Cricket 1911

A u g u s t 5, 1911. CRICKET : A , W EEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 397 A Chat about Staffordshire Cricket and Cricketers. (Continuedfrompage876.) N ot being blessed, as so many other counties are, with a wealth of public school and University men to draw upon, Staffordshire suffers a severe handicap by a want of definiteness in respect to the personnel of the eleven, but there are many amateurs who are willing, in turn, to make sacrifices for the game and the club. Mr. Stratton did wonders in that direction, and has had many useful coadjutors. Mr. E. H. Bourne, a fine all-rounder, has been one of the most conspicuous of these. He is a member of a rare cricketing family, of whom three brothers have represented their county, and another— still very young— is already a century-maker in minor league cricket. The eldest of the fraternity, Mr. James A. Bourne, left a sorrowing circle of relatives and friends in 1903, just as he was coming to his full powers as a cricketer. Mr. E. H. Bourne has the cricket instinct to a remarkable degree, and the pity is that the calls of business compel his appearances for Staffordshire to be but occasional. A right-handed batsman and bowler, he sends up a puzzling slow break ball, and, though often expensive, has the knack o f being able to dissolve many a threatening partnership. He is also a brilliant field at cover-point, but on the whole batting is his forte. Excellent in defence, he owns a rare pair of wrists, and knows how to use them. His forward strokes are scoring strokes ; he has a great off-drive, and can crack the ball past cover with the best. Business has called him away to Dewsbury, and he is already a warm favourite with the Tykes, who are good judges. His fiist wicket partnerships with Oldroyd— the Yorkshire c o lt—have been the feature of Dewsbury’s season, and at the time of writing he has a batting average of 50 in Yorkshire Council games. His brother, Mr. H. E. Bourne, though a capable batsman, has been an unlucky wight in County crick et; but faith in his natural talent induces the powers that be to persevere with him, and in the near future he is almost sure to chip in with big scores. The deflection of Mr. W. B. Burns to Worcestershire lost Staffordshire an outstanding player, but other amateurs who have stuck to the county and rendered good service are Messrs. E. W . and R. C. Page— two old Reptonians—Mr.W . J .Beddows, agood batsman from Southern territory ; Mr. L. F. Taylor—another Southener— a useful left-hander ; Mr. H. Eardley— the comrade of Barnes in club games— a left-hand medium-pace bowler who can exploit a swerve on occasion ; Mr. J. W . Johnson, an excellent field and useful batsman, whose lack of physique handicaps his real powers ; Mr. J. Poole and Mr. H. Bearing, two clever stumpers, the former a veteran who has the advantage of regularly “ keeping ” to Barnes in league matches, the latter a “ natty ” and natural stumper and a good club batsman, who does not, however, often get many runs for his county. Mr. H. Ratcliff, a newcomer this season, has already exhibited commendable form with the bat, and there are plenty of supporters who consider that Mr. J. C. Cooper, a left-handed all- rounder— hailing from Silverdale, a colliery village which in the past has provided some good players— should have an extended trial. Being able to draw on two strong leagues, Stafford­ shire is never at a loss for professional help. W . Brown is now relegated to the “ has beens,” but for years he was the most reliable batsman in the side, and is still getting piles of runs in club games. R. J . Mee, the old Notts fast bowler, was for a long time a big asset in the attack, and signally helped Barnes in working the dis­ comfiture of many teams. He is succeeded by George Deyes, a stalwart Yorkshireman, who, perhaps, ought to be playing for his native shire. Deyes has a beautiful right-arm action, and possesses pace that is terrific, so much so that Trent Bridge critics last season described him as the fastest bowler in the country. John Eereday— a dapper little man from the Birmingham district— has done long service as a steady and dependable batsman, and has sometimes taken wickets. Arthur Bucknell—-a player from the same league as Fereday— beat Barnes in the bowling averages in 1909, and on a pitch that helps him a bit he is a most difficult man to play. Last season he captured ten Northumberland wickets in one match for 57runs. He is a batsman of the “ sticking” variety, and has often come off at a crisis. J. E. Nichols is an all- rounder with no end of experience, for he has played with several counties and a number of clubs. He is right- handed with bat and ball, a painstaking batsman, and a useful bowler, mixing his deliveries with good judgment. He has cultivated the “ googlie,” bu t is diffident of using it. E. Yost is another serviceable player, a right-hand batsman and bowler, and a clever man in the field. Most of Staffordshire’s home matches are played on the County Ground at Stoke-on-Trent, but a few games have been played at Wolverhampton and at Oldfields, Uttoxeter. The latter is a prettily-situated and up-to-date private ground, belonging to Mr. .John Bamford, one of the county’s most generous supporters. In years gone by the Stoke enclosure had an evil reputation for its wickets, which were certainly not first-rate, and perhaps that may be the reason why men of such renown as Robert Abel and L. C. Braund both manufactured “ spectacles ” on it 1 Titchmarsh, when playing for Hertfordshire, de­ clared that he picked a pocketful of nails and pieces of glass off the pitch, but, however this may have been, Staffordshire rattled up 352 notches against Titchmarsh and his colleagues. The wickets are now beyond reproach, however, and John Butler, the groundsman, an old Durham player, is justifiably proud of the good opinions formed of them by visiting teams. Discussion sometimes arises as to the possibility and advisability, if possible, of Staffordshire’s promotion to first-class rank. The matter has probably never been seriously considered by the people in charge of the county’s fortunes, but the writer ventures to express the personal opinion that it is best left “ in the air.” The circum­ stances of most o f the players are not such as would allow them to participate in a heavy programme, and with no leisured population to draw on, the gates necessary to maintain an expensive undertaking would hardly materialise. Ths working-class element of the district could not afford the time to give their regular support, and though Staffordshire has many good patrons its subscription list cannot be compared with those of a number of the more fortunate cricketing counties. But Staffordshire will always have aspirations to figure at the top of its present grade ! S. C l e a v e s . HERTFORDSHIRE v. NORFOLK.—Played at St. Albans on July 18 and 19 and won by Hertfordshire by an innings and 20 runs. Scoro and analysis:— H e r t f o r d s h ir e . J. O. Anderson, lbw, b Falcon ... 101 Rev. F. R. Bonsey, c Fulcher, b Falcon .................................. 0 W. Bentley, b Falcon ............... 4 C. H. Titchmarsh, b Gibson........ 12 Golding, lbw, b Stevens............ 139 Coleman, b Wakefield .............. 86 H. F. Sanders, b Wakefield........ 1 W. H. Marsh, not out ............... Burton, b Wakefield ................ Shelford, b Falcon...................... H. M. Lemoine, c Thurgar, b Fal­ con ...................... ................ Byes, &c............................. 42 First innings. G. W. Birkbeck, b Shelford ............... C. J. H. Treglown, lbw, b Coleman G. Gemmell, lbw, b Coleman............... Rev. G. B. Raikes, c Lemoine, b Burton Gibson, c and b Burton ...................... G. A. Stevens, b Coleman..................... M. Falcon, c Lemoine, b Coleman......... R. W. Thurgar, b Coleman ................ H. R. Wakefield, b Coleman ................ E. J. Fulcher, not out Total ...................421 N o r f o l k . Second innings. ....... 38 c Golding, b Marsh .......... 41 ......... 8 b Burton ..................... 0 ....... 4 b Burton ...................... 9 48 c Marsh, b Coleman........ 26 18 b Colman .................... 0 4 c Lemoine, b Coleman ... 123 5 c Bentley, b Shelford ... 9 2 not out........................... 3 5 b Burton ..................... y 17 b Shelford ..................... 0 Allsopp, b Burton ......... Byes, &c. ... ” ... ... 8 Byes, &c. , 19 Total... .....................162 • Total , 239 Falcon O. M. ........ 203 6 H e r t f o r d s h ir e . R. W. 71 5 1 Allsopp ... O. ... 13 M. 3 R. 43 W. 0 Stevens ......... 4 2 15 1 Birkbeck ... 3 0 28 0 Gibson ........ 9 2 32 1 | Raikes ... 17 1 85 0 Fulcher ......... 13 0 64 0 | Wakefield ... 13 0 62 0 Coleman.. First innings. ............. 22 6 N o r f o l k . 67 6 ............... Second innings. ... 15 1 60 3 8helford ............... 10 1 31 1 ............... ... 13 4 56 2 Burton ... ... ... 16-4 4 54 3 ............... ... 18-1 3 64 3 Marsh ............. 2 0 2 0 ............... ... 7 1 26 1 Bonsey ............... ... 5 0 14 0