Cricket 1911

244 C E IC K E T : A W EEK LY EECOED OF THE GAME. J une 17, 1911. rank him just, below Hayward. I have not noticed a reference to the fact that every batsman scored double figures for Surrey in their match with Hampshire. So far as I am aware, this is only the tenth time in a Champion­ ship match in which the eleven batsmen have each run into double figures. Seldom too, has a side notched 499 runs without a century contribution. It was Hayward’s eighth century against Notts ; is this a record ? Yet Notts won the match, although none of their batsmen scored a talent-money innings, nor, for that matter, did the other ten Surreyites. Are our leading batsmen feeling the effect of this prolonged drought ? Yet if a batsman wants to keep in perfect health, he has but to score a succession of big innings under a tropical sun ; he will have no need for Antipon or even a Turkish Bath. With grounds red-hot well nigh, and as hard as adamant, fielding all the day long must be worse than the tread-mill. You can water the wickets, but not the entire playing field. When will the longed-for rain come ? Yorkshire and Worcestershire won both their matches last week, and Lancashire lost both theirs, Kent took only three points out of Hampshire, thanks to Remnant’s surprise century. Hut during the week Kent batsmen scored five centuries. I have already referred to Hardinge’s double triumph. I will simply add here that his has been a somewhat odd career. He had his first County trial match when he was only sixteen years old—just one match, and against Lancashire in 1902, when he scored 2 not out and 6 . Very little was seen of him until 1907 when in May he scored his first century— 129 against Sussex. In 1908 three centuries came from his bat— 127 against Derbyshire, and 153 and 126 against Essex. It is certainly very remarkable that his next century was his double of last week after an interval of three seasons. Will Kent play him regularly when Carr and Mason are available ? Whom of the present team are to be left out ? Yorkshire at present are keeping close to Kent’s heels, but Kent is our choice for the Cham­ pionship. No other county has so many sterling batsmen. Lancashire without Tyldesley, Surrey without Hayward, Yorkshire without Hirst, would be shorn of half their strength ; but Kent have at least half-a-dozen batsmen who at one time or another are certain to knock up a century. Hutchings may be off-colour, but that makes no difference. Just look at their match at Old Trafford ; Humphreys failed to score in the first innings, but Seymour quickly made that alright ; in the second innings Humphreys helped to win the match when no other batsman did much. Day got a century against Hampshire, but he did not play at Old Trafford. I don’t like contrasting the counties ; every county must play its own natural game. Yet at Southampton Kent scored 359 in three hours and a quarter, whilst at Trent Bridge Notts took 4 hours and a quarter to make 224. Of course one knows that Surrey’s bowling is stronger than Hampshire’s at the present time. But Kent score rapidly in all their matches. And the ex­ planation is their nursery at Tonbridge. If it be true, as stated by a Lancashire reporter, that Lancashire fielders missed no less than ten chances in the Kent match, and chances given by the batsmen who made big scores, then no wonder Kent beat th em ; and Lancashire deserved the thrashing they got. Down at the Oval I met an old friend who was present to support his own county, Hampshire. He told me a capital story which was quite new to me. The North were playing the South at Tunbridge Wells in 1875. (By the by, there were no less than seven North v. South matches played that year, viz., at Lords’, Prince’s, Nottingham, Hull, Huddersfield, Loughborough, and Tunbridge Wells.) It was reported that more than one of these matches was run by a publican as a speculation, W.G. being the great at­ traction. But let that pass : here’s the story. My friend’s memory is very exact, for he reminded me that in this match Allan Hill, the famous fast Yorkshire bowler, got the wickets of W.G., his brother Fred, and Oharlwood, the Sussex crack batsman at that time, in his first over. The match was arranged on a gala; style, and in an adjoining field were all sorts of amusements. Cocoa-nut shying was one. In the luncheon interval some of the players strolled into the field, Fred Morley, the left-hand bowler of Notts and M.C.C., being one of them. Morley at once paid a penny for three shies at the cocoa-nuts and brought down three nuts. A second penny had similar results. So had a third, a fourth, a fifth and a sixth. He never missed the mark once. The proprietor looked aghast ; things were getting desperate ; his entire stock of nuts would disappear. At last he exclaimed : “ I don’t know who you are, but you must be possessed. No more, thank you. Here, I ’ll give you half a crown and one nut and we’ll cry quits.” Needless to add that Morley was perfectly satis­ fied with the proposed terms ; as he said, he knew what to do with the money, but not with the eighteen nuts he had won. Soon after hearing this I strolled round the Oval during the interval. Imagine my surprise at seeing a conjuror standing on the path with a small table and a crowd of spectators on the terrace watching his manipula­ tion of coins which suddenly vanished. It was a very clever and most harmless entertainment, for which he re­ ceived a capful of coppers. But one did not expect to see it on a county cricket ground. Had he obtained permission ? I noticed that he left the ground before the game was re­ sumed : so evidently he was not on cricket bent. I should like to acknowledge the receipt of a budget from Ceylon, accompanied by a long letter from Mr. G. P. Foenander. I am very grateful to this unknown enthusiast. NORTHUMBERLAND v. DURHAM.—Played at Newcastle on June 5 and 6 and left drawn. Score and analysis :— 2 c Kinch, b Cairns ......... . 19 34 b Harrison ......................... . 22 96 c Bradford, b Cairns......... . 67 2 c Gore, b Harrison .......... . 7 93 b H en d ren ......................... . 0 74 c Harrison, b Hendren ... 58 24 st Gore, b H endren......... . 24 20 not o u t ................................. 5 0 not o u t................................. . 3 13 e Scott-Owen, b Cairns .. 1 27 Byes, &c........................ . 15 First innings. N orthumberland . F. Gillespie, c and b Cairns .......................... S. Nesbit, c Hendren, b Harrison.................. C.Stanger-Leathes, c Scott-Owen, b Harrison Norbury, c Gore, b Harrison .......................... J. Gilman, c Hendren, b Turnbull ........... Richardson, b Cairns.......................................... S. Anderson, c Brooks, b Cairns .................. Milne, b Hendren.................................................. T. Ullathorne, b Hendren.................................. Blsey, b Hendren .......................................... C. Skinner, not out .......................................... Byes, &c........................ ........... Total..................................387 *Innings declared closed. First innings. D urham . C. Brooks, b Skinner.......................................... 6 H. Brooks, c Ullathorne, b M iln e .................. 10 Harrison, b Skinner ................... .................. 5 not o u t ............ G. Gore, b M ilne.................................................. 3 Hendren, c Gillespie, b Norbury .................. 44 not o u t ............ C. Adamson, lbw, b Milne .......................... 30 b Norbury ... J. Turnbull, c Milne, b Skinner .................. 1 T. Bradford, c Anderson, b E lsey..................123 b M ilne........... A. Scott-Owen, c Anderson, b Gilman.......... 6 Cairns, b Elsey .................................................. 9 T. Kinch, not out.................................................. 49 b Norbury ... Byes, &c........................................ 17 Byes, &c. Second innings. Total (8 wkts)* ... 221 Second innings 62 21 11 22 Total ... ..........302 Total (3 wkts) .., , 222 First innings. N orthumberland . Second innings. O. M. R. W. O. M. R. W. Hendren... .......... 19 1 78 3 ................. ... 19 1 69 2 Cairns .......... 23 1 89 3 ................. ... 12 1 47 4 C. Brooks ..........• 7 0 75 0 ................... Harrison... .......... 22 1 95 3 ................. 13 1 63 2 Turnbull... .......... 5 0 23 1 .................. ... 5 0 27 0 First innings. D urham . Second innings. O. M. R. W. O. M. R. W. Skinner ... .......... 17 2 61 3 ................. ... 9 1 40 0 Milne .......... 18 2 64 3 ................. ... 13 1 55 1 Gilman ... .......... 13 0 61 1 ................... 5 0 33 0 Norbury... .......... 16 1 68 1 .................. ... 16 3 38 2 Elsey .......... 10 0 31 2 ................. ... 4 1 15 0 S. -Leathes ........................ ... 3 0 19 0 Elsey delivered one no-ball. SOUTHGATE v. LONDON HOSPITAL.—Played at Southgate on June 5. Score:— S outhgate . H. A. Milton, c Watson, b Herman L. Niederheitmann, c Clive-Smith, b Herman .................................. W. G. Walker, b Herman ........... N. Peterson, c Herman, b Moles- worth .......................................... W. R. Robertson, c Dew, b Herman A. G. Turner, c Dew, b Batchelor F. S. Lewis, c Dew, b Molesworth Rev. A. M. Bashford, b Batchelor W. J. Eales, b Molesworth ........... G. W. Cranfield, c Clive-Smith, b Batchelor.......................................... I. R. Hudson, not out ... ........... B 3, lb 1, nb 4 ................... L o n d o n H o s p it a l . J. H. Owens, c Peterson, b H udson 13 R. O. Dew, c M ilton, b H u d son ... 3 C. H. Herm an, b C ran field............ 26 A. Batchelor, b Robertson ............ 19 J. Chillingw orth, b Lew is ............ 9 W. M awson, run out ..................... 3 H. Clive-Sm ith, c Eales, b W alker 44 E. J. Powell, lbw , b T u rn e r.......... 1 C. Sm ith, st Eales, b Robertson 2 A. O. Watson, c Turner, b R obert­ son ........................................................ 10 W. M olesworth, not out ............ 7 B 8, lb 1, w 1 ................... 10 Total .......................147 Total ................197