Cricket 1912

MAE. 30, 1912. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 39 Cricket: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 33 and 35, MOOR LANE, LONDON, E.C. SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1911. All communications intended for the Editorial Department should in order to prevent delay, be addressed to “ The Editor of C r ic k e t , ‘i 3 and 35, Moor Lane. E.C., and not to any person by name. The same remark applies to all publications intended for review. The Editor cannot hold himself responsible for the safety of MSS. sent to him for consideration, although every effort will be made to return them when a stamped addressed wrapper is enclosed for that purpose. As replies to questions are given only by way of published answers to correspondents, and not by letter, those seeking information do not need to enclose stamped addressed envelopes Letters and enquiries from anonymous correspondents will not receive attention. Advertisements, Subscriptions, &c., should be addressed to the “ Manager of C r ic k e t , 33 and 35, Moor Lane, E .C .,” and should be kept distinct from communications intended for the Editorial Department. The Proprietors reserve to themselves the right to refuse any advertisement. The following are the rates of subscription to C r ic k e t :— Great Britain. Abroad. One Year ... ... ... 6s. 3d ... 7s. 6d. The 24 Summer Numbers ... 5s. Od. ... 6s. Od. The 6 Winter Numbers ... Is. 3d. ... Is. 6d. All payments must be made in advance and accompany orders to “ The Manager of C r ic k e t , 33 and 35, Moor Lane, E.C.” The first of the weekly summer numbers of C ricket will be dated April 20th. Look out for it, please —or, better, give an order in advance. lpavnlton (Sossip. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time. — Hamlet. EFERENCES from the pulpit to cricket are not very frequent, and I am glad to quote here some words addressed recently by the Rev. Bentley Roscow, Rector of St. Peter’s, Sandwich, to the boys of Sir Roger Manwood’s Grammar School, of the quaint little Kentish town which even the golfers cannot modernise. In quoting, I have made a few slight verbal alterations, which, however, do not affect the sense. “ I w o u l d ask the boys here this afternoon,” said Mr. Roscow, “ a question : What is it that makes jin y game you play most beneficial to you in the highest sense ? Is it not when you regard a victory over your own lower or baser self as far greater than a victory over your oppo­ nents ; is it not when you play the game unselfishly in a sportsmanlike manner— play it for the honour of your school or your club, rather than for your own honour, credit or satisfaction ? I feel that I can generally, if not always, form a very fairly correct opinion as to the spirit in which any boy plays his games by his answer to the question I ask him as I see him coming away from a cricket or football match— ‘ How did you get on to-day ? ’ —whether he tells me first whether his school won or lost, or whether he begins by telling me how he played himself, how many runs he made, how many wickets he took, or how many goals he shot. And I think one can form an even better judgment upon this question when, for example, in the course of a cricket match, in a case where it is inevitable that one or other of the batsmen must be run out, one sees a boy, in spite of the fact that the error of judgment in running was not his own but his partner’s, nevertheless deliberately sacrifice his own wicket to save that of his schoolfellow, because he is a. better bat than himself; or again, when one sees the captain of an eleven, who is within a very few runs of his century, declare his side’s innings closed because he feels that by delaying the declaration he will lessen his side’s chance of winning the game.” T h is is good sound doctrine, and one may hope and believe that the boys took it to heart. I happen to know that there are readers of C r ic k e t among the Manwoodians, and for them I can give an instance—-though in a greater game than a school match— of such self-sacrifice as Mr. Roscow means. In the fourth test match, nearly 32 years ago, Harry Boyle, the Australian bowler, one of the keenest players who ever appeared on a cricket field ran himself out to save the wicket of his captain, William Lloyd Murdoch, who went on and carried his bat for 153. They are both dead now, the big-hearted bowler who kept such a fine length and the batsman who battled so courageously against great odds ; but that act of self- sacrifice lives, and deserves to live, in the annals of the game. T h e Sandwich boys, one gathers from the school magazine, had no very great success at cricket in 1911, losing 5 matches to 2 won and 2 drawn. But thoy had a pretty good batsman in Farrant, who averaged 30, and a decidedly useful bowler in Turk, whose wickets only cost 7 runs each ; and if they played the game in the spirit which Mr. Roscow inculcates success or failure is a minor matter. The stars and sounding vanities That half the crowd bewitch, What are they but inanities To him that treads the pitch ? And where’s the wealth, I ’m wondering, Could buy the cheers that roll When the last charge goes thundering Beneath the twilight goal ? W e’ll honour yet the School we knew, The best School of a ll; We'll honour yet the rule we knew, Till the last bell call. For, working days or holidays, And glad or melancholy days, They were great days and jolly days A t the best School of all. P r o m Pall River, Mass., U.S.A., Mr. F. M. Burgess sends along an interesting story from which it would appear that the recent Test rubber has been followed with extraordinary keenness by some, at least, of our American cousins. A Fall River enthusiast woke up in the night and told his wife—we hope he did not wake her on purpose to tell her !— that he had dreamed England would make over 500 in the fourth match. And England did, as the cable which came through later showed. Now if he could only dream the winner of the next Derby ! I n the course of a letter of good cheer from far-off Bulawayo, Mr. Lynden Webber tells me that the old war-horse of Natal, Mr. Leo Robinson, who has been a notable figure in South African cricket for well over twenty years, still shows fine form, and in January headed the local batting averages with 50 per innings, and figured third in the bowling with 25 wickets at under 10 runs each. Mr. T. E. Bourdillon has been showing such fine form— he lately scored 148 in under two hours— that Rhodesians think he might have been given a show in the Johannesburg trials. He has strokes all round the wicket, and is par­ ticularly good at the drive between cover and mid-off. In Salisbury cricket Mr. Colin Duff, formerly of Cape Town, and Mr. F. G. Brooks, the old Bedfordian, are going strong. M r . C r a w f o r d C o a t e s , the ex-Philadelphian batsman, writes from Victoria, B.C., and suggests that British Columbia ’might as^well be off the map for any notice C r ic k e t ever takes of it. It is curious that before the letter^reached me a short article which will be found on another page was already in type, and that in it, not only