Cricket 1912

J une 1, 1912. CEICKET : A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. 189 (Barnsley v. Elland). F. W. Elam scored 65 (Leeds v. Brighouse). The one century was J. W . Robinson’s 111 (Batley v. Heckmond- wike). Bradford went down to Ossett, in spite of Knutton’s 7 for 30, and Wakefield to Skipton, on account of Homer’s 6 for 30 ; both of these were somewhat unexpected results. Crofts, who skippers Pontefract, had 7 Castleford wickets for 32 ; Greenwood (Hopton Hills v. Peatherstone) took 6 for 38. In the Huddersfield League Farrar’s 63 (Lockwood v. Honley) P. Johnson’s 62 (Huddersfield v. Linthwaite Hall) and H. Beckwith’s 56* (Slaithwaite v. Holmfirth) were the leading individual scores. Walter Bedford’s S for 32 for Hudderfield was the premier bowling feat of the day. On the banks of Tyne C. M. Skinner (73) and C. F. Stanger- Leathes (71) were chief contributors to St. George’s big total of 265 for 6 v. Tynedale. Tynedale had 6 down for 38, but afterwards Arkle (62*) and Little (40) did fine work for them,W. Harrison made 81 for the County Club v. South Northumberland. F. Scott ran up 90 for Benwell Hill v. Benwell, the Hill easily winning this local Derby. In Leicester cricket bowlers had matters all their own way, no score of 50 being recorded in any match of importance. In the Durham Senior League on Saturday the first century of the season was registered by Weight, the Hendon pro., who made a brilliant 143 v. Wearmouth. The game was drawn. C. Y. Adamson and Hendren were again the main factors in a Durham City victory— this time over Philadelphia. The county captain’s 52* was the highest and best score of the game. J. N. Beasley’s 55 was the biggest innings for South Shields v. Eppleton, the latter suffering their fifth successive defeat. T. A. Bradford made 48 of Chester-le- Street’s total of 105; for the opposition, Burnmoor, who pulled through by one wicket, J. Summerill took 7 for 50. Morris pulled Sunderland through. His side only made 105 (E. L. Squance 48 a long way highest scorer); but Morris took 7 for 25, and Seaham Harbour were all out for 64. Bulmer, 9 for 26 (Guisborough v. Stockton), Tolson, 8 for 40 (Darlington v. Saltbnrn), G. E . Pinder, 7 for 15 (Norton-on-Tees v. Thornaby), and W. J. Kimsto, 5 for 22 (West Hartlepool v. Redcar) —these analyses in the North Yorkshire and South Durham League suggest a day of small scoring, as was the case. Guisborough, Darlington, West Hartlepool, Norton, all won ; and North Ormesby beat Bishop Auckland by 8 runs. Big Matches of the Week. M.C.C T eam v . B e st of E n glan d . —With conditions all in favour of the batsmen, and so many cracks on each side, it was reasonable to expect heavy scoring; but that the M C.C. team should run up over 500 against Brearley, Carr, Dean, and the other Rest bowlers was more than one anticipated. Fry was blamed for not patting Thompson on earlier; but as Thompson, though his name figured on the card, was only fielding as a substitute for Field—who failed to materialise, and so let in the Northampton man—this criticism is really beside the mark. The Rest had a slice of luck in getting Hobbs cheaply ; but Rhodes and George Gunn added 89 for the second wicket, Hearne and Warner 58 for the fourth, Warner and Woolley 198 for the fifth, Foster and Douglas 69 for the seventh, and Douglas and Smith 47 for the eighth ; and probably neither Brearley nor Carr has ever been treated quite so disrespectfully before. Woolley, with a chance at 40, made his 101 in 95 minutes by fine hitting, two 6’s and thirteen 4’s included. Warner, rather slow at first, played in exhilarating fashion later, gave no chance, batted just on three hours, and hit a 5 and twelve 4’s. Fry was guilty of another lache —so say some—in starting his side’s batting with Humphreys and Thompson. Is it not proved?— for they failed! Smith stumped Mead in brilliant style. Fry and Day batted w ell; but Jessop’s 88 was the gem of the innings—88 in 67 minutes, including a 6 and fourteen 4’s. Fry and Spooner sent up 108 for the first wicket in the follow-on, both playing finely; but after they were parted only Hnmphreys and Jessop, who added 99 for the fourth wicket in an hour, did much, Hitch bowling very effectively towards the close. L an cash ire v . L e ic e st e r s h ir e .— If the County Palatine had batted first, more excuse might have been made for the visitors on the ground of a difference in conditions. It is tolerably certain that Lancashire did have a good deal the best of the wicket, but 409 sandwiched between 75 and 61—rather overlapping for a sandwich, eh ?—is altogether too much to explain away. John Sharp’s splendid innings — his 28th century in first-class cricket—was the great feature of the game, though one must not overlook his captain’s 96, or the deadly bowling of Fairclough (only played because Dean was away) and Huddleston. These two had between them 18 wickets at a cost of only 98 runs, the Earlestown man’s being the better average. Sharp batted 4^ hrs. for his biggest score to date, gave only one chance, and hit twenty-three 4’s. Hornby made 96 in 2£ hrs., and the partnership between him and the Hereford-born man produced 245 for the seventh wicket. S ussex v . D e r b y s h ir e . —Runs were always hard to get at Hove, for the fielding on both sides was of the keenest, and two men little known to fame as bowlers—Slater and H. L. Simms—besides Albert Relf, who actually sent down 50 overs in the match for 54 runs, bowled exceptionally well. Slater should do fine work for Derbyshire in the future, and the old Malvernian’s bowling was an eye-opener to at least one spectator. There were three really good innings—Cadman’s capital 95, Joe Vine’s steady and solid 84, marred only by one chance and lasting just on 4 hours, and Morton’s excellent 70*. The Jam Sahib, in spite of a strained right hand, showed much of his old form, and will be making centuries before long. A. J. Wood has style and strokes, but at present little power ; if he ever acquires this he should turn out a very fine bat indeed. Jupp again gave promise, he and Street providing the liveliest play of the match in making 37 in 20 minutes for the last Sussex wicket. How welcome the victory of Sussex was may be guessed ; but Derbyshire are far from being the poor side some write them down, and will win matches before long. Root was run out in curious fashion. He had grounded his bat, but his feet were still outside the crease ; Street kicked the ball at the wicket, and it knocked the bat up and tumbled off the bails before it was down again. C am brid ge U n iv e r sit y v. Y o r k sh ir e . — In Kidd’s absence, Mulholland captained the Light Blue side. Yorkshire were without Hirst, Rhodes and Booth. Ten men reached double figures in the first innings of the game, Wilson and J. H. B. Sullivan, a Cantab from St. Peter’s, York, sending up 77 for the first wicket, and two young amateurs, Tasker and Loxley Firth, adding 80 for the fifth. The Marlborough freshman, R. B. Lagden, alone did much in Cam­ bridge first; his 101 was a splendid innings, varied in strokes, chanceless, lasting 140 minutes, and containing a 6 and thirteen 4’s. G. A. Fairbairn, an Australian, helped him to add 75 for the fifth wicket. The men of the big county could do little against some good bowling on a queerish pitch at their second attempt, Mul- holland’s slows proving very effective. Cambridge wanted 246 for victory, and on an improved wicket won by 4 wickets through some very level batting. Patteson and Riley put on 61, Patteson and Mulholland 65, and Fairbairn and Susskind 56. A really good w in! O xford U n iv e r sity v . A u str a lia n s .— At the outset the Dark Blue bowlers met with such success that 5 wickets—Macartney’s included—were down for 51. Then Bardsley and Gregory added 110 in 95 minutes for the sixth, and the left-hander and Emery 46 in 30 for the seventh. Bardsley’s 88 was, rare good value, if not quite one of his very best efforts. Oxford began their first innings moderately, and finished it miserably. The score was 45 for two when in a bad light on Thursday evening Whitty and Hazlitt took the next three without a run, and in the morning the same two bowlers finished off the innings in fewer than a hunured balls for 71. The follow-on produced better batting. Knott aud Twining made 70 for the first wicket in really good form, Five were down for 112 ; but then Campbell and Crutchley added 59 for the sixth. After that little was done, Macartney having a success with the ball, and the Australians won easily. G lo u c este r sh ir e v . H a m p sh ir e . —The absence of Fry and Jessop nearly balanced, but the visiting side also lacked Mead. Dipper showed unusual freedom in the home county’s first innings; his excellent 104* took him under 2£ hours. He hit thirteen 4’s. W. W. Hoskin stayed while 65 runs were added for the fifth wicket, and with Huggins partnering the Tewkesbury man 71 were added in 45 minutes for the seventh. The visitors’ batting was dull and slow, though Captain Barrett and Stone deserve some credit. Dennett again showed how much he means to Gloucestershire, follow­ ing up analyses of 5 for 05 and 7 lor 140 with 8 for 72. C. O. H . Sewell’s 86 was the only outstanding feature of the Gloucestershire second innings. He batted finely, despite two chances, staying nearly 2£ hours, and hitting eleven 4’s. Hants needed 244 for victory, and at first looked like making the runs. All the earlier batsmen did something ; but no one did anything big, and after the first four wickets had fallen Dennett had matters all his own way, and brought his figures to 16 for 146 for the match, his side winning by a sub­ stantial margin. Kennedy’s excellent work for the losers must not be overlooked. W o r c e ste r sh ir e v . S ou th A frican s . —Mitchell won the toss, and sent the county in on Friday (no play Thursday, owing to rain) on a wicket that was soft and dead, but from all accounts by no