Cricket 1912

144 CEICKET : A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. M a y 18, 1912. batting, and, in the two and a half hours during which the innings lasted put together the splendid total of 170*. T o Drumpellier’s 245 for 5 wickets Clydesdale could only reply with 96 for 8, J. McMillan bowling five of them at a cost of 25 runs. Under the auspices of the Western Union, Uddingston defeated Kelburne, and Ferguslie lowered the colours of Kilmarnock. Throughout each game the professional was a dominating factor, and cricketers in that quarter must surely perceive that the paid man is slowly but surely killing their cricket. In addition, there is a taint of commercialism in it all that is unpalatable to the true sportsman. The County Championship Competition was begun at Alloa where Clackmannan County met Fifesliire— or more correctly Dunfermline, as the other clubs in the county will lend no assistance. Fifeshire won by 32 runs ; but if T. A. Bowie had been able to assist the “ wee ” county I doubt not that the result would have been reversed. Up north Forfarshire suffered a second defeat, this time at the hands of Dundee Victoria. While they have certainly a surplus of good cricketers, I do not think they are really able to turn out two first-class elevens on one afternoon. The Grange and Drumpellier do so in the height of the season ; but th ey meet with many reverses in consequence. These three clubs are about the strongest in the country, yet not so strong that they can divide their forces and still achieve the success their position calls for. However, it ensures all members a good game, which is a great point in its favour. In Borderland a most exciting finish was the outcome of the meeting at Mossilee, Galashiels, between the cham­ pions, Hawick, and Gala in a Border League game. Hawick were dismissed for 91, and Gala had lost 9 wickets for 73. The last w icket, however, rose to the occasion and added 39 runs to the total. D. Beaton, an old Grange pro­ fessional, last man in, had 21 n ot out, and before that he had taken 5 wickets for 8 runs. And he only came into the team at the last minute ! Club Cricket Notes and Jottings. A wet Saturday allowed somewhat more space for notice of fixture cards in the last number than I had expected ; but this week comments must be brief. More cards have come to hand, and I am glad to welcome every one of them, but the supporters of the clubs concerned will, I believe, understand what a difficulty there is in finding room for everything. P a rso n ’s G re e n (Hon. Sec., Mr. Henry R. Ellis, 34, Church Avenue, E . Sheen), runs two teams, and has a fall card for each— a good card, too. The week is July 29 to Aug. 3, but some of the matches for it are not yet fixed. B ro n d e s b u ry has three teams, and also a tennis section. Mr. J. Page, jun. (“ Patterdale,” Mapesbury Rd., Brondesbury), is Hon. Sec. The first eleven has matches with several Hertfordshire clubs, as well as with Ealing, London Scottish, Pallingswick, South Hampstead, and other strong metropolitan sides. S h e p h e r d ’s B u sh has four teams out practically every Saturday; three of its elevens play three teams of the Mill Hill Park and Rich­ mond Town clubs, and there are matches for two elevens with several clubs, including Ealing Dean, Paddington, Walham Green, Slough, Merton, Battersea, Bushey, Riyercourt, Boston Park, Grove Park, Neasden, and Parson’s Green. As with the last mentioned club, the week is from July 29 to Aug. 3. Mr. A. W. Hart (65, Milson Rd., West Kensington) is Hon. Sec. Messrs. Neville Dawson and H. D. Swan are joint Hon. Secs, of the G e n tle m e n o f E ssex C.C., which is an organisation quite inde­ pendent of the County club, though its members, nearly all the bearers of well-known names, are almost without exception also members of the Essex C.C.C. The list of matches is short but select; Royal Artillery (Shoeburyness), Felsted School, the Gentle­ men of Cheshire, Eastbourne, South Saxons, and Gentlemen of Suffolk are the sides met. The C o lc h e s t e r and E a st E sse x C.C., which Mr. H. D. Swan captains, has on the contrary a very long list of fixtures; there is no week-day unrepresented in it, though Thursdays and Saturdays are the chief match days. The Week is August 12-17, during which the clubs met are Essex C. & G., Felix- stow, Colchester Garrison, Witham, M.C.C., and Horkesley Park, Mr. Edwin Stiff (North View, North Station Rd., Colchester) is the Hon. Sec. The S t. P ancras C.C. (Hon. Sec. and Treasurer, Mr. J. Rollings Smith; Hon. match Sec. Mr. G. Halsall, 38, Hargrave Park, N.) plays on the Tufnell Park Athletic Ground, and has a card which includes Edgware, Richmond Town, North Middlesex, Berkhamsted, and Cricklewood. This is the club’s twenty-sixth season. The fixture lists of the two clubs— R ossa lia n s and P a ra lia n s — of which Mr. T. A. Higson is the guide, philosopher, and friend, to say nothing of being Hon. Sec. and in one case if not both captain, have already been given in our pages. The Rossallians tour for three weeks in July, the Paralians for a week in September. Both cards are conspicuously neat and tasteful, that of the Rossallians bearing the arms of the famous school whence came the Rev. F. Wynyard Wright, T. A. Higson, L. V. Harper, the twin brothers Stephens, the brothers A. W. and F. B. Roberts, and many another good man and true. It is somewhat surprising that the old boys of the Merchant Taylors’ School should have been without a cricket club so long. But this has now been remedied ; and C r ic k e t offers a hearty welcome to the card of the O.M .T’s C.C. Messrs. R. H. Wells (23, Filey Avenue, Upper Clapton, N.E.) and S. W . Goble (23, Warwick Road, Upper Clapton) are joint Hon. Secs., and Mr. J. P. Jamieson captain. The card gives only the first eleven fixtures, which includes matches with Roehampton, Richmond, Wimbledon, Chigwell, Addiscombe, Beckenham, Stanmore, Bushey, Bank of England, and other strong sides; but Mr. Wells tells me that a second eleven will also be run, and that a good many games have already been arranged for it. One comes ; another passes. The little world of cricket—not so very little either, seeing that it is practically co-extensive with the British Empire, with off-shoots wherever a few Britons are gathered together in foreign parts and among our kinsmen in the States— is like the greater world. Welcome to the O.M .T.’s, and now farewell, a long farewell, to the B h ix ton W a n d e r e r s , a club with a record of close upon 35 years’ good play and good sportsmanship ! The club’s lease of the ground at Dog Kennel Hill has expired, and a renewal was not to be had. So the Brixton Wanderers must drop out. They will carry through their Whitsuntide tour this year, and then the bonds will be loosened, and men who have played side by side for many seasons past will be found in various camps, but not, one is sure, forgetting the days of yore and the good old club. Two of its founders, Messrs. E. Gilbert and W. A. Gilligan, have been connected with it throughout its whole existence. The B r ix to n C.C.—it is one of those anomalies that abound in cricket that while the Brixton Wanderers go under for want of a ground, Brixton flourishes as a wandering club—has its usual capital card. Mr. A. J. Trollope (153, Beechcroft Road, Upper Tooting— will brother secretaries please note change of address ?) is Hon. Sec. In a year or two his club will be able to celebrate its jubilee, for it was founded in 1864. There is a Kent and Sussex tour in August (5th to 9th), when Horsmonden, Yalding, Rolvenden, Tenterden Park, and Hastings and St. Leonard’s are played. “ Please endeavour to be in time ” is printed in bold lettering under the fixture list— a reminder that might be worth giving on other cards, from all one hears. K en sin g ton (N. & S.) C.C. (Hon. Sec., Mr. W . A. Tunks, 31, Wallingford Avenue, N. Kensington) runs two Saturday elevens and a mid-week team. Mr. Tunks is captain of the first XI. as well as secretary to the club. Shepherd’s Bush, Honor Oak, Malden Wanderers. Acton Town, Paddington, L. & N.W. Railway, Amherst, Richmond, Edgware, and Parson’s Green are among the clubs met. A c to n T ow n, a progressive and up-to-date club, whose late Hon. Sec., Mr. Percy Orford, is now the energetic Chairman of MCommittee, the new incumbent of the secretarial office being Mr. F. King (155, High Street, Acton) opened their new ground in Gunnersbury Lane on May-day. Mr. F. A. Baldwin, President of the Acton Chamber of Commerce, performed the formal ceremony of opening, and a good crowd assembled to mark the occasion. Two matches were played. The first team beat Kensington (N. & S.) by 42 runs, F. Shackleford making 41. The second lost to Mr. John Beauchamp’s XI by 25 runs. Mr. Beauchamp is the club’s Presi­ dent, aud a whole-hearted and generous supporter of the game. The Acton Town C.C. are among the first in the field to take full advantage of the new Shops A ct; their membership is largely of men who have been hampered in the past by the difficulty of getting time for regular match play. This is the club's tenth season; last year the first team won 7 matches, lost 4, drew 5, while the A eleven won 7, lost 3, drew 2. The many mid-week matches arranged should prove popular, as the addition of a lawn tennis section is certain to do.