Cricket 1910

2 l 8 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J une 23, 1910. W o r c e s t e r s h ir e experienced no trouble in defeating Hampshire by an innings, though going in against a total of 303 and having Simpson-Hayward away. Kent, Worcestershire and Lancashire are beyond doubt the strongest batting sides in the -country just now, and when at full strength Worcestershire is probably not the weakest of the three. Bale’s wicket- keeping in both his matches last week was o f the very highest class, and on the form he then showed he would be worth a place in almost any side. In their match at Worcester Hampshire gave a trial to H . W . M. Yates, who is in the Army and made a decidedly good im ­ pression. In the match he scored 105 runs for once out, in his first innings (65 not out) reaching 50 in 30 minutes and in his second making 40 in less than an hour. A g o o d bowling performance was recor­ ded in Yorkshire in last Saturday’s match at Beverley between County Hall and Beverley 2nd X I. Playing for the latter J. W . Lyons took six wickets with consec­ utive balls, five of them clean bowled. S ir J e r e m ia h C o l m a n , Bart., D .L., J .P ., the Honorary Treasurer of the Surrey County C.C., celebrated his silver wedding at Gatton Park last week. On Wednes­ day night the grounds were illuminated and a display of fireworks took place. Some thousands of people attended, and the Mayor and Corporation o f Reigate and other public officials were present. N e w s of the death at Richmond H ill on Friday last of the widow o f the Rev. John Frederick Scobell recalls to memory a cricketer who would in all probability have made a name for himself if he had been able to devote all his time to the game. He was in the Marlborough Eleven of 1861 and five years later scored 269 at Torquay for the Gentlemen o f Devon against the Gentlemen o f Dorset. At that time only three larger innings had been played, and, curiously enough, in his very next match he made a pair of spectacles. A story is told of Mr. Scobell to the effect that he was once assisting the Gentlemen of Devon against the Gentlemen of Dorset in a match which was played on the sum­ mit of a ridge in the Dorsetshire down country. The wickets being pitched on the very back-bone of the ridge o f the downs, the ground sloped away rapidly on either side, so that long-leg had an excellent view of the figure o f the batsman clearly cut out against the sky, but point was “ hull down ” to him, and cover-point completely out of sight. A big leg-hit by Scobeli sent the ball rolling down the hill and across the tiny valley at its foot to so great a distance that the entire body of fieldsmen, bowler included, had to “ pull foot ” down the slope to help in throwing the ball up. It failed by a few yards to reach the wicket­ keeper ; the batsmen were half-way be­ tween the wickets; he ran to meet the ball, and, utterly regardless o f the circumstances and consequences alike, threw at the wickets. Horrors of horrors ! the ball flew wide of the mark, and disappeared down the opposite slope. H e faced about ; his ten colleagues were to be discerned at different altitudes making the ascent to the wickets with a certain amount of deliberation which betokened shortness of breath. By means of frantic gesticulations he succeeded in imparting to them, as they toiled upwards, a sense of the dire nature of the cat­ astrophe. One by one they struggled back to the summit, and disappeared down the opposite slope in pursuit of the errant leather, leaving behind them a long trail o f curious words which it is as well not to reproduce here. Suffice it to say that by the time the ball had been once more returned to the wicket-keeper Scobell had registered 37 runs as the produce of his big leg-hit. T h e annual match between Uppingham and Repton, which should have been played on the former’s ground on Friday and Saturday last, has been indefinitely postponed owing to illness. T h e second eleven of Eossall gained the easiest of victories over the Third Battalion of the Manchester Regiment at Rossall on Saturday. They declared their innings closed with 223 scored without the loss of a wicket—A. L. Wood made 117 not out and S. W . Bannister 98 not out— and then got rid of the opposition for 152. The margin in their favour was consequently 71 runs. B y scoring 216 against Derbyshire at Blackwell on Saturday, Charlesworth, of Warwickshire, played by far his highest innings in first-class cricket, exceeding his 106 against Hampshire at Edgbaston eight years ago. In making his great score he took risks readily and cheerfully, and, making his runs in three hours and forty minutes, naturally offered a few chances. He made some very powerful strokes, especially drives and square-cuts, and hit six 6’s and thirty 4’s. Eight individual innings o f 200 or more have now been played for Warwickshire in first-class cricket:— Score. Year. 255* Quaife (W. G.), v. Surrey, at the Oval ... 1905 246 Devey, v. Derbyshire, at Edgbaston .. 1900 223* Quaife (W. G.), v. Essex, at Leyton.......... 1900 222 J. F. Byrne, v. Lancashire, at Edgbaston 1905 216 Charlesworth, v. Derbyshire, at Blackwell 1910 215* Kinneir, v. Lancashire, at Edgbaston ... 1901 207* Quaife (W. G.), v. Hampshire, at Edg­ baston .......................................................... 1899 200* Quaife (W. G.), v. Essex, at Edgbaston ... 1904 * Signifies not out. In any class of cricket the record for Warwickshire is still held by Mr. H. C. Maul, who made 267 against Staffordshire at Edgbaston in 1888. CHR1STOPHERSON-GR1FFITHS.—OnJuuelSth, at St. Paul’s Church, Rondebosch, Cape Colony, by the Most Reverend the Lord Bishop of Capetown, Douglas, sixth surviving son of the late Derman Christopherson, of Kidbrook, Kent, to Alma Gwenllian Griffiths, eldest daughter of W. B. Griffiths, of Cardiff. The above announcement, as many readers of “ Gossip ” will recognise, con­ cerns a member of the famous brother­ hood which for several years played so prominent a part in Blackheath cricket. T h e Worcestershire County C.C. are making an interesting experiment next week when they will play their game with Essex at Bournville, where an inter-county match has never yet taken place. It is anticipated that the receipts will be considerably larger than would have been the case had the match been played at Worcester, as originally ar­ ranged, for the Bournville ground is within very easy reach of Birmingham. Furthermore, R. E . Foster will again bo seen in the Worcestershire ranks, and his presence should prove a great attracton. “ T h e r e is no doubt that the first- class counties, whenever the weather gives them a chance, are finishing an unusual proportion o f their matches,” remarks the Morning Post, “ and it is generally agreed that their manner of playing the game has gained considerably in briskness. Some would have us believe that the improvement has been brought about by the new system of reckoning points for the Championship. Having regard to the fact that in no case has any county team taken an unnecessary risk of defeat in order to improve slightly its chance of victory we feel that some other reason for the welcome change must be sought, unless it is the fact that the new method of scoring has, in the judgment o f the county captains, made the Champion­ ship competitions farcical, and left them free to play cricket without troubling their heads about the effect of a par­ ticular match on the order of territorial names in the list published twice a week.” D o u g l a s R o b in s o n , a member of the well-known cricketing family, who did well for Essex last year, will play in at least three matches for Gloucestershire later in the season. Edgar Barnett and M. G. Salter will also be seen in the eleven on a few occasions. I t is proposed that the meeting o f Der­ byshire and Notts on August 18th shall take place at Blackwell instead o f at Derby, as arranged, as the support accord­ ed the side on the latter ground is very poor. Blackwell is situated near the bor­ ders of the two counties, and it is thought that the match would prove a greater success financially if played there than if it were decided at Derby. T h e Rev. A. H . C. Fargus, M.A., R.N., the Haileybury, Cambridge and Glouces­ tershire cricketer, has been appointed Chaplain to the Jupiter, additional, for the Home Fleet, Portsmouth. S. M. J. W oods took a strong side to Scotland at the end o f last week to play against Uddingston, and in a match in which only one of the four completed in­ nings exceeded 200 his side won by 127 runs. Woods himself scored 5 and 38, and met with success as a lob-bowler. In his second innings he had the experience of having his off-stump bowled out of the ground by a no-ball from Bailey.