Cricket 1909

A pril 15, 1909. _CR ICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 57 Tom Marsden in 1831 by his cricketing admirers. H ir s t , in the course of his speech (says the Yorkshire Evening Post), referred to the flattering remarks which had been applied to his colleagues and himself, remarking that it was not always wise, seeing that the references got into the Press:— “ And, then,” he added, “ people begin wondering what wonderful persons these are that you have been talking about.” To give point to his remarks he told a story of a young lady who was very anxious to see one of these “ great men of cricket.” When introduced to him she eyed him over and over again, obviously disappointed, and then ventured a question :— “ Are you Mr. So-and-So ? ” she asked. “ Y e s!” came the reply. “ Really ? ”—“ Yes.” “ Well,” was the disconcerting re­ joinder, “ I really am disappointed! ’ “ Referring to cricket generally, he said that it had often been a matter for sur­ prise to him that there were not more Sheffielders in the Yorkshire eleven. Sheffield was a big city, and they had only one player in the eleven, a young left-hander, who, so far as he could see, was a good player, and who, if he were lucky, would probably make one of the best left-handers that he knew. ‘ Really,’ he said, ‘ what we have come to Sheffield to-night for is a good fast bowler.’ He thought, however, that his hearers would all be well satisfied with what the team did last year, and he assured them that the players were agreeably surprised, as they had not anticipated getting much above the middle of the League. So far as the present season went they were looking forward to a very good year.” T h e death has occurred at Pudsey of William Tunnicliffe, father of the well- known Yorkshire cricketer. For over 50 years he was engaged in the Bradford wool trade. T h e Sussex County C.C. are to be congratulated upon having secured the services of Arthur Millward, the old Worcestershire cricketer, as coach in connection with their new venture to establish a nursery for young players. This appointment will necessitate his resignation from the list of county um­ pires, but will not interfere with his connection with B. Warsop and Sons, the bat-makers. His duties commence on May 1st, and will involve his travelling to all parts of the county with a view to giving encouragement to native talent in need of development and to finding of new players. A l e x a n d e r K e r m o d e , the Australian bowler who became qualified for Lan­ cashire a few years ago, has started the season well. Playing at Littleborough on Saturday last for South-West Manchester against Littleborough, he look nine wickets for 9 runs. The first ball he sent down broke a stump. T h e decision of the Sussex Committee to play no inter-county matches at Hastings this year has naturally caused no little disappointment—to use no stronger term — among cricketers and others connected with the town. I notice that last week at the annual meeting of the Hastings Rovers C.C., the strongest and most influential club in that part of Sussex, Mr. R. F. Boutwood made some outspoken remarks on the subject. He pointed out that county matches had always received an enthusiastic welcome from large numbers of sportsmen, and he considered that local support, in the form of subscriptions, should be with­ drawn from the County Club. T h e team to represent Yorkshire in the first four matches of the season will probably be selected from Lord Hawke, Bates, Denton, Haigh, Hardisty, Hirst, Hunter, Myers, Newstead, Rhodes, Rothery, and Wilkinson. L ie u t .-C o l o n e l G e o r g e K e m p , the old Cambridge University and Lancashire cricketer, and son-in-law of the Earl of Ellesmere, has undergone an operation in a private nursing home at Paddington. He had been suffering from knee trouble, and it was found necessary to remove a portion of the cartilage. The operation was performed by Sir Alfred Fripp, and the latest report is that the surgeons are altogether satisfied with the progress the patient is making. M r . S a m u e l G d r n e y B u x t o n , whose death was announced in the February issue of Cricket, left estate of the gross value of £359,704, with net personalty £310,141. A n interesting link with the past has been severed by the death of Lord Gwydyr at Stoke Park, Ipswich, on the 3rd inst., in his ninety-ninth year. He was grandson of the first Lord Gwydyr, who, as Sir Peter Burrell, played for Kent in 1788 and 1789. Sir Peter played an innings of 97 for the old White Conduit Club v. Gentlemen of Kent in White Conduit Fields in 1785 and was evidently a good batsman, but no par­ ticulars have been handed down con­ cerning his style of play. He died at Brighton of gout in 1820, aged 67, and was well remembered by his grandson, who would have entered upon his 100th year had he lived until the 27th of the present month. I n the annual report of the Essex County C.C. it is pointed out that, though there was such a strong feeling expressed last November in favour of carrying on the Club, the membership still falls con­ siderably short of the 2,500 required. The roll of members on December 31st, 1908, was 1,752 gentlemen and 188 ladies, making in all 1,940. The receipts last season from subscriptions were X"1,947 4s. 6d., and from gate money £1,724 17s. 9d. The annual meeting will be held at the Liverpool Street Hotel on Thursday next at 4.30 p.m. W il l ia m K e n w a r d , who has just retired from the post of parish clerk of Wivelsfield, Sussex, after holding the position for sixty-two years, occasionally plays cricket notwithstanding that he is in his eighty-ninth year. He still retains the office of village postmaster, his appointment dating back to 1846, and he has the distinction of being the oldest postmaster in England. A t the Annual General Meeting of the Leicestershire County C.C. Mr. T. Burdett, who has been Hon. Secretary to the club for over thirty years, received a presentation of a silver tea-service and candelabras. T h e accounts of the Surrey County C.C. show a surplus of assets over liabili­ ties of £6,583. Last year there was a profit of £463, the receipts amounting to £12,423. Subscriptions and entrance fees produced £5,273, and matches £6,430. The net receipts of Hayes’ benefit amounted to over £1,200. In recognition of his long and valuable services, mem­ bers are invited to subscribe to a testi­ monial to be presented to Hayward at the close of the season. The Club have headed the subscription list with £200. During the year 176 new members were elected, bringing the total to 3,345, and the Committee have announced their desire to secure a thousand more. T h e annual dinner of the Wanderers C.C. will take place at the Criterion Restaurant to-night at 7.30. Mr. Clement Colman, the President of the Club, will be in the chair. F rom the West Australian (27th F e b r u a r y , 1909) :— “ A strobg south-wester whistled across the grounds at the Port last Saturday (when the ninth round was concluded), and forced the ball about surprisingly. Two incidents that happened at North Fremantle Oval will serve to show what a large part the wind plays at times in the game. On one occasion a ball bowled in a direction about a foot outside the leg stump passed outside the batsman’s legs, and was then stopped by a gust of wind and turned on to the wicket, swerving about twelve inches in a length of three feet. The batsman was forgiven for eyeing the wicket-keeper suspiciously. On another occasion a batsman drove the ball powerfully to the on, and all waited to see it reach the boundary. But when about half way the wind caught and turned it high into the air ; then, when its force was spent, sent it on a boomerang course back towards the bowler, close to whom it eventually fell, the bowler refraining from catching for fear of colliding with the perplexed and in-chargirig long-field.” Doubtless several cricketers who have played at Scarborough could furnish similar reminiscences. T h e r e was a notable run-getting per­ formance on the Port ground, Fremantle, on February 27th and March 6th in the match between South Fremantle and Subiaco. On the first afternoon the latter, after being dismissed for 74, had