Cricket 1911

J u l y 15 1911. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 335 A Chat ab ou t S t a f f o rd sh i r e Cricket and Cricketers* i . f (»^^gNAUGITRATEI) on 24th November, 1872. the TKfij Staffordshire County Cricket Club has experienced many ups and downs, but it is gratifying to those M S who have been most intimately associated with (M B® its varying fortunes to know" that in its 39th playing year the club is, in all respects, stronger than ever before. Of course, cricket was not unknown in Staffordshire before the formation of the County Club, and there is plenty of evidence that the pastime was in favour in the 50’s. In 1856, at Enville, quite 10,000 people watched a. match arranged by Lord Stamford between an All-England Eleven and 22 county players, the latte]1 proving easy winners. In the same year a three-days game took place at the Victoria Athletic Grounds at Stoke-on-Trent be­ tween 22 of the district and an All-England X I. At this period match-play in Staffordshire was mainly confined to the games arranged by, the leading county families, and matches of great interest took place at Trentham, at Shvig- borough, and at Lichfield, amongst other places. In August, 1864, such future celebrities as George Freeman, Alfred Shaw and J. C. Shaw played at Trentham Park, making their first appearance in an All-England X I., and Luke Greenwood played with the opposing 22 of Trentham and District. In 1871 Staffordshire antagonised their Warwickshire neighbours in a two-days match at Warwick, and it was following this that a discussion arose as to the practica­ bility of establishing some sort of central control over the game in the shire, and the outcome was the formation of the County Club. The prime mover in the start was the present Earl of Dartmouth (then Lord Lewisham), and his interest in Staffordshire cricket is such that he still remains at the head of the club, and is actively concerned in its well-being. For the first twelve years the headquarters were at Lichfield, but it was gradually recognised that to be successful it was necessary to stimulate interest in the thickly populated Northern part of the county, where there was prospect of increased support, and real need for the coaching and development of young men with a bent for the game. With this object a Limited Company was promoted in 1884 to purchase the site and lay out the present County Ground at Stoke. The cricket lovers who spent some £7,000 on the original scheme may plume themselves on the fact that, though they have never derived monetary return from their undertaking, they have done much good work in helping the cultivation of a liking for a great game amongst a hard-working and not unduly prosperous populace, and have played a big part in the bringing about of the recognition of Staffordshire as a cricketing shire. In the early years of the club difficulty was often experienced in getting eleven gentlemen to make a team, and of professionals there were none, but, for all that, some of the strongest counties were played and occasion­ ally defeated. But Staffordshire’s real history commenced with the removal of headquarters to Stoke-on-Trent, and those responsible for the change undoubtedly had hopes that the club would rise to first-class rank. These hopes have not matured, but matches have been played with Derbyshire, Essex, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Northants, Notts., Somerset, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and York­ shire, and the Australians played an England X I. at Stoke in 1886 and again in 1890. Of players associated with the nursery days of cricket at Stoke one most readily calls to mind Mr. A. H. Heath (Clifton and Oxford), probably the best bats­ man the county ever had, a splendid off-side player and a fine field. Mr. Heath captained the team for a number of years, and, holding the office of honorary treasurer, is still actively interested in the fortunes of the club. In 1889 he made a score of 217 against Lin­ colnshire— afterwards taking eight wickets cheaply—and he obtained a century against Somerset in the same season. Other players were C. H. Allcock (Cambridge), a capital slow bowler and a useful b a t; F. T. Cozens, a good bats­ man and an excellent fielder in the country; R . G. Glennie (Oxford) ; F. R. Twemlow, a punishing player who delighted the crowd ; D. H. Browrifield (Rugby), a great outfield and capable batsman (and one who still enjoys his cricket with a leading North Staffordshire League club) ; .T. H. Copest ake, a magnificent hitter, who only wanted a little restraint to be first-class; H. W. Gardner, F. G. Heaton, H. J. Dixon, H. Fishwick, C. C. Mott, A. C. S. Glover, the Rev. S. C. Voules and the Rev. P. E. Mainwaring. Of professionals there were Briscoe, a fine fast right-hand bowler, strong and untiring, and a player who would possibly have been great if his career had been contem­ porary with the present more enlightened generation of cricketers ; Shaw, a good medium-pace bowler with a dangerous curl from leg ; Brookes, a capital stumper and Photo by] [/. Palmer Clarke , Cambridge. M r. B E R N A R D M E A K IN , T h e S ta ffo rd sh ire C a pta in . steady batsman ; Marlow, spirited away to earn fame with Sussex ; Johnson, a right-hand slow bowler who could break from either side ; Brown (J .), a medium-pace left-hand bowler and fine field ; Brown (W.), a correct and consistent batsman and a good change bowler—who is still making hundreds in league cricket; and Turner and Grimshaw, both clever all-rounders. In 1895 Staffordshire took part in the Minor Championship Competition, but were quite unsuccessful, losing four and drawing four of the eight games they played. Such an experience, together with the lack of public support, caused them to drop out of the tourney until 1900, when strangely enough the results of 1895 were exactly repeated. Then came a crisis, and the extinction of the club was threatened. Happily this was averted, and in 1901 Staffordshire cricket affairs were re-organised on sound and progressive lines, and the club is now in, a really healthy position. Mr. A. H. Heath was a prime factor in the resurrection,