a visit from the N ew South W ales team w h ile on tour to Adelaide and M elbourne was declined on the ground that the distance was too great. W . E . P it e (137) and W . T. J. F in n e ra n added 98 runs together in 50 m inutes for the th ird w icket o f Sydney D istrict against N o rth Sydney at Bush- cutters’ B a y on October 23rd. O f that num ber the latter, who was then caught, was responsible for as m any as 72. E r ic P it t y B a r b o u r , of Sydney, to whose all-round cricket I have often had occasion to refer, opened the season in fine form . P la y in g against Gladesville, he took six wickets for 38 and retired after scoring 105, and this performance he follow ed up by taking six for 39 and m aking 152 at the expense o f T h e K in g ’s School. H e made his large score w ithout a chance and, furtherm ore, obtained his runs in a couple of hours out of 189 made for the first wicket. Th e Sydney G ramm ar School total was 482 for six wickets (Barbour, 152; Pratten, 151; Gregg, 72 not out). V ic t o r T r u m p e r , upon his return home, stated that the gross receipts of the A u stralian team during th e ir tour were £13,500 and the expenses about £6,000. I f these figures are correct each member of the side w ill receive about £403. In some quarters it ig thought that the expenses have been over-estimated. J. H u d so n , the Tasm anian batsman, opened the season w e ll by scoring 147 not out for E a st H o b art against N o rth H o b art on the Association ground on October 16th. E a st H o b art made 289 for three w ickets and on the follow ing Saturday took the total to 306 for eight (Hudson, 149) w hen the innings was declared closed. F ro m The Tasmanian M a il :— In connection with the inter-State match between Tasmania and Victoria, the alteration in the date has again placed Tasmania in the humiliating posi­ tion that she will have to be content to play Vic­ toria’s second-rate eleven. It is really difficult to understand the Tasmanian cricketing bodies in re­ gard to the matches against Victoria. However, any­ thing seems to be good enough for the little island, and will, I expect, continue to be so until such time as those who legislate for cricket iu this State have sufficient backbone to put up a fight, and decline to play inter-State contests with Victoria on sufferance. There is nothing fresh to be recorded about the pro­ posal to send a Tasmanian team to Sydney this season. Some objection to the idea has been put forth by the Northern Association, and there the matter appears to remain. At a meeting of the Victorian Association on Monday evening, according to the Argus report, the Tasmanian Association’s complaint that the V.C.A. would not be able to carry out its promise to put a first-class team into the field when the Victorian first eleven is in Sydney brought Mr. Fitzgerald to his feet, with the asser­ tion that it was a pity to break faith with the Tasmanians after having promised them at a con­ ference. “ We promised them nothing,” said Mr. Bean. “ We said the Association would always use its best endeavours to put a first-class team into the field.” The majority of tho delegates supported Mr. Bean, and on the motion of Mr. H. R Rush (Prahran) and Mr. W. S. Stott (Northcote), the letter was simply received. A su g g e st io n is put forw ard by the C a n te r b u r y T im e s to the effect that the engagement of coaches and their salaries should be placed on a proper footing. B e lf receives from A u ck la nd a sum equi­ valent to £450 for the season, or over £20 per week. Board, o f Gloucestershire, w ill get £5 per week from H a w k e ’s Bay, and W ordsw orth, the A ustralian, w ill draw £3 per week from Otago. Canter­ bury paid H um p h reys about £15 per week, and offered Buckenham a little less. W il l ia m C a r l t o n , the w e ll-k n o w n N o rth M elbourne player, has left V icto ria in order to take up an appointment as coach in C hristchurch, N ew Zealand. M r . C. B . S m it h , president o f the Otago Cricket Association, when interviewed by the D a i l y T im e s on the subject o f a coach (C. G. Macartney) said:— “ When absent from New Zealand, I got into touch with a very good all-round man, who was anxious to make a start for himself in business. He consulted with me as to his chances in Dunedin, and at the same time we talked cricket. We made an arrangement that he should come over here and see what he might do. If he is successful in busi­ ness he will stay here permanently, and if not I do not suppose it is likely that he will remain. He is not coming as a professional coach, but has under­ taken to devote a certain amount of time and give his best attention to cricket and the advancement of the game generally, and to take part in represen­ tative matches. I feel quite satisfied that he will be a very useful man in doing what coaching he under­ takes. With Wordsworth as a ground bowler, and the new player as director of operations, we should get a considerable improvement in our cricket. In discussing matters with mo this player said he would like to get over here without any debate or discussion arising within his own circle, and he did not desire them to know that he was coming over here to settle. Consequently he asked me not to divulge his name or say more than was necessary in regard to arrangements until he arrived in Dunedin. He will be here in the first week in December. His request seemed to me to be a reasonable one, and to our own advantage, because if those interested in cricket where he resides knew anything about his coming here they might do something to block his intention and keep him where he is.” Macartney, by-the-way, upon his arrival in the M o ld a v ia at Frem antle, said to an interview er:— “ One of the conditions of our going to E n g la n d under the Board of Control was that nothing was to be said to the Press. I prefer to rem ain an