Cricket 1911

December 16, 1911. RUGBY FOOTBALL AND CRICKET. 595 Iftavilion (3ossip. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time. — Hamlet. HE M.C.C. side will at least enter upon the first Test an unbroken team, and there seems now a possibility that both George Gunn and Hitch may be fit. The second match at Brisbane had many points of interest—not least of them the chivalrous action of Mr. Victor Trumper in insisting upon Hearne’s return to the middle, after he had been caught in slamming at what he believed to be a no-ball. These amateur umpires in the crowd want discouraging—preferably with hob-nailed boots. M e . J o h n C k a w fo r d made an excellent century; Mr. Charles Kelleway—who is not, we believe, quite such a single­ stroke batsman as “ Long Leg ” of the Sporting Life makes him out—displayed some useful all round form ; and Mr. J. W. McLaren showed that he has it in him to be as deadly as Mr. Cotter for a time. Among possibles for the Test matches Messrs. Roy Minnett, Claude Jennings and McLaren must be reckoned seriously; and if Mr. Crawford were an Australian he would be a certainty. O n the side of the tourists Mr. John Douglas played with dogged pluck and determination, and Hearne fairly came out of his shell at last. Brisbane seems to suit the Middlesex man. It does not suit Hobbs and Kinneir, though the latter played a good first innings. Barnes bowled well, and Mr. Poster and Mead made runs in a second innings that did not count very seriously. The catch incident inwhich Mead andMr. Crawford were concerned cannot fairly be judged on a cabled report, and one may defer comment. D u r in g 1911 Dr. W. G. Grace scored 352 runs in sixteen innings, averaging 22, and took 30 wickets. His highest score was 79. A p a r a g r a p h in last week's issue finished with “ To be continued in our next." But in the century list below the sequel could be found. Mr. Nourse carried his score to 115, and was. still undefeated. Next week we shall publish an interesting article on Natal cricket from our Durban con­ tributor. T he old inter-State and international player, Mr. Percy Chater Charlton, still retains some of his batting prowess. On October 28th he scored 65 for Zingari Veterans against the Commercial Bank in Sydney. Englishmen will recall him as a member of the Australian team of 1890. In the match men­ tioned some fast scoring was done by the Bank, 200 runs being made in 70 minutes. G. T. Hall obtained 106 and Hosking 59. A t the ninth annual meeting of the Durham Senior Cricket League (Eastern Division), on the 7th inst., some exception was taken to Durham County playing a county fixture on a Satur­ day, and it was agreed to send a protest to the county club. A circular was read from the North. Staffordshire and District League asking the League to join them in taking action with a view to making urgent representations to the English Football Association so as to prevent the interference with cricket during August by football practice matches. The meeting decided to support the Staffordshire League in action. T h e r e was some heavy scoring in the match at “ The Bay,” Barbados, between Wanderers and Pickwick on October 21st, 28th and November 4th. The former made such excellent use of the good wicket on the first day that in about four hours they ran up 418 for five wickets. G. Challenor (152) and E. E. Batson (134) put on 247 together for the second wicket in a couple of hours. To that date the latter had made three hundreds in four innings, and had an average of 158 for the season. T h e next International Tournament between Demerara, Trinidad and Barbados will be played at Bridgetown between January 10th and 22nd. The Cup is held at present by Barbados. Am on g those who will leave England next month for a tour in the Argentine under the captaincy of Lord Hawke are Messrs. M. C. Bird, C. E. de Trafford, R. W. Fox, C. E. Hatfeild, A . C. MacLaren and N. C. Tufnell, and Haigh and "Wilson of Yorkshire. R e f e r e n c e to tours abroad reminds us that Demerara Trinidad and Barbados have expressed a wish to receive another visit from an English team in 1913-14. R o b e r t S e l k , the veteran bowler of Western Australia, who announced his retirement from the game a few months ago, has apparently changed his mind. In any case, he turned out on November 4th for Claremont “ A ” against East Perth “ A ” and, in an innings of 60, took eight wickets for 22 runs. He hit the stumps seven times. D u r in g the progress of the match New Town v.West Hobart (“ C ” grade), played at Clare Street recreation ground, Hobart, on October 28th, V. Hickman, of New Town, hit a ball bowled by Goldsmith, and ran 12 for it. By way of explanation it may be said that the ball was hit into the long grass, and the West Hobartians, in their anxiety to find the ball, forgot to call “ lost ball.” M r . E. J. M a r s d e n , who accompanied a Fijian team on tour through Australia in 1908, is at present in England. There is, we hear, a possibility of a similar tour being made in England the year after next. Mr. G. H . B a i l e y , Tasmania’s representative in the first Australian team—that of 1878, has been elected captain of the New Town B . club, of Hobart. On October 24th he went in first with N. Hurst, and was caught when he had made 10 . T h e fiftieth Cambridge Trial Eight’s race over the Queen Adelaide course below Ely, deserves a paragraph in “ Gossip ” for Mr. David Charles Collins, who stroked the losing boat—the favourites, by the way—is said to be the first cricket blue who has ever rowed in the Trial Eights. He is a New Zealander by birth, and an old boy of Welling­ ton (N.Z.) College. Playing for Wellington v. Canterbury in an inter-provincial match in January, 1907, he carried his bat through the first innings of his side for 53. During the past two seasons he has been quite one of the best men in the Light Blue eleven ; but he will not be available in 1912, as he matriculated nearly four years ago. T h e Rev. W. Rashleigh, M.A., who is a Minor Canon of Canterbury Cathedral, has been appointed Vicar of St. George’s and St. Mary Magdalene, Canterbury. T h e following are some of the latest hundreds obtained in minor cricket:— Oct. 28.—D. Hearne, Country Teamv. Combined Jnrs. (Sydney) )124 Nov. 4.—M. A. Noble, Paddington v. North Sydney ... ... 120 ,, 11.—M. Commaille, Capetown v. Claremont ... ... 144 „ 11.—P. Hands, Western Province v. S.A. College............ 107 ,, 18.—H. G. Bennett, Wanderers v. Germiston Callies ... 125 r Signifies retired. I CHARD DAFT ’S NOT T I NGHAMSH I R E MARL,—Particulars apply Radcliffe-on-Trent, Notts.—(A d v t.)