Cricket 1911

98 C R IC K E T : A W EEK LY RECORD OE THE GAME. A p r i l 29, 19 1 1. © i r i t n cm j * M k . a . a s h b o l t . M r. A lfred Ashbolt, the sole selector o f the N ew Zealand team w hich toured Australia in 1899, died after a short illness at W ellin gton— his native place— on M arch 6th, aged 63. In his early days he was an enthusiastic club cricketer and in m ore recent times an um pire who was highly esteemed. H e was a life m em ber o f the W ellington Cricket A ssociation and the father o f Messrs. Frank and Leslie A shbolt, both o f whom have played for W ellington. M r . 0. E. GOODMAN. The death of Mr. Clifford Everard Goodman in Barbados on February 15th, at the early age of 40, removes from the scene perhaps the greatest bowler the West Indies have ever produced, Sydney Smith, of Trinidad and Northants, being the only man who can challenge comparison with him. Mr. Clifford Goodman, like at least two of his brothers, was educated at the Lodge School, Barbados, which has helped to form some of the best cricketers who have ever represented the island. On leaving school he joined the Pickwick Club, then quite recently organised, and assisted to make it the strongest side in Barbados. ‘ ‘ A fast bowler of deadly precision—young in years, but a giant in strength and stature.” So was the pen-picture of one who knew him well in those days. And thus Mr. H. A. Laurie, of New York, an old comrade, describes him in some verses that have the ring of sincere regret:— “ Six feet and some inches over, line head and dark wavy hair, His clean-shaven face mostly smiling, his big neck and chest always b a r e .................. I think of him first in the nineties, long and lanky and lean, Bowling all day without tiring— hitting his wickets clean, Cheery and chaffing and smiling, and swinging his great right a r m ................. And then at the last I can see him , heavy, hearty, and hale, Rolling around on the green field, like a fine old ship in full s a i l.................. Older and wily and wise, slower, yet tricky and true” ................. Mr. Goodman did not play in more than fourteen matches of first-class rank in all. Some may question the ranking of these, but one fancies the majority will agree that the principal matches in the West Indies deserve to be considered first-class. In these 14 matches he took as many as 122 wickets—32 in 1891-2, in two matches between Barbados and Demerara (otherwise British Guiana) and one game between Barbados and Trinidad ; eight in the single tournament game of 1893-4 ; 21 in two matches against the first English team in 1894-5 ; four in his one game in the 1895-6 tournament; and 57 in 1896-7, all but four of these (taken for Barbados v. Jamaica) in matches against the two English sides, Lord Hawke’s and Mr. A. Priestley’s, which visited the West Indies that season. His bowling analyses for the games in 1891-2 are not avail­ able ; but as the scores of the opposing sides were very small they must have been little short of sensational. In the first game of the three he had 15 wickets, his brother Percy took four, and the remaining batsman was run o u t; in the second he had seven, and Percy six ; in the third he took ten wickets, and also ran up 68 , his biggest score in a match of importance. The 90 wickets taken in first-clasr matches after 1891-2 cost him altogether only 1,148 runs, less than 13 each. For Barbados against Mr. R. S. Lucas’s Team he had 14 for 85 in the first match ; two years later against Mr. Priestley’s team he secured 36 for 291 in three matches for the island, and nine for 125 for an All West Indies eleven at Port of Spain. Trinidad ; but, later in the season, in two matches against Lord Hawke’s Team the eight wickets he took cost as many as 219 runs, and Mr. Pelham Warner thought he bowled a little too short. But it seems likely that he was not quite in his best form when Mr. Warner met him. He was undoubtedly a fine natural bowler ; and he had cultivated his gifts, using his head well, and varying pace and pitch, while he had a deadly yorker at command and broke in from the off in discon­ certing fashion. No bigger mistake was ever made by a selection committee than the leaving him out of the West Indian Team to England in 1900. He had put on weight considerably then, and may have been slightly past his best ; but in the club season of 1899-1900 he took 61 wickets at less than 1 1 runs each, which does not seem to make him out a 11 has-been.” There can be no doubt that he felt his exclusion ; he never cared to play in a big match afterwards, though he continued to play club cricket for a few years longer. His younger brother, Mr. Percy A. Goodman, was one of the leading members of both West Indian teams in England. Another brother, Mr. W. Evans Goodman, a capable bat and wicket-keeper, represented British Guiana after leaving Barbados in 1894 to take up planting in the Essequibo district; thence he went to Penang, in the Straits Settlements, where he died of typhoid fever less than a year ago, aged 36. On one occasion—for Barbados v. Trinidad in 1891-2—four Goodmans played for the home side, the fourth being Mr. G. Aubrey Goodman, senior to the other three, who captained the side. This gentleman is now Attorney-General of Barbados. One may conclude this inadequate notice of a great cricketer by some lines from the “ In Memoriam ’ ’ verses written by the same old friend already quoted :— “ Carry the dear big man to his g r a v e ................. He has played his last, last game on earth, Bat now we hear no shout. No! Silence, please, and bow your beads While Clifford is passing— ‘ out.’ ” J. N. P. M e . A . L . G R A H A M . 'With deep regret we announce that M r. Arthur L . Graham, one o f the best-known and m ost successful all-round Scottish cricketers o f recent years, died at B lackburn on Saturday last, at the early age o f 43, as the result o f a railway accident on the previous day. H e was a free run-getter, a good bow ler and a splendid wicket-keeper, whilst at short-slip he was probably without a superior in his ow n country. H e played several times for the W est o f Scotland against the East and had also appeared in representative matches against the Australians and the South Africans, but he will always be best rem em bered on account o f his connection with the G reenock C.C. H is best year was perhaps 1908, when he averaged 33 with the bat and took sixty-five wickets for 13’93 runs each, though in several other seasons he was almost as successful. Am on g his large scores m ay be m entioned 119 not out against the Edinburgh Australasians in 1906 and 135 not out v. Clydesdale in the following year. Mr. Graham was Principal o f the C ollegiate School at Greenock. C o l o n e l HAYGARTH. We regret to announce that Colonel Francis Haygartli, an elder brother of the late Mr. Arthur Haygarth, died in London on the 12th inst. He was for some time Colonel and Adjutant in the Scots Fusilier Guards, and was most dangerously wounded at the battle of the Alma. His early education was received from the Rev. Thomas Henderson, Hector of Messing, in Essex, where among his fellow-pupils was the late Hon. Robert Grimston. During his pupilage at Messing he and young Grimston played a local team—■ t wo against eleven—and beat them. Col. Haygarth was for many years a member of the M.C.C., but his appearances in the field for the club were very few. In 1842, however, he played against Harrow, on the Harrow ground, scoring 6 and 3 and being caught in his first innings by his brother Mr. Arthur Haygarth, who was a member of the School Eleven that season. For some years Col. Haygarth had been quite blind. M b . E . C. M IL N E R . M b . Edgar Charles M ilner, for m any years honorary secretary o f the East M olesey C.C., died at East M olesey on the UOth inst. in his 47th year. H e was a good forcing batsman and took a very great interest in m any kinds o f sport.