Cricket 1912

38 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M ar . 30, 1912. out of 213 added while he was in—brilliant play on the off side, and no chance till after he had reached his century, which he did in 90 minutes. He hit one 6 and twenty-four 4’s ; and capable judges who saw his innings felt small doubt that a real top-notcher had now arrived. Nevertheless he did not get another chance for his State that season. He was not the only pebble on the beach, by any means. There were also Barbour, Me Elhone, Kelleway, Emery and others, all pushing their way to the front; and against the South Africans, Collins, Tozer, Massie, and Minnett’s own brother, Leslie, were preferred to him, though on what grounds in one or two cases, at least, it might have puzzled the selectors to explain. His luck may have seemed out then ; but it served him a few months later. He played well against Queensland at Sydney in his State’s first match of the 1911-2 season, scoring 57, and with Emery adding 86 for the eighth wicket; but even with this strengthening of his claims he might not have had a place in the N.S.W. team against the M.C.C. side but for Charles Ivelleway’s inability to play. He got it, however ; he made 52 not out in fine style; and he followed this up with a dashing 87 not out against South Australia at Sydney, an innings which included fifteen 4's, and was only a little over an hour and a half in the making. Chosen as one of the mixed eleven to oppose the Englishmen at Brisbane, he again batted well for 69, and thus fairly forced his way into the test match selection. Many expected that he would be made twelfth man, for Macartney’s standing down was scarcely held likely. But Minnett went in, and possibly his inclusion made all the difference in the result. It is true that a good many runs had been scored before his turn came ; but an innings of 90, made in 110 minutes by cricket at once free and safe, and including fourteen 4’s, was a pretty good start in the highest class of cricket, and a pretty big lift for his side, too. He helped Trumper to add 109 for the sixth wicket. In the next test he ipade a useful 34 in the second innings. Hard upon this came another fine display against South Aus­ tralia at Adelaide. He batted less than two hours for his 87, and helped Bardsley to add 190 runs for the fifth wicket. Even after this Hill wanted to leave him out of the Adelaide test for Macartney—and no higher compliment has ever been paid to “ the Governor-General” than that—but Iredale and McAlister would not have it, and the little man had again to stand down, the captain quite naturally dissenting from the proposal that his own place should be given up to him. Minnett did nothing very notable in the game, for his 38 in the second innings was but small potatoes after the success that had attended him thus far. But a few weeks later he played the innings of his career to date against Victoria at Sydney. The game is dealt with elsewhere in this number ; but one may quote here what one of the best judges of the game in all Australia wrote of i t : “ A more dashing big innings has never been played for New South Wales against Victoria. None of Trumper’s greatest innings have been more wonderful in their power. His driving, cutting, and leg-hitting were of the highest order. It was a tonic to old-time enthusiasts to watch a straight-driving, off-playing and leg-hitting dasher, after seeing so much of the back play, forcing to leg type this season. It is an innings that will never be forgotten by those who saw it.” Top scorer in the first innings of the fourth test at Mel­ bourne—with 56 in 80 minutes by plucky and forcible methods —and in the second innings of the fifth match at Sydney—with 61, started shakily, but admirable later—Minnett kept up his form to the end; and his first-class figures, 882 in 17 innings (3 not outs), average 63, stamp him as the best Australian batsman of the season of 1911-2. He was among the first ten selected for the English tour and the Triangular Tournament, and fortunately he did not throw in his lot with the “ rebel ” brigade. As will be gathered from what has been said already, Boy Minnett is a batsman of great versatility and unlimited pluck. As a bowler it is likely he may be more successful here than he has been recently in Australia. His bowling comes very quickly off the pitch, and he is credited with considerable swerve at times, and with plenty of spin. But if he never sends down a ball he will be more that worth his place for his batting and fielding, while his personal qualities are sure to make him hosts of friends. Some Notes on Cricket in America in 1911. A tour of the past calls for some notice in these columns, with apologies for the omission of any reference to it in earlier issues of C r ic k e t . In August last the Frankford Club of Philadelphia sent a team to Winnipeg, British Columbia and the Pacific States, playing seven matches, v. Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle (two) and Portland (two), and travelling some thousands of miles to play them. Six of the seven were won, Victoria alone lowering the tourists’ colours. Mr. W. W . Foulkrod, junior, whose father was the founder of the Frankford Club, was captain of the team and its best bat. His scores were 38. 36, 47, 22 not out, 78, 19, 2, 15, 21, 20, and 15—313 in 10 completed innings. He and Mr. W. M. Fellows, who scored 183 in 9 completed innings and took 41 wickets at a cost of 10*26 each, were the mainstays of the side, Dr. T. R. Currie, Messrs. Wayne S. Evans and B. Saddington also scoring usefully, and Messrs. R. Waad, junior (29 wickets at 10*82 each) and P. Bishop (20 at 9 50 each) giving Mr. Fellows efficient support in the bowling line. For Winnipeg, in the first match, Mr. V. G-. Williams’s 44 was the highest individual score. Vancouver (including Mr. F. J. Pears, doubtless the old Carthusian) could only make 40 in their first innings; in the second Mr. F. W. Sterling ran up 32. The all-round cricket of Messrs. L. S. V. York (10 and 66, and 6 wickets for 61, first innings) and S. Gillespie (22 and 38, and 7 wickets for 42, second innings), with Mr. J. H. Gillespie’s second effort of 44, were the main factors in Victoria’s win. At Seattle a valued correspondent and old subscriber to C r ic k e t , Mr. W. W . Dow, appeared for the home side, and was top scorer for it with 13 in the first match. At Portland, Mr. J. J. Churchley hit up 54 in the first game, and Mr. K. Bailey, the captain, with 5 for 63 and 5 for 47, bowled well in both matches. Everywhere the team was treated with the greatest hospitality, and its members enjoyed the trip most thoroughly. It is believed that cricket in the West will receive a big impetus as the result of the tour. Matting wickets are the rule on the Pacific Coast, it appears, and this is a heavy drawback, though it has not prevented South Africa from attaining third rank in the world’s cricket hierarchy. An extensiou of the tour to include California would, no doubt, have occupied too much time, and it is possible that a more powerful team than that of the Frankford Club would have been needed to test the cricketers of that state, which is one of the strongest centres of the game in America. Eastern Canada was not included in the itinerary; but then hardly a season passes without a visit of Philadelphian cricketers to Toronto, Montreal, or Ottawa. The season of 1911 saw that wonderful American player, Mr. J. Barton King, fit for a place in a World’s Eleven at his best, filling first position both in the batting and bowling averages of the Halifax Cup Competition, in which the crack teams of Philadelphia play. He thus won both batting and bowling Childs’ cups for the fourth time. The bowling cup he has won nine times in a ll! Mr. Willard Graham is the only other player who has won both in one year, 1910. Mr. King scored 381 runs in eight completed innings, average 47*63, and took 50 wickets for 441, average 8*82. Looking down the list of Halifax Cup averages one misses many familiar names. Where now are Messrs. F. H. Bohlen and A. M. Wood, veterans both, but quite recently still good for long scores? Mr. G. S. Patterson dropped (Jut long ago, and Messrs. W . W . Noble, E. W. Clark, H. P. Baily, Newbold Etting and others followed him. Mr. Crawford Coates is at Victoria, B.C., where he is helping loyally to develop cricket. But what has become of Dr. J. A. Lester, and why did Mr. “ Christy” Morris play so little in 1911 ? The only century scored in the competition (in which 116 players took part), was Mr. King’s 105 not out. Bat one notes scores of 90 by Mr. H. W . Middleton, 89 by Mr. A. C. Wood, 85 by Mr. J. L. Evans, 80 not out by Mr. S. W . Mifflin, 78 by Mr. A. S. Valentine, 77 by Mr. W . W. Foulkrod, 75 by Mr. W. W . Justice, jun., and a dozen others of over 50 in the “ highest score ” column, so it is evident that there are good batsmen among the younger brigade. Mr. P. H. Clark did little with the bat, but was runner-up in the bowling averages, with 33 wickets at 9*60. Mr. Willard Graham, last season’s crack all-rounder, averaged 20 per innings, and took 26 wickets at under 17 each; but these figures are far behind those he secured in 1910—56*40 in batting and 25 wickets at 10*56 each. Is it not about time another English team visited the States, to put to the test the men who have risen to fill the places left vacant by the cracks of former days ? If such a tour could be extended to California, up the Pacific coast, and through the Prairie provinces of Canada, it would be a grand thing for the game in the Western continent.