Cricket 1912

418 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A u g u s t 17, 1912. of 58 and 80, both not out, showing such a capacity for punish­ m ent that hopes (scarcely realised as yet) were form ed of him as a batsman. It cannot be said that his doings iu 1911-2 were such as would have taken him into the team for England hud all the cracks been available for the tour, though as a bowler of a type quite different from Laver, Arm strong, and Cotter, he m ight have had an outside chance of selection. His one good m atch as a bowler was that v. S. Australia at Adelaide, when he took 7 wickets for 110. H e made runs, how ever— 39 v. Queensland at Sydney, 43 v. Victoria at Melbourne, and 65 for N . S. Wales v. the M .C.C. team, and thus had claim s to consideration as an all-round player, though in this connection one m ay point out that his fielding is not quite as good as he m ight make it if he chose. In E ngland he has been disappointing as a batsm an; but so have several members of the side from whom m uch m ore was hoped. H ere are his figures to date (August 10) in first-class matches, including the New Zealand tour and the m atch v. Durham last week, though I am aware som e purists will object to these item s :— Season. Inns. N .o. R . A . H .S . O. R . W. A . 1908-9, A u st. 0 1 102 20*40 58* 114 391 10 39-10 1909-10, A u st. ... 7 0 161 3-71 30 125*5 430 25 17 20 1910, N. Zealand. 8 2 124 19*00 50* 92-4 355 22 16-13 1910-1, A ust. .. 10 3 212 30-28 80* 146-3 674 17 39-64 1911-12, A ust. ... 8 0 212 26-50 65 115-3 452 17 26-58 1912, E n g. .. ... 25 7 259 14-38 37* 453 3 1545 65 23-76 Totals ... 64 13 960 18-82 80* .. 1048 3847 156 2466 On the face of it this is the record of a man of possibilities, rather than that of one who can be ranked am ong the world’s great players. Em ery has big possibilities ; he is intensely keen, and he is not yet twenty-six years of age. Moderation of pace m ight help him to a better length, though it m ight also rob his bowling of some of the deadliness it has at times. A little infusion of discrim ination m ight make him a really good hitting batsman. H e may be an all­ round m ainstay of the Australian side three years hence, or before then he m ay drop right out of big cricket. I am inclined towards the form er alternative. J. N. P. Cricket in the Scottish Highlands. W et weather again interfered with Saturday’s programme ; only two m atches were played, and these under disagreeable showery conditions. Forres were at Nairn, playing Nairn County. Batting first they ran up what was in the circum stances the respectable total of 129 for 9. H . Fraser scored 29, M . J. Grant Peierkin 23, J. Younie 19. The County did badly. Younie took 7 for HO. and they were all out for 56. (Younie’s name, by the way, has been wrongly given two or three tim es as Gowrie in these notes, but of course I did not write G ow rie; no doubt the comp sitor or the proof-reader was at fault). In Victoria Park, Inverness, the two local clubs had their “ D erby.” But they m ight almost as well have played in a swimm ing-bath. Citadel made 106 for 5 (J. Macdonald 43*, D. Mackay 19). St. Andrews, short of full strength, could only score 49, and of this meagre total A. C. M acK enzie made 29*. Frank M acK enzie for Citadel had 7 wickets for 19. A team of G lenalm ond College, calling them selves the Glen- alm ond Hovers, have been touring the North just lately. On Friday they played Fort George Garrison, and W . A. Whitelaw played a fine innings of 126 in a total of 243 for them . T he military team replied with 105. On Saturday they met Northern Counties at Inverness, but rain stopped the game before the end. Northern Counties made 165, J. L. Mackintosh, of Sedbergh School, getting 65. The Bovers lost 3 for 32. Their Monday match was against Sir W illiam Gordon Cumm ings’ team at Inverness. R ain again ! The R overs scored 123 for 9, Lachlan Maclean 32*, the R ev. F. W . Matheson 27. The other side opened with young G ordon Cumming and I. S. Clarke, who gave a first-class display, the form er scoring 35, and Clarke being not out with 59 when play was stopped at 114 for 2. Sir W illiam him self umpired. It is a draw­ back to H ighland cricket that m ore of our country gentlemen do not show interest in the king of games. 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 a l o f C rick et, A ssociation F ootball, T en n is, G olf, an d K in d red Pastim es. N o. 114, S ou th 18th S treet, P hiladelph ia, Pa., U .S.A p r i c k - 15/- per annum , post paid anyw here. S pecim en cop ies m ailed on requ est. Special Club Notes. C o n t r i b u t e d b y “ T h e C h i e l . ” The wliole of last week I spent on the South Coast, and a very stormy week it was in more ways than one. On Monday my colleagues played the Clifton C.C. upon their excellent ground at Preston Park. Clifton are exceed­ ingly fortunate in having a ground so delightfully situated. Owing to bad weather, the wicket and outfield were very spongy, and so treacherous was the wicket at times that scoring was exceedingly slow and tedious. The visitors had much the better of the game scoring 234 for 7 wickets. Clifton making 90 for 8 wickets. I have only one fault to find with the Clifton men, which is that they waste far too much time between the fall of wickets. The pitch was over a hundred yards from the pavilion, and yet the ingoing batsman would wait in the enclosure for the outgoing batsman and have a chat before sallying forth. Tuesday and Wednesday found us upon the comfortable and rural ground of the Littlehampton club. The home captain and his colleagues gave us a very hearty welcome, and did everything possible for our comfort. We had no sooner arrived upon the ground than the coastguard started firing guns, and the question of to play or not to play depended upon the firing of one more gun. It was fired, and never shall I forget the stampede of players and spectators down to the beach and the scene of the wreck. The excitement was great; the lifeboat was launched ; the whole town and other towns had turned o u t; a sand­ storm arose. No play was possible before lunch, but the afternoon turned out fine, and Wednesday, though windy, was very fresh and bracing. We had the best of the game ; hut my colleagues and I left Littlehampton with the feeling, that we had met the best of good fellows and keen cricketers. “ The Chiel ” also thanks the Littlehampton men for their appreciation, of C r i c k e t . Thursday found us upon the Sussex County Clroimd at Hove. Hero again we had every comfort, and the best of good fellowship. The Brunswick are fortunate indeed to play cricket under such pleasant conditions, the only drawback to the game being the practice at the nets by the Nursery lads. The weather was very unsettled, and repeated stoppages occurred. The home side had the best of the game in the end, but the visitors had to bat in a very bad light against good and steady bowling. We left the Hove ground having thoroughly enjoyed our­ selves and appreciated the efforts of the Brunswick players for our comfort, both outwardly and inwardly. Friday and Saturday found us at our centre, Worthing. The ground of the Worthing club is a good one, on the large side, with long boundaries. Here again we met good fellowship and some keen cricketers. Friday was a delightful day, and the cricket most enjoyable. The visitors left off with much the best of the first day’s play. Saturday not a ball was bowled, the ground being practi­ cally under water. A fresh pitch was prepared, but another storm came on just before play should have started, and the match was reluctantly abandoned. So ended our tour as far as cricket was concerned. Outside cricket, the social side of a tour is important. While of course disappointed with so little cricket and nothing but drawn games, we count the tour a success in every way. Worthing as a centre for a cricket or football tour is well placed, and cricketers are made very comfortable at the Central Hotel. One great feature of the tour from “ The Chiel’s ” point of view was the happy band of cricketers he accompanied. All of them were out to play tlw; game as it should be played, with good comradeship and thorough understanding throughout the week. Amusements galore made up for the bad weather, and the antics of the “ two Macs ” provided great fun. Their wrestling mat _‘h at Ford Junction will not be easily forgotten. The breaking up is always the worst part of a tour. Everything has an end, but I can say that I do not want to take part in a more enjoyable outing. Cricketers touring on the South Coast can be t assured of a good welcome.