Cricket 1910

26 CR ICK ET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME F e b . 24 , 1 9 1 0 . I n a Senior Matting Association match at Fremantle on Jannary 22nd between Cottesloe and Middle Swan, a player named Thomas scored 38 in seven minutes for the former side. “ H e made 24 off one over, and broke two bats. Several old cricketers who were present state that it was the finest exhibition o f hard hitting ever seen on the Esplanade.” E r n e s t P a r k e r , the leading batsman o f West Australia, scored 132 for W an­ derers against South Fremantle on January 15th in two hours and ten minutes. He offered one chance— when 107— and hit eleven 4’s. On the follow ­ ing Saturday he made 107 against North Fremantle. T h e matches played in the Sheffield Shield Competition this season resulted th u s:— Won. Lost. Dwn. Total. South Australia ............. 3 ... 1 ... 0 ... 4 New South Wales............. 2 ... 2 ... 0 ... 4 Victoria ............................. 1 ... 3 ... 0 ... 4 New South Wales have won theShield ten times, Yictoria on six occasions, and South Australia twice. It was first played for in 1892-3. B o l d advertisement deserves to be given in Gossip to the performance accomplished by Clem H ill in first-class matches in Australia this season. In consecutive innings for South Australia he scored:— 176 v. Victoria, at Adelaide. 206 v. New South Wales, at Adelaide. 185) |v. Victoria, at Melbourne. Had he played a careful game in the last- mentioned innings, he would probably have made two separate hundreds in the match, and therefore four in succession. It is certainly remarkable that Australia should possess three such great con­ temporaneous left-handed batsmen as Hill, Ransford and Bardsley. H ill did not play in Sydney either for his State or in Turner’s benefit match, his appearances in first-class cricket during the season consequently being restricted to the three games mentioned above. I n a match in South Australia on January 8 th between Havelock and Ramblers, the former, going in first, scored 380 in three hours for six wickets. Of that number C. S. Toms made 101 (retired), R . S. Fleming 102 (retired), and P. R. Yerco 102 (retired). As was suggested by the cable messages received in England, the all-round cricket of J. N. Crawford has been one o f the most prominent features o f the South Australian season. O f his form in the inter-State match at Adelaide with New South Wales, a correspondent o f the Sydney R eferee remarked:— “ Crawford really bowled magnificently, kept a splendid length, and varied his bowling with a slow one occasionally. Besides, he batted in a manner that indicates his proving a magnificent acquisition to South Australian cricket. His boundless energy in supporting Clem H ill’s mas­ terly batting should be a fine inspiration for years to come.” The latest news I have concerning Crawford is to the effect that he took six West Torrens wickets for 58 runs on January 22nd in a total o f 142. S. H i l l (133) and O. J. Caust (121) made 251 together for the first wicket of East Torrens against West Torrens in Adelaide on January 15th. During the afternoon the side scored 315 for four wickets. A l t h o u g h New South Wales took the field against Victoria at Melbourne without several o f their best men, and had just been beaten at Adelaide by an innings, over 8,000 persons were present on the first day, when the takings amounted to f2 5 7 6 s. “ Felix ” con­ siders, and not without reason, that this “ must be regarded as indicating a genuine revival o f public interest in the manly game.” He adds:— “ One thing the people did not relish, and it was the absence of the seats which used to be round the ground. To make as much room as possible for the tremendous crowds at football the seats were taken away. Now, a game of football is over in two hours, and standing in a crowd for that comparatively short period is not felt as anything of an inconvenience, especially in the depth of winter. But it is altogether different in cricket. The hours are from noon to 6 o’clock, and the game lasts sometimes for four or five days. In very hot weather, such as was experienced to-day, standing on hot asphalt for any length of time is most dis­ tinctly trying, even to genuine cricket enthusiasts. The Harrison stand certainly did afford seating accommodation for a goodly number, but those in the front had to face the full glare of such a summer sun as, I am glad to say, we do not often get. The shade of the elm trees was very welcome, and, as usual, the cognoscenti assembled there and watched the play with keen in­ terest throughout.” One’s sympathies are certainly with “ Felix.” In A. Kenny, of South Melbourne, it is evident that Victoria have a batsman of very great possibilities. As far back as 1904-5 he represented the Victorian Juniors against those o f South Australia, scoring 5 and taking six wickets for 51, while in the following season against the Juniors o f New South Wales he made 6 and 75, hitting eleven 4’s in his second innings. For some seasons he has been identified with the South Melbourne C.C., and, without doing anything very remark­ able, has proved himself a useful all­ round man. In Pennant matches during 1908-9 he scored 28, 3, 14, 33, 39, 1, 5,18, 61 (v. Northcote), 88 not out (v. St. Kilda), 0, and 36, and during the present season (to January 8 th) 19, 70 (out of 95 whilst in, v. Prahran), 51 (in 37 minutes, v. Essendon), 15, and 162 (v. North Mel­ bourne in three hours and three-quarters, hitting nineteen 4’s). H is display in the last-mentioned match gained him a place in the State team, but in his first match for Victoria—against South Australia, at Melbourne—he did little, scoring only 7 and 27. In the first week of February, however, he played against Queensland, at Brisbane, and made 164 in his first innings and 100 not out in his second. As a batsman he is stylish, vigorous and safe, strong on the leg side and a fine square cutter. He is also a useful bowler, and during the last Christmas holidays took nine wickets for 58 runs for a Victorian Association Eleven against Bendigo. T h e r e are now seven instances of a player making two separate hundreds in a first-class match in Australia, the list being as follows :— Scores. Season. 116 l C. J. Eady, Tasmania v. Victoria, at *112 j H obart.................................................. 1894-5 *148 |D. R. A. Gehrs, South Australia v. *100 | West Australia, at Fremantle ... 1905-6 164 ] A. Kenny, Victoria v. Queensland, *100 [ at Brisbane................... ...' ........... 1909-0 105 ) J. R. M. Mackay, New South Wales *102 f v. South Australia, at Sydney ... 1905-8 142t A. C. MacLaren, England v. New 100 f South Wales, at Sydney.................. 1897-8 17G t M. A. Noble, New South Wales v. 123 i Victoria, at Sydney ... .................. 1907-S 182 ) V. S. Ransford, Victoria v. New South 1101 Wales, at Sydney . .......................... 1908-9 The feat has also been performed by two Australians whilst on tour in England :— 136 ) W. Bardsley, Australia v. England, 1301 at the O val......................................... 1909 109 j V. T. Trumper, Australians v. Essex, 119 J at Leyton ......................................... 1902 * Signifies not out. B. K o r t l a n o , who also played a three- figure innings in this month’s match between Victoria and Queensland, was for many years identified with the game in America, where he did very well both with bat and ball. He is, however, an Australian by birth and during the last few seasons has been playing in his native land, first in Sydney and now in Mel­ bourne. For the Balmain District C.C. in 1908-9 he had a batting average of 33‘40, and this season has been playing in Pennant matches in Melbourne for Essendon. “ F e l i x ” states that Warwick Arm­ strong’s “ stay in the perspiring climate of the East has brought him down to something like 17st. 61b.” May his shadow never grow less ! “ I am informed,” writes “ Old Boy ” in the Melbourne Argus, “ that there is a probability that John Worrall will be appointed to the position of the Victorian Cricket Association coach. There would be no more popular appointment, and the Association could hardly find a man more fitted to carry out the duties. Worrall was a member of two Australian elevens — he had an average of 35T2 in his tour in 1899, when he scored 1,202 runs—and for years he was captain of the Victorian Eleven. No one knows more about the game than he, and he has shown that he can impart his knowledge to others, and, after all, that is the great point. It is probable that the new coach will not be called upon to take up his duties till next season, though he might do some good work in the remaining two months of this summer.”