Cricket 1911

158 CE ICKET : A W EEK LY EECOED OF THE GAME. M ay 20, 1911. something like a record. From 1902 to 1908 he played 72 innings for the school, aggregated 2,336 runs, and averaged m arly 36. His highest score was 256, against Ipswich School in 1908, when he and C. J. H. Treglown, one of his comrades in the Norfolk team last year, added 325 for the third wicket, Treglown’s share being 117. Before he was sixteen the youngster had figured in the County team, playing against the Free Foresters in 1906 He failed to score then ; but in 1907 he fairly proved his worth, making 388 in 17 completed innings, with a highest score of 134. But 1908 was his great year. For the school he ran up 1,068 runs and averaged 97 ; for the county he made 819, and averaged 63 ; in all matches he scored 2,822, with an average of 68 ! Thirteen times he ran into three-figures. Among his scores for the county were 170 not out v. Cambs. at Norwich, 118 i.ot out v. Herts, also on the Lakenham ground, 100 not out v. Beds, at Bedford. 84 v. Suffolk at Norwich, and 68 v. Cambs. at Cambridge. He made more runs than any other two men on the side, though the batting generally was pretty strong, half-a-dozen players averaging over 29. It was weaker in the following year, and there is no doubt that a great deal too much responsibility fell upon the shoulders of the youthful crack. A boy fresh from school, he was looked to for a big score every time he went in ; and if he failed the whole side was apt to do so. He began well with 89 v. Suffolk at Woodbridge, and Norfolk won ; he did nothing against Herts, at St. Albans, and Norfolk went down for 53 and 39, and lost in an innings. He made four in the first innings v. Cambs. at Newmarket, and the side slumped for 39 ; he made 33 in the second, and the total rose to 154, which, however, was not nearly enough to avert a heavy defeat. Against Suffolk at Lakenham his 83 and 30 not out represented nearly half the runs from the bat, and Norfolk won easily. With 21 and 44 he was top scorer in each innings against the Harrow Wanderers; he did little in the next three matches, but came into his own again v. Cambs. at King's Lynn, making 104 in capital style, he and Mr. A. K. Watson (Harrow and Oxford) adding 116 for the second wicket, the best partnership of the year for the county. Then he failed against Lincolnshire at Lincoln, and the side failed too. His total was 531, his average 29*50—good figures for a player of eighteen, but comparing unfavourably with what he had done in 1908. Last year, it must be admitted, he disappointed his friends for a time. It mattered less, because Mr. Raikes was frequently in the team, and Mr. Raikes is a strong pillar to lean upon. But it must have been sad to see Geoffrey Stevens cramping his great driving powers by excessive devotion to the two-eyed stance, and missing the chance of driving for four in order to glide for two’s and three’s. Scores of 0 and 1, 10 and 30, 5 and 8 , 0 and 2, 26—these were not like the Geoffrey Stevens of 1908! Confidence in himself seemed lost, and yet he continued his mistaken tactics. But a batsman so brilliant as he must make runs sooner or later, even when working on wrong principles. Against Notts Second at Trent Bridge he scored 66 and 39, in the first innings v. Durham at Sunderland 49, and against Suffolk at Ipswich 87 and 22, more than twice as many as anyone else on the side made. Then came the cricket week at Lakenham. The crowd there is not so thick as at Canterbury, Cheltenham, or Tonbridge; but still the cricket week means much to Norfolk enthusiasts, and it must have been delightful to them to see their county beat Notts Second, Cambs., and Beds, in succession by heavy margins. Only in one of these games (against Cambs., when he made 74) did Stevens show to much advantage, however. W ith six wins outright, two wins on the first innings, and two losses—36 points in a possible 50—Norfolk just beat Suffolk for the leadership of the North and East division, and had to meet Berkshire — leaders of the South and West, with 45 points out of 50—to decide the championship. It was a big slice of luck to have choice of ground; it was a bigger one that in this match Geoffrey Stevens should come back to his best form. He eschewed the two-eyed stance. “ Little by little” — one quotes from the Norfolk Cricket Annual — “ the left shoulder seemed to get more and more forward, and as a result all balls bowled to him began to be dealt with on their merits. The balls that were short of length on the off were sent to the boundary in front of or behind point with tremendous power. The over-pitched ball was driven hard along the ground instead of being merely pushed back with the arms, and yet all balls that invited punishment on the leg side received adequate treatment. Further, as the innings progressed, this style became more and more assured, till even the good length ball was driven frequently along the ground to the boundary.” He batted 3 hours 40 minutes, scored 201 without a real chance, and hit 30 fours. His best aid was his brother, “ N. W .,” who made 57, and helped him to add 88 for the eighth wicket. No one else scored more than 30 ; Raikes, Falcon, Birkbeck, Thurgar and Treglown—who, in their season’s averages should have been worth ISO among them—aggregated only 72; so that for a long time the young batsman was playing practically a lone hand. But he came through the ordeal triumphantly, and Norfolk beat Berkshire by an innings and 150, and annexed the championship, last won by them in 1905. A total of 679, an average of 29*73, were Stevens’s full figures for the season. They fail to do him justice ; but that grand double century compensated for all previous shortcomings. It was such an innings as one seldom has the chance to see ; and the man capable of it should be capable of almost anything. Up to last season Stevens had never found a place in the field to suit him when playing in the county team, and was looked upon as an indifferent field at best. Then he was tried at first slip, and the result was magical. Tall, active, and keen, he took nearly everything that came near him, and in fourteen matches brought off 22 catches, some of them really brilliant efforts. Mr. Stevens stands just over six feet in height, and is powerfully built. In his best form he makes full use of both height and strength, and his great special stroke goes between cover and extra-cover like a bullet from a gun. He acknowledges gratefully his indebtedness to the coaching of George Rye, a rare good player for the county in his time, and an excellent coach in later years. In July and August of 1908 the Eastern Daily Press had a special place reserved, with the heading: “ G\ A. Stevens Day by Day.” That heading may be needed again in the near future! J. N. P. WANDERERS v. HAMPTON WICK.— Played at Hampton Wick on May 11. Score :— T he W anderers . H ampton W ick . Stanley Colman, c Burlington, S. A. Miles, b Bradley 0 b G ra b um ........................... 36 W. T. Graburn, c Bridger, b J. U. C. Watt, c Sivers, b Stoll 15 Bradley ........................... 1 P. G. Gale, c Sivers, b Heard 20 W. O. Stoll, c de Saram, b T. C. Stafford, c Heard, b Bradley ............................ 1 W h ite .................................... 60 H. C. P. Westley, not out .. 50 S. Stafford, c White, b Miles. . 23 R. J. Sivers, b Bridger 1 S. de Saram, run out 3 R. J. Burlington, c Bridger, b A. M. Latham, c Farquharson, Bradley ................... 0 -b Miles.................................... 17 C. L. Gamble, b Bradley 5 L. C. Dolan, st Gamble, b W. Farquharson, b Bridger.. 2 W h ite.................................... 0 H. S. Heard, b Bridger. . 0 C. P. Hurditch, c Westley, b D. White, b T. C. Stafford . . 15 M ile s .................................... 0 H. Mann, c Watt, b de Saram 1 E. J. Bridger, run out 10 B 19, lb 2 ................... 21 W. M. Bradley, not out . 0 — B 11, lb 5, nb 1 17 Total ................... 97 T o t a l ................... *201 WANDERERS v. ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S HOSPITAL.—Played at Winchmore Hill on May 13. Score :— S t. B a r t h o lo m e w ’s H o s p it a l. A. J. Waugh, run out .. . . 12 R. M. Barrow, st Behrend, b W e lls ....................................46 A. G. Turner, c & b Crawford 12 E. Brash, c Parsons, b Craw­ ford ....................................26 R. H. Williams, c Stafford, b C r a w fo r d ........................... 12 R. T. Vivian, b Crawford . . 0 E. G. Dingley, c Parsons, b Sm ith ....................................20 H. J. Bower, b Crawford . . 0 W. Broughton Alcock, bSmith 15 It. O. Bridgeman, st Behrend, b Crawford........................... 5 T. Owen, not o u t ................... 0 B 12, lb 6, nb 1 . . . . 19 T o t a l ...................167 T h e W a n d e r e r s . Stanley Colman, st Alcock, b Waugh ........................... 45 A. G. Parsons, c Dingley, b Turner....................................11 L. S. Wells, b Turner .. .. 7 P. G. Gale, run o u t ................. 9 S. Stafford, not out...............28 R. T. Crawford, c Williams, b B ow er................................... 4 6 A. L. Sloper, lbw, b Turner.. 4 A. “ Smith ” b Bower .. . . 3 B 13, lb 7....................... 20 Total (7 wkts). . . 1 7 3 O. Taylor, A. H. Behrend, and D. F. Moore did not bat. G E O R G E L E W I N «S (Established 1869.) Club Colour Specialists &Athletic Clothing Manufacturers OUTFITTERS BY APPOINTMENT To the M.C.C. West Indian X I., 1911 ; M.C.C. South African XI., 1909-10 ; the Australians, 1896, 1899 and 1902 ; Mr. Stoddart’s XI., 1S94-1S95, 1897-1898 ; Mr. MacLaren’s XI., 1901-1902; West Indian XI., 1900 and 1906 ; South African XI., 1901 and 1907 ; and M.C.C., Lancashire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex Counties, Wanderers, Stoics, Bromley, Sutton, and all Public Schools’ Old Boys’ Clubs, and Queen’s Club.—Write for E stim ates F r e e . WORKS CAMBERWELL. Telephone: P .O . Oity 607. 8, CROOKED LANE, MONUMENT, LONDON BRIDGE, E.C.