Cricket 1912

398 CKICKET : A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. A ugust 10, 1912. Special Club Notes. C o n t r i b u t e d b y “ T h e C h i e l . ” W hile his colleagues are lounging com fortably on the W orthing front, “ The Chiel ” is enclosed in the Club R oom , placed at the Club’s disposal by the proprietor of the Central H otel, writing his weekly notes. My E ditor, who is a glutton for work, has granted me no rest, even on m y holiday, and though writing of any kind is not what one yearns for during holiday tim e, I don’t grumble, for I am very desirous of keeping in the good grace of m y readers. Possibly on no occasion is the capacity of a Club’s secretary put to a greater test than during a tour. T he members are in a totally different m ood from that of Saturday afternoon games. Unless the secretary has their entire confidence and the best of good feeling is established it is next to impossible, however hard he m ay work, to make a tour successful. F or instance on arrival at the hotel, there is apt to be a rush for special bedrooms. Sometimes m embers are not amenable to argument, and that Job’s com forter, the secretary, must settle matters. W hen he has squared up differ­ ences, he takes what is left for him self, and is th a n k fu l! Let the other fellow s only be happy and com fortable, and he will not grum ble—that is, if he is the right sort. During the present season quite a lot of rank bad fielding in the slips has been noticeable. On m any occasions it is evident the wrong m en have been placed in that important position. T he old rule of bowlers fielding in the slips is too often adhered to, to the dis­ advantage, on m any occasions, of their side. Another drawback is that m any slip-fielders indulge in too m uch talk and chaff during the gam e, and when a chance com es along they are not prepared for it. Slip-fielding calls for one’s fullest attention. It is good to see a man enjoy his crick et; but it is a fair question whether all this fun points to enjoym ent of the gam e as a gam e. It is next to impossible for a captain to see everything ; but the sooner such talkative and chaffing slip-fielders are separated, the better it will be for their side. Give them a deep field spell, and forbid them to chatter to the crowd. Or m uzzle them ! Verb. sap. In cricket, as in other matters, swank enters. Nothing is more detrim ental to the good old game, and to his team, than the player who puts on side. On m any occasions it can be attributed to sheer iguorance.. If I had m y way the swanker would be left out. This would soon bring him to his senses, and that would be to the advan­ tage of his club, and in the long run to his own. I am hopeful in m y next week’s notes to say som ething about some of the clubs on the.South Coast. T he playing days of “ The Chiel ” are practically over ; so while his colleagues are sweltering in the sun (let’s hope so anyway), he will be gathering notes, and taking matters leisurely. A la Francais. F r o m O riel's F rench Guide :— “ L e t us, th en , observe the crick et gam e, m y d ear G a ston .” “ B u t, m y dear H en ri, the crick e t gam e I d o n ot u n d ersta n d .” “ E h , bien ; here is th e tra m ; let us seat ou rselves, and as w e go I explain. T h ere are eleven m e n o n ea ch sid e, tw o u m pireB , tw o w ick ets, a ball, and som e guards, since th e ball is v e ry hard. A p layer stands at th e w ick ets, and, b eh old , on e h u rls d ow n at h im th e ball, th e n o-b a ll, the w ide ball, the leg-break, the g oo g le y , th eh ea d -b rea k , th e rapid, the v e ry slow . C 'est te rrib le ! M on D ieu , y o u w ill m lm ire. T h e b atter, w h o has a flat clu b , m ak es the strokes— the on -d riv e, the off-d rive, the b a ck -cu t, the u pper-cut, the leg- p u ll, an d the left h oo k , strokes o f a skill in croya b le. T h e cro w d cries ‘ B ra va ! ’ like M . le P rofesseu r H a ll at the Opera. B u t, alas 1 T h e batter m isses the b a l l ; th e w ick et is k n ock ed d ow n . O ne cries, ‘ H o w out ? ’ and the u m p ire n od s the head. T h ereu p on the b atter retires, and th ey p lace u p o n the board his score an d the letters l b w . S om etim es the um pire cries 1 O v e r ! ’ and all w alk over t o th e oth er side fo r the sake o f exereise. T h e gam e, G aston , is o f great sim p licity . A n d — I a lm ost fo r g e t; w ea ried b y the con tin u al strikin g o f the ball the batters, too, for the purpose o f recu p eration , ru n sw iftly u p and d o w n betw een the w ick ets.” “ I t seem s very dangerous, H e n r i.” “ T ru e ! F o r m e, I w ou ld rather exercise m y se lf w ith ‘ d ia b olo ’ or d om in o e s.” Cricket in Scotland. B y H a m i s h . Cricket was again largely interfered with by rain, especially in the Edinburgh district, where only one m atch was finished. Pro­ fessionals’ benefits are suffering, and on Saturday Combey of the R oyal H igh School had his benefit m atch spoilt for the third time. Hainsworth of Stenhousemuir was one of the unfortunates the previous week, but the postponed game was carried through on two evenings in midweek when Stenhousemuir (173 for 9) were victorious over their neighbours East Stirlingshire (95). T om H ainsw orth is this summer celebrating his twenty-first season as a professional cricketer. Many teams too have been on tour, and I hope Ayr will play up to their reputation during tbeir visit to Yorkshire. The m ost interesting match of Saturday was that on the North Inch, Perth, between Aberdeenshire (143) and Perthshire (145 for 3) in the Scottish Counties Championship. Perthshire now only require to draw their remaining m atch to win the com petition. In their latest game, as indeed all the season, J. A . Fergusson (59*) was their outstanding batsman. W ith 117* against Selkirk tbe previous day he completed his thousand runs, and at present he has an average of 81 in good class matches. F or Aberdeenshire E . S. Clark, who is also in fine form just now, had 50. In the other county m atch Fifeshire (94) beat Stirling County (81) at Stirling. The bowlers cam e out well, Gooder of Stirling County having 9 for 42 and D . Smith and Cox of Fifeshire having 6 for 45 and 4 for 28 respectively. Forfarshire (81) were engaged with Arbroath United (134); and, with M. E . D ickson (64) and E . W . Sievwright (6 for 36) in excellent fettle, they emerged with a bit the worst of the encounter. At Alloa Clackmannan County, 89 for 7 (T. A. Bowie 38) played a drawn game with Stewart’s College F .P ., 108 (W . F . Turnbull 46). For the latter J. J. Mann had 6 wickets for 36. Brechin (63) paid a visit to Cupar (123.), and lost in the last over. Lane of Cupar had 6 wickets for 16. In Edinburgh Leith Franklin (68 for 7), a club which is this year celebrating its diamond jubilee, beat a very weak representation of H eriot’s F .B . (66). W ith the abandonment after three-quarters of an hour’s play in their match with Kirkcaldy Edinburgh Institution F.P. finished a highly successful season, during which as in the season preceding they did not suffer a defeat. T heir card is not particularly strong, but next year m ay see them properly tested. In the W est the only Union fixture ended in an exciting finish between Poloc (120 for 7) and Uddingston (110 for 3). Poloc, after batting two and a-half hours, left their opponents an hour to get the runs, and J. P. Cruickshank (52*) almost brought off a victory for them. Nash of Uddingston, since he settled down, has bowled excellently, and his re engagement for next season has given satisfaction all round. Kelfcurne (195 for 6) gained a smart win at the expense of Greenock (183), for whom John Kerr (84) alone did m uch with the bat. His sojourn in London has apparently done him no harm. T he Paisley m en had only an hour and a-half to win or lose ; but vigorous work by J. P. M cKinlay (80) and Shingler (44*) won the m atch a few minutes before time. Clydesdale (130) had Carlton (117) as visitors. B oth sides were considerably under strength. G . W . Jupp, of Carlton (47 and 6 for 52) was the chief performer. At Partick, Drumpellier (114) had to struggle hard to overcom e W est of Scotland (88), but Ferguslie (108 for 7) found easy victim s in Glasgow Academ icals (66). Megson of Ferguslie had 7 wickets for 33. Largely through the efforts of their professional, Sheppard (60 and 6 for 39), Cartha, a secondary com bination, cam e within an ace of defeating Kilmarnock (130). The Borderers were m ostly on holiday, and few m atches were undertaken ; but Selkirk went on tour up North. They were badly beaten by Perthshire in their opening gam e—257 for 3 to 113. For the Perth side, J. Anderson 51, J. A . Fergusson 117*, E. Gardiner 51*, and Benskin 7 wickets for 40, gave splendid exhibitions. The Border men got some consolation for this defeat in a victory over Strathmore at Forfar — 131 to 108. On the village green St. Bosw ell’s (68) were defeated by Peebles County (111), for whom F. Trott had 6 wickets for 38, and Clements 3 for 8. THE AMERICAN CRICKETER. F o u n d ed 1877. Published by The Associated Cricket Clubs o f Philadelphia. A n Illu strated Jou rn al o f C rick et, A ssociation F ootball, T en n is, G olf, and K in d red Pastim es. N o. 114, S outh 18th S treet. 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