Cricket 1912

May 4, 1912. CEICKET : A WEEKLY EECOED OP THE a AME. 105 Yorkshire Gentlemen, Old Dunelmians, and teams brought by 0. Y . Adamson, C. L. Townsend, C. F. Oumberlege, and Harrison, the County pro. Distinctly weak in batting last year, D e r b y S c h o o l made up for this to a great extent by keeping the opposing sides’ runs down. A fast bowler, much needed on the hard wickets, was lacking ; but five men on the side took nearly 200 wickets among them at an average cost of under a dozen runs per wicket, which looks good enough. Lomas, who headed the batting averages, has gone : Jacques, who came second, is the new captain, and ought to make a lot more runs this year ; there also remain Wilmshurst, a useful all-rounder, Alcock, Riches, and Moon, who only played in two or three matches. The secretary thinks that the side should have a fair chance in all the fixtures except those with the Friars, always a foregone conclusion. Matches will not be played with Nottingham High School this year ; but Newcastle H. S., Wirksworth G. S., Wyggeston School, Leicester, and Loughborough G. S. will all be played home and home, possibly also Abbotsholme School, and there will be matches with the O. B ’s and the newly-formed Old Derbeians’ Society. Special Club Notes. C o n t r ib u t e d b y “ T h e C h ie l .” The Heathfield C.C. will again provide good opposition on their well-known ground at Wandsworth this year. This club is one of those which combine several branches of sport— cricket, lawn tennis, bowls, etc. Matches with the Heathfield are as a rule very stem games. The Aquarius C.C. (Met. Water Board) have a good fixture list for so young a club. They have a splendid ground, with every accommodation, at West Acton, and are well supported by the members of the Staff Association. The Battersea C.C. have started their 57th season well, with a goodly number of new members. Len Hiscock is skipper again, and their play in the Park will be watched by the usual thousands during the season. The White House C. C., probably one of the best managed organisations in the outskirts of London, have a lengthy fixture list. It is surprising the number of good class cricketers this club secures. Social gatherings and good fellowship form the backbone of their success, no doubt. Probably Shepherds Bush provide as much enjoyment to cricketers as any club going. Their ground, though small, is delightfully situated, and one can always meet the best of good fellowship there. The S.B. coming season promises to be very successful. Crofton Park have probably one of the finest scoring grounds in London at Honor Oak. Bowlers are put to a searching test on their excellent wickets. Our old friend Glass, I understand, is as keen as ever. Another rising club is Upper Sydenham. It is difficult to find a keener lot of cricketers, and few sides turn out so spick and span— so true are they to their club colours. That well-known wandering club, Brixton, possess some excellent players, and at their strongest, are about the best wandering side in London. They are a batting side to the last man, and the number of their men who have been going to give up cricket for years past, but simply cannot resist year after year the game’s fascination, is really remarkable. A. J. Trollope tells me that it is likely they will this year be stronger than ever. “ T h e C h ie l . ” WANTED .— “ The Athletic News ” Cricket Annuals for 1888 to 1891. Write, “ Lancastrian,” c/o The Manager of “ C r ic k e t ,” 33 & 35 Moor Lane, London, E.C. Liverpool Jottings. B y G. A. B rook in g. The game in and around this city is boom ing; and though the standard of excellence exhibited by players is not equal to that reached in the mid and late 80’s, a more powerful eleven of Liverpool and District players could be selected to-day than was the case seven or eight years ago. It is true that we have no one to replace A. G. Steel, but 11. H. Spooner is nearly as good a batsman, though, of course, there is no comparison between the pair as bowlers, leaving aside the question of ability in captaincy. Among the senior clubs there is no official league; but the newspapers have organized one on their own account, and non­ official though it may be, it is scanned with much interest each Monday morning. Turning to the games on Saturday last, the premier club of the city, Liverpool, beat Sefton at Sefton Park by 62 runs. Of course it is much too early in the season to criticise seriously the merit of any side (and no one wishes the Seftonians better luck than I do) ; but when I think of the Sefton team of 25 years ago, which included E. Roper, C. L. and F. J. Jones, Harold and Edgar Ratcliffe, T. Evans, and now and again the cousins S. M. and J. J. Crosfield, together with those excellent professionals Champion and Shore; well, they were names to conjure with, and the present eleven have much leeway to make up to rank anything like equal. Liverpool’s victory was chiefly the work of two men, W . E. Blackburne and W . N. Tod. The former secured 6 wickets for 39, and the latter was neatly stumped by that excellent wicket-keeper Imlach for 93. Sefton’s response to the 204 of Liverpool was but 142, McEntegart 55 not out, Raven 32, and Imlach 20 being the only doubles. Sefton included their professional Curtis, the Leicestershire county player, who failed with the bat, but secured 4 wickets for 60 runs. McArdle’s figures were 5 for 31, capital work considering the total was 204. One of the features of the Ormskirk v. Birkenhead Park game, which resulted in a draw, was the excellent form of Tom Ainscough, perhaps the best left hand bat Liverpool has ever possessed. Had the veteran assisted Lancashire regularly in his younger days he would probably have made a great name for himself. Another veteran, Cecil Holden, again turned out for “ the Park,” as Birkenhead are familiarly called, but putting himself in last, had to be content with 1 not out. Holden is the only member of the Liverpool and District team which played against the Australians in 1886 now participating in senior club cricket, though many will be glad to know that D. Q. Steel assists Upton, a junior club, and on Saturday last scored 21. The Bootle v. New Brighton contest must have been most in­ teresting. The last-mentioned were first at the crease and scored 208, leaving Bootle but 95 minutes to get the runs. The brothers F. C. and E. H. Johnson, by compiling 30 and 52 in quick time, put the home team in a good positiion, and as Bert Sharp (brother of Jack Sharp, the county player) hit vigorously for 82 not out, Bootle notched no less than 199 for 2 wickets, which was decidedly good business, and at the same time hard lines. Northern, who have one of the mo3t picturesque grounds in England, situated at Moor Park, Crosby, were away trying their strength against Oxton, and after some fairly interesting play a draw was the result. Mason, the Oxton professional (who assisted Notts on several occassions about 12 years ago), was top scorer for his side with a good innings of 47. Northern could only hope to play for a draw, and F. G. Peach (who has assisted Derbyshire) compiled doubles, along with J. E. Blackmore, Lashmar, Fraser, and A. H. Green, the last named hitting freely for 34 not out. N OW READY. THE DERBYSHIRE CRICKET GUIDE. Season 1912. Compiled by L. G. W r ig h t and W. J. P ip e r, Junr. (Seventeenth Year.) Contains : Portrait and Biography of Mr. L. O liv e r ; First-Class Cricket in 1911 (by “ L .G .W .” ); Derbyshire Records and Statistics; The Laws of the Game; Fixtures of the Leading Counties, the Australians, the South Africans, and M.C.C., the principal Local Leagues and LOCAL CLUBS; Secre­ taries’ Names and Addresses; and other useful and interesting information. Price Twopeuce or by post Threepence from B acon and H udson, Printers, Derby.