Cricket 1912

J u n e 15, 1912. CRICKET : A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. 239 annoying than to find that another official has stepped in, quite without authority, and advised the majority not to make the journey ? It is the old story of ‘ ‘ too many cooks,” and is distinctly not cricket. “ The powers that be ” of cricket seem reluctant to answer questions as to incidents that have actually happened during a game. A case in point occurred at Reading. The batsman took his guard with both feet outside tne crease to a fast bowler ; a run was made, and the umpire cried “ short run.” Was he justified in so doing ? The incident caused a deal of argument during lunch, and though Law 2 of cricket justifies the umpire to some extent, it was thought advisable to appeal to “ the powers that b e ” for their ruling. This is their answer: “ The batsman must make good his ground from end to end to be entitled to a run ; see Law 2, but he would satisfy the law if he stepped out of his ground to take his guard and then ran from that position.” Does not the latter part contradict the reading of the law ?* I leave it to my readers to solve. Nowadays there is a tendency in some teams for almost every member to usurp the duties of captain during the game. This is all wrong. The captain is leader ; it is for him, and for none other, to give orders ; and those orders should be obeyed. It would in every way conduce more to the success of a team if members with this weakness would pause to remember the responsibility which a captain has. No skipper with a proper respect for his fellow members would ignore reasonable suggestions ; but that is another matter. Such conduct as I complain of tends to lessen the side’s confidence in its leader, and in many cases leads to unpleasantness. Of course there are captains and captains ; but it is impossible for even the best to see everything. Will some of m y readers, when they are on the field, and think they can make useful suggestions, just quietly approach the captain between two overs, and make them ? Captains are only human, and it is not in human nature to feel pleasant when treated as of no importance. Cricket of the present day is played under such varying conditions that it is pleasing to note the great improvement in the pitches of the L.C.C. ground and other public places. The governing bodies have gone to the length of laying water on, e tc .; the outfield is better kept, and thousands of cricketers play their matches undsr far better conditions than was the case a few years back. Yet I notice that accidents are repeatedly occurring. The pitches are not entirely to blame. On many occasions I have watched games played in the parks, and it is astonishing the great number of short pitched balls that are bowled, to the danger of batsman and wicket-keepers. It is doubtful whether park cricket is played quite seriously enough. While I admire men who obtain a certain amount of enjoy­ ment from their cricket, there are times when a little thought as to tbe length of a ball pitched would not only mean better cricket, but would tend to the avoidance of unnecessary accidents, attributable in many cases to sheer carelessness. Cricket in the Scottish Highlands. B y “ C e l t . ” In the early forenoon cricket in the far north had very little prospect of taking place, for with almost a week of wet weather all appearance up till the hack of noon seemed to foreshadow rain. Then it turned out a most propitious afternoon for the game, the sun shining brightly. In Inverness one League game took placc between last year’s champions, Elgin City and the 'Citadel C.C. in the Victoria Park, a perfect death-trap to clubs accustomed to good grounds, and although not impossible even with as strong a side as Elgin City, no one expected that they would have to re­ tire vanquished, but such was the case! We may say that it is * I don ’t think so. It does not appear that a single run can possibly be called short w ith correctness. What of a batsman w ho runs out yards to hit the ball? Part of his run has been accom plished before the stroke is m ade.— E d ito r , very seldom that Elgin need to bat their whole side. Citadel took first innings and made a bad start, four wickets being down for 14 runs, but finished with their total at 89, one that would not have been a stumbling block to a side like Elgin but for an unfortunate occurrence that took place almost at the start of Elgin’s innings. A batsman hit a deep field catch, and a dispute arose as to whether the fieldsman got the ball inside or outside the boundary flag. The umpire could not see and the batsman retired, but it completely upset the morale of the remaining batsmen, and a perfect debacle occurred. They were all dismissed for 36 runs. It is many years since Elgin got routed for such a total. At Fort George, Nairn County met the resident regiment the 93rd Highlanders, and pulled off a rather substantial victory, Nairn County securing 152 runs to the soldiers 61. J. C. Campbell of the Nairn County made 73 runs. A Northern Counties Team entertained some of the Officers of the Navy to a game at Inverness on Saturday, which resulted in the Navy showing their supremacy on land as well as at sea, Commo­ dore Sir R. K. Arbuthnot getting 48 for the Navy, Engineer Lieut. Turner 25, Assistant paymaster Carter 30, Lieut. Offenshaw 19, Commander Preston 18, and the total being 194. The counties got 175, Major Brown of the Depot Company getting 87. Overseas Cricket. The portrait which illustrates this article is that of probably the most active and untiring worker Canadian cricket has ever had. Y et Mr. Morrison is not a Canuck by birth. He hails from Kingston, Jamaica, where he was born on May 4, 1880. He was educated at Kingston Collegiate School, of which his father, the late William Photo by] [ IP. A. Martel , Winnipeg , Canada Mr. ARTHUR R. MORRISON. Morrison, M.A., was head-master. The school had an excellent cricket reputation, and turned out some of the best players Jamaica has ever had. A. R. M.’s two brothers have earned distinction in the field. C. S. is a regular Jamaican representative, and came to England with the West Indian team of 1906. William is the captain of the Kingston C.C., the pioneer club of the colony, and secretary