Cricket 1911

114 C E IC K E T : A W EEK LY EECOED OF THE GAME. M ay 6, 1911. kept by the father of Mr. A . S. Tabor, the old Cambridge B lu e.” “ H ow m any years were you in the E leven at E ton ? ” “ Three, and captain in m y last— 1885. It seems such a lon g tim e ago, and so m uch has happened since, that it is difficult to rem em ber m uch concerning the matches. But I kn ow that when I was captain H arrow beat us am idst the greatest excitem ent by three wickets tw o m inutes before time, and that six m embers o f the beaten side subsequently played in the U niversity m atch .” “ D id you not obtain your B lue as a Freshm an ? ” “ Y es, I did, and I played four years for Cam bridge, which is rather unusual. I never did m uch at L ord ’s, and only once got a hundred— against Yorkshire, on the U niversity ground— but the cricket was always most enjoyable, especially the out­ m atches. The gam es we played on tour are am ong m y happiest recollections o f cricket. A great deal o f enjoym ent, too, was to be derived from Zingari matches. But I Z. “ W eeks ” seem to have disappeared alm ost entirely, and I think it w ould be a very good thing if they could be worked up again.” “ D o you consider the gam e has changed in any respect during the past tw enty-five years or so ? ” “ Sometim es I think that perhaps cricket is not so m uch a gam e as it was. First-class cricket— at least, so it appears to m e— has becom e over-officialised, w h ich is a great pity, though perhaps it could not be helped. I quite agree with the H on . F. S. Jackson that there is too great a tendency to effect changes in the conduct o f the gam e, though I certainly think that everything that can be done to brighten cricket should be done, for i f you w ish the public to accord you support you must m ake it w orth their while to attend. A s long as a county awards talent-m oney, so long w ill it find it difficult to induce its professionals to play a bright game. The system o f awarding marks for good performances, the players being rewarded at the end o f the season in proportion to the number o f marks credited to them , is a far better arrangement. I f we had in Sussex a club sim ilar to the B and of Brothers, of Kent, w ith a branch for the younger players— called, I think, the B a-B ees— it would, I believe, do m uch good to cricket in the coun ty. T he one coun ty w h ich had a successful season last year was Kent. A ll the coun ty people take an interest in the side and support the Club, t h e .result being keenness and enthusiasm on the part o f the players. I am sanguine enough to believe that if the people o f Sussex gave sim ilar support— and I could instance several w ho should do so, but don’t— their team w ould benefit greatly and, o f course, the financial position o f the club w ould be sounder.” D id you favour the proposal to lim it first-class county m atches to tw o days in 1912 ? ” “ Personally, I thought it a very bad idea. W ith wickets as they are, and so m any three-day m atches drawn through lack o f tim e, I don’t see how one could expect m ore than a very occasional game to be played out in a couple o f days. It is perfectly true that people d on ’t' care to spend three days in w atching a cricket m atch : they prefer to see an hour and a -h a lf s football. A nd doubtless the charm s o f golf, by enticing m any people away, have done som ething to affect attendances at cricket matches. F.S.A .-C . BOOKS RECEIVED. The “ Athletic News "C ricket Annual. Edited by “ Tityrus.” Manchester: E. Hulton & Co., Ltd., W ithy Grove. Club Cricketers' Charity Fund. Official Handbook. 1911. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton & Kent, Ltd. Price, 3d. nett. The Derbyshire Cricket Guide for 1911. Compiled by L. G. Wright and W . J. Piper, jun. D erby: Bacon & Hudson, Colyear Street. Price, 2d.; post free, 3d. Hampshire County Cricket Guide fo r 1911. Southampton: Hants Advertiser Office. Price, 3d.; post free, 4d. The Norfolk Cricket Annual. Edited by C. B. L. Prior, Thorpe, Norwich. Price, 2d .; post free, 3d. Record o f Sports. 8th edition. Liverpool: Eoyal Insurance Co., Ltd., 1, North John Street. Gratis. THE M.C.C. TEAM IN THE W E ST IND IES. (Continued from page 96.) The recent tour of the M .C .C .’s Team in the W est Indies failed to attract as m uch attention as any previous visit o f Englishmen, the probable reason being that the side was adm ittedly weak. It was, in fact, only after considerable difficulty that the team was got together, some w ell-know n players whose presence w ould have been w elcom e not seeing their way to make the trip. It was a temptation o f fortune to embark on such a tour w ith only eleven m en, and the natural consequence occurred, the side having m ore than once to obtain the services o f substitutes or to bat short-handed. W hittington played several fine innings, especially at Bourda, whilst H earne was clearly the best bow ler and S. Gr. Sm ith the all-round m an o f the side. B rown, o f w hom a good deal had been expected, was very disappointing. O f the twelve m atches played the M .C .C .’s Team w on 4, lost 4 and drew 3, the remaining one resulting in a tie. The tourists scored 4,377 runs for 204 wickets (average 21*45) and their opponents 4,356 for ‘200 wickets (average 21*78). The side gave away 384 extras and received 355. I n B arbados :— v. Barbados, at Kensington.—Barbados won by an innings and 103 runs. v. Barbados, at Kensington.—Barbados won by an innings and 22 runs. v. West Indies, at Kensington.—M .C.C.’s Team won by five wickets. I n B ritish G u ian a :— v. British Guiana, at Georgetown.— M.C.C.’s Team won by 235 run?. v. West Indies, at Georgetown.—M .C.C.’s Team won by four wickets. v. A West Indian Eleven, at Georgetown.—Drawn. I n T rinidad :— v. Trinidad, at St. Clair. —Trinidad won by an innings and 77 runs, v. Trinidad, at St. Clair.—Trinidad won by seven wickets. I n J amaica :— v. Jamaica, at Kingston.—Drawn, v. Jamaica, at Kingston.—Drawn. v. Port Antonio, at Port Antonio.—M.C.C.’s Team won by 144 runs, v. Jamaica, at Kingston.—A Tie. T he B attin g and B ow lin g A verages . Times not Highest Inns. out. Total. Aver. Score. O. R. W. Aver Brown ^G.) ........... 23 1 348 15-81 36 117 447 10 44-70 D. C. F. Burton 19 0 339 17-84 57 D. S. G. Burton 18 5 149 11-46 38* H. L. Gaussen.......... 20 0 283 14-15 77 Hearne (J. W.) 22 2 349 17*45 56 424-5 1520 78 19-48 B. H. Holloway 18 0 443 24-61 100 S, G. Smith ... ... 23 4 613 32-26 81 310-2 868 48 18-08 A. C. Somerset 21 6 178 11-86 43 155-3 585 27 21*66 A. F. Somerset (capt.) 18 5 223 17*15 60 T. A. L. Whittington 22 3 685 36-05 154 Young (H.) ........... 21 2 298 15*68 73 226 552 29 19*03 Thefollowing substitutes also played: N. Grell .................. 2 0 42 21-00 25 L. Heath .................. 2 1 27 27-00 15 G. Liddlelow ........... 2 0 18 9*00 13 C. Simpson ........... 2 0 27 13-50 27 The following innings of 50 or more were played for the side:—D. C, F. B urton , 57 v. Trinidad at St. Clair and 51 v. Jamaica at Kingston ; H. L. G aussen , 77 v. A West Indian Eleven at Georgetown ; H earne (J. W.), 50 v. Barbados at Kensington and 56 v. Jamaica at Kingston ; B. H. H olloway , 71 v. West Indies at Kensington, 100 v. British Guiana at Georgetown and 59 v. Jamaica at Kingston; S. G. S mith , 55* v. Barbados at Kensington, 54* v. West Indies at Kensington, 59 v. West Indies at Georgetown, 52 v. Trinidad at St. Clair, 56* v. Port Antonio at Port Antonio and 81 v. Jamaica at Kingston ; A. F. S omerset , 60 v. A West Indian Eleven at Georgetown; T. A. L. W hittington , S6 and 154 v. British Guiana at Georgetown, 58 v. A West Indian Eleven at Georgetown and 115* v. Jamaica at Kingston; and Y oung (H.), 73 v. West Indies at Georgetown and 54 v. Port Antonio at Port Antonio. * Signifies not out.