Cricket 1911

C R IC K E T : a weekly record of th e g am e . MAY 6, 1911. "Together joined in CricKet’s manly toil.”— Byron. n o . 8 6 6 . v o l . x x x . SATURDAY, MAY 6, 1 9 1 1 . p r i c e 2 d. Chats on the Cricket Field. LORD WILLINGDON OF RATTON. PRESIDENT OF THE SUSSEX COUNTY CRICKET CLUB, M r . F r e e m a n - T h o m a s , the present L ord W illingdon was one of the best-known gentle- quently honorary secretary o f the H om e Counties Liberal Federation Association, a position which he resigned in 1895 m en cricketers in England about a quarter o f a on his appointment as A ide-de-Camp to L ord Brassey, G overnor H e played in turn for E ton, |o f Victoria. century ago. C a m b r id g e and Sussex, and it was a m ost unfortu­ nate thing for his county that m ore important duties should have restricted his appearances for it to twenty m atches betw een 1886 and 1890. W h en he was captain o f E ton— in 1885— he was summ ed - up adm irably in Lillyivhite in the follow ing w ords :— “ A n effective and stylish b a t; can score quickly and safely when not n ervou s; a useful lob - bow ler and excellent field.” H is m ost successful season was 1887, when he averaged over 40 runs an innings for C am ­ bridge and scored 114 against Y o r k s h i r e a t F e n n e r ’s. Several m embers o f his fam ily have played in im ­ portant matches. H is father, the late M r. F . Freem an- Thom as, was a m ost brilliant fieldsman and appeared a few times for Sussex between I860 and 1867, whilst his uncle, M r. H . E . Brand, afterwards second Viscount Hampden, also played for the county occasionally be­ tween the same dates. Other relations have appeared in their tim e for E ton and M .C.C., and it is m ore than likely that one o f his sons will be found playing for E ton at L o rd ’s this year. L ord W illingdon, w ho was born in 1866, is the grandson of the first V iscount H am pden, who, as Mr. Brand, was Speaker o f the H ouse o f C omm ons. A fter he attained his m ajority he became Assistant-Secretary to the Koval Comm ission for inquiring into the causes o f agricultural depression, and subse- Photo l>y\ LORD WILLINGDON. H e returned to England in 1898, and in 1900 became Liberal M .P. for Hastings, which constituency he represented for six years, until he was defeated, in 1906, by Mr. W . H arvey Du Cros. ^H ow ever, he was soon in Parliament again, being returned for the B o d ­ m in D ivision of Cornwall after M r. Agar-Kobartes had been unseated on petition. H e retired in January, 1910, and was subsequently raised to the Peerage. L ord W il­ lingdon is deeply interested in m ilitary affairs, and served in the M ilitia A rtillery for fifteen years. In 1901 he was transferred to the Sussex Im perial Y eom an ry, in which he holds the rank o f m ajor. H e m arried the H on. Marie Adelaide, daughter o f L ord Brassey. Speaking o f his days at E ton , L ord W illingdon rem a rk ed :— “ I was fortunate enough to be at E ton during the time M r. M itchell looked after the cricket. H e was a very great player in his day, and in m y opinion the best coach there has ever been. H e w ould visit the nets during practice and, after carefully watching a boy’s form , w ould draw attention to the weak points or errors in his cricket and probably take a bat in hand him self and show how the mistake should be rectified. F requently he would be helped by some o f the ju n ior masters, especially Mr. Austen-Leigh and Mr. A llcock, both o f w hom were good cricketers and anxiousthatthe boys should do well. B efore going to E ton I hadbeen at a school at Cheam , in Surrey, [G. <k R. Lavis, Eastbourne.