Cricket 1912

362 CEICKET : A WEEKLY KECOBD OF THE GAME. J u l y 27, 1912. for the Ramblers, in addition to Browne, have another West Indian bowler almost as good as he. B r o w n e ’ s F in e W o r k . Before coming to England to study Cyril Browne accomplished many good performances for Barbados in the West Indian inter-colonial Competition, and also against English teams that have visited the West Indies, while since he joined Clapham Bamblers he has played for South London against the North in the inter-District Competition, and so far this season has taken nearly 100 wickets and made several centuries. A B e a l G o o g ly B o w l e r . Although he is a batsman right above the average, it is as a bowler that Browne has won most fame. Many of m y friends declare that he is the best match winner playing in club cricket. Certainly he is the only first-class exponent of the googly ball that I know playing regularly for a London club. He has so many peculiar mannerisms that it is quite impossible to describe fully his methods in print. M y s t e r ie s o f h is B o w l in g . His action in bowling is rather curious, for he delivers the ball with his arm well extended, and until it actually breaks no batsman can tell which way it is going to break, or whether it is coming straight through. I believe it is a fact that Browne cannot himself explain the many mysteries of his bowling. Like most West Indians, he is as quick as lightning in the cricket field. W h a t h e h as M a s t e r e d . To bowl the googly comes naturally to him, and I firmly believe he would be as effective in first-class cricket ?>s he is in <lub cricket, simply because he has mastered the very thing which is still the master of many great bowlers— the ability to maintain a proper length. His control of the ball and the way he hides his break action explain why the best batsmen cannot play him confidently. T h e C o r r e c t G a m e . As a batsman Browne is quite good class. He plays the correct game, and scores his runs in nice style all round the wicket. Like the famous Banji, the Clapham Bamblers’ century maker is very auick on his feet, and this enables him to make splendid drives which would be impossible to many of our heavy club scorers. Stylish in every respect, Browne plays first-class cricket, and he is invaluable to the Clapham Bamblers, who have several notable cricketers, and one of the’ best sportsmen I know in Bertie Earl for a captain. M it c h e l l ’ s B a t t in g . One of the coming young cricketers in London is E. Mitchell, the scholar from Leeds College who has recently joined South West Ham. for whom his first two innings have realised over 60 and over a century. His last effort was 102 against Capt. Carthew’s Eleven. Mitchell is a high-class rungetter, who has been taught to play the game correctly. He has a beautiful style, and scores easily all round the wicket. F in e A l l - r o u n d e r . There are not many more useful players than A. .T. Spelling, the Ilford Hon. Sec. In the field he is brilliant as a batsman, he always goes for the bowling- and has mado several notable scores this season. As a bowler he is as vigorous as he is with the bat, and in Ilford’s last two games he has taken 10 wickets at a moderate cost. By the way Ilford lost their first matoh at home to Honor Oak this week for five years, in spite’ of Spelling’s admirable work with the ball. Speaking of Honor Oak reminds me that I shortly expect to present a first-class photo of their captain, W . L. Miecznikowski. A S p l e n d id C a p t a in . Much of the success of Manor Park Constitutional this season has been due to the splendid captaincy of Walter Kekwick, who is a useful bowler with a peculiar low delivery, and a quick scoring batsman, when he gets set. T w o C l e v e r C .’ s . In the two “ C.’s ’ ’—Clarke and Crowe—Bickley Park have a wonderful pair of century makers. Clarke has a fine style and scores well all round the wicket. Crowe is more vigorous, but quite as stylish as Claike. C e n t u r y M a k e r s . Huntley, the latest century maker for Dulwich, is a pretty batsman to watch. He places the ball very skilfully, and scores at a lively pace. Wigg, Ealing’s last century maker, is a clever rungetter, with a variety of neat scoring shots, while Mousley, of Ibis, another hundred taker, is a first-class cricketer with a fine defence. He makes every known scoring stroke elegantly. Big Matches of the Week. G entlemen v . P layers .— S trudwick did not feel well enough to turn out for the Players, and on tbeir side only one change was made from the eleven doing duty at the Oval—B arnes for John Gunn. There were four changes on the Gentlemen’s side, E . L. Kidd, A. C. Johnston, M. Falcon, and W. S. Bird replacing G. L . Jes3op, D. W. Carr, F . R . Foster, and D . C. Bobinson. The first innings of the Players was curious. There was a long partner­ ship for the flrst wicket, Hobbs and Bhodes sending up 124, and another for the last, Hearne and Dean adding 93 ; between these two stands only 94 runs were made. Hobbs, playing a most dashing game and taking risks innumerable, made his 94 in 105 minutes, hitting two 6’s and nine 4’s ; Hearne hit eight 4’s ; Rhodes batted in his customary safe and workmanlike style, and Dean’s good form surprised almost everyone. Before time on the first day the Gentle­ men had lost 4 wickets for 30, Hitch, with a strong wind behind him, accounting for three of them. The feature of the second day’s play was Johnston’s innings. He batted 210 minutes for his 89, and, though seldom seeming master of the bowling, made few mistakes till quite late. F ry and he added 69 for the fifth wicket, and Kidd and he put on 84 for the eighth, while Simms made a few good hits. R ain curtailed the play on Friday, and a finish on Saturday seemed unlikely, for the wicket was still good. Four wickets of the Players went down for 28; then Rhodes and Hearne added 79 for the fifth. Of tbe rest Barnes and H itch each made some useful runs. L eft with 2 5 1 to get for victory in three hours, the amateurs did not go for the runs—which was perhaps just as well against a side including ten bowlers. Johnston, F ry, and D ay were all on the defensive; but the Jam Sahib, at the end of the day, made 55 in as many minutes—a bonne bouche which paid for the waiting. During the match Hearne and A. C. Johnston reached four figures for the season, and Greswell took his hundredth wicket. K ent v. S outh A fricans . —Herbert T aylor gave further evidence of how much this tour has done to shape him into a really first- class batsman. H is 96—the highest score he has made in England to date—was quite chanceless, made out of 223 in 165 m inutes, and included twelve 4’s, chiefly fine drives and cuts. Strieker also batted capitally, and these two put on 1 14 for the second wicket in 80 minutes. Nearly all the others did something, Beaumont and Snooke, who added 75 for the seventh wicket, most. The result was an excellent total of 360. As elsewhere, Friday was a short day. Humphreys played most patient cricket, staying 160 m inutes for 62. The best stand of the innings was for the fourth wicket, Woolley making 43 of the 57 added in 50 minutes. On Saturday Kent’s innings closed for 245, Faulkner having taken 6 wickets for 48. No one but Taylor did much in the Afrikanders’ second; he was again top scorer— the third time during the week. The innings was declared, leaving Kent to make 268 in a trifle over two hours— if they could. Free from any fear of defeat, they did so well that they had 185 up for 4 before time came, Hardinge, Seym our, and Woolley all having played fine, free cricket. L eicestershire v . A ustralians . — Cecil Wood, who has got back to something like his dependable form of last year, was again top scorer for his coun ty; since June 24 he has totalled 506 runs in 1 1 completed innings, with a 9 and an 8 as his only scores under double figures. He batted 130 minutes for his 55. Knight, Mounteney, Coe, and Curtis all made useful scores. Em ery was the most successful bowler. Jennings and Sm ith were out with 55 up when the Australians batted ; Mayne and Bardsley added 54 in 40 minutes for the third w icket; Bardsley and Kelleway put on 79 in about an hour for the fourth. Bardsley batted without a chance for 100 minutes, Kelleway was in 165 m inutes, also without a chance. W hitty and Em ery hit out, each scoring a couple of sixes off John King. The Australians led by 110 . Before time on Friday the county had lost 3 wickets for 68. R ain prevented any play on the third day. S ussex v . H am pshire .— Vine and K illick were a study in con­ trasts on the first day at Eastbourne. Killick, with that flashing