Cricket 1912

J an . 27, 1912. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 11 Sherwell has not played this season. So far, it is still not quite certain whether he will visit England if selected, Next to him in order of merit as wicket-keeper come Ward, of the Transvaal, and Nicol, of Natal. Which is the better it is hard to say ; opinions differ, but the spirit of partisan­ ship strongly influences the majority of these opinions. In the past I have advocated Nicol, and it is partly due to my personal efforts that the Natalian is receiving his present trial, so it is easy to see in which direction my choice lies. S. J. Snooke I have not seen batting seriously this season ; but he has scored freely, and must rank amongst the certainties for selection. Around Vogler there is a veil of mystery. Wherever cricketers congregate the question is asked, “ Will Vogler be picked ? ” On form there is no denying his claims. From the pavilion he appears to be bowling as well as ever he did, and his figures support this v iew ; but players who have batted against him tell me he has not regained that extra nip off the pitch which made him so dangerous. Anyway, he has consistently taken six, seven and eight wickets an innings whenever he has played. His batting is as good as ever ; but the question is “ Will he be picked ? ” Unfor­ tunately, he is at odds with Sir Abe Bailey, though that gentleman, to whom South African cricket owes so much, has been a good friend to him in the past. Ernest Vogler is still an immense favourite with the cricketing public, and should he be left out of the side there will be a veritable howl of indignation. Uneasy lie the heads of the Selection Committee ! Taking now the players who visited Australia, but who are unknown on English grounds. .T. W. Zulch has so far failed, in my opinion, to justify the high opinions formed of him three years ago ; and, watching him bat, I find it hard to realize that he twice passed the century mark in test matches against Australia. He certainly is not displaying tho form usually associated with a test match batsman. Some of his strokes, notably an off-drive, a hook, and a cut, are crisp and clean, but others are uppish and ill-timed. He has scored well in the trials ; but he has had a lot of luck. For a long time this season, Louis Strieker enjoyed the reputation of being the best batsman playing on the Band. Latterly he has struck a bad patch. Charles Ormerod Cato Pearse (his name is given in full for so much doubt exists as to his proper initials) is, in my opinion, (he most improved batsman who visited Australia. Before he went the best that could be said of him was that, as a stylist, he deserved to rank with R. H. Spooner and L. C. H. Palairet, but he was too impetuous, and was woefully weak in defence. His form in the trials has demonstrated that he now possesses both defence and restraint. It has been alleged against Pearse that he has not the test match temperament, as he asked to be excused from playing in the fourth test in Australia. One does not like to divulge confidences, and in the ordinary course of events I never do so ; but in this case I think an exception may be made, for the suggestions alluded to have appeared in the Band press, and can do the player referred to nothing but harm. My information, coming from a most reliable source, may be accepted as authentic, and provides a full explanation. It will be remembered that for some unac­ countable reason Pearse was dropped for Maitland Hathorn in the third test. Hathorn had done absolutely nothing to justify his inclusion, and, moreover, the state of his health was such as to make it very unwise to include him in such a strenuous game as a test match. He broke down badly, and has never played since. When his selection was made known before the match it was univer­ sally condemned both in Australia and South Africa, and I believe in England strong comment was also made. Pearse very naturally felt hurt, for his previous perform­ ances had justified him in expecting to retain his place. This, then, was the reason for his asking to be excused from playing in the fourth test, so it will be seen it was not a question of temperament. Whether he was right or wrong in the attitude he took is another matter. S. .1. Pegler has been bowling consistently well, and has occasionally knocked up a big score. He keeps a better length, possibly, than anybody else playing on the Band. Moreover, he possesses the physique so neces­ sary for long days in the field. Tom Campbell has been kept out of the trial matches by an injured hand. He was Sherwell’s understudy in Australia, but I do not hold him our second best representative behind the sticks, both Ward and Nicol being his superiors. A point in his favour, however, is his batting. It is said he has no desire to make another tour as second string. If Sherwell does not go, Campbell, in all likelihood, will be asked as first wicket-keeper, with Ward or Nicol as reserve. Marcus Commaille, of the Western Province, was unablo to make the journey North ; his chances at the best were remote, for he is a batsman with very few strokes, though possess­ ing a strong defence. Next we come to the untried aspirants to inter­ national honours. Under this category I include S. V. Samuelson, the Natal googly bowler, though he played once for South Africa against the last M.C.C. team. The Transvaal selection committee made a big mistake by nominating no less than thirty-six players for trial. Exclud­ ing those already dealt with, only B. Beaumont, B. H. Floquet, N. V. Lindsay, P. .1. Heather, H. V. Baum­ gartner, F. Le Hnux, A. N. Difford, I). J. Meintjes, F. Porter, C. J. Newbury, D. M. Brain and T. A. Ward were eventually honoured with recognition, however. From Natal, in addition to Nourse and 0. O. C. Pearse, came S. V. Samuelson, J. D. Cox, II. W. Taylor, 1). J. Nicol, D. K. Pearse, C. B. Carter and J. Davidson. The Western Province supplied P. T. Lewis, B. R. Luyt, B. (i. Melle, P. A. II. Hands and F. Bond ; the Border, G. Hartigan and A. E. C ook ; Eastern Province, W. Glisson ; and Griqualand West, L. G. Tapscott. This list can be very materially reduced before we discuss the players possessing even an outside chance of selection. Those picked for the big trial were :—R. Beaumont (unable to play), B. H. Floquet, F. Porter, F. Le Roux, H. V. Baumgartner and T. A. Ward (Transvaal), H. W. Taylor, D. K. Pearse, S. V. Samuelson, C. 1’. Carter, .1. D". Cox and D. .1. Nicol (Natal), G. Hartigan (Border), 1’. T. Lewis and B. G. Mello (Western Province), and L. G. Tapscott (Griqualand West). R. Beaumont signalised his first appearance in big cricket on Tuesday by making 94 not out against the best bowling the trials have so far produced. Cox, Carter and Samuelson were all showing excellent form at the time Beaumont went in, when wickets wore falling fast. As he made his runs out of a total of 197, and gave no chance, his debut was a most creditable one. He has a strong defence, and can hit well on both sides of the wicket. He possesses a clean off-drive, cuts nicely, and has good on- strokes, so it will be seen he can lay claim to all the attri­ butes of a first-class batsman. B. H. Floquet made his first appearance in represen­ tative cricket with G. A. Faulkner in 1904, and at that time there was little to choose between the two players. Faulkner, however, steadily progressed whilst Floquet stood still. This season Floquet has made a big advance, and quite recently compiled three successive centuries at the Wanderers’ ground, two of them in one match. Unfortunately, tho good impression this performance created was discounted by his ensuing three innings pro­ ducing 0, 0 and 0, including the dreaded spectacles. Floquet is unquestionably a brilliant all-round-the-wicket scorer, and in addition is a useful bowler and fine fielder. F. Porter took Sinclair’s place, the big man being kept out by sore feet. He is not a very likely candidate. Fred Le Roux is a batsman and bowler of the dogged type. His performances this season must command attention, but he is very stiff and possesses a style all his own both in batting and bowling. He is a medium-fast bowler with a low delivery, and makes a new ball swing a lot. In •Johannesburg there are two camps ; one says Le Roux must get his place, while the other laughs at the idea. He is a fine field and very keen. II. V. Baumgartner is an okl Bedford Grammar School boy, and played for Bedfordshire once or twice before coming out here. In 1907 he was the mainstay of the Orange River Colony bowling in the Currie Cup Tourna­ ment. He is a left-hand bowler, slow medium, with an untiring delivery, being able to keep an end up on the hottest day for an hour or two at a time. A batsman is rarely comfortable against Baumgartner ; indeed, he keeps the batsinen so much on the qui vive that he does not get as many wickets as he would did he lull the man in possession into confidence.