Cricket 1911

146 C R IC K E T : A W EEK LY RECORD OF THE GAME. M ay 13, 1911. author furnishes a very amusing account of the only cricket- match in which he ever took|part. It was at Cambridge, between two social clubs—the A.D.C. and the Athenaeum. After consenting to play, on condition that he was not obliged to field, he lay awake most of the night, and when the fateful moinentjarrived for him to go in felt faint and sick at heart.*' “ I was rigged out,” he says, “ in pads and gloves with india-rubber tyres to the fingers, and crept like a snail unwillingly to the wicket.............I had to face the bowling of Ivo Bligh. Trembling in every limb, I endeavoured to assume a defiant attitude, though I stood as edgewise as I could.” The bowler delivered the ball. ‘ ‘ It travelled along the ground very slowly ; I thought it would never reach me. Still, it was a cricket-ball, and it was aimed at me, and I felt duly conscious of my peril. The fag end of an advertisement concerning nervous debility came into my mind, I remember : ‘ And the patient ’ (who had not taken So-and-So’s Syrup) 1 turns his face to the wall and prays for death, which speedily ensues.’ Nearer, nearer came the ball. At last I felt the moment for action had arrived. I made a mighty blow at it, but as my ‘ willow ’ neared the turf the ball gave a pirouette like a graceful dancer, evaded my bat, and presently just tapped the middle stump. After a second or so of strong nervous tension I saw the bails fall to the ground, and I knew I was a free man. I never enjoyed a meal more than the luncheon that followed this terrible experience.” T h e sequel was not less interesting. “ Next day I walked up to Fenner’s and found the scoring book un­ guarded. I felt the 0 looked somewhat insignificant, so I inserted some ones and twos and made my score up to ten, making a corresponding alteration in the total of the innings. Anyone who has Lillywhite’s Guide (Calendar, or whatever it is called) for 1878 (I think that was the year) will see that I ‘ played in one match, made 10 runs— annual average 10 .’ ” I n C. G. Tomlin, of Uppingham, and W. B. Franklin, of Repton, Cambridge has two of the best school wicket­ keepers of recent years. Neither is much of a bat, however ; and it must be remembered that N. C. Tufnell is still eligible, though possibly he may not be available. Among the batsmen F. H. Knott and I. P. F. Campbell, at Oxford, and S. H. Saville, at Cambridge, are all men who have won their spurs in county cricket. It was L. D. Womersley, the freshman of this year, not A. I). Womersley, his elder brother, who played for Essex in 1910, though the daily papers and “ Wisden ” all gave “ A. D.” Both are Marlburians, and both good batsmen ; the younger has an additional claim to notice in the fact that he is also quite a useful bowler, varying his pace and flight with considerable judgment. C r ic k e t professionals as a rule do not appear to concern themselves much with what may be described as cricket politics. Sydney Santall, of Warwickshire, is an exception to this generalisation. He has been one of the foremost upholders of the plan now spoken of as the York­ shire scheme, under which two-day matches would be played, with every first-class county meeting all the others. Something of the sort was suggested before he advocated it, no dou b t; but at the last general meeting of the War­ wickshire Club the chairman, Mr. G. H. Cartland, gave Santall the credit for helping to initiate reform. S a n t a l l was for over five years at the King’s School, Peterborough, and when he first appeared in county cricket it was for his native shire, Northants, as an amateur. This was in 1891. It was in 1894, the year of the county’s promotion, that he first began to assist Warwickshire, for whom he has done splendid service ever since. He is not one of the sensational players ; but match after match and year after year he goes on doing good steady work, and, though his pace is a trifle slower than it was, has been in the last three or four seasons a more effective bowler than ever. S om e years ago he compiled and published two capita little books— “ Ten Years of First-Class Cricket in England’ and 1 ‘ Warwickshire as a First-Class County ” —well got-up, clearly printed, and full of accurate statistical informa­ tion. One had a foreword by Mr. H. W. Bainbridge, the other by Mr. C. B. Fry. Santall has now in the press a complete history of Warwickshire cricket, from its earliest days, which will be published very shortly at a popular price. O n a notice board in a Glasgow recreation ground this warning has been painted :— ‘ ‘ Children’s Playground. No Games Permitted.” C o n g r a tu la to n s are due to Sir John Talbot Dillwyn Llewelyn, 1st. Bart., upon the occasion of his golden wedding on Sunday last, he and Lady Llewelyn having been married on May 7th, 1861. Sir John was a useful all-round cricketer in his time, and has done much for the game in South Wales. He was father of the late Mr. W. D. Llewelyn, of the Eton and Oxford Elevens, and has been a member of the M .C .C . for forty years. S e v e r a l well-known cricketers took part in last Saturday’s League cricket in the North of England, but in only one case with pronounced success. For Nelson against Todmorden Hallam obtained eight wickets for 14 runs. In his eighth over he bowled two men, with the fourth and fifth balls. The last ball of the over was barren of result, but with the first two and last three of his suc­ ceeding over he took wickets, thereby performing the hat- trick, and taking five wickets in six balls and seven in nine. Llewellyn made his first appearance for Accrington, against Bacup, scoring 30 and taking two wickets for 41, whilst for Porthill v. Tunstall Barnes made 41 and obtained four for 9. On the same day Hirst and Rhodes turned out for Kirkheaton against Huddersfield: each scored 22, but whereas the former took six wickets for twelve runs, Rhodes’ four cost 45. B. B. W ilso n , the Yorkshire cricketer, was in fine batting form for Scarborough against Beverley on Saturday last. He scored 62 out of 84 in an hour and a-quarter, hitting two 5’s, both run out, five 4’s and two 3’s. At Lord’s this week he played a brilliantly hit innings of 87 against the M.C.C. Hitherto he had been regarded as a very steady player, and his form at headquarters on Monday accordingly came as a surprise. He was missed quit® early—but that does not do away with the fact that he hit splendidly, his best strokes being the off-drive and a hit from outside the off stump to square-leg. He appears to us to be a very likely candidate for a place in this year’s Trial matches. Mr. T. A. D. B e v in g t o n , who played occasionally for Middlesex a few years ago, has been elected vice-captain of the Telegram C.C., of Winnipeg. This club , by the way, —according to a report which has reached us—boasts that the first six men of their side weigh 1,200 lbs. A u b r e y F a u l k n e r , p ro b a b ly the w o r ld ’s g reatest all-rou n d crick eter at th e p resen t tim e, has d e cid e d to settle d ow n in A u stralia, n o t, h ow ever, u n til a fter the T rian gu lar con test, a n d perh ap s n o t fo r tw o o r th ree years. From the London Daily Chronicle :— The Mid-Pacific Magazine is published at Honolulu. It recently had an article on Australian sports in which there were some severe comments on the universality of gambling in the Commonwealth. By way of showing the wicked totalisator at work a picture of a big board on the Melbourne Ciicket Ground was given with various figures opposite the names of Clement Hill, Victor Trumper, Bardsley, and other famous cricketers engaged in an international match. The writer or artist mistook the scoring- board for a gambling machine. A veteran -—in the cricket sense—was well to the fore last Saturday in a match beyond the Tweed. We refer to Mr. H. J. Stevenson, the lob bowler, who obtained nine wickets of the Royal High School for Academicals for 35 runs. It is a good