Cricket 1909

86 CR ICK ET : A W EEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A pril 29, 1909. OBITUARY. R. B ates . Richard Bates, a well-known personality in Lancashire club cricket, died at Earlstown on Friday last of pneumonia. During the last two seasons he did excellent work with t#he ball for Earlstown in West Lancashire League matches, and in previous years had been identified with the Tyldesley, Newton le- Willows and Bradshaw Clubs. M r . J ohn C resw ell . Australian cricket has suffered a heavy loss through the sudden death at Adelaide on March 24th of Mr. John Creswell, the Secretary of the South Australian Cricket Association. Born at Woodville, South Australia, on December 8th, 1859, he was educated at St. Peter’s College and at a very early nge gained an insight into the manage­ ment of football clubs. He was honorary secretary from 1876 to 1882 of the South Park F.C. and, while acting in this capacity, he assisted to form the first Football Associa­ tion in South Australia. Of this Association he was secretary for several years. He did not regard the game merely from an outside point of view, for he was an enthusiastic player, and, as full back, distinguished him­ self on many occasions. In 1880 he was appointed secretary of the Kensington Oval at Adelaide, but resigned the post on re­ ceiving the appointment of secretary to the South Australian Cricket Association in 1883, a position he filled up to the day of his death. He also succeeded Mr. John Portus as secretary of the now defunct Australian Cricket Council, and for over a-quarter of a century was in the closest touch with the game in Australia. Mr. E. P. J obson . Mr. Edward Percy Jobson, who appeared fairly regularly for Worcestershire for a period of over twenty years, died at his residence, Holbeche, Himley, on the 20th inst. after an operation for appendicitis and was buried in the cemetery of Himley Parish Church on Friday last. He was born at Wallheath House, near Dudley, on March 20ih, 1855, and first came into prominence among cricketers as a member of the Dudley Club. Scores and Biographies (xiii.—251) said of him:—“ Is a good batsman and a middle-paced round-armed bowler, fielding generally at cover-point or mid-wicket-off. He learnt most of his cricket when quite young from John Platts, then a professional engaged at Dudley.” His height was 5 ft. 11in. and weight, when in his prime, 11 st. 5 lbs. His average for Worcestershire in 1886 was as high as 45*30, and in 1891 it was 30*25, whilst on at least seven other occasions it exceeded twenty. In 1881 he scored 103 against Warwickshire and twelve years later played an innings of 102 v. Devon on the Du iley ground. He kept up his form until comparatively recently, his last appear­ ance for the County being against Kent at Worcester in 1903, when in his forty-ninth year. As a bowler he was never more than a change, but in 1886 he obtained twenty wickets at an average cost of 17’55 runs each. He had been a member of the M.C.C. for exactly a-quarter of a century. Mr. Jobson was Borough Coroner for Dudley, Official Receiver at Dudley, Stour­ bridge and Kidderminster, and a County Magistrate for Worcestershire. His brother, Mr. H. C. Jobson, played occasionally for the County, and for some time was Hon. Secretary to the Worcestershire County C.C. L ord S h e ffie ld . By the death at Beaulieu on the 21st inst. of Henry North Holroyd, third Earl of Shef­ field, Viscount Pevensey, Baron Sheffield of Dunsmore, Meath, Baron Sheffield of Ros­ common, in Ireland, and Baron Sheffield, of Sheffield, Yorkshire, Sussex cricket has sustained a very heavy loss. His lordship was born at 58, Portland Place, London, on January 18th, 1832, and had therefore com­ pleted his seventy-seventh year at the time of bis death. The amount of good he did for Sussex cricket could not easily be over­ estimated. When the fortunes of the County were at a low ebb he engaged Alfred Shaw and William Mycroft to coach young Sussex players of promise, and there can be no doubt that by his liberality in this respect, and in arranging matches wherein the skill of rising cricketers could be tested, he bene­ fited the County’s cricket to a far greater extent than is generally supposed. His liberality was practically unbounded, and he seemed to find no matter too difficult or too disheartening to face if, by so doing, he considered that benefit to the game, and especially to Sussex cricket, might result. Unlike Lord Harris and Lord Hawke, he never gained fame 'as a player, although in 1856, when Viscount Pevensey, he was con­ sidered good enough to play for the Gentle­ men of Sussex against the Gentlemen of Kent. He was President of the County Club from 1879 until March, 1897, when a rule was passed by the Club to the effect “ That the President shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting, and shall not hold office for two successive years.” He was re-elected to the position in March, 1904, when he made an additional donation to the Club of £ 100 . His resignation in 1897 was announced in the following communication to the Secretary:—“ I shall be extremely obliged to you if you will kindly express to the members of the Sussex County Cricket Club, at your meeting to-morrow, my deep regret at having to sever my connection with them as President, and my warm gratitude to them for having for so many years elected me to that post. As you are aware, I have long entertained a wish to retire from that posi­ tion, in order to make way for someone who would give greater attention to the geneial management of the affairs of the Club ; and a more constant attendance at the delibera­ tions of the Committee than I am able to give; and I am confident that the time has come when it is for the best interest of the Club and County cricket that I should carry out my wish. If, as you suggest to me in your letter, it might be proposed that I should be offered the position of one of the patrons of the Club, I would send you a reply to such a proposal as soon as I received it. At the same time I would send you a further ex­ planation of my reasons for resigning the presidency and withdrawing from further participation in public cricket than I can possibly in the limited space of this letter. I hope you will assure the meeting that of the reminiscences of a longish life, now advan­ cing towards its eventide, I can think of none more happy, more pleasant, or more satis­ factory to look^back supon than the recollect­ ions of the kindness and indulgence of the Sussex County Cricket Club in electing me their President for something more than a quarter of a century.” The reason for his retirement and for the closing for a few years of Sheffield Park was the frequent receipt of anonymous letters, the author or authors of which could not be traced. In the winter of 1891-2 his lordship, entirely at his own expense, took an English team to Australia. One of his chief ideas in doing so was that the Australian public might again be given' an opportunity of seeing W. G. Grace, who had not visited the country"for eighteen years. Other prominent players in the side were A. E. Stoddart, Abel, Gregor MacGregor, Peel, Lohmann, Bn'ggs, Attewell and Maurice Read. The expense must have been very great, but the game in Australia benefited to an enormous extent. Three Test matches were played but the Englishmen proved successful in only one of the number—that at Adelaide, where, with much the best of the wicket, they won by an innings and 230 runs. Australia won the other two games—at Melbourne and Sydney—and therefore the rubber. For some time previous to the visit of the Englishmen cricket in Australia had been waning in popularity, but the success of the home side in the Test series at once caused it to return to public favour with the result that in the course of a few seasons players were produced who compared favourably with the very great majority of theirpredecessors. To commemorate the trip. Lord Sheffield presented a trophy, known as the Sheffield Shield, bearing the following inscription:—“ Presented by Lord Sheffield for competition between Cricket Associations of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales, commencing season 1892-3.” Very many cricketers must have most pleasing recollections of visits to his lord­ ship’s private ground at Sheffield Park, for many interesting matches have been played there. The ground was opened in 1846 and no charge was ever made for admission. Five of the Australian teams which visited us between 1884 and 1896 opened their tour there, the visitors winning in 1884 and 1890 but losing in 1886 and 1893: the match of 1896 ended in a draw. It may be recalled that the first South African team, coming to England in 1894, played their opening match at Sheffield Park. There was then nothing in their play to suggest the pitch thev have since reached, a very moderate side beating them by ten wickets. Lord Sheffield had been a member of the M.C.C. since 1855,but wasnever its President, although he had been offered the position at least once. He was always ready to promote cricket, no matter how unpromising the out­ look might be, as is evident from the fact that matches have been played on the ice at Sheffield Park and on board ship at Spitz- bergen by the light of the midnight sun. Furthermore, in 1889, at a cost of £4,000, he presented a cricket and recreation ground to Newhaven. His brother, the late Hon. Douglas Edward Holroyd, was also fond of the game and played in his time for the Gentlemen of Sussex. His lordship was educated at Eton, where he learnt the game, but did not obtain a place in the Eleven. In his early years he was in the Diplomatic Service, and in the fifties was attached to the Embassy at Con­ stantinople and was Attach^ at Copenhagen. For eight years he sat in Parliament as M.P. for East Sussex. He succeeded his father in the peerage in 1876 and was grandsou of the first Earl, the friend of Gibbon. The late peer never married, and all the titles become extinct except that of the Irish barony of Sheffield of Roscommon, which passes to Lord Stanley of Alderley. Mr. J. B. W ostinholm . It is with much regret that we have to announce the death at [Malton on Friday