Cricket 1910

J u l y 1 4 , 1 9 1 0 . CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 2 5 9 The construction of the Demon Drivers is fully described in The Evolution of a Cricket Bat, which may be obtained free upon applica­ tion. W M .H B CRICKET ilMFROVED MflKC KEEP THEIR SH A P E -L A SLONGER C A T A L O G U E U PO N A P P L IC A T IO N . C A IA L O d U E U P O N A P P L IC A T IO N . C A T A L O G U E U P O N A P P L IC A T IO N . ^ D E M O N D R I V E R S 8 rc C O ARE OUTAND OUT THE BEST. _ " ^OTHER GRADES 4 f e - ^ 3 /6 - 3 '- 2 % ~ 2 /- HiSATAtOSuEI6 n TAPPEICATToN^f C A T A L O G U E U P O N A P P L IC A T IO N TO GEO. 6. 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 siile y -C o o p e r. At the end of last week I heard from a trustworthy Australian source that, as the result of correspondence with Lord Alver- stone, J. N. Crawford has expressed regret for his refusal to play against the Aus­ tralians in their second match with Surrey last year. It will be remembered that Lord Alverstone, the President of the Surrey County C.C., stated at the Annual General Meeting of the Club in the first week of May that, if Crawford acted in the way he has now done, no one would be more pleased than himself, or any member of the Committee, to move the rescission of the resolution which was passed last season in respect to his decision not to take part in the match above mentioned. There is no need to enter into the details of the case, but Surrey men are well acquainted with the chief facts, and now that all differences have been settled it only remains to congratulate both sides on the termination of a state of affairs which everyone regrets should ever have arisen. But cricketers, and especially Surrey cricketers, will not forget that, without Lord Alverstone’s friendly offices, the reconciliation would in all pro­ bability not have been effected. Only those who have been very intimately associated with Surrey cricket during the last two decades or so can have any idea of the number of ways in which Lord Alverstone has given proof of his great interest in its welfare, and members of the County Club may be trusted to remember the latest in­ stance of his successful efforts in their behalf. Much remarkable cricket has been seen at Lord’s since the establishment of the M.C.C. in 1787, but the records of the matches which have taken place there fail to present a parallel to the extraordinary play seen on the second day of last week’s game between Eton and Harrow. For Robert St L. Fowler, the Etonian captain, the match was nothing less than a triumph. It enabled him to finish his school career in a manner which will ensure his name being recalled with pride for a great many years to come. He created a most favour­ able impression in last year’s match, in which, keeping a fine length and re­ peatedly making tbe ball break back, he took eleven wickets for 79 runs. Then he did little with the bat, although his 18 was the second highest score in the first innings of his side, but last week he stood head and shoulders above everyone else, being the greatest run-getter in each innings, and, by his bowling, winning the game for Eton against the greatest odds. Until the second afternoon was well advanced an innings victory for Harrow appeared almost a certainty, and even when Eton’s ninth wicket fell in the follow-on success by nine or ten wickets seemed assured, for at that point Eton’s lead was no more than four. Then followed the last-wicket partnership of 50 by the Hon. J. N. Manners and Lister- Kaye, and Harrow were set 55 to win. The task was one which appeared likely to be accomplished without any difficulty, for the runs had to be made on a wicket upon which Eton had just scored 219. Harrovians, feeling at peace with all men, settled down with a languid air to watch the rune hit off for the loss of perhaps a ccfuple of wickets in half-an-hour or so. Etonians, too, were quieter than usual, for the hour of Harrow’s success is not one calculated to cause them enthusiasm, and that Harrow would triumph seemed a foregone conclusion. But if there chanced to be one man to whom the idea occurred that a good finish might yet be seen, it was the Hon. Alfred Lyttelton, who, with Mr. Balfour, watched the match from the Pavilion seats. Probably the fact that he himself had experienced much of cricket’s “ glorious uncertainty,” prevented him from abandoning hope, and it was easy to see during that remarkable last innings that he took a less pessimistic view of things than did his companion, i he story of the fiual phase of the match is told elsewhere, and need not be dealt with in detail here Suffice it to say that Harrow lost a wicket to the first ball of the innings and were always in difficulties with Fowler’s bowling. After losing so redoubtable a batsman as Wilson without a run, the side apparently lost their heads—their nerve forsook them— an event which was, in the circumstances, not to be wondered at, for it is at the best of times no light ordeal even for one in his second or third year to take part in the match. Fowler, I am told, will shortly enter Sandhurst, for a career in the Army has been mapped out for him. He learned the game at Westgate on-Sea at the school kept by Mr. Hawtrey—a name very familiar to Etonians—but for the last six years has been in Mr. C. M. Wells’ house, where, of course, he had every inducement to develop his play. He was born in Dublin on April 7th, 1891. Many pleasanter and better matches have taken place between the Gentlemen and the Players than those which have been decided in London during the past week. The cricket at the Oval was interesting throughout, but the weather was not appropriate to the occa­ sion, and with a cold wind and an absence of sun it is impossible to enjoy the gam$ thoroughly. The Lord’s match was rendered* most disappointing owing to the Gentlemen failing in each innings to do themselves justice : a team of such run-getters should have scored far more heavily, notwithstanding that several excellent bowlers were iucluded in the Players’ eleven. On another page Mr. Hamish Stuart has commented at some length on the games and therefore it is not necessary to deal with them here. Of the 175 matches the Gentlemen have won 58, the Players 82, 34 have been drawn and one —that at the Oval in 1883—has ended in a tie. 'O a ,0 u S J3 £ o fe X? C 3 a >» be O +> O C3 u * ^ 3 fctdi fi ■O 78 29' 40 0 Lord’s f XI. a-side ... 3 \Against odds ........... 17 7 9 1 Oval .......................................... 54 15 27 12* Hastings .................................. 7 1 2 4 Prince’s .................................. 5 4 1 0 Scarborough .......................... 10 2 2 0 ( XI. a-side ........... 2 0 1 1 Brighton . Agajns^ odds ... 1 0 0 1 Canterbury (Against odds) ... 1 0 0 1 Totals XI. a-side ... 156 51 1 Against o d d s ........... 19 73 32* 9 3 Grand Total ........... 175 58 * Includes a tie-match. 82 35* In some quarters exception was taken to tho selection of Board (aged 43) for the Lord’s match, but with such criticism I cannot agree. This is his twentieth season of i>st- class cricket, but he has retained his wickct- keeping skill in a remarkable manner, and is, moreover, capable of scoring well against