Cricket 1909

A p r i l 29, 1909. CR ICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 83 against the various sides he has met, may be set out thus :— m r . p. A. M c A l is t e r in f ir s t - c l a ss CRICKET. Not Highest Season. Mchs. Inns. out. Runs. Aver. score. 1898-9 ... ... 2 3 0 245 81-66 224 1899-1900 ... 4 8 0 184 23-00 63 1900-1 ... ... 4 8 1 199 28-42 74 1901-2 ... ... 5 10 1 260 28-88 100 * 1902-3 ... ... 6 11 0 390 35-45 84 1903-4 ... ... 7 14 0 486 34-71 139 1904-5 ... ... 5 9 1 150 18-75 59 1905-6 ... ... 5 9 0 610 67-77 157 1906-7 ... ... 5 10 0 360 36-00 168 1907-8 ... ... 11 20 1 593 31-22 73 1908-9 ... ... 6 10 0 312 31-20 108 Totals ... 60 112 4 3789 35-08 224 * Signifies not out. In these sixty matches, it may be worth while to note, he has made as many as 76 catches, most of them in the slips. Not Highest Against. Mchs. Inns. out. Runs. Aver, score. New South Wales... 20 39 1 1286 33-84 128 South Australia ... 18 34 2 1100 33'33 157 New Zealand... Queensland ... Tasmania 1 0224 224-00 224 4 0 238 59-50 141 England (Tests) ... 6 12 268 67-00 168 203 16 91 41 Do. (other Matches) 8 15 1 43831-28139 Rest of Australia ... 2 3 ' 32 10-6 30 He has six times gone on to bowl, sending down in all 21 overs for 56 runs and 2wickets; and on one occasion at least he has kept wicket for Victoria in the temporary absence of the regular stumper through an injury. CENTURIES IN FIRST-CLASS CRICKET. 224, Victoria v. New Zealand, Melbourne. 1898-9. 168, Victoria v. Tasmania, Hobart, 1906-7. 157, Victoria v. South Australia, Adelaide, 1905-6. 141, Victoria v. Queensland, Brisbane, 1905-6. 139, Victoria v. England, Melbourne, 1903-4. 128, Victoria v. New South Wales, Sydney, 1905-6. 108, Victoria v. New South Wales, Sydney, 1908-9. 104, Victoria v. New South Wales, Sydney, 1903-4. 100* Victoria v. South Australia, Sydney, 1901-2. * Signifies not out. McAlister and John Reedman of South Australia are the only Australian batsmen who have ever reached the number of a hundred innings in first-class cricket without a visit to England ; andmany players inferior to the latter as well as the former have been included among the seventy-five who have journeyed hither. In the Sheffield Shield matches McAlister’s performances may be summarised thus : SCORES OF Against New South Wales 3 8 8 * 3 13 4 Against South Australia 2 7 8 9 7* 1 Totals 5 15 16 12 20 5 * Signifies one innings not out. The record is one that tells of very con­ sistent cricket. No man but has his failures at times; but five “ blobs” in the course of seventy-three innings are well counter­ balanced by five centuries, and it may be noted that McAlister has scored 20 or more m half his sojourns at the wicket. Against Queensland, Tasmania, and New Zealand he has never been out under double figures ; and there have been twelve innings varying from 20 to 139, five others of double figures, and three ducks in his twenty-seven essays against English bowling. His most ardent admirers will not put McAlister as a batsman quite in the same class as Noble, Trumper, Hill, and Arm strong. But he is thoroughly sound; and the talk about his style being unadapted to English wickets strikes one as arrant nonsense. Given a fine summer, he will probably be among the first five or six in the batting averages; and in the field he should prove a big help to Cotter, who must have suffered from the inability of certain fieldsmen to accept a reasonable percentage of slip chances in 1905. McAlister has been for some seasons past the Victorian captain ; and his selection as vice-captain of the Australian team is well justified. He seems to be a sound tactician; his heart is in the game; and he has always secured the esteem and respect of the men under him. The confidence placed in him by the Victorian Cricket Association was well shown when he was appointed to be selector of Victorian teams; and that con­ fidence has certainly never been abused. A man of whom those who cry out most loudly against him can say nothing detri­ mental to bis character or standard of sportsmanship should not suffer in the esteem of his comrades because his opinions differ from theirs; and, in wishing Mr. Peter McAlister a pleasant and successful trip, one feels sure that his travelling com­ panions are too good sportsmen to spoil it for him by unnecessary friction. J. N. PENTELOW. W ILLOW THE KING. The following is one of a list of school songs sung in the public hall at Harrow on Thursday, June 29th, 1876, at a luncheon given by the Governors of Harrow School in honour of the opening of the new school on the foundation'of John Lyon. Stet Fortuna Domus. Willow the King is a monarch grand; Three in a row his courtiers stand ; Every day when the sun shines bright The doors of his palace are painted white, And all the company bow their backs To the king with a collar of cobbler’s wax. So ho ! so ho! may the courtiers sing Honour and life to Willow the King! Willow, King Willow, the guard hold tight; Trouble is coming before the night; Hopping and galloping, short and strong, Comes the leathery Duke along ; And down the palaces tumble fast When once the leathery Duke gets past. So h o! &c. “ Who is this? ” King Willow he swore, “ Hops like that to a gentleman’s door? Who’s afraid of a Duke like him ? Fiddle-de-dee! ” says the monarch slim. “ What do you say, my courtiers three ? ” And the courtiers all said “ Fiddle-de-dee! ’’ So ho ! &c. Willow the King stept forward bold, Three good feet from his castle hold; Willow the King stept back so light, Skirmished gay to the left and right: [fling; But the Duke rushed by with a leap and a “ Bless my soul! ” says Willow the King. So ho ! <fec. Crash the palaces, sad to see ; Crash and tumble the courtiers three ! Each one lays, in fear and dread, Down on the ground his respected head; Each one kicks, as he downward goes, XJp in the air his respected toes. So h o ! &c. But the leathery Duke he jumped so high, Jumped till he almost touched the sky; “ A fig for King Willow, ” he boastingly said ; “ Carry this gentleman off to bed ! ” [three, So they carried him off with the courtiers And put him to bed in the green baize tree. So ho ! &c. What of the Duke ? ” you ask anon; “ Where has his leathery Highness gone? ” O, he is filled with air inside— Either it’s air, or else it is pride— And he swells and swells as tight as a drum, And they kick him about till Christmas come. So ho! &c. CRICKET IN NEW ZEALAND. In the March issue of Cricket appeared a review of a History of Otago Represevtative Cricket. Reference was then made to the participation of Parr’s team in the “ Grand Cricket Tourney ” played at Dunedin in January and February, 1864, when, although the expenses exceeded £3,000, the promoter, one Shadrach Jones, did not lose a penny. The visit of the Englishmen created much interest and not a little excitement, and upon their arrival they were presented with an address on parchment by the North Dunedin C.C. This document, the original of which is in the possession of Mr. A. L. Ford, of North Devon, was worded as follows:— To the C aptain and T eam of the A ll E ngland E leven . Gentlemen, The Members of the North Dunedin Cricket Club feel it to be at once a great pleasure and a happy augury that their first public appearance as a Club should be for the purpose of taking part in the proceedings of to-day and of assisting to welcome to the shores of New Zealand the far-famed “ All England Eleven.” We have marked with interest your suc­ cessive contests in a sister colony and admired the stand you have made in defence of the renown committed to your charge. We trust that the same harmony, good feeling, and enthusiasm which greet your arrival to-day may continue among us; so that both we and you in calling to remembrance, this, your first visit to Otago, may have alike “ sunny memories ”—un­ clouded by a single shadow—unmingled with a single regret. Signed on behalf of the Club and for the President, CHAS. I m F t H ^ ’ } Vice-PrcMenU. Adopted at a General Meeting of the North Dunedin Cricket Club heldJanuary28th,1864. Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. A. H. LA.KEMAN, Honorary Secretary. The match was won by the Englishmen by nine wickets, and Scores and Biographies states that the ground, a most wretched one, had only just been laid, andwas in no way fit for cricket. Part of the game was played on a fresh wicket, nearly at right angles to the previous one. GEORGE L EW IN & Co., (Established 1869.) Club Colour Specialists and Athletic Clothing Manufacturers. OUTFITTERS BY APPOINTMENT To the Austrs lians, 1896,1899 and 1902 ; Mr. Stoddart’s XI., 1894-1895, 1897- 1898; Mr. MacLaren’s XI., 1901-1902 ; West Indian XI., 1900 and 1906 ; South Africans XI., 1901 and 1907; and M.C.C., Lancashire, Kent, Surrey and London Counties, Wanderers, Stoics. Bromley, Sutton, and all Public Schools’ Old Boys’ Clubs.—Write for E stimates F ree . TelegraphicAddress: “ LeotAde, London.1' Telephone: P.O. City 607. 8, Crooked Lane, Monument, London Bridge, E.C.