Cricket 1912

J une 29, 1912. CKICKET: A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. 2 8 1 C o le a n d S p r ig g e . A n oth er footballer w ho is doing w ell in the cricket field this season is G eorge Cole. In the w in ter Cole p lays football for B irm in g h am , and in the summ er he shines on E sse x cricket grounds. H e is a n eat batsm an w ith a fair defence and a rather rem arkable ab ility fo r straight d rivin g. H e is also quite a good slow bow ler and a capital field. Sprigge, o f B ellevu e, is also a sm art cricketer. H e is a consistent run-getter, and possessing a nice free style he scores qu ickly all round the w icket w ith a fine variety o f clever shots. D a n d r id g e a n d F ie l d . B ren tfo rd G as W orks, w ho introduced C ooper to the B eckto n club som e y ears ago, h ave an aston ish in gly fine bow ler in D an drid ge. A gain st E a lin g St. Jo h n ’s D an drid ge accom ­ plished the feat o f tak in g 7 w ickets for 2 run s. B o w lin g with an easy action, he varies h is pace and pitch w ith good ju d g ­ m ent, and as he also m ak es the ball turn qu ickly it is easy to un derstand how difficult he is to score from at all freely. B rom ley h ave a rath er hot side this season, and one o f the best m en in a strong all-roun d eleven is F ield , the cen tu ry m aker. F ield is a cap ital p layer to w atch at the crease. H e quickly gets set, an d h avin g got h is eye in proceeds to collect ru n s at a fine pace. Stead y in defence, he picks out the hittable ball ju d icio u sly and speeds it to the boundary. 5 06 in 5 H o b r s . A t M r. L io n e l R ob in son ’s place, Old B u cken h am H all, there is som e v e ry fine cricket ev ery w eek end. T h e latest efforts there w ith the bat and ball produced 506 ru n s in 5 hours. E v e ry o n e who goes to p la y cricket at Old B u cken h am H all th orou ghly en jo ys him self. A gain st C arrow , the battin g o f the H a ll team w as very fin e ; G eoffrey Steven s, and A . C. M acL aren , the old E n g la n d captain, each p layin g great not out innings. T he form er registered 1 19 . H e is a b rillian t type o f batsm an. H e p la y s h im self in q u ickly, and then scores all-round the w icket w ith delightful ease. A n o th er m an who w as in w o n d erfu l form in th is u nique m atch w as P ilch . I believe P ilch h as p layed football for N orw ich C ity, but I know that he has p layed coun ty cricket. H e is a top-class run-getter, p ossessing a n eat style at th e crease, and m ak in g his scoring strokes w ith pow er and precision. A Fam ou s W e st In d ia n . One o f the m ost rem arkable cricketers in Lond on is C yril B row n e o f C laph am R am b lers. I hear he is lik ely to be included in the South London eleven to m eet N o rth London at C atford. T w o w eeks in succession the W est In d ian has passed th e cen tury. H e is at the m om ent probably the m ost effectively all-round m an in club cricket. H e has alread y taken a sackfu l o f w ickets, and now he is scoring centuries. A googly bow ler w ith a fine com m an d o f length , B ro w n e is at tim es quite un playable. A t the crease he p lays a v e ry straigh t bat, and w ith a sound defence he com bines sparklin g h itting pow ers. H e is an in valu able m em ber o f the C laph am B am b lers’ eleven. A H a r d H it t e r . H . B . R en n ie o f the D errick W an derers w ants a lot of beating as a quick scorer. A gain st M r. L am b ert’s E lev en R en n ie, in a cen tu ry in n in gs, h it no few er than tw enty-three 4’s. H e is a picture at the crease. Stand ing firm ly , he soon p lays h im se lf in, and then his cutting, d rivin g and leg hitting are fine to w atch . A batsm an w ho is com ing to the fron t w ith the E a lin g club is A . H . W igg. A stylish p layer, W igg is the latest E a lin g cricketer to score a cen tu ry. W ield ing a straight bat he h as a strong defence, and on the leg side he is quite an expert scorer. F r e e B a t s m e n . A n oth er p layer w ho scores freely and at a rapid pace is W . L . M ieczn ikow ski, o f H on or O ak. L ik e W igg, he is strong on the leg side, and h is d rivin g is also excellent. Pailth orpe, o f E p som , is also a capital p layer. H is latest effort o f 85 w as a great inn in gs. A good starter, P ailth orpe has an easy style at the w icket. H is defence is sound, and when he is set few m en can place the ball m ore accu rately. T h e S m a r t S id d a l l . Y o u n g Siddall, the M an or P ark C onstitutional w icket­ keeper, is ju st at present p layin g very fine cricket. Sm art behind the stum ps, Sid d all has m ade top score for h is side in the last tw o m atches. P ossessin g a fair defence, he is at tim es rath er inclined to h ave a go too early, but once let him get set and he scores fast all round the w icket. T w o C l e v e r P l a y e r s . A rn old o f the Lau d erd ale is a batsm an w ell above the average. H e p lays bright cricket, and can gen erally be depended upon to give trouble to the best o f bow lers. W ith a p retty solid defence A rn old com bines a m arked ab ility to pick out the ball to hit, and his scoring strokes are m ade w ith splendid pow er. J . G . M . B e ll, I notice, has obtained another cen tu ry for Sutton . H e is evid en tly goin g to m ake a thousand ru n s at least this season. A stylish p layer w ith a good defence B e ll can, w hen the occasion offers, hit w ith plenty of pow er and his scoring shots send the ball to the boundary like lightning. Special Club Notes. C o n t r ib u t e d B y “ T h e C h ie l .” The Editor wants me to take up a little “ m issionary ” work and look in on various London clubs during Saturday afternoons. I am very pleased to do this, and, while of course I cannot be every­ where, I hope to visit more than one club each Saturday. W ill any club which would care for such a visit kindly communicate with me, c/o the Editor ? I shall not wait for invitation in every case, but it will be pleasanter to go sure of a welcome. I had a hearty welcome last week at the Shepherd’s Bush enclosure at E ast Acton, a particular charming ground with its surrounding trees, though a trifle on the sm all side. What good fellows the Shepherd’s Bush men are visiting teams can tell. Captain Smoothy, of the cricket team, Secretary Carter, of the bowls section, and the genial General Secretary, A . W . Hart, all work their hardest for the club. The Bnsh runs four cricket teams, and has so many applicants for tennis membership that, as only four courts are avail­ able, the list has had to be closed for the present. If you look in at the bowling green you will have the pleasure of seeing veteran cricket­ ers disporting themselves at the game, and as keen on it as in days of yore at cricket. Keenness, indeed, seems to be the watchword at E ast Acton, and it explains the club’s great success. From there I went to Battersea Park, where the Battersea A team were meeting Heathfield A —near and dear rivals in friendly combat. W ith a crowd of over 4,000 present all seats outside the enclosure were occupied ; but a deck-chair was found for “ the Chiel ” inside that charmed spot, and a delightful couple of hours were spent in watching some fast scoring. A splendid wicket, a big crowd, and fine weather made up ideal cricket conditions. Leonard H unt’s century for Battersea was a really good one. Some excellent wicket- keeping was shown by H . R. Miles, an old Cantab, who made two brilliant catches, and only gave away one bye. Here again was the best of good-fellowship; and the fam iliar faces of Joe Beckett, Major Moore, Anning, Arnold, sen., Raym entM ead, G . Needham, J . Rogers, Percy Rowe, and others were good to see. Battersea is going ahead, and it is quite evident that Secretary Carter has no notion of letting grass grow under his feet. I like criticism ; but a correspondent who signs him self “ The L e o ” is quite wrong when he suggests that I was “ pulling le g s” in my notes on the subject of a short run. I know the Editor disagrees with me also, but I cannot help that. I gave the M .C.C. decision*, and left the matter to my readers. I am always careful in the matter of leg-pulling ; and 1 should not pull that of “ The Leo.” I am not a small man, but the Editor tells me he has the advantage of six inches over me in height! But that fact w ill not keep me from saying that I consider the umpire who no-balled him for raising his foot before the ball w'as delivered was quite right, for Law 1 1 reads : “ The bowler shall deliver the ball with one foot on the ground behind the bowling crease.” Like “ The Leo,” I have had 25 years’ hard cricket, and at the end of that period I find myself as big a stickler as ever for the rigour of the game. * Which was against you, “ Chiel.’’ But never m ind! A man should have the courage of his own convictions. Ah regards the no-balling business, doubt­ less the umpire was technically correct. But in effect a rigid adherence to this rule would mean bowling with both feet behind the crease, as the rear foot is practically always lifted in the act of delivery. And how many bowlers can be said to conform !— T he E d itor.