Cricket 1911

CRICKET : A W EEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. AUGUST 26, 1911. Together joined in CricKet’s manly toil.”— Byron. No. 8 8 2 . VOL. X X X . SA TU KD A Y , A U G U S T 26, 1911. P r i c e 2 d . A Chat with r. H. H. Cornish. The Editor of “ The American Cricketer.” cricket is played in Philadelphia by a very sm all proportion of the population, the fact that The American Cricketer has been in existence for thirty-four years is eloquent testimony to the support the game receives from those who are interested in its promotion and welfare. Mr. H . H . Cornish, who has occupied the editorial chair of The American Cricketer since 1906, was seen by our representative at the Oval during the match between the Gentlemen of Surrey and the Germantown C.C., and some interesting facts concerning American cricket were elicited from him . When asked if the game is gaining in popularity in the States he was somewhat pessim istic, “ F or m any years cricket, in Philadelphia especi­ ally, has had its ups and downs, and for the past few seasons it has had to contend with tennis and golf. Both these games are becoming more popular every year, and golf particularly has claimed m any a devotee from the ranks of cricketers — men who have given up the English national game when in their prime. Added to this the American national game of baseball is a very serious rival to cricket. Baseball is more popular in Philadelphia than in any other city in the United States, and a boy who is good at both cricket and baseball naturally elects to play for the baseball team in preference to the cricket team. This can quite easily be understood when it is stated that there is a consider­ able amount of prestige at­ tached to playing baseball for the school and practically none in playing for the cricket team. Many a promising young cricketer has been lost to the game for this reason, and it is extremely difficult at the present time to fill the places of men who, in the natural course of events, must drop out of the gam e.” “ Do you think that the present tour of the Germantown C.C. w ill help Philadelphia cricket ? ” Air. H. H. “ Mostdecidedly I do. W ith the exception of Dr. Norman Henry, P . H . Clark, T . C.Jordan and W. P. O’N eill, all the members of the team are colts, and it is probable that a number of them would have given up the game on leaving school but for the stimulus of the tour. As it is, all are worked up to the keenest pitch of enthusiasm , and Germantown should have a really first-class team, as we consider it in America, for many years to come. It was really delightful to witness how keenly the younger ele­ ment of the team played, and how much improvement had been effected in their play in the short time they had been in England. Of course, it was easy to pick out their weak points, as for instance the way some of them attempted to knock the cover off the ball in the second innings to-day before they had played them ­ selves in. Defects of this nature will be eradicated by experience, and it will be sur­ prising if some of the boys do not m ake their m ark in Am erican cricket in the near future. In any event, it goes without saying that, provided that business interests do not interfere, not one of them will now give up the game. They are having the time of their life, and they will always be hoping that the experience w ill be repeated.” “ Does cricket draw well in Philadelphia ?” “ Unfortunately, no. The time of big crowds is past, except when we receive a visit from an English team , and even then the crowds cannot compare with those of the eighties and early nineties. CORNISH. You see, cricket is not exactly suited to the American tem­ perament. The public likes a game to move along with very quick action, and this is where baseball has the pull over cricket. A s we say in America, there is ‘ something doing ’ all the time in baseball, although I for one abhor the tactics pursued in the American national game. Everything is fair in love and war, and so it is in baseball, provided you can ‘ get awry with it.’ ” “ In order to make the cricket brisker the Associated Cricket