Cricket 1911

24 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. Feb. 23 , i g n . H. 6RADIDGE C r i c k e t : A W E E K L y R E CO R D OF TH E GAME. 168, UPPER THAMES STREET, LONDON, E.C. THURSDAY, FEB. 2 8 r d , 1911. ^ p a M l i o i t f f i n s s t p - The abstract and brief chronicle of the time. — Hamlet. T h e r e was nothing very notable in the return between V ictoria and the South A fricans, except F aulkner’s bow ling and N ourse’s batting. W arne. as in the first m atch, m ade the biggest individual score for the State. K ortlang failed at a time when success m ight have paved the way to a place in the Australian team : he m ade oniy 10 in the m atch, Ransford only 11, and Parsons, played for his bow ling, was the on ly m an on the side w ho scored few er than these two batsmen. S om e prom inence deserves to be given to the fact that F . Pitcher, o f the Colling- w ood Club, whose first appearance it was in im portant cricket, was no-balled for throw ing. In Pennant matches in M el­ bourne during 1909-10 he took forty-five wickets for 14-50 runs each, dismissing m ore m en in the competition than any other player. H is batting average in the same games was 20'44. During the 1909-10 season he was included in the V ictorian team which played against odds at B endigo and Castlemaine, and, as he utilised his lim ited opportunities by taking three wickets for 22 runs, one m ay conclude that he justified his presence in the side. T h e fourth Test m atch in Australia has falsified M. A . N oble’s prophecy that the South Africans would pull o ff the rubber. The postponem ent o f the game rem inds one o f the first Test o f Mr. M acLaren’s 1897-8 campaign, when wet weather allowed Ranjitsinhji, who had been prostrated by quinsy, and could not possibly have played had the game been begun on the day fixed, to take his place in the team , and to score 175. This later m atch w ill always have sad m em ories for cricket. “ B illy ” M urdoch, the hero o f a hundred fights, perhaps as great a batsman and as great a captain as Australia ever produced, and certainly as keen and genuine a cricketer as ever w ore flannels, was taken ill in the pavilion during its course, and died a few hours later. Biographies o f him , as w ell as o f another fine Australian bats­ man, lately passed over to the great m ajority, H arry Graham, appear in another part o f the paper. The ranks o f the earlier Australian teams are thinning. B oyle, M idwinter, Palmer, M cD onnell, Scott, Ferris, R . W . M cL eod, all have gone, and now , within a week or two of one another, tw o who never played in a match on the same side, though they played on opposite sides, follow them . I t was hard luck for the Afrikanders that L lew ellyn should have his hand hurt. V ogler’s damaged hand, which seem s to have troubled him for some time, also told against their chances. Sherwell did a plucky and sportsman­ like thing in taking the risk o f putting Australia in first. The chance did not com e off, but that was not his fault. I f South Africa had batted first, it is likely enough they would have made no more than h alf the runs that Australia did, for they took their innings on a wicket which must have improved, and yet fell behind their opponents. The rubber has been lost, but few w ill be found to deny that the visiting side has acquitted itself with credit, and one hopes that victory in the fifth m atch will com e to it by way o f a consolation. R . O. L a g d e n , the cricket B lue, played for Oxford against Cambridge at hockey yesterday at Beckenham . M b . A. C. D en ham , o f Huddersfield, draws m y attention to the fact that an anecdote of “ W .G .’ ’ is to be found in the ninth chapter o f the recently published “ F rom Constable to C om ­ m issioner,” by L ieut.-C ol. Sir H en ry Sm ith, Ii.C .B . It is as fo llow s: “ About the year ’75 the C ity Police had a w onderful eleven, captained by Tillcock, who, before donning the blue and gold, had played for his county. So good were they that ‘ W .G .,’ then in the very zenith o f his fame, took an interest in them , and got together a side to play them at the Oval. Grace having w on the toss, Tillcock took his m en into the field, and in the very first over clean bow led the cham pion, who took his defeat with great good humour. A s he walked back to the pavilion, calling the sergeant up to him , he sa id : ‘ Can all bobbies bowl like you ? ’ ‘ F ar better, sir,’ said Tillcock : ‘ I'm about the worst o f the lot.’ ” L o r d D a lm e n y has taken the oath as a magistrate for Buckingham shire. O v e r 400 clergy and m inisters o f other denom inations recently attended at Oxford T ow n H all the 35th annual m issionary breakfast given by Canon Christopher, o f the Cambridge E leven o f 1843, which beat Oxford— at B ullingdon— by 54 runs. The Canon has been for m any years a venerated clergym an in Oxford, where from 1859 to 1905 he was rector o f St. A ldate’s. Previous to becom ing a curate at R ichm ond 60 years ago, he was Principal o f L a Martiniere, Calcutta. H e is now in his ninety-first year, and is one of the “ Grand Old M en ” o f the Church o f England, M r. J o se p h M a k in so n , B .A ., w ho is in his 75th year, has intimated his intention o f resigning the position, which he has held since 1878, o f stipendiary magistrate o f the borough o f Salford. Mr. Makinson, who was called to the Bar in 1864, and practised for som e time on the Northern Circuit, was, in his younger days, a noted cricketer. W hilst at Cambridge he was a m ember o f the University E leven for three years, and also appeared for the Gentlemen against the P layers and in the Lancashire C ounty E leven. P er­ haps the best of his m any fine innings was his 104, against Jackson, Tarrant and W illsher, at Manchester in 1860. A g r e a t m any followers o f the game w ill be sorry to hear that Mr. E rnest R . W ard w ill soon be giving up the conduct o f the sporting pages o f the Observer. One m ay not always have seen eye to eye with him , but he always played with a straight bat and cricket journalism will be rendered m uch the poorer by the discontinuance o f his articles. J. N a sh , the Cardiff professional, has accepted a tem pting offer to jo in one o f the Lancashire League clubs. F or Glam organ last season he obtained over a hundred wickets, his best performance being in the m atch against Somerset at Cardiff, when he took seven for 74 in Used by all the Leading Players. Made la Mil l, ■mail M » i, n Oallaga, C, I, 4, A I P r i c e U s t t F r e e o n ▲ p p ll c a t l o m . Of all First-Class Outfitters and Dealers. And SONS, M a n u f a c t u r e r s o f >11 Requisites for Cricket, Lawn Tennis, Racquets, Hockey, Football, and all British Sports. PATENTEES AND SOLE MAKERS OF THE Rebl&dlng a Speciality. P a c t o r y ; A rtillery P lace . WOOLWICH.