Cricket 1911

A ugust 26, 1911. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 459 nSESESH WORLD - FAMED. C 1 27 /6 #7% w 22/6 Q 0 ^ 18/6 9 Q ^ 16/6 9 i t ^ / V v 14/6 <J o n T o ^ ■DEMON' s g ftlV E -j^ 14 /6 READ “ The Evolution of a Cricket Bat," O BTA IN A BLE F R E E UPON R EQ U EST FROM GEO. G. BUSSEY & CO., LTD., 3 6 & 3 8 , QUEEN VICTORIA ST., LONDON. Factories : | Peckham, London. lElm swell, Suffolk. A g e n t s a ll o v e r t h e W o r ld . Cricket Notches. B y t h e R e v . R . S. H o lm e s . N calculating the time a batsman takes to compile an innings we must not overlook certain items for which he is not responsible. For instance, some bowlers are a long time in delivering an over. At the Oval last week I timed H itch and Sm ith when bowling against Yorkshire, and when each of them sent down a maiden over. E very over from H itch lasted three m inutes, whilst Sm ith required only half that time. Rhodes and John Gunn take even less time than Sm ith, and just because their run up to the wicket is done in fewer steps. As H itch starts about fifteen yards behind the stumps, runs three or four yards up the pitch, always waits at the crease to receive the ball, and then walks leisurely back to his mark, an over from him is a very prolonged piece of work. Then again, when a left-handed batsman is in, the constant changing of the fielders wastes a lot of time, especially when he and his partner score singles off every ball of an over. The short-leg umpire has to cross over each time, and as he usually stands very deep and is not as a rule too nimble-footed, an over m ay easily last five m inutes. So the batsman is not wholly to blame for slow scoring. He is when he is not ready to receive the ball as soon as the bowler starts to run. Some batsmen irritate me by unnecessarily patting the ground even when it is as hard as nails, and so frequently cause the bowler to break off in his run and begin it over again. This is a favourite habit with Hobbs, of which perhaps he Is not conscious, but he is always ready by the time the bowler is. Why do some county batsmen look down into the block-hole three and four times ? Once is quite enough. Let a batsman make sure that he has the proper guard, and then his whole attention should be centred on the bowler. It is a foolish mannerism, which I have noticed in only one or two front-rank batsmen of the present day whose names need not be given. And why does H irst always rub the top of his pads before every stroke of the bat? I don’t imagine that he is conscious of this mannerism. Poor Lohmann once told me that he did not know that he put the fingers of his right-hand to his lips just before delivering the ball. Starting the run just behind the umpire is not an unconscious m annerism but a deliberate trap. It is a consolation to know that our greatest bowlers have never resorted to this trick, which ought to be penalized as a no-ball and so stopped. At last the team for Australia has been completed—fifteen in all, and every man worthy of the honour of representing England. It m ay not be our absolutely strongest team, and yet I have alw ays m aintained that your best side is the best you can command from time to time. F ry ’s refusal I regret, although he has seldom shown his finest form against the Australians even in his most successful seasons. As a test-match batsman he can show no such record as Jackson, H ayward or Tyldesley. Still, I wish that he could have made his first trip to A ustralia. He has been called “ an ideal cap tain ” ; but is h e? To me he has always seemed an isolated figure on the cricket field, answering to Wordsworth’s famous description of M ilton— “ like a star that dwells ap a rt; ” self-contained, never in closest touch with his fellows, a man to be more admired than beloved. A man after m y own heart, reserved, and not “ hail fellow ” with all comers. But on that account scarcely an ideal captain of a cricketing team which is composed of all sorts and conditions of men. Their successful leader must have a large stock of bonhomie, be able to let him self go, possess sympathy and tact, create esprit de corps ; must, in a word, inspire. It is for that reason that I am delighted that the responsibility of captaincy has been delegated to W arner, of whose previous leadership, both in A ustralia and South A frica, several of those who served under him have spoken enthusiastically in m y hearing. In the absence of F ry , should not Hayward have been invited ? He has a splendid record in A u stralia; in each of his three visits he played right up to his reputation, and at the present time he is out-and-away our greatest professional batsman. If you were at the Oval last F rid ay you would have endorsed this judgm en t; a more m asterly innings than his against Yorkshire I never wish to see. H e’s the very man to go in first and wear down the bowling. “ Oh, but he’s slow in the field.” No, not slow, but leisurely. True, he’s not like a eat on hot bricks, but he manages to stop any ball that comes his w ay, although he does not hurry when no run is attempted. JesSop’s eleventh-hour inclusion is welcome, although when he went with M acLaren ten years ago he was somewhat of a failure. B u t then one always likes him to be on our side, for he m ay at any moment completely change the complexion of a m atch. Some of us can never forget his wonderful hitting in the fifth Test m atch of 1902, when England looked to be hopelessly beaten, but in the end ran in first with one wicket in hand, thanks to him and the two famous Yorkshiremen. I am told that the people of Notts are of opinion that H ardstaff should have been chosen before George Gunn. B ut it’s a case of six of one and half-a-dozen of the other. Surrey’s tireless bowler and perfect fielder was my choice weeks a g o ; H itch could not be passed by. B ut whom to leave out of the Test m atches ? Four must stand down. The final choice w ill largely depend on the form shown prior to these m atches. W ill W arwickshire be the Champion County this year ? It is more than possible. They have ousted M iddlesex from the second place and are menacing Kent’s position. What a pity they arranged no m atches with these counties. I care not what may be done—whether county m atches be restricted to two days or the number of the competitors be cut down— so long as every county plays all the others. We shall never have a thoroughly satisfaetory competition until the program of each county