Cricket 1912

J u n e 15, 1912. CEICKET: A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. 235 Men of the Moment in London Club Cricket. N o t a L ucky C a p t a in — A F in e T r io — C oorE R th e H itte r — T o l k e in ’ s B a ttin g — A n I lford T r io — S om e F in e P la ye r s . B y “ S u b e C a tc h . ” As the representative matches in the fight for the London Inter-District Championship are now being commenced, some personal notes on the players who are expected to participate in these charity games during the season will be particularly interesting to readers of C r ic k e t . For the third year in succession Arthur Keeble, the captain of the Beckton team has been chosen to lead East London in these competition games, and I am therefore fortunate in being able to give his photo in this issue. In East London at any rate there is not a better known player than the Beckton captain, who, but for an accident some years ago, might now have been play­ ing for the Kent county team. A free scoring batsman with a sound defence, and a fine variety of run-getting strokes, Keeble is as good a player as he is a captain. His best scoring shot is perhaps a drive past cover, but he can also cut, and does not often fail to mete out proper punishment to leg balls. As a fielder in the country Keeble, in spite of the years he has been playing, still wants a lot of beat­ ing. He is a very firm believer in good fielding, and attributes much of Beckton’s success in the past to the high standard of fielding the team have always been able to maintain. N ot a L u ck y C a pta in . In the placing of his field and in the handling of his bowlers Keeble always exercises sound judgment, yet in big matches I do not regard him as a lucky captain. Apart from this he has rendered the Beckton club magnificent service as a batsman, bowler, fielder, and leader, and no club cricketer in London knows more about the game than Arthur Keeble, whose style at the crease is quite first-class. Perhaps the only weakness in his batting is that he is a trifle too fond of the forward stroke ; still he scores a large number of runs every season, and during his career has made centuries against many clubs. For the photo of A. T. Keeble I am indebted to the “ Club Cricketers’ Handbook.” A F in e T r io . A very popular cricketer in West London is J. Bowstead, of the Pallingswick Club. Bowstead is a dazzling kind of batsman. His stand at the crease and his easy style in meeting the ball and forcing it to the boundary delights everyone who sees him play. Besides being a prolific run-getter, Bowstead is a more than useful bowler, and quite a high-class captain. The Pallingswick club are certainly fortunate in possessing several very fine players, for in addition to Bowstead there are J. R. Cocke, and G. L. Hebden, who are both playing in the representative games this season. This pair, like -Bowstead, are all-round cricketers right above the average—Hebden possibly one of the finest cricketers in West London. Hebden has often played for Middlesex. He is quite a great batsman with an ideal style, and few men obtain more runs in a season than he does. C ooper th e H it t e r . H. G. Mayes, the Beckton fast bowler, and W. Cooper, the left hand slow bowler, will also be in the representative picture if photos of the teams are taken. Mayes is quite a good fast bowler, who may yet get a trial with Essex. Cooper is a great club player, but a poor county cricketer. Like all left hand batsmen, Cooper is a rare hitter on the leg side, and he can also cut and drive with power, but I do not regard his defensive tactics as very strong. As a bowler he looks quite easy to play. He only takes a little hopping kind of run, and sends up a slow hanging ball that comes off the pitch quickly. Without much break Cooper is a difficult bowler to meet, because nearly every ball he bowls will hit the wicket, therefore you have to keep playing at him all the time. T o l k e in ’ s B a ttin g . Three others who are expected to shine in the representative games are W. P. Rowley, of Mill Hill Park, C. T. Burgess, of Shepherd’s Bush, and J. H. A. Tolkein, of Ealing. The last-named is perhaps better known than Rowley or Burgess, yet the Mill Hill Park and Shepperd’s Bush players are amongst the best cricketers in London. Tolkein, however, is a century maker, and that distinction has brought his name prominently before the public. Tolkein is a pretty batsman to watch. He never hesitates, and his timing of the ball is wonderfully correct. With a sound defence, Tolkein plays every ball on its merits, and with his fine variety of scoring strokes he is able to register runs quickly against the best of bowling. A n I lford T r io . I am exceedingly doubtful if there is a better club wicket­ keeper than J. H. Gathercole of Ilford. Utterly fearless, Gathercole will stand up and take any kind of bowling. He is as quick as lightning with his hands. Some of his stumping achievements have been quite remarkable, and he is fully entitled to be regarded as East London’s wicket-keeper this season. E. C. Porter, a colleague of Gathercole’s and T. M. Weaver, the left hand bowler, also re-appear in the representative matches. Porter is a very steady batsman with great ability to get the ball away on the leg side. Weaver is a slow left hand bowler, who has several times been asked to play for Hampshire, and who has performed the hat trick on 44 occasions, yet he is still bowling right at the top of his form. A. T. KEEBLE, Captain, Beckton C.C. S om e F in e P l a y e r s . There may be better bowlers in London Club Cricket than D. R. Osborne of Ealing, but I do not know them. Osborne has a nice easy action, and he bowls a deadly medium pace ball. H. Weston, of Wal­ ham Green, is another great club cricketer, and H. W. Frampton, of Fulham, is a first-class batsman, with a fine variety of all-round the wicket scoring strokes. A. S. Ling, the Boston Park wicket-keeper, and heavy scoring batsman, is like A. F. Morcom of St. Thomas’s Hospital, a splendid cricketer, while King Prentice, of South Essex, E. Connor, of South-West Ham, and Rev. F. A. W. Wilkinson, of West Ham Park fame, are worthy representative London players. E. C. Kirk is another likely starter in these games, and I hope to see Wilfred Reay in them ; also F. M. Barton the Spencer slow bowler. Reay is quite a fast bowler with an action which resembles that of Lockwood, the famous old Surrey and England match winner. Wanted . By young public school man, good bat and field, who has played with success for second-class county, engagement as Secretary or Assistant Secretary to a cricket or general sports club of good standing.— Address to, “ F .T .,” c/o Mr. J. N. Pentelow, Malvern, Steyning, Sussex.