Cricket 1911

210 CEICKET: A WEEKLY RECOED OF THE GAME. J une 3, 1911. scores. His innings of 130 v. Oxford last week lasted only two hours, and included two sixes, seventeen fours, and only one chance, given after he had reached three figures. This is pretty good going, all will admit. It is curious that the Worcester captain’s only previous century in first-class cricket should also have been for the County against the Dark Blues— 105, in 1908, when he hit up his runs in 80 minutes. The Guide to Cricketers, which will appear in a few days, is guilty of one omission. It may not be the only one ; but this particular one is not the compiler’s fault. It is due to excess of modesty on the part of Charles George Alfred Collier, one of the new men lately tried by Worcester­ shire. Collier stated that he was “ no bow ler” ; but against Oxford he took five wickets for 75, which looks at least useful. One hopes that he will take many more. By birth, if not by “ persuasion,” Collier is a Scot. He was born at Banff, N.B. (North Britain, not nota bene) in August, 1886. His comrade, Conway, who is a fast bowler, hardly seems good enough as yet to fill Dick Burrows’ shoes. For that matter, Richard’s shoes are not likely to need filling for some time to come ; it was a strain that kept him out of the Yorkshire match, not any wish on the part of the Committee to play Conway in his stead. D e f e a t s at the hands of Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Middlesex have severely discounted Lancashire’s chances of the Championship. One hopes that the injury to Mr. A. H. Hornby will not keep him long out of the field. There are plenty of good sportsmen among county captains, but Mr. Hornby stands out as a conspicouus example— always thinking of his side, never of his own personal suc­ cess, hitting his lustiest or stonewalling according as the state of the game calls for attack or defence, and working hard and unflinchingly in the field. W a l t e r B r e a r l e y is another of the real workers. He sent down as many as 49 overs in the Middlesex innings at Lord’s, and, though punished at times, had six wickets for 162. What a pity it is he cannot play regularly ! There is something of the heroic in the man who can stick to it like this, though, of course, fine physical condition and high animal spirits play their parts also. F o r t u n e has not been kind to the Lancastrians of late. At Lord’s, it is true, they were happy enough to receive the assistance of Messrs. Spooner and Brearley for the first time this year, but, on the other hand, accidents kept John Tyldesley and Alfred Hartley out of the side. Worsley had already been placed hors de combat this season, and during the Middlesex innings Mr. A. H. Hornby tripped over the netting on the boundary and fell with such force that he was for a time unconscious. The total of 456 made by Middlesex, by the way, is the largest ever obtained by the county off Lancashire bowling. T h e recent successes of the brothers Litteljohn for Middlesex should be tidings of joy to the hundreds of London club cricketers to whom these two sterling players are well known. E. S.’s 105 is only his second century for the county ; but he has made a lot of runs for the team at one time or another. A. I?., however, has had up to this year the wretchedest of luck in his appearances for his native shire. Never once had he got going ; his highest score in the course of over a dozen innings was 14 ; and his average was under five ! Yet, for Hanwell Asylum last year his figures were 21 innings, twice not out, total 1,336, average 70-31, highest score 120 . A n y o n e who had ever seen him bat must have recog­ nised that this form was untrue. There are big scorers in club cricket who never would make first-class players, but A. R. L. does not strike one at all as being one of them. His innings of 71 not out v. the M.C.C. proved that he can hold his own against first-class bowling, if there was ever any real doubt of that. But more remarkable than his batting success, which was bound to come sooner or later if he went on playing, is his consistently good form with the ball, and the destruction he has worked with bowling that one or two critics have hinted “ has really nothing in it.” I n three matches—v. M.C.C., Kent and Lancashire— he has taken 36 wickets at a cost of only 434 runs, a really great record. Mr. Warner, than whom no one is in a better position to judge, writes of him in the “ Westminster Gazette ’ ’ thus : “ He kept a length that would have done credit to an Attewell or an Alfred Shaw, and though he did not turn the ball much, occasionally one came off the wicket at a great pace and came straight on with a lot of top spin on it, when the batsman was, perhaps, looking for the ball to turn slightly for leg.” For Hanwell last year he obtained fifty-five wickets for 10-50 runs each. Two other amateur bowlers who have never hitherto done anything big are spoken of in Mr. Warner’s notes. Of Mr. E. L. Kidd (who took 8 for 49 in the second innings of Sussex at Cambridge) he says : 1 ‘ The secret of his success was that Mr. Cowie, in his follow-up after delivering the ball, had cut the wicket up, and there was a big worn patch just on the leg stump and the right length for a leg-break bowler.” Then : ‘ ‘ Mr. A. P. Day ” —8 for 49, Kent v. Middlesex— “ bowls fast medium right-hand, has a nice high action, and occasionally turns the ball back. He comes off the ground quickly, and keeps a good length ; but, well as he bowled, he was rather flattered by the weakness of most of the Middlesex batsmen.” O n e may note in passing that the conditions which suited Mr. Kidd—who was given singularly few chances with the ball for Cambridge last year—are exactly what Joe Vine needs. Now and then the sturdy player from Willingdon takes three or four wickets pretty quickly towards the end of a match : and some people may wonder why in the next match his captain makes no use of him as a bowler at all. For one great year, some time back now, Vine was a first, or first change, bowler. He is no longer that, but-there are times when, favoured in the manner indicated, he can still do useful work. I t is scarcely likely that the younger Day will ever again go through a first-class side as he went through Middlesex ; but neither he nor Mr. Hutchings is to be despised as a bowler. On a weaker side both would probably • send down their two or three hundred overs a year, if playing regularly. S id n e y B a r n e s continues to do well for Porthill in the North Staffordshire League. On Saturday he took seven wickets for 19 runs in a total of 68 and scored 36 against Longton, who were beaten by 91. On the same day, in a match in the same competition between Fenton and Leek, George Deyes, the ex-Yorkshire player, obtained an analysis of seven for 15. A v e r y worthy professional met with a slice of bitter bad luck last Thursday. The thing happened at Chester­ field. Booth bowled a full pitch ; Cadman ducked to get out of the way of i t ; it hit the back of his neck, and the umpire gave him out l.b.w. Afterwards the crowd behaved in no very polite manner to the umpire. One has no sympathy with the crowd, but plenty of it for Samuel Cadman. No doubt Atfield was right. But it was very hard lines, all the same. A c u r i o u s incident happened at Leicester last week, in the first innings of the home side against Kent. Coe hit a ball straight back to Fairservice, who touched it, and it hit C. J. B. Wood’s wicket. Wood appeared to be out of his ground, and there was an appeal, but the umpire had turned to avoid the ball and could not give a decision. T im (beg pardon !—Ernest Harry) Killick, the man with the wonderful record of consecutive appearances for Sussex, has started this season in far better form than he showed last year. Up to Saturday last he had scored 310 runs in six innings, which is quite good enough to be going on with. He made more runs than anyone else on the side at Coventry, and was second only to Joe Vine in