Cricket 1909

M arch 25, 1909. CR ICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 43 feet a hugh vegetable marrow, remarking that the customs o f various nations in pre­ historic and later times was to do homage to heroes by making some small ottering. Gregory, who seemed unable to grasp the situation, handed back the trophy. At this the donor looked offended, but he placed it behind the wicket where Gregory was batting, saying, ‘ While that remains there it will act as a talisman. You will score 1,000.’ Just then a police­ man rushed forward, and the man was soon marched towards the gate.” W. E. P it e (35) and G. Thomas (29) made 51 in eleven and a-half minutes off 29 balls for the first wicket of Sydney District v. Redfern at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney, on January 16th. T he Sydney B eferee chronicles an instance of a side winning a match by an innings without the loss of a wicket. The game was one in connection with the Angus and Coote Cup Competition and was played at Parkes (N.S.W.) on January 20th and 27th. Beargamil scored 45 and Parkes 188 without loss on the first day, and on the second the home side advanced their total to 275, and then, with all tlieir wickets still intact, declared the innings closed and dismissed their opponents for 23. The pair who made the runs for Parkes were the Kev. J. E. Moulton, formerly of Newington College and Sydney University, who scored 202 not out and W . J. Keast, who carried out his bat for 45. There were 28 extras in the innings. As Beargamil scored only 45 and 23 against 275, most people would suppose that they were beaten by an innings and 207 runs, but as in Compe­ tition matches they had a handicap o f SO their defeat was by an innings and 107 runs. M. A. N oble , by means of his 125 for the Australian Eleven v. Rest of Aus­ tralia, at Sydney, brought his number of centuries in first-class cricket to 35, seven of which have reached the second hun­ dred, viz., 284, 281, 267, 230, 213, 213, and 200. Against Victoria alone he has played a dozen three-figure innings— 153 not out, 100, 122, 155, 103 not out, 112, 281, 123, 101, 176, 123, and 213. Noble has scored 2,750 runs in thirty-nine completed innings against Victoria, averaging 70'51 per innings: at Sydney he has made 1,745 with an average of 87-25, and at Melbourne 1,005 with an average of 52. S peaking at a meeting of the New South Wales Cricket Association in the last week of January, Mr. Lloyd is reported to have said that “ Everybody knew that during the last tour i ’13,000 was taken in gross, and that each member received .£934, or £534 each for the players after expenses were paid.” Noble strongly combated this statement. From the Sydney R eferee :— A Melbourne newspaper, iu one of its cus­ tomary weird attacks on the Hoard of Control, states that “ The concessions and explana­ tions made at the conference have a plea­ santly agreeable sound, but neither the plaiers nor the public can possibly feel the least confidence in a body upon which a man like Mr. E. E. Mitchell, K.C., declared that as an honourable man he could not retain his seat with any degree of relf-respect, be­ cause it had been guilty of a distinct and wilful breach of faith.” Statements of this character have the peculiar effect of winning for the Boar.l of Control support of the best class of men in the country. What Mr. Mitchell wrote iu his letter to the Press was : “ I have alw»ys been, and still am, a supporter of the Board of Control, and my reasons for declining to remain a member of it have no relation to the Board itself or its proceedings.” These words of Mr. Mitchell are a crush­ ing reply to the Melbourne newspaper, which has been so much pained from time to time by the success of the Board of Control in elevating Australian cricket, and falsifying the prophecies of some of its enemies. E. P. B akbour took all ten wickets for 46 runs in an innings of 112 for Sydney Grammar School v. Callan Park Asylum on February 3rd at Callan Park. He also contributed 77 to his side’s total of 236. R o g e r H a r t ig a n , Queensland's repre­ sentative in the Australian Eleven, was married shortly before the team set sail for England. “ N at L ee ” of the Tasmanian Mail, in the course of his remarks on the second day's play on the Association ground at Hobart on January 16th and 23rd in the match between West and South Hobart, sa ys:— Adhering to custom, the players on the Association ground on Saturday adjourned at 4 o’clock for afternoon tea, but, donbtless owing to the unfavourable weather surround­ ings earlier in the day, the hostesses did not make any preparations, and players and umpires whiled away ten minutes in the pavilion during a spell of line weather. The humour of the position lay in the fact that later on the game was continued in a shower of rain, and the umpires were protected by umbrellas ! The adjournment in the circum­ stances was quite Gillertian. A tea interval may or may not be a necessity, according to circumstances and the hardiness of players, but it must surely be unique for cricketers, upon finding no refreshment procurable, to waste ten minutes of a fine afternoon in cooling their heels in the pavilion. There’s keenness for you ! I n the course o f an interview with a representative o f The Daily Post, G. H . S. Trott made the following remarks concerning Dodds, the Tas­ manian cricketer:— “ From what I have seen, I consider Dodds the best wicket-keeper in Australia at present, and, taking bis batting into consideration, he is the best batsman on form. Although he has not the experience of Carter, he has a better style than the New South Wales crack. With a season’s first-class cricket he would undoubtedly I e one of the best batsmen among the wicket­ keepers. In my opinion, the Selection Com­ mittee of the Australian Eleven should give him a chance of winning his way into the team by picking him to play with the Best of Australia against Australia. That is the only opportunity he would get of showing his mettle. I wish to make it clear that I am judging him not only on his fine performance against the Bendigo team here, but on his play in Melbourne and Bendigo last year.” As leaders of Cricket are aware, Dodds was chosen for the match at Melbourne between Australia and the Rest, and in his only innings carried out his bat for 80. He also kept wicket well, but was not selected for the tour. In last month’s Gossip reference was made to the participation of A. E. Relf and Humphreys in Interprovincial matches in New Zealand. I am given to understand that the position of Relf has been considered by the M.C.C. Committee, who decided as follow s:— “ That a Province in New Zealand is not included in the words ‘ A British Colony, Dependency, or State ’ in the Rules of County Cricket, Rule one, whereby a residential qualification for an English County is affected. .It is thought, how­ ever, that evils will arise in New Zealand if English professionals are brought over to take part in Interprovincial contests in that country.” It will be seen that the M.C.C., whilst deciding that the case of Relf (and also, I suppose, that of H um ­ phreys) is not covered by Rule 1 of County Cricket, considers that the grow ­ ing practice of engaging English players for Interprovincial matches is not in the best interests of the game. A recent mail from New Zealand shows that Relf has been making good scores for the Eden Colts at Auckland. On January 16th he made 127 against Grafton and a week later 134 at the expense of University. On the latter date Humphreys, of Kent, playing at Christ­ church for Linwood v. St. Albans, scored 91 and took eight wickets for 34 runs in an innings of 72. S o m e amusement was caused at the match at Wanganui on January 2nd and 4th, between Otago and Wanganui, by the sudden appearance of a hare on the field of play. The startled animal made a bee-line for the pavilion, and players and spectators tried to corner the fugitive, which was just missed by a lightning shot from Wordsworth, who happened to be in possession of the ball at the time. Swerv­ ing from a straight run, however, the hare made a “ break ” for the fence, and, main­ taining a fast pace, soon reached the b o u n d a r y . ---------- T he match at Christchurch on Jan. 2nd and 9th between Riccartcn and St. Albans furnished a very forcible illustration of the “ glorious uncertainty ” of cricket. On the first day Riccarton made 90 for six wickets on a batsman’s pitch, and on the second, on a bowler’s wicket, carried the total to 291 for eight. K. S. Williams, who hit three 6’s and nineteen 4'ls, made 124 not out and S. Walls 55 not out.