Cricket 1910

CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. MAY 26 , 1910 . CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD . M e . E. W. BALLANTINE. It is only within the last three years that Mr. Ballantine, as a cricket writer, has been known to any great extent in England, but in South Africa he has been prominent for the last fifteen years, and even for a few years before then he provided the Natal Mercury of Durban with cricket mat­ ter while following his pro­ fession in that town as a schoolmaster. Since 1897 Mr. Ballantine has, under the pen- name of “ Umpire,” occupied the position of sports writer on theNatal Mercury ,a,ndin 1907 represented that paper in Eng­ land during the tour of the South African team. It was his good fortune, two years later, to re-visit England, and he was found touring with the last Australianteam, captained by Mr. Noble. Attached to the game as a scholar and during his training as aschool­ master in England, it was no surprisethat his love for cricket never left him in South Africa, but his two recent tours through England have materi­ ally added to his experience. Before the first M.C.C. team went out in 1905-6, Mr. Ballan­ tine had contented himself generally with Natal cricket, but he had attended Currie Cup matches in his journalistic capacity and had also made the South African tour with the Australian team of 1902 when such players as Darling, Hill, Trumble, Trumper, Jones, Saunders, Duff, Kelly, Hop­ kins, Gregory, Noble, Arm­ strong, Carter and Howell, played at Capetown, Johannes­ burg, Pretoria and Durban. Then came Mr. Warner’s visit and, more recently, Mr. Leveson-Gower’s to South Africa. With the four amateurs— Messrs. Leveson-Gower, Simpson-Hayward, Bird and Fane—who made the trip to Bula­ wayo, Victoria Falls, Gwelo! and Salisbury in Rhodesia, involving extra travelling to the extent of 4,000 miles after ten of the M.C.C. team had returned home, Mr. Ballamiue the failure of some of the M.C.C. players to come oif so consistently that the Colonials wonthreematches. One cannotgetaway from the fact that Fane, Denton and Woolley scored only 35,60 and 65 respectively in their first two Test matches, representing an aver­ age of 15 runs per wicket, and when it is remembered that the trio were third, fourth and fifth in the batting order, the failures speak volumes. The first two Test matches were lost by the M.C C. by 19 and 95 runs respectively.” “ I take it then that you do not consider South African cricket as strong as it was four years ago ? ” “ No. South African cricket is really stronger, because there are more players who have arrived in the zone of representative cricket, but such an eleven as that which flayed for South Africa pre­ viously was not available against Mr. Leveson-Gower’s team. Take for ins ance the captaincy of the South Afri­ can side, and there is found the need of a skilful leader, which Mr. Snooke did not altogether prove himself to be. Mr. Sherwell had won great appreciation for his captaincy alone against the M.C.C. in 1905-6, and also in Eng­ land in 1907. Mr. Sherwell was not availab le, and indeed had not played serious cricket since he was in England, but I saw him keep wicket for Mr. Leveson-Gower’s team in Rhodesia, and he found his form at once. In view of the projected South African tour through Australia starting next November, it is very satisfactory that Mr. Sherwell is going to take up the game again, for if selected he ex­ pects to be able to make the trip. The South Africans de- ■e are no successors to Messrs. bathorn, Tancred and Shalders, that Mr. Sinclair is n^t the tower of strength to the eleven he was, and that Mr. Schwarz, having fceen out of cricket for so long, has, maybe Only temporarily, lost his great powers as a bowler. But there are a number of players, more than four years ago, just on the verge recently arrived in England — and his ex­ perience of having been with English, South African and Australian teams on tour within a space of three years is unique. It is, however, more in connection with the recent visit of the English team to South Africa that Mr. Ballantine's name his leen brought before English cricket readers, for he has [O'Byrne, Johannesburg. MR. E. W. BALLANTINE. been supplying several newspapers in Eng­ land with articles on the tour. “ Having gone the rounds of South Africa with the two M.C.C. teams, do you think that South African cricket is as strong as the results of the Test matches suggest ? ” “ As the play went tbe South Africans de­ served tbe rubber, but it wa 3 more through