Cricket 1911

50 C B IC K ET : A W EEK LY RECORD OF THE GAME. A p r i l 15, 19 LI. THE INDIAN TEAM FOR ENGLAND. W e are glad to note the further progress that has been made in connection with the scheme of sending a representative Indian team to England this year. The arrangements are now practically com ­ plete and the only thing that remains to be done is the final selection of the team. Even this would not require a long time as the first eleven places have already been finally decided upon and there should be no great difficulty in filling up the remaining three or four from the large amount of material that is available. The little delay that has occurred in making a final decision in this matter is due to a wise and praiseworthy resolve on the part of the Committee to make no selection whatever on mere hearsay or past reputation. The Committee have seen at play all those that are likely to find a place in the ultimate constitution of the team ; and there is little doubt as to the team being thoroughly representative of Indian cricket when it is finally selected. . . The team will start for England, early in May, under most hopeful conditions. Messrs. J. M. Framji Patel and J. M. Divecha, the secretaries, have done everything humanly possible to ensure the financial success of the tour. Whether the results of the matches with the cricketing giants at home prove an equally great success remains to be seen. But here also the organisers of the tour are most optimistic. The team will include almost all the best cricketing talent of India. In this connection it would not be out of place to remove the false notion entertained by some people that the programme arranged for the team in England is exceedingly ambitious. Ambitious the programme undoubtedly is. But there is no reason why the team, which will include all the best cricketing talent of India, should not compete on equal grounds with first-class County Elevens, and those who are cognisant of the wonderful strides Indian cricket has made during the last half decade are sanguine of the team making a close finish even with those at the very top of County cricket. Besides, it has to be remembered that, if the tour is to be a success from the financial point of view, the programme must be ambitious and the majority of matches must be with the top counties; otherwise there would be small chance of drawing good gate-money. And this consideration of gate-money must have considerably weighed with Lord Harris and Mr. Lacey, of the M.C.C., when they arranged the fixtures of the tour. Matches with second-class counties would have attracted but small crowds. And moreover the arranging of such fixtures would have ignored one of the prime motives of the tour, which was to give Indian cricketers an opportunity of watching the play of the fore­ most cricketers at home. The Committee have, as stated above, done everything possible to make the tour a success. The only disappointment has been the inability of H. H. the Jam Saheb and Mr. J. M. Framji Patel to proceed with the team to England. The former’s participation would have immensely strengthened the team and the latter’s rare tact in handling men and affairs would have contributed in no small measure to the success of the tour .— The Bombay Gazette . [As announced in the March issue of Cricket , the team will be constituted as follows :—H .H . the Maharajah of Patiala (capt.); A. Salim-ud-din, Shafkat Hussein and Syed Hussein of Aligarh; B. Jayaram, of Bangalore; P. Balu, Dr. H. D. Kanga, R. P. Meherhomji, H. F. Mulla, M. Pai and J. S. Warden, of B om bay; M. Noor Illahi and H . Manek Chand, of Cashmere; M. Bulsara, of D elhi; K. Seshachari, of Madras; and K. M. Mistri, of Patiala.] THE WILTSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB. At the Annual General Meeting of the Wilts C.C.C., held at Trowbridge in the last week of March under the presidency of Mr. A. M. Miller, the report, which was submitted by Mr. R. W. Awdry, showed that the receipts from subscriptions had declined from £326 in 1910 to £296 and gatemoney from £56 to £20, whilst match expenses had increased from £253 to £297. From a playing point of view also the last season was a disappointment, for after having won the Minor Counties Championship in 1909 the club fell to a very humble position, winning only one match outright and two on the first innings. This year the games with Berkshire and Buckingham­ shire have been dropped, but the match with Dorset has been revived and new opponents will be met in Kent 2nd XI. Sir Vincent Caillard, of Trowbridge, was elected president, Mr. C. Awdry chairman, Mr. A. M. Miller captain, Mr. M. F. Clark treasurer, and Mr. W. A. Hackney honorary secretary. The two last-mentioned positions had previously been held by Mr. R. W . Awdry, who is shortly going to Australia as aide-de-camp to Sir John Fuller, the new Governor of Victoria. CRICKET IN CANADA. TIIE MANITOBA CRICKET ASSOCIATION. Following the policy laid down at the time the Western Canada Cricket Association was organised, the Manitoba Cricket Association, at a meeting recently held in the City Hall, Winnipeg, was re­ organised, and as a result the three prairie provinces are now in line and will form the W.C.C.A. In response to circulars sent out, all the cricket clubs in the city, with the exception of one, were represented, and several country clubs had delegations on hand. E. J. Smith, of the Wanderers, was voted to the chair until the officers of the Association were elected, when A. B. Estlin, of Melita, one of the newly elected vice-presidents, presided for the balance of the meeting. It was unanimously decided to affiliate with the W .C .CA ., and A. R. Morrison and T. H. Hooper, K. Money and E. J. Smith were elected a delegation to the next annual meeting of that Association. Manitoba, having the right to choose the venue of the next tourna­ ment (in view of the fact that they are the champions of Western Canada), decided on Indian Head and that town will see the next big cricket week held there. The following officers were elected : Patron—Hon. R. P. Roblin. Hon. President -Senator Kirchhoffer. President—Rev. Geo. Horrobin. Vice-Presidents—A. B. Estlin, Melita; E. M. Williams, Russell; J. F. Wilson, Belmont; A. E. Burton, Brandon; and K. Money, Winnipeg. Hon. Sec.-Treas.—E. J. Smith. After the meeting the delegates were entertained at supper at the Grange by the Winnipeg delegates, A. R. Morrison acting as chairman. THE CANADIAN CRICKET ASSOCIATION. That international cricket teams must in future be thoroughly national and representative in their structure was the keynote of the main discussion at the recent annual meeting of the Canadian Cricket Association at the Walker House, Toronto. The discussion was evoked by the recent resolution adopted by the Ontario Association, asking for the abandonment of the international match between Canada and the United States. The Ontario Association pointed out that the “ international ” match was usually a clash between a Toronto and Hamilton team on one side and a Philadelphia team on the other, and proposed a series of international matches, individual Provinces v. individual States. A. R. Morrison, of Winnipeg, who was present, said that Western Canada certainly was not satisfied with the All-Canada teams, and he said Chicago was “ disgruntled ” at the constitution of the United States elevens. But he did not want to see the sixty-year old fixture abandoned—it would be a cricketing calamity. The Association passed a resolution favouring the continuance of matches, but urged steps to make the teams more representative. The election of officers resulted as follows : Hon. President—His Excellency the Governor-General. President--Dr. W . E . Dean, Toronto. Vice-Presidents—D. C. Campbell, Ottawa; K. Martin, Hamilton ; T. Mayne Daly, Winnipeg. Mr. L. llawlinson announced that Toronto will have a cricket week this summer. G E O R G E L E W I N & C O . , (Established 1869.) Club Colour Specialists &Athletic Clothing Manufacturers OUTFITTERS BY APPOINTMENT To the M.C.C. West Indian XI., 1911 ; M.C.C. South African XI., 1909-10; the Australians, 1896, 1899 and 1902 ; Mr. Stoddart’s XI., 1894-1895, 1897-1898 ; Mr. MacLaren’s XI., 1901-1902; West Indian XI., 1900 and 1906 ; South African XL , 1901 and 1907 ; and M.C.C., Lancashire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex Counties, Wanderers, Stoics, Bromley, Sutton, and all Public Schools’ Old Boys’ Clubs, and Queen’s Club.—Write for E stim ates F re e . WORKS CAMBERWELL. Telephone; P .O . City 607. 8, CROOKED LANE, MONUMENT, LONDON BRIDGE, E.C.