Cricket 1911

J u l y 8 , 1911. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 319 Mb. E v a n s has had less to bear with than his rival, though he has not lacked advice gratis. Everybody looked upon that brilliant old Tonbridgian, Mr. F. H. Knott, as a certainty for a Freshmen’s blue ; but that is not to say that his captain was wrong in withholding it. Mr. Knott, whether the cause was trouble with his eyes, over-anxiety, or anything else, has not done himself full justice ; but he ought to be a tower of strength to Oxford next year. anent the Perthshire v. Forfarshire matches. Perhaps no Southron should venture to tread such dangerous ground ; but it really does seem regrettable that the ob­ duracy of the Forfarshire club should cause these matches —among the best of the Scottish season, if not the very best—to fall through. The Scottish Counties Board have fixed dates, but Forfarshire refuses to play on those dates unless their demands in regard to the matches next year are met. Mb. H e n r y B r o u g h a m was born at Wellington College on July 8th, 1888, and educated at the place of his birth. He was in the school eleven for at least three seasons, possibly more, but there is a big hiatus in the Wellington averages in Wisden, and at the moment we have no other means of getting at the facts. In 1907 he headed the averages with a total of 440 in nine completed innings. But two years earlier he had made his mark in county cricket, taking a century for Berkshire v. Oxford­ shire at Beading in 1905. He played in the Freshmen’s match at Oxford in 1908, and in the Seniors’ matches of 1909, 1910 and 1911, but did nothing vey notable in any of them. His first real success in an Oxford trial was of as recent date as the beginning of last month, when he scored 58 and 54 for Mr. J. L. S. Vidler’s X I. v. Mr. A. G. Pawson’s X I. No doubt his form then was chiefly respon­ sible for his being marked out for trial; but doubtless, too, Mr. Evans was aware that he scored well for his county in 1910, making, among other scores, 138 v. Devonshire at Exeter. I t is p o ss ib le , t o o , t h a t g o o d w o r k in th e d e e p -fie ld h e lp e d t o g a in h im h is b lu e . H is b a t t in g is o f th e fr o n t-o f- th e -w ic k e t t y p e , m o s t o f h is ru n s c o m in g fr o m lu s ty d riv e s . T h e current number of the ‘ 1Windsor Magazine ” contains a capital article by Mr. P. B. Le Couteur on ‘ ‘ The Psychology of Cricket.” Bead it, if you want to know how a batsman feels at the wicket, or if you are interested in the bowling of the googly. D o u b t l e s s the eleventh-hour choices will come in for some criticism. But both Mr. Altham and Mr. Brougham are excellent players. It is probable that the general public, because of its lack of interest in second-class county cricket, does not realise quite how good the Berkshire man is. The old Beptonian, having played for Surrey, is better appreciated, though he has not yet proved as big a scorer in first-class cricket as his promise at school suggested. A well-informed correspondent in Scotland writes :— ‘ ‘ Forfarshire’s refusal to play on the dates arranged by the Scottish Counties Board may end in a manner they little dream of. It may mean the undoing of Forfarshire. T h e “ Staffordshire Sentinel ” of a recent date gives a full and interesting account of S. F. Barnes’s career as a Staffordshire player. One need feel no surprise that Barnes refused the invitation given to him to take part in the trial match at Lord’s, for on the first of July his club, Porthill, were meeting Knypersley in a match set apart for his benefit. The crack player of whom the Potteries folk—and not they alone—think so much has now been representing Porthill five and a-half seasons, and during that time has taken about 600 wickets at an average of, roughly, five runs each, and has scored well over 3,000 runs at over 40 per innings. For the county during the same period he has taken 526 wickets at 8 runs a wicket, and scored 1,615 runs at an average of between 22 and 23. These are the “ Sentinel’s ” figures, and we make due acknowledgment. D u r in g the period mentioned, too, Barnes has also played for England, and in other first-class games. There are keen Staffordshire supporters who do not like the attitude taken up by some people about Barnes. That player is Staffordshii e born—though Warwickshire and Lancashire both claimed him before his native county had his services—and there seems a disposition to forget this fact. “ Such a pity so fine a howler does not play first- class cricket regularly! ” you may hear said. It is, in a sense ; but in another sense it is n o t; and Staffordshire folk have a natural preference for the other sense. T h e b e is a fluttering of the dovecotes in Scotland A NON-CRICKETER’ S POINT OP VIEW . T h e C r o u ch k r .— “ If I can get hold of that chap with the ball I'll hit him with this ! ” The other clubs in the County are eager to take the matches on. Should they form themselves into an association, and do this, it might well prove a step in the right direction, and it would tend to make the Scottish Counties Competi­ tion something more than a name. Scottish county cricket, though now in its ninth season, has scarcely been the success anticipated, and unless the Board shows a strong front now it may soon be a thing of the past.” T h is suggests several reflections, one of which is that a Scottish county club is a very different thing from an English one—-possibly as worthy a thing in its way, but certainly very different. Forfarshire may be supplanted it seems by an association of the other clubs in the county, from which one gathers that the Forfarshire Club does not