Cricket 1912

460 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A u g u s t 31, 1912. Cricket: A W EEK LY RECORD OF THE GAME. 33 and 35. M00H LANE, LONDON, E.C. S A T U R D A Y , A U G U S T 81, 1912. Communications to the Editor should be addressed to him at 33 & 35 Moor Lane, E .C . Advertisements, Subscriptions, &c., should be sent to the Manager, at the same address. The following are the rates of subscription to C r ic k e t :— Great Britain. Abroad. One Y ear .............................. 6 s. 3d. ... 7s. 6 d. The 24 Summer Numbers ... 5s. Od. ... 6 s. Od. The 6 W inter Numbers ... Is. 3d. ... Is . 6 d. N O T I C E . Messrs. WR IGHT & CO., of 7, Temple Lane, Tudor Street, E .C ., are Advertisement Contractors for C R IC K E T , and will be glad to give their best attention to any Firms desiring to advertise in the paper. Scale of Charges will be sent on application. Pavilion (3ossip. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time. — Hamlet. The great Triangular Tournament is over, and the general verdict upon it is that it has proved a big disappoint­ ment. The wretched weather—the Australian squabble— the comparative weakness of the South Africans as a test match side : these have been the chief causes of its failure, for frankly it must be written down a failure. In the dim and distant future it may be repeated, but scarcely for the next decade or so. A u s t r a l ia , in spite of the great men left behind, has nothing to be ashamed of in her record. The side had no bowlers who could do quite what Barnes, Woolley, and Co. could do on a funny pitch. It had a long tail. But it played up very finely indeed, and, though it would probably have gone down to South Africa at Trent Bridge and actually went down to England at the Oval, proved itself a very hard side to beat. The character of the summer—save the mark !—was all against the new men of the team, and some of them never played up to the form of which we know they are capable under better conditions. W ho is the man to whom the Tournament has brought the greatest access of fame ? I should say, without a moment’s hesitation, Charles Kelleway. Bardsley did splendidly ; so did Hobbs, Barnes, Woolley. But of these great things were expected. Others did well, but scarcely well enough to increase their reputations. Kelleway stands to-day far higher than he did when he landed in England. S low ? I grant you that. Lets the ball hit the bat too often ? True. Has few strokes ? Bight again! There are more criticisms that can easily be made ; and yet, when all that can be said against the tall Glebe man is said, it must- be granted that he is a great player in his own special style. Cool, plucky, level-headed, unruffled by jeering, he reminds one somewhat of John Douglas, somewhat of Alec Bannerman, somewhat of Joe Vine, yet is different from all of them. M e ssr s . .T. M. D ent and Co. will publish in October a book by E. H. D. Sewell. “ Triangular Cricket ” is its title, and besides a full account of the whole tournament, day by day, it will contain a few chapters addressed to club cricketers and young players, a number of photographs, and of course the inevitable statistics. Iftt ■■ * -------------------- rr F rom parallel columns of a contemporary (for once, I think, it is more polite to use that phrase than to give the name of the paper): “ The two-day match at Margate between C. C. Hatfield’s XI. and Band of Brothers was concluded yesterday. Score : Holfield’s XI., 120 and 214 (B. Lee 903); Band of Brothers 124 and 107.” “ The ten a side match at Exeter yesterday C. E. Hatfield’s XI. and Band of Brothers was concluded yesterday. Score Hatfield’s XI., 120 and 214 (B. Lee 90) ; Band of Dumplings, 116.” T he ardent collectors of cricket records must not hasten to “ ledger ” B. Lee’s 903. It appears to have been really 90. C. C. Hatfield and C. E. Hatfield are both apparently 0. E. Hatfeild of Kent. Holfield is another alias, presumably. The match was played either at Margate or at Exeter. It was a two-day and ten a side game, one gathers, though the latter qualification seems to make “ Hatfield’s X I.” a misnomer. Finally, setting aside the score discrepancy, who are the Band of Dumplings? Nice name, but now to me. T his season has been all against the bowler who needs a pitch with some life in it, and that fact partially accounts, no doubt, for the very small show given John McLaren and Joseph Cox by the selection committees of their respective teams. These two must be pretty thoroughly disappointed men. M c L aren took 5 wickets for 79 in the first two matches of the Australian tour. He was then out of the team for five matches, played v. Warwickshire and had 2 for 61, missed three games, took 4 for 34 v. Lancashire, missed a game, took 4 for 45 v. Somerset, and since then has played in 4 matches out of 17, taking 1 for 103, 1 for 37, 3 for 22, and 0 for 17 in them. Like Cox, he played in no test match. Cox first played in his side’s fifth game, v. Oxford, bowled 50 overs, and took 5 for 125. He appeared in two of the next seven matches, and bowled 8 overs for 21 runs. Against Somerset at Bath he had 3 for 36 in the second innings, and against Scotland at Glasgow 4 for 39 in the second. Since then, while his side has played fifteen matches, he has appeared in four, and has bowled 20 overs for 50 runs without a wicket. I a m not suggesting that either man has been treated unjustly. Doubtless the wickets were quite unsuited to them in many of the matches which they missed. But the fact remains that Cox has had oaly four real trials, and in those four innings has taken 12 wickets for 200 runs, which is by no means bad, while McLaren, whose figures to date are 20 wickets for 398, has certainly not been a complete failure when given a show. “ Mr. A. W. R oberts was the only batsman to display anything like sound judgment. He hit Blythe for 6, one ball falling on a boy’s head, cutting his cheek severely.” (Daily Mail, August 28). Now we know what sound judgment really is ! But—I am not quite sure even yet. Did Mr. Roberts show his judgment by not killing the boy outright, or in choosing a boy who really needed hitting on the head ? And did not the one and only Jessop, who hit Blytho for two 6’s, one hit breaking the glass of a motor­ car, show judgment, even though only in a minor degree ? R hodes stands at 99 wickets in test matches, Hayward at 99 centuries in all first-class games. Bhodes missed an easy return which would have given him his hundredth wicket, and Hayward made 0 and 0 at Blackheath some weeks since when a century would have been ever so welcome. Those amateurs appear to monopolise the judgmont ! W hat a day for the bowlers last Thursday was! At the Oval Hazlitt took 5 wickets for a single run, and Dean and Woolley did great things. At Dover George Dennett, going on a second time, had 6 for 0 in 20 balls, and Carr, the googly-man, took 13 for 74 during the day, 7 for 8 at one stage of Gloucestershire’s second. Here Blythe showed bad judgment—or was it bad taste ?—in not letting the old Sutton Valence boy have all ten. Not that one blames Blythe too severely ; the state of the