Cricket 1911

CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. JU L Y 22, 1911. "Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. no. 877. v o l . xxx. SATUKDAY, JULY 22, 1 9 1 1 . price 2 d. h Chat with S. P. Kinneir. with a county match on, reminds one of a Kentish town during a Kentish week. The streets of the ancient city were gay with bunting. The ground— there are few more picturesque grounds than Priory ! Park—has a picnic air, with its tents and its temporary , enclosure; and the high bank oppo­ site the entrance — whereon the scarlet tunics of some scores of men of the 3rd Battalion, Sussex Regiment, make splashes of colour— green with trees and shrubs, adds wonderful charm to the general effect. Septimus Paul Kinneir was batting when I reached the ground about one o ’clock. He was still in at lunch, with a bat that seemed as wide as the wicket, and that kept on getting the leather in its middle. When the tea interval came he was still going strongly, cool, unflurried, unhurried, doing great work for his side. But a triumphal shout fetched me from the tea tent, where I had lingered after play recommenced. Joe Vine had got a good ball past the crack’s defence, and he was on his way back to the dressing-room, with 124 to his credit—his twenty - first century in big cricket, and his third against Sussex. Thanks to Santall and Mr. Hands the innings lasted some time longer, though Kinneir, first in, had been eighth o u t; and I had the opportunity of a long chat with the man I had come to see. I find that he takes his cricket very seriously, yet loves the game none the less than those Photo by] who follow it light-heartedly —rather the more, perhaps. At thirty-eight he is as good a batsman as he has ever been, possibly even better ; and that he takes care of himself is evidenced by the fact that he would not smoke, telling me that he had given up tobacco because he found that he was smoking too much, and concluded that it would be better for him to put away his pipes. He was not sure that smoking had done him any harm, but he thought it might do, and the doubt was enough. “ You have accepted the invitation to go to Australia with the M.C.C. team, and of course you are looking forward to the tour ? ” “ Very much. I hope most earnestly that I shall justify my selection. If I don’t it will not be for want of trying.” There should not be much doubt about it. Kinneir, with his straight bat, his strong driving powers, his cleverness in deflecting the ball to leg, and above all his coolness and judgment, ought to be the very man for Australian pitches. One fancies that Whitty, Macartney, Hordern, Cotter, Kelleway, Armstrong and the rest will grow a trifle tired of seeing that sturdy, powerful left-hander at the wicket before they have done with him. “ Where did you learn your cricket ? ’’ “ At Corsham, my native place. I never had anything that you could call regular coaching ; but two of my elder brothers were really good players, and I picked up something from them.” “ You are one of a large family, I take it, on the evidence of your first nam e?” “ Yes. I am the youngest of a family of thirteen, and, of course, the seventh boy.” “ Y'our first experience of county cricket was with Wiltshire ? ” “ You are right. I played four or five seasons for W ilt­ shire as an amateur, and headed the batting averages once or twice. The County did not occupy a very high position in the cricket world th en ; we played such sides as Monmouth, Oxford and Berks., and did very well [Hawkins and Co., Brighton. against them. Since that time there have been seasons when Wiltshire has had a team quite as good as those of some of the first-class counties. But there does not seem much chance of the County’s ever getting promotion, because it has no towns big enough to provide the necessary gate.” “ Mr. A. M. Miller was a member of the Wilts, eleven in your day, was he n o t? ” “ Yes, and a very fine bowler he was, and a good bat too. Then S . P. K IN N EIR .