Cricket 1911

J uly 22, 1911. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 359 S i n c e we last w rote o f new names in the century list the following have qualified for a place for the first time : Makepeace (who scored 99 not out v. Sussex at H ove, and then had the innings declared on him , as far back as 1907), H ubble, Smith (the capable and clever W arwickshire stumper), M r. G. E . Y. Crutchley, and young Jennings o f Kent. J o h n W i l l i a m H e a h n e has done several capital things during his short career, and on Friday last he added to the list by crediting h im self w ith the highest individual innings ever played by a professional in a first-class match at L o rd ’s. H is ‘234 not out beat W illiam G unn’s 228 for the Players o f England against Australia in 1890, and, although his score was made against weak bow ling, the distinction which has fallen to him in his tw enty-first year is a very notew orthy one. “ A n Old C ounty C ricketer,” in attacking that capital sport­ ing gam e betw een the United Services and the Universities at Portsmouth, was not as alert as he m ight have been when seeking instances o f the players who figured therein as first- class cricketers. Captain H . M. Law rence played for Kent years ago ; Staff-Surgeon E . H . M ornement (once the crack and idol o f a private school at N orw ich) has played for H am p­ shire, and so has Lieutenant G. H . D ’O. L yon. Lieutenant Beadle was actually the only man on the side who had never played either for a first-class county or for the M .C.C. in first- class m atches. On the other side, Mr. W . T. M onckton, who hit so w ell, has played for K ent 2nd E leven and got his flannels at H arrow , and Mr. E . C. Coleman is one of the best w icket­ keepers w h o ever cam e from D ulw ich. O f course it is a pity that Messrs. Ireland, F alcon , Collins, Twining, and others should have been absentees from the Universities’ team ; but, after all, the inclusion o f all these m ight have kept out Mr. Crutchley, w ho played a brilliant innings. T h e r e is altogether too m uch o f the carping spirit nowadays. It has sickened m ore than one good player of first-class cricket. W hen, at the Oval in 1909, Mr. Charles F ry and John Sharp walked back to the pavilion am idst the plaudits of a m adly enthusiastic crow d, the old Oxonian is reported to have sa id : “ Yes, Jack, and if w e had failed they w ould have hooted us.” The story m ay not be true ; but it w ill serve to point a m oral. B eyond doubt the attitude o f the crow d to our representatives tw o summers ago was largely the result of newspaper criticism o f the hole-picking type. And the tone has not im proved m uch since. A nonym ous or pseudonym ous correspondents are allow ed the hospitality o f a paper’s columns when the only proper place for their effusions is the waste-paper basket; the bullyragging to which Mr. J. F . Ireland was subjected is a ready instance o f this. Let us be d e ce n t; let us be ordinarily civil. There is surely no need to indulge in cheap sneers ? A t a m eeting o f the W arw ickshire County C omm ittee the follow ing resolution was unanim ously passed :— “ This com ­ m ittee is m uch disappointed to hear that the M .C.C. have decided not to grant W arw ickshire’s request to have a Test match at B irm ingham in 1912, and hopes that the decision is not final, as it appears unfair to the M idland and W estern counties, and not in the interest o f cricket generally.” Leave o f absence was granted to Kinneir so that he m ight be able to visit Australia with the M .C.C. team, and it was decided to give F . E . F ield a benefit next year. W i t h regard to the above it is only right to point out that the venues were arranged, not by the M .C.C., but by the Board o f C ontrol, with the approval o f the representatives o f Australia and South A frica. A t the same time, our sympathies are entirely w ith the W arw ickshire Comm ittee, for the Edgbaston ground is in every way suited to Test cricket and L ondon could well do w ith four m atches instead o f five. I t is a genuine pleasure to see that sterling little cricketer, W illiam G eorge Quaife, scoring w ell again. Up to last week his only long score this season had been 90 v. Lancashire at Manchester, w hich helped his county to its first victory o f the campaign. H e has been taking som e wickets pretty cheaply since then, and o f course fielding well— when does he n o t — but not one o f his innings for full tw o m onths had reached fifty. T h e little W .G . has now scored 47 centuries in first-class cricket. H e made six in 1899, six again in 1901, and the same number in 1905, five in 1904, three in each o f four other seasons, and two in each o f five m ore. F our o f the 47 were of 200 and over, all four being not out. Q u a i f e is w orthy o f respect not only for his fine play, but for the sterling independence o f his character. H e has endured as m uch as m ost m en from the crow d, but all the jeerin g has never swerved him an inch from his path. H e has continued to A NON-CRICKETER’S POINT OF VIEW . MR. F. R. FOSTER TAKES A FEW WICKETS. play his own cool, graceful game, always worth watching to an y­ one who know s what real cricket is, even at its slowest. W e have seen him subjected to m ost unseem ly barracking on the W orcester ground, where the Bank H oliday crowd o f ten years or so ago certainly was not educated up to the niceties of first-class cricket, though doubtless it has im proved since. In 1900, 1901 and 1902 Quaife was the mainstay o f his side in this keenly - contested m atch between two sides whose proxim ity m akes them the keenest o f rivals, scoring 83 not out o f 312, 83 o f 261, and 68 not out o f 249. On each oceasion he kept up an end while others failed, and the respectable totals attained were m ainly due to his doggedness; on each occasion he was hooted and jeered. But it made no difference to him . H e just “ kept