Cricket 1911

84 CRICKET : A W EEK LY RECORD OF THE GAME. A pril 22, 1 9 1 1. A Chat about “ Cricket.” HE c o v e r o f C ricket has alw ays been blue : it has never had to blush for the self-praises it has contained. But, in a world of which hustle and bounce have taken full possession (however r e g r e tta b ly ), persistent silence about one’s merits is liable to the worst misconstruction. Perhaps the Scottish “ good conceit” of one self can be too far disregarded. Anyhow, at a period when the familiar cover is undergoing an increase, and attempted improvement, of its contents, it seems seasonable that somebody should stretch the rule and put into the mouth of “ the weekly record of the game ” the words that it is too modest to frame for itself. And what a debt of gratitude the game owes to its unre­ mitting little periodical ! Now in its thirtieth volume, for nine and twenty years it has provided ‘ ‘ the abstract and brief chronicle of the time ” not alone for the paying multi­ tude,when cricket has been on the crest of a wave of popu­ larity, but for the staunch few (comparatively) whilst it has passed through its seasons of depression, never failing in its provision for contemporary readers, and always laying up a store of information that to future generations will be priceless. It would be idle to pretend that through every stage of its existence Cricket has been a source of affluence for its proprietors ; nor is it meet that the self-sacrificing loyalty to the game of those who enabled it to weather early storms should now be made public property. But the facts remain that, through good and ill-fortune, the journal has never from its setting out failed the cricketing public, and that they in their turn owe it, and those who ‘ ‘ ran ” it, a greater debt than is commonly imagined. Nearly thirty years ago—I can still see it in my mind’s eye—a youngster used to go trudging off to the Oval to watch and almost worship famous men that it seemed nearly incredible to believe he was beholding in the veritable flesh. “ W. W .,” Steel, Lyttelton, the Studds, Lord Harris, Shrewsbury, Gunn, Lohmann, Spofforth, Blackham, Murdoch, and Grace himself—it seemed almost profanity to breathe their names ! And there, where ‘ ‘ this week’s Cricket and marking pencil ” are still vended by a youth who has not aged a twelvemonth meanwhile, he used to exchange an ungrudged “ tuppence ” for one of the early numbers of the game’s greatest history. Furtively he would dip into it whenever an interval in the play permitted —and swell with consciousness that it was making him an authority to folks at home. At home he conscientiously devoured it to the last line of its advertisements, and then proceeded to clip out the pictures and tit-bits of the letter­ press to paste in his scrapbook, regretting at every dig of the scissors to have to mutilate something nearly as inter­ esting on the other side. Then I see, of a later date, a young man ordering, and insisting on getting or changing his bookseller, his indispens­ able companion regularly ; rebutting the libel that ‘ ‘ it doesn’t come out in the winter,” and accumulating it in piles upon piles on his bookshelves. (Not the germ-circu- lating shelves of a public library, but his own). And how those volumes grew ! And now I recall a middle-aged party—we must always be middle-aged whilst we can balance present existence between expected survival and past recollection—who has shed more than a little of the book-collector. But he, even he, dares assert that for intrinsic value the thirty volumes of Cricket constitute the greatest treasure that any cricketer could possess—or, rather, can possess till the array is swollen by additions that must continue to enhance its value. Reflect on their contents, in imagination if you do not possess them, and the modesty of the journal will astonish you ! Those closely packed volumes enclose a complete history of the game during all those years, in its new homes Overseas as well as in the old home, England. I n i 882 Association football was still in its infancy, and no other sport could pretend in the least to rival cricket as the National Game. Cricket, as a first-class game, still had a history of a hundred and fifty years behind it. But since 1882, when Cricket was launched, quite twice as many important matches have been played as in all the years preceding its advent. And the full scores of all those thousands upon thousands of matches have been chronicled in its pages in due order for handy reference. Not the mere scores either, but detailed reports as well, which, one who has had frequent occasion to compare them with others can vouch for, could not be made more informative in their compass. At the close of every season, or every tour, again—no matter in what part of the world—pains- unsparing statisticians have been ready with their summa­ ries, to pack away in those precious pages for handy getting at. Men of renown as epitomisers, who can hardly be convicted of an error in their calculations, have dipped into every age and region of the game’s history and contributed exhaustive tables for us to depend on : results, records, aggregates, averages—everything that curiosity can prompt us to seek. A set of Cricket is an unrivalled statistical store-house. In the sphere of pure usefulness, moreover, it contains a bibliography of the game, which the periodical review keeps ever up-to-date, and so provides us with an index to matters which even its own pages do not embrace. But usefulness alone has never been permitted to exclude attractiveness from the pages of Cricket. Many of its original contributions have been of a high literary order. Many have worthily borne the test of reproduction in book form. One may example at random Fred Gale’s essays, F. S. Ashley-Cooper’s researches, and W. A. Bettesworth’s incomparable 1 ‘ Chats.” Many more would deserve it if the volumes themselves were not enduring. And careful reprints in their columns from old originals (many of extreme rarity) have given the richest literary treasures of the game to its poorest “ supporters,” and rendered Cricket a classical shrine which the followers of other sports may envy. Unselfishness has been the keyword of contributors to Cricket. The greatest authorities on the past have bestowed whole sheaves of delightful transcripts and facsimiles on its readers ; plates, reports, scores, leaflets, poems and maga­ zine articles. To one in particular every person who takes the least interest in the game’s history is deeply indebted. And a corner of the paper is permanently devoted, when­ ever space serves, to the curious “ finds ” that generous readers may contribute. The same kindliness of correspon­ dents has supplied many an addition to the obituary roll and enabled Cricket to maintain its character for complete­ ness even in this sad respect. The weekly portraits and biographies of celebrated cricketers amount to a magnificent album. The photo­ graphs of teams, grounds and incidents are valuable mementos. The immortal “ Chats ” are a feature asso­ ciated for many years with Cricket and famous wherever the game is played. These attractions alone make a volume of the book one of the most appreciated gifts that a healthy- minded boy can receive. And in ‘ ‘ Gossip ” the regular subscriber to the periodical has always been posted, right down to date, with news of everything of note that has been going on in the cricket world. Very often the intelligence has been exclusive : it has always been trustworthy. But while the directors of Cricket, and its correspondents all over the world, have been authorities themselves, or in close touch with those influenc­ ing the inner councils and movements of the game, the paper has never been, in the hireling respect, an ‘ 1 official ” organ. It is in the best interests of the game that it should not be, but remain fearlessly impartial and independent. It has voiced all sides in matters of controversy, and has itself recommended courses which it honestly thought for the good of the game, equally undeterred by the risk of losing popularity “ at headquarters ” or with the multi­ tude. Cricket has held no axe to either grindstone and, consequently, even in quarters where they have not secured approval, its opinions have always commanded respect. And so for nearlv thirty years—outliving all manner of rivals meanwhile— Cricket has maintained its^positionfas the record of the game to which it has been in every sense devoted. If, now, it were ever in danger of ceasing for