Cricket 1910

J une 16, 1910. CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 195 The construction of the Demon Drivers is fully described in The Evolution of a Cricket Bat , which may be obtained free upon applica­ tion. im i-m *! CRICKET IMPROVED MAKE- KEEP THEIR 5HAPE-IA5.' LONGER C A T A L O G U E U PO N A P P L IC A T IO N . IA 1 A L O G U E U PO N A P P L IC A T IO N . C A T A L O G U E U PO N A P P L IC A T IO N . B U S H 7 U U J J r . y y i M L O ’ jPROVEDMAKE-KEEPTHEIRSHAPE- ASTLONGER]! C A T A L O G U E U PO N A P P L IC A T IO N . B U S B Y ’S A-DEMON D R I V E R S 7 ^ . I Q ARE OUT AND OUT THE BEST. / Q GRADES 7 - 6 - 5 '- ^ 6 - 4-3 6 3 ’- 2 ' 5-2 '- C A T A L O G U P - U PO N A P P L IC A T IO N TO GEO. G. BUSSEY & Co., L td . 36 & 38, Queen Victoria St., LONDON. Manufactory — Timber Mills — PECKHAM, S.E. ELMSWELL, SUFFOLK, Agents all over the world. AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. By F. S. A sh ley -C ooper . In the last number of the Referee “ Balin” made some interesting remarks in a com­ parison of ancient and modern in the course of which he quoted the late F. P. Fenner— of Fenner’s, Cambridge—and the Rev. James Pycroft. Of the former he said, “ A good cricketer in his day, Fenner played frequently with Fuller Pilch, Felix and Alfred .Mynn, and I had not been talking to him ten minutes before he made it clear to me that he considered Fuller Pilch the greatest batsman the world had ever known or was ever likely to know. He spoke with cordial approval of W. G. Grace, but old Fuller was bis hero.” Fenner I saw but once, and then only for a few minutes during which the references made to cricket were only of passing interest, but Pycroft I met several times, and, although his heart was much in the past, he was far indeed from being unappreciative of the merits of the players who flourished during the latter part of his long life. For the skill of W. G. Grace and Alfred Shaw he had the greatest admiration, and he was foud of remarking upon the steadiness of H. F. Boyle’s bowling. But it was impossible to converse with him for long without the subject of early cricket cropping up, and then, if he found a sympathetic listener, he was perfectly happy. As is so frequently the case with people well-advanced in years—he was in his eighty-third year at the time of his death—he frequently repeated himself, and the greater part of what he said would be familiar to those who had read his published works. When he was thoroughly warmed to his subject, a conversation with him consisted in little else than listening to what he had to say, or at the most interposing an appropriate question from time to time. It always seemed to me that Beldham was his especial hero of the ante Pilch era: certainly he appeared never to tire of singing the praises of that famous old man. But the period to which he would, more often than not, turn the conversation was that which saw the revival of round - armed bowling by Broadbridge and Lillywhite and witnessed the triumphs of such men as Bedgate, Mynn, Pilch, C. G. Taylor, Sauuders, Cobbett, Hillyer, Clarke, Felix, and Wenman. [Above I mentioned F. P. Fenner, of Cambridge. Old Sam Pepys, who had relations living in that county, was nephew of a Mr. Fenner, and was, therefore, perhaps a distant connection of the cricketer. Can any reader state definitely whether any relationship existed? It would l.e interesting to discover a liok between the famous diarist and the maker of the University ground.] Prominence deserves to be given to the fact that in two consecutive innings for Middlesex last week J. T. Hearne obtained thirteen wickets for 56 runs-five for 22 against Gloucestershire at Bristol and eight for 34 in the match with Worcestershire at Lord’s. Hearne is now in his forty-fourth year, and made his first appearance for Middlesex as far back as 1888, that is to say before several players who are now taking part in first-class cricket were born. In early days, when great matches were few and far between, some bowlers continued to play successfully until fifty years of age—when Lillywhite and Clarke took ten wickets each in the Gentlemen v. Players match of 1847 the former was 55 years old and the latter 48—but in modefn times the wear and tear has been much greater and for a bowler of 40 to play a prominent part has been rare. It speaks eloqu en tly, therefore, for h is ph ysiqu e a n d skill that H earne should still be able, after all the w ork he has got through, to perform w ith su ch credit. It m ay surprise m an y to learn that, apart from “ W .G .” , he is the on ly cricketer w ho has ever succeeded in taking m ore than 2,500 w ickets in first-class m atch es. N o player m oreover, has ever w orked m ore loy a lly for h is side, an d M iddlesex have been fortun ate indeed in possessin g th e services o f su ch a cricketer. T h e present is an appropriate m om en t to recall h is best feats w ith the ball, and particu lars o f th em are therefore a p p e n d e d : — 8 or M ore W ickets in an I nnings . W. R. Season. 8 for 55—Middlesex v. Somerset, at Taunton 1890 8 „ 22—Middlesex v. Lancashire, at Lord’s 1891 9 ,, 32—Middlesex v. Notts, at Nottingham 1891 8 ,, 23—England v. XV. of Cape Colony, at Port Elizabeth .......................... 1891-2 10 ,, 60—England v. XV. of Transvaal, at Johannesburg ..........................1891-2 9 ,r 41—M.C.C. and Ground v. Notts, at Lord’s ...................................... 1892 8 „ 55—Middlesex v. Notts, atNottingham 1893 9 ,, 43—M.C.C. and Ground v. Lancashire, at Lord’s ...................................... 1 S 94 9 „ 73—M.C.C. and Ground v. Australians, at Lord’s ......................................1896 8 ,, 35—South v. North, at Hastings ... 1896 9 ,, 54—M.C.C. and Ground v. Oxford Uni­ versity, at Oxford .............. 1897 9 ,, 68—Middlesex v. Lancashire, at Man­ chester .......................... 1898 8 ,, 48—M.C.C. and Ground v. Yorkshire, at Lord’s ...................................... 1898 8 ,, 83—A. J. Webbe’s XT. v. Oxford Uni­ versity, at Oxford .............. 1899 9 ,, 71—M.C.C. and Ground, v. Yorkshire, at Lord’s ...................................... 1000 8 ,, 42—Middlesex v. Lancashire, at Man­ chester ...................................... 1900 8 ,, 53—M.C.C. and Ground v. Sussex, at Lord’s ..................................... 1904 8 „ 49—Middlesex v. Somerset, at Lord’s 1904 8 ,, 93—Middlesex v. Essex, at Leyton ... 1905 9 „ 78—Middlesex v. Yorkshire, at Brad­ ford ..................................... ... 190S 8 „ 34—Middlesex v. Worcestershire, at Lord’8 ...................................... 1910 13 or M ore W ickets in a M atch . W. R. Season. 14 for 65—Middlesex v. Yorkshire, at Lord’s 1891 17 „ 103--England v. XV. of Transvaal, at Johannesburg ......................... 1891- 15 ,, 154—Middlesex v. Notts, at Notting­ ham ..................................................1893 14 „ 66—M.C.C. and Ground v. Kent, at Lord’s ...................................... 1894 13 „ 77—M.C.C. and Ground v. Australians, at Lord’s ...................................... 1896 13 ,, 97—Earl de la Warr’s XI. v. Austra­ lians, at B e x h ill......................... 1896 14 „ 64—South v. North, at Hastings ... 189 ) 13 ,, 104—Middlesex v. Kent, at Lord’s ... 1897 15 ,, 110—M.C.C. and Ground v. Oxford University, at O x fo rd .............. 1897 16 „ 114—Middlesex v. Lancashire, at Manchester .......................... 1393 15 ,, 93—Middlesex v. Somerset, at Lord’s 1904 4 W ickets or M ore for 3 R uns or L ess E ach . W. Runs. Season. 8 for 22—Middlesex v. Lancashire, at Lord’s 1891 8 „ 23—England v. XV. of Cape Colony, at Port Elizabeth ... .. 1891-2 4 ,, 4—M.C.C. and Ground v. Australians, at Lord’s .................................. iggg 6 ,, 8—South of England v. Australians, at Hastings ........................ X 89 (j 5 „ 14—Middlesex v. Somerset, at Lord’s 1899 5 „ 13—M.O.C. &Ground v. Kent, at Lord’s 1902 The above are wonderful figures—from the player’s point of view, that is ; not the statistician’s —but they are far indeed from s-howing all the fine pieces of bowling the subject has accom plished during the last two decades. In Gentlemen v. Players matches he has taken fifty-two wickets for 25 01 runs each, and for England against Australia forty-eight for 22 29. Perhaps the match to which he looks back with the greatest satisfaction was that between England and Australia at Leeds in 1899, when he did the hat-trick at the expense of H ill, Gregory and Noble, causing the two latter to make spectacles.