Cricket 1912

232 CEICKET : A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. J u n e 15, 1912. first day. The Lancashire games in 1902, 1903 (only one day’s play), 1907, 1910, and 1911 were all affected by rain. G iv e me Taunton in preference to B a th ! Fine weather at Taunton— nice ground— water in the Tone, a much more fitting place than its general place at Bath— Sammy Woods, Hewett, and others used to send the ball for a swim occasionally—nothing of the sort needed at B a th ! Another feature of Taunton—no crowd to jostle you— very calm and peaceful there. E h , what ? Well, perhaps you are right. The Somerset Committee would hardly consider that a recom­ mendation, naturally. To m y mind Worcester is the loveliest ground in England. There used to be pig-sties at the Diglis end, it is true ; perhaps there are still ; but, except on Bank Holidays, no one needed to sit at the Diglis end. The beautiful tree-shaded stan d ; the grand old cathedral, from whose high tower the chimes floated out over the Severn to those watching the crick et; the picturesque glimpses of the country beyond ; H. K. and R. E. at the wickets, or Wilson and Arnold getting rid of the opposition, w ith two or three Fosters alert and eager in the slips, or Simpson-Hayward sending down his lobs — it was the very height of cricket enjoyment. But the crowd ! The pavilion half-filled, from forty to a hundred members on the stand—four small boys, two or three people who looked as if they had blown in b y accident and were not quite sure whether they wanted to stay, a policeman, a postman, a soldier or two, Fred Hunt and his staff— and a stray dog of doubtful lineage. There were better days, of course ; but thus have I seen it on many a glorious day of green and gold in the years that are past. It is not difficult to understand why the Worcestershire committee consider that Dudley has its points. In the current number of the Windsor Magazine there is a very interesting article by Mr. John Raphael on “ The Value of a Run ” ; and in Pearson's Magazine Mr. H. V. Hesketh-Prichard discourses on “ The W orld’s Team v. the Men in the Moon. ’ ’ But I really don’t think that even the Australians would put Whitty in a World Eleven, good as he is ; and what Mr. Hesketh-Prichard thinks would be the Australian choice is a little too circumlo­ cutional to be of much value. The other five lists given are drawn up by Capt. Wynyard, Dr. Russell Bencraft, R. E. Foster, G. A. Faulkner, and Sibley Snooke. C. B. Fry appears in all five ; so do F. R. Foster, Barnes, Hobbs, P. W . Sherwell, V. T. Trumper, and W . W . Armstrong. Thus we have seven unanimous choices. For the other four places R . H. Spooner and G. A. Faulkner get four votes each (the latter was too modest to select himself), H. V. Hordern and W . Brearley three each, Warren Bardsley two, C. G. Macartney, G. L. Jessop, M. A. Noble, and Tarrant each one. Ave atque vale ! Only a week or two ago I hailed with pleasure the re-appearance of the Canadian Cricketer. Now that capital little paper has gone to the wall. It is difficult to understand, with cricket booming as it is in the Dominion ; but I fancy the cause lies in this—that many men will buy a paper week by week, but will not send in a subscription for a year in advance. There are difficulties enough in the way of getting publicity for a paper in this country, as I can a tte st; those difficulties must be greater still in Canada. T h e last number of the paper did us the honour of quoting almost in its entirety the article on “ Cricket in the Prairie Provinces ” which appeared in a recent number. “ Su re C atc h ” may have confused R. M. Bell with some namesake when he wrote of him as a leg-break bowler. A first-class cricketer who has played against Mr. Bell many times quickly pointed out the error. The bowler himself, replying to a letter of apology, says that it does not matter ; when he bowls he doesn’t get the batsmen out — they get themselves out. He adds that Sutton has a very good fielding side, and he is able to depend on them. But what a number of batsmen in a hurry to yield up their lives R.M.B. must m e e t! Is he as lucky as all that amounts to ? Or is it— rare quality in a cricketer, some say— merely modesty ? T h e gross takings at the first of the nine test matches of 1932— that at Old Trafford—were £955. Of this the the Colonial sides share £668, calculated at one shilling per head of all passing the gates. T h e S. E. Gregory testimonial is a right worthily deserved compliment. Now if only Syd can make a century in the match, all will be w e ll! More surprising things are happening every day. In a recent match in Ireland the total of a side was 236, of which Anderson scored 216, Ogden 58, and the rest very few. Yes, I think I could explain it ; but I don’t see why I should— I merely quote from the Irish Field. S. H. C o c h r a n e , the Squire of Woodbrook, made 99 for his side v. Clontarf on June 1, he and Baker, ex-Surrey, who scored 108, sending up 213 for the first wicket. I understand, that Mr. Cochrane has never yet reached three figures. Hard lines—so near and yet so far ! A new and ornate pavilion has recently been erected at Clongowes W ood College. Its big room is 46 x 17 feet, and there are dressing-rooms, kitchen, store-rooms, &c., opening from it. There is good cricket at Clongowes Wood. Frank Sugg was coach there some years ago, I believe. D u b l in U n iv e r s it y has a capital bowler in J. H. Ward. On May 30 and June 1 he took 6 for 42 and 4 for 29 v. Phoenix (for whom the mighty Morrow was playing) ; on June 3 and 4 he had 9 for 18 (including two hat tricks, the tenth man being run out) and 4 for 18 v. County Meath at Navan. H. G. Curgenven, the Cantab turned pro., is playing for County Meath, by the way. It was at Ely that he first appeared as a professional. I have been told that I am too ready to find excuses for failure. It may be true. The under dog is apt to have my sympathy, and I don’t find much pleasure in running down any unsuccessful man or side, whatever I may find in praising the heroes who have achieved. To me it seems that the biggest thing of all is to have done one’s best. A n d I do think that considerable excuse may be found for the poor show of the Afrikanders on Monday at Lord’s. The conditions were such that quick footwork was essential for success. But nearly every man on the colonial side is used to matting wickets, and matting wickets make fast-footed batsmen. It needs a genius to alter his whole style in a few weeks, and on such pitches as these the South Africans will always be tremendously handicapped by the methods induced by their home cricket. Turf wickets are impossible on South African grounds, I understand. The Australians, on the other hand, do now and then get a genuinely queer pitch, though of rather a different kind from ours, and they are not tied to the crease, so to speak, by the dread of catching spikes in matting and tumbling. T h e r e is nothing amiss with Claude Carter’s pluck. He got a very nasty, though fortunately not long-lasting, injury at the Oval, and the first words he spoke after it were an expression of annoyance that he should have missed the catch ! S ome promising starts in matches early this week : Kent, three wickets down for 5, Gloucestershire two for 18 Worcestershire two for 2, the Australians three for 10 ! But all recovered to some extent from the bad beginning. I h e a r that Buckenl) ani’s benefit fund is already swelling quite nicely. He deserves a bumper. So do Barnes and Field—one hopes that they will not be forgotten. A r t h u r L il l e y — it seems time to drop the “ Dick ” —was presented with a handsome dressing-case at the annual meeting of the Bournville C.C., Mr. W . A . Cadbury making the presentation.