Cricket 1912

F eb . 24 , 1912. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF T1IE GAME. 23 F r o m the Sydney Morning Herald of January 1st:— “ At Waverley Oval the early local batsmen failed against Paddington— the first two (Davis and Thomas) were run out—and when the eighth wicket fell the score was 105. Then sensation followed sensation, F . W. Hill, usually a moderate performer, beingtlie operator. When M. A. Noble makes a smart catch close to the wicket he invariably throws the ball quickly to his nearest comrade. On Satur­ day he caught F . Meagher at first slip, and threw the ball 'in tho direction of the wicket-keeper, but it flew wide. Gordon Sayle picked it up, thinking that his captain had ‘ put him on.’ But he hadn’t. Nevertheless, he went on, and this is what happened during the over (he bowled to Hill)— 4, 4, 4, 6, 2, 6. Twenty-seven runs off an over (there were eight balls, including two no-balls, one of which was scored off). To show that he was impartial, Hill hit Noble for successive sixes, then a two before being bowled. He scored 47 in 23J minutes, and 40 off the last 13 balls sent down to him, but two of those balls had been called, so that H ill scored his 40 runs in less than two overs—a remarkable performance. His complete scoring strokes were :— 1, 1, 4, 4, 6, 2, 6, 2, 2, 1, 6, 6, 2— 47.” O n the Waverley Oval, Sydney, on December 26 and 27, the Commercial Travellers of Victoria (627) beat those of Queensland (133 and 44) by an innings and 450 runs. Every member of the side reached double-figures, but there was only one hundred obtained— 138 by C. W. Caldwell. F o r North Hobart v. South Hobart on January 13th, R. J. Hawson (127 not out) and G. F . Linney (66 not out) put on 129 runs for the last wicket without being separated, T h e r e is a possibility of the Australian team which will visit us this year playing a series of games in New Zealand on their return. Three matches with All New Zealand, and one each at Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin have been suggested as the programme. Mr. A l a n W a l l a c e , of Auckland University, has been chosen as the New Zealand Rhodes scholar for 1912. In the field of athletics it is chiefly as a cricketer that Wallace is distinguished. He represented Auckland province last season, and had the second highest batting average in the Auckland district. I f there had been a Rhodes scholarship in the days when Mr. Arthur Sims, the Canterbury and New Zealand representative, was younger he should have stood an excellent chance of obtaining it. While earning his own living he has found time to take his M.A. degree, with first-class honours in science and college honours in political economy, and he had nearly completed his studies for the LL.B. and D.Sc. degrees when he gave them up on going into business on his own account. He is said to be doing well. We should say he deserves to. Mr. S im s is a Lincolnshire man born— 1877 was the year of his birth—but his parents took him to New Zealand soon after he had learned to walk, and his early education was received at the Christ Church Boys’ High School. There he showed very considerable ability as a cricketer, and in 1896-7 he began to represent Canterbury Province, scoring 31 and 37 in his first match, v. Queensland, and a brilliant century in his second, v. Wellington. Since then he has been responsible for many good performances, including 59 not out and 38, highest score in each innings, v. Otago and Dunedin in 1906-7, 71 and 34 not out in the corresponding match of last season, 74 and 21 v. Wellington at Wellington in 1901-2, and 82 and 76, highest score in each innings, against the same side at Christchurch in 1904-5. He has four times represented New Zealand at home, aggregating 162 in seven innings, once not out, and was a member of the New Zealand side which visited Australia in 1898-9. I t is hoped, by the way, that this visit will be re­ peated in 1912-3. An invitation has been extendod by the Australian authorities. We note, too, that the Auck­ land team, which in the days when it included Albert Relf had apparently a mortgage on the Plunket Shield, was due to tour south this month, the provisional dates for their matches being February 9, v. Canterbury; February 16, v. O tago; and February 22, v. Wellington. Those were subject to alteration if Wellington wrested the shield from Canterbury in the match at New Year, the notion being, we may suppose, to meet the Shiekl-holders first, defeat them—if possible— of course, and thereafter defend the shield. O w in g to increasing personal business cares, Mr. H. H. Cornish, who has edited the America)), Cricketer ably for over five years, has relinquished the post to Mr. Allen J. Henry. The now editor has been for several seasons a prominent member of the Halifax Cup team of the Philadelphia C.C., and he is fortunate in retaining the services of Mr. Cornish as Associate Editor. T h o u g h cricket has taken strong root in Philadelphia and New York, and goes steadily on in Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Chicago and other great cities of the United States, it has its ups and downs in many places. Years ago Detroit had a very strong team, which every year played matches with its neighbours across tho border. Among its crack players was Corporal Dale, who was perhaps the best man of the unlucky Canadian team of 1880, and the obituary of a former captain of this leading club appears on another page. Now the great game is at a very low ebb in Detroit, and we are told that the few keen players left, unable to run a team of their own, appear in the ranks of the Windsor (Ont.) C.C., across tho river. It is sad to hear of the decline of the game in a former stronghold, but there is consolation in the thought of the Detroit remnant welcomed with open arms by their Canadian comrades. O u r informant, Mr. R . B. Ridgley, of Detroit, is one of the veterans of the game in America. He was a Vice- President of the Peninsular Club as far back as 1874, and is still as keen as ever on cricket— the game—and Cricket —- the paper. A record for cricket in Barbados [was established in the match between Pickwick and Spartan on December 16th, 23rd and 30th, by W . Gibbs, a coloured player, making 102 and 107 for the latter. In other respects, too, tho game was a notable one, for Pickwick declared with only five men out for 425, P. H. Tarilton’s 210 not out being also a record for the island. The finish of the game was full of excitement, too, Pickwick, set 100 to win in 40 minutes, making 99 for four wickets (all thrown away) in that time. W h il e playing for the Sinhalese Sports Club against the Madras United C.C. on Galle Face, Colombo, on January 29th, H. Samerasinghe, who scored 42 in two hours and a half, obtained his runs by means of forty singles and a two. Mr. D . L . d e S a r a m , p la y in g fo r S inhalese S ports C lub v . M u n icip a lity on J a n u a ry 13th, scored 130 o u t o f 225 for th ree w ick ets in 70 m inutes. In th e course o f an o v e r from M . M . Jaldoen , a slow left-h an d er, he m ad e 32 runs (6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 2). O n th e sam e d a y Mr. T ra ill, for D .M .C .C . again st th e H o rn C lub a t D arraw ella; punished D an iell fo r 24 (6, 6, 4, 2, 4, 2) in th e course o f an over. S o far L ord Hawke and his comrades have played three matches in the Argentine, o f which they have drawn two and lost one. In the first game Mr. de Trafford was chief con­ tributor, w ith 116, to their total o f 439, while for the other side, in the follow -on, Mr. S. A. Cowper hit splendidly for 182. It is rather a singular fact that M r. C owper’s first appearance in South v. N orth, the great m atch o f the Argentine season, last February resulted in a pair of spectacles for him . I n the second game, against Combined Camps, the M .C.C. team did little in their first innings, but made amends later by scoring 489 for seven wickets. W oeful to relate, M r. A . C. M acLaren, E ngland’s captain three years ago, and one of the greatest batsm en o f any age, scored— 0 and 0 I That match,