Cricket 1911

APRIL 2 2 ,1 9 1 1 . CR ICKET : A W EEK LY RECORD OE THE GAME. 73 The construction of the Demon Drivers is fully described in The Evolution of a Cricket Bat, which may be obtained free upon applica­ tion. CRICKET IlMFROVEDMJKE-KEEPTHEIRSHAPE-LftS■' LOMCERl CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION. CAIALOQUB UPON APPLICATION. s ^ S T i e i ^ s ^ * ■ . ^ e = > .. - . h i g h C H t n r 4 IlIE IllI CATALOQUB UPON APPLICATION. *^^^^^5>L0CUEa«APPUCATID?^* roopiisi Biwm ) WAKE-BEEPTHEIRSWE-LASTU 0 NCER 1 £ CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION. g / ’gDEMON DRIVERS i 7 A ~ _ ARE OUT AND OUT THE BEST, f Q OTHER GRADES 7 - 6 - 5 '" A-'6-A-'-3 r6 - 3 '-2 r6 -Z r- gATAlOGUeLQNAPPLICAtToN^f CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION TO GEO. G. BUSSEY & Co., L td . 36 & 38, Queen Victoria St.. LONDON. Manufactory — Timber Mills — PECKHAM, S.E. ELMSWELL, SUFFOLK, Agents all over the world. Cricket Notches. B y t h e B e v . R . S . H o l m e s . HE County Championship began in 1873. Since then we have tried five different schemes for placing the several competitors and this season we are to have a sixth method. It hails from Somerset, and may be briefly summarised : 4 points for a win, 3 for a lead and one for a loss on the first innings in the event of a match being drawn. It has at least one merit—-simplicity, and in that respect it is preferable to its two predecessors which dealt with percentages which the man in the street has no patience with, and which never ought to figure in sporting statistics. Lancashire’s method—that in vogue last season—was certain to be short-lived. Indeed, it passes my comprehend sion that it was ever given a trial at all. And yet that county has requested that it remain in operation for at least one more year. “ What was wrong with it ? ” Just this : that itignored lost matches, and ‘ ‘ only reckoned matcheswon in the percentage of matches played.” But in all sports, as indeed in everything else, losses must be set off against wins. For instance, a man of business gauges his position by his liabilities as well as his assets : if he reckoned only the money he possessed and ignored his debts, we should dub him a fool or a rascal. And the same principle holds good in every branch of sport. One can easily show the unwisdom of this method by an illustra­ tion or two. Two counties, say, take part in twenty matches apiece during a season, and with the following result: each wins 14 matches, but the one loses the remaining six, whilst the other draws them. Which shall be regarded as the stronger county ? Lancashire says, bracket them equal. Yet the latter has much the better record. Or take another example :— X 14 wins 0 losses 6 draws. Y 15 wins 5 losses 0 draws. Again, I ask, which has had the more successful season, X or Y ? Lancashire says Y, in that their wins outnumber X ’s. Never mind their 5 losses. Y takes the championship. Now just put sovereigns in the place of matches. X has £14, and owes nothing ; Y has £15, but owes £5. Therefore Y is richer than X by £1 ! Oh, it is too funny. I cannot believe that the long-headed men of Lancashire were serious when they submitted their scheme ; it reads to me more like a practical joke. Anyhow, it has been condemned and we shall hear no more of it. No change should be made which is not a distinct improvement, else better pursue the old lines even though we are not satisfied with them. Evidently we have not yet discovered the perfect method ; when we do, it will probably be found to be so simple that we shall all wonder why we had not hit upon it earlier. I should not be sur­ prised if it is suggested by a lad in his teens and does not originate from a committee of experts. I welcome the Somerset plan because it is to me the thin end of the wedge : for the first time since 1873, notice is to be taken of the first innings of a match. And here I wish to ventilate an opinion of my own which has been slowly maturing: it did not come to me yesterday, else I would not give voice to it. Why should ‘ ‘ each side have two innings,” as provided by Law No. 1 ? Why should not one innings suffice ? Especially as a return match is played. In that case two, and not three, days might be allotted to a county match. And that would result in a gain all round. At the present time many matches are finished in two days and the players of some counties get a day’s rest. Not in all, however. That third day has to be spent at the nets bowling at County members, and that, I take it, is far less pleasant work to the average professional than taking part in a match.