Cricket 1912

280 CEICKET: A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. J un e 29, 1912. 14 runs and a wicket, but he was kept on for 85 minutes—too long a spell for any bowler however willing, unless he be a Tom Richardson. Dean, though bowling well, was forced to sacrifice some of his variety to escape being Foster over again, and for a time he exploited the off theory with little success. A fast bowler was sadly needed. F r y ’s management of his bowling m ay have been dictated by the state of the pitch; but he might at least have tried his other bowlers, instead of only Barnes, Foster, Dean and Hearne, before the follow-on was saved. I have said that the A ustraiiau bowling was excellent, and in its general aspects it merited the description. Kelleway, it is true, m ight bave bowled a length with more persistency instead of experimenting with his short delivery. Em ery would have been very deadly if he had kept a length, but this he failed to do. On the whole, however, the Australian bowling compared quite favourably with our bowling, though, of course, our bowlers got little help from the wicket. The A ustralian fielding, Hobbs and Spooner excepted, was superior to that of England. R everting to M acartney’s innings, it was a wholly delightful and perfect innings. He was very unlucky not to reach his century, yet he lingered too long at 99 and m ight well have made the needed single off more than one ball from Foster on the leg side. H is late cutting was adm irable, while his off-drives were perfect in point of timing. He also timed the ball well on the leg side, and was remarkably quick on his feet in getting back to deal with balls short of a length. I do not recall any previous score of 99 in a test, except that, writing from memory, I think H ill once made 99 and also 97 and 98 in test m atches, the two last being in the same m atch. It would have been a great game, but for the time lost, and the pity is that the match could not be played out. Even as it was, the cricket was always interesting, even after a draw was assured, by reason of Kellew ay’s remarkable innings and the brilliance of Macartney. One will have another opportunity of dealing with the next England side, but it is abundantly clear that the bowling must be strengthened. As a matter of record, it may be stated that the English innings lasted for four hours, and that the Australians made their 282 for 7 wickets in 5£ hours, the slow rate being, of course, due to Kellew ay. The attendance on the concluding day was very large, no fewer than 13,50 0 paid for admission, so that there must have been some 16,000 persons present. T his is a pretty conclusive proof that the pnblic are keen on test cricket, and that interest in the “ good old ” game, in spite of what the pessim ists and would-be reformers say to the contrary, is far from being dead and is not even moribund. Indeed, it is very much alive and active, and the fact is speedily demonstrated whenever the sun shines. During the three days— two being w et—nearly 85,000 persons paid for admission. Principal Matches of Next Week. J u ly 1 , 2— C hesterfield , D erb ysh ire v. N orth am ptonshire (continued) i, 1 , 2, 3— L o rd 's, M iddlesex Vi So u th A frican s, i, 1 , 2, 8— O val, S u rrey v . H am p sh ire. ,i 1 , 2, 3 — H o v e, Su ssex v . L eice stersh ire. „ 1 , 2, 3— G ravesen d , K e n t v. E sse x . i, 1 , 2, 3 — G loucester, G lou cestersh ire v . N o ttin gh am sh ire. ,, 1 , 2, 3— M an chester, L a n c a sh ire v. W orcestershire. ,, 1 , 2, 3— Sh effield , Y o rk sh ire v. A u stralian s. ,, 1 , 2, 3— E astb o u rn e, M r. H . 1) . G . L e ve so n -G o w e r’s X I . v. O xford U n iv ersity . „ 1 , 2— St. A lb an s, H ertfo rd sh ire v. N o rfolk . „ 3 , 4— C ard iff, G lam organ sh ire v. M onm ou thshire. „ 3 , 4— T ow n M ailin g, K en t 2n d X I . v . Stafford sh ire. ,, 4, 5, 6— L o rd ’s, M .C .C . v . C am brid ge U n iversity. „ 4, 5 , 6— O val, S u rre y v . K e n t (Sm ith ’s B enefit). „ 4, 5, 0— L e y to n , E s s e x v. Su ssex. „ 4, 5, 6— N o ttin gh am , N o ttin gh am sh ire v. D erbysh ire. ,, 4, 5, 6— D ew sb u ry, Y o rk sh ire v. W orcestershire. „ 4 ,5 , G— Liverp o o l, L a n ca sh ire v. A u stralian s. „ 4, 5, 6— B irm in g h am , W arw icksh ire v. South A frican s.. „ 4, 5, C— Sou th am pton, H am p sh ire v . O xford U n iv ersity . „ 5 , 6— St. A lb an s, H ertford sh ire v . B ed ford sh ire. „ 6 - D u n ferm lin e, F ife v. C lackm an n an . „ 6— F o rth ill, F o rfa rsh ire v. Stirlin gsh ire. „ 6 —A berdeen , A berdeen shire v . P erth sh ire. Men of the Moment in London Club Cricket. A B r il l ia n t B a tsm a n — A n o t h e r B e c k e n h a m C e n t u r y M a k e r — H a lse in t h e C r ic k e t F i e l d — C o l e a n d S p r ig g e — D a n d - r id g e a n d F ie l d — 50G in F iv e H o d r s — A F a m o u s W est I n d ia n — A H a r d H it t e r — F r e e B a tsm e n — T h e S m art S id d a l l — T w o C l e v e r P l a y e r s . B y “ S u r e C a t c h . ” I h ear from quite a large n um ber o f frien ds that they are often unable to obtain C r ic k e t . M y frien d s have two w a y s o f m eetin g th is d ifficu lty. One is to order C r ic k e t to be d elivered w ith yo u r m orn in g paper on Satu rd ay b y you r n ew sagen t. T h e other is toget into touch w ith the M an ager at 33 , M oor L a n e , E .C ., and arran ge w ith him for a direct su pp ly. H on . Secs, o f the clubs by this last nam ed m ethod can easily arran ge to supply their m em bers w ith C r ic k e t , for the M an ager w ill send every w eek to a n y club H on . Sec. half-a-dozen copies o f C r ic k e t for 10 p en n y stam ps. I should m u ch like to see club captains or H on . Secs, arran gin g for a direct supply o f C r ic k e t , so that th eir p layers can purchase from them their w eekly copy ev ery Sa tu rd a y afternoon. I f an y p layer or read er should in future h a v e a difficulty in gettin g C r ic k e t from h is n ew sagen t I sh all be m uch obliged if he w ill at once com m un icate w ith the M anager at 33, M oor L a n e , E .C . A B r il l ia n t B a tsm a n . T h e latest run -getter to jo in the big crop o f cen tu ry m akers in club cricket this season is H . Z . B a k e r, the b rillian t B ec k e n ­ ham batsm an . W hen he gets set B a k e r is a lo v e ly p layer to w atch. H e has a nice easy style at the crease. H is defence is strong, and he picks out the rig h t ball to hit w ith rem arkable ju d gm en t. P u ttin g p lenty o f pow er behind h is strokes and p lacin g the ball w ell, B a k e r scores all round the w icket at a capital pace. H is g reat inn in gs o f 13 7 not out w on B eckenh am a sm art v icto ry over Streatham . A n o th e r B eckton C e n t u r y M a k e r . A lth o u gh he had no chance to shine in his recen t N orthern tour w ith the E s s e x team Sw an n , the B eckto n quick scorer, is m ak in g a sackful of ru n s in club cricket. H is latest ach ieve­ m en t is 10 0 not out again st C higw ell, and seeing the form he is in ju st at present it is a p ity the E s s e x comm ittee cannot see their w a y clear to g ive Sw ann an extended trial in the county eleven, sending him in to bat in the sam e position as he goes in for B eckto n . G iven a chance un der these conditions, I feel sure Sw an n w ould speedily develop into one o f the best batsm en in the side. Sw an n , w ho before goin g to B eckto n , w as associated w ith T . G . G rin ter in the L e y to n P a rk eleven, is a stylish p layer. H e w atch es the b all carefu lly off the pitch. H is defence is quite sound, and he scores all round the w icket w ith w onderful ease w hen set. H a l s e in t h e C r ic k e t F ie l d . T h ere are few better know n sportsm en in Lond on than H aro ld H alse, who h as p layed football for W an stead, C lapton O rient, Southend, and M anchester U nited , and cricket for a F o rest G ate club, Southend and A rlin gto n . H alse is an a ll­ round p la yer w ell above the average. A great footballer, he m ay p resen tly becom e a top class cricketer. A t an y rate he is lik ely n ext season to get a trial in one o f the L a n ca sh ire L e ag u e team s. A fast bow ler w ith an easy action, a short run and the ab ility to bow l all d ay long w ithou t losin g h is pace, H alse at tim es sends down som e very dead ly deliveries. On the w hole he keeps a good len gth , and now and then bow ls a n asty fu ll toss that hits the top o f the off stum p. A t th e crease H alse w ields a straight bat and gets a fair num ber of ru n s w ith a p retty late cut. H e is also good on the leg side, w hile in the field he can be relied upon to tak e catches and save runs sm a rtly. N ext w eek a portrait o f H alse , specially taken for m e by m y friend S. G . A dlam , w ill appear.