Cricket 1911

J u l y 29, 19 1 1. CR ICKET : A W EEK LY RECORD OF THE GAME. 381 Arnold, Bird and Keene. In July, 1907, he ‘ 1batted superbly” (vide “ Wisden ” ) for 3£ hours for 125 in the first innings, and, going in second wicket down in the second, stayed three hours and carried his bat for 99— the nearest on record to a double-century which did not quite materialise. W e saw him again at Hove in July, 1908— terribly slow at first, but lashing out freely after a bit, and making 214 with no chance beyond one of stumping quite early. He played in only a couple of big matches last year, but in one of them he made 115 for Hants, v. Worcestershire at Bournemouth in a way that showed he had lost none of his old form. I p he can only manage to accept the invitation to captain the M.C.C. team in Australia— there is no doubt that he would like to go, but he has never been the man to put inclination before duty—we should have good hope of lifting those ashes again. For Barnes has accepted, and that gives the side a real match-winning bowler ; and the choice of Mr. John Douglas, who is a certain starter, was a really good one. The Essex captain’s all-round qualifications are great, and he seems just the man for the Australian game. under any circumstances. Unlike willow, the leather never splits, but keeps its inflexible face when the ordinary bat has been relegated to the lumber-room. There is no question as to the driving properties of this new bat, the progress of which will be keenly followed by all cricketers.” F . P e a r s o n , of Worcestershire, who spent last winter in coaching in New Zealand, will not repeat the visit after the present season, although invited to do so. Thompson, of Northants, however, has been engaged for the winter months by the Auckland Cricket Association. U p to the date of our last issue tw enty-three batsmen had qualified for inclusion in the 1,000 runs list, Surrey being re­ presented by Hayw ard, H obbs and H ayes, K ent by James B a r n e s , H obbs, Strudwick, Rhodes, Sm ith (E. J.), and Mr. Douglas have definitely accepted the invitation extended to them to go to Australia w ith the team sailing from England on September 29th. M r. T om Paw ley has been offered and has accepted the position o f manager o f the side, and a better selection could not possibly have been made. T he B oard o f C ontrol w ill meet at L ord ’s on August 18th, and the C ricket C onference at the Oval on September 11th. Ix has been shown m ore than once that, from a financial point o f view, the Saturday start has everything to recomm end it. A t the end o f last w eek about 12,000 persons were present at Edgbaston to see the first day’s play in the W arw ickshire v. Gloucestershire m atch, the takings am ounting to .£184 16s. The form er county are now reaping their reward for adopting the bright m ethods w hich have made them one o f the most attractive and popular sides in the country. L a s t choices are proverbially successful— or is it that one remembers the instances when they do well, and forgets the others ? Anyway, Mr, P. Shivram, who would not have been in the All-Indian team had the two Kashmir men, Manek Chand and Noor Illahi, not dropped out, has proved himself one of the best bats on the side. With 175 v. Lincolnshire, 113 not out v. Somerset, 91 v. Warwick­ shire, and 85 v. Leicestershire, besides useful smaller scores, he has done himself real credit. B e s id e s Arnold, a chat about whom appears on the first page, we give in counterfeit presentment this week four leading Worcestershire players— that keen and brilliant all-round man, Mr. William Beaumont Burns ; Dick Burrows, hard-working, big-hearted fast bowler and resolute h itte r; Frederick Pearson, who surely deserves recognition from those who distribute representative honours ; and Ernest Bale, one of the best wicket-keepers of the day. F r o m the Tasmanian Mail A bat with a leather face sounds startling, but this is an innovation introduced this season in England. The blade is shaved away up to the splice, in order to let in a thin veneer of specially pre­ pared leather, which is cemented to the bat so effectively that the patentees claim it cannot be tom from the wood Photos by] [Hawkins & Co., Brighton. Mr. W . B. BURNS. Seymour, H um phreys and W oolley, Yorkshire by Denton, B hodes and W ilson, Lancashire by Makepeace, B . f i . Spooner and Sharpe, M iddlesex by P. F . W arner, Tarrant and the younger H earne, Sussex by V ine and the elder R elf, L eicester­ shire by C. J. B . W ood and W hitehead, W arwickshire by Kinneir, Hampshire by Mead, E ssex by J. W . H . T. Douglas, and Notts by George Gunn. Since then the follow ing addi­ tions have been registered :— 24.—Relf (R. R.) July 20. 27.—Knight (A. E.) July 24. 25.—C. B.Fry July 20. 28.—F. R. Foster July 25. 26.—Hirst (G. H.) July 22. W orcestershire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Northants, and Derbyshire are still without representation, it w ill be se e n ; but M r. W . B . Burns is very near the four figure mark. W h a t of Hardstaff ? The team will need a dasher or two, and who better than the fair-haired little man who did so well three years ago ? Two centuries within the last few days should help him. The 123 v. Leicestershire was his fourth against that county and his fourteenth in big cricket. Board’s 113 v. Warwickshire was his seventh ; it is a fact worthy of note that he made his first (in 1896) against the same county. How well the Gloucestershire veteran wears ! Who would take him to be in his forty- fifth year ?