Cricket 1912

40 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M ar . 30, 1912. was British Columbia referred to, but Mr. Coates himself was mentioned. C r ic k e t wants to deal with the game wherever played ; but there are difficulties in the way. In future, if only our readers will send along items of interest no one shall have good cause to complain of neglect, though of course it is impossible to print every score sent in. H e b e is a novel suggestion for the reduction of bloated totals. It comes from a correspondent in the North, himself a practical cricketer, and he seems to have thought it all out clearly, so that, whatever its merits may be, it is at least worth presenting. T h e notion is the addition to Law 22— that under which a batsman is given out “ caught ” — of some such words as these : “ If the fielder in attempting a catch touch the ball with his hand— not wrist— before it touches the ground he is awarded a ‘ try ’ (chance). Any batsman giving a second ‘ try ’ (chance) to be out.” Oub correspondent argues that this addition would (a) give the bowler more hope and reward the man who really uses his head ; (b) brisk up the field, stirring the good safe fieldsman to brilliancy, and giving the already great fieldsman further chances, for a man would not feel justified in dropping back to save the boundary, when by running forward he might make a “ try ” ; (c) render the average man’s innings shorter, especially in the case of a batsman who presumes upon his luck in being dropped frequently ; ( d ) increase the spectator’s interest. I t would also give the umpires more work, of course. But our correspondent argues that this would be made up to them by the fact that games would not last as long. Not many, he thinks, would run to three whole days in fine weather with his proposal in force. Mr. C. Y . A d a m s o n is the new captain of the Durham eleven, in succession to Mr. T. Coulson, who recently resigned, and Mr. T. A. Bradford has been appointed vice­ captain. Mr. Adamson is an old hand, who has done fine work for the county for years past, though he was quite out of luck’s way in 1911. But Mr. Bradford, the most brilliant batsman in the team, is comparatively a new­ comer. H e first played for Durham as recently as June 9th, 1909, when he made an excellent start by getting 89 v. Cheshire at Darlington. That season he aggregated 288 rims in 10 innings ; but in 1910 his average leaped up to 62— though, it is true, for four innings only, one of them not out. Practically all his runs were made in one big innings— 168 v. Cheshire at Darlington. Last season, though unable to play away from home owing to the death of his father and his Territorial duties, he scored 377 in seven completed innings, including 123 v. Northumberland at Newcastle, and 130 v. Norfolk at Blackhill. For his club, Chester-le-Street, in the Durham League he made 565 in nine completed innings, actually hitting up 207 not out (a League record, beating Mr. Coulson’s 200 for South Shields v. Wearmouth in 1903) in 90 m inutes! Mr. Bradford is a left-handed bat, and, as may be guessed, a very hard hitter. Like Messrs. Adamson, E. W. Elliot, .T. Turnbull and A. L. Scott-Owen, he has played for Durham at Rugby football as well as at cricket. To Mr. Adamson’s career we hope to give more space in a forthcoming number. Durham, quite one of the strongest of the minor counties, deserves a great deal more notice than is usually taken of it in the South. But minor county cricket in general is much less regarded than it should be. Personally, we don’t like the la b el; but as the Minor Counties Association adopts it, who are we that we should kick ? A f a v o u r it e sneer with those who know little about the subject at close quarters is that the average first-class county amateur costs his club more than a professional does. But he certainly does not in Kent or in Sussex, and we do not in the least believe that he doeskin other counties. A little rough figuring with the Kent and Susses balance sheets shows us that the average expenses of an amateur playing for Kent in 1911 amounted to under £3 15s. Od. a match, for 93 places in Kent’s 29 matches were filled by amateurs, and their total expenses were about £345. For Sussex the figure is lower b y nearly a sovereign, for 82 places were filled by amateurs in the 27 Sussex matches, and their total expenses were only £228, or under £2 16s. Od. per man per match. K ent’s profes­ sionals, scorers and umpires cost £1,615, those of Sussex £1,395. A g o o d friend of C r ic k e t has discovered a successor to the poet Craig. The verses which follow were penned by Mr. A. Cunningham, who officiates as signalman-porter. at a Kentish station. We believe they will amuse some of our readers. T h e M.C.C. T e a m in A u s t r a l ia , 1911-12. “ What price the rubber ? ” asks a Kangaroo, “ Bather too Woolley ,” says number two. “ The grapes are sour on the English Vine ; We did not pick them off in time. The Ashes too we lose for ever ; They brought a Hearne, which was rather clever ; And in it they’ve placed them once for all. They beat us with bat as well as with ball. They shot so straight with their great Gunn, That the Ashes were lost and tho rubber was won. Those Ashes, you know, are safe in the Hearne, And in a short time I fancy you ’ll learn, They’ll be locked up securely in one of their Barnes, Out of the reach of grasping arms. “ The nights were warm, and the days were warmer, But see what they’ve done whilst minus Warner ! Then Douglas he acted just like a brother, W ith excellent help from a good -Foster-mother. The fighting spirit we found in Hobbs Reminds us greatly of good old Bobs. Good play or bad play, I don’t know which, But they won the rubber without a Hitch. There are only two Rhodes one can go along ; They went the right one, and we went the wrong. They were managed, you see, by good old Tom, The town where the nursery is, he comes from. And now we’ll rejoice o ’er a drop of good Mead, And over again their fine records read.” T h e last lines are a trifle puzzling, for one does not quite see what the Kangaroos have to rejoice about. But the whole thing is quite d la Craig. If the Surrey Poet’s phantom could revisit “ the pale glimpses of the moon,” one might picture it wondering when it perpetrated this ! Mr. F r a n k F o s t e r as “ a foster-mother ” is a trifle far-fetched ; but it is not more far-fetched than Mr. Frank Foster as an intentional smasher of batsmen’s fingers and batterer of batsmen’s thighs. Everyone who knows the Warwickshire captain— as genial, manly, true a sportsman as ever trod green turf—will be indignant at the cowardly and libellous imputation. And they said Frank Foster was such a favourite in Australia ! One did not marvel at th a t; there is a winning charm about this young cricket genius that most of us feel ; but one does wonder whether he cares much about losing the esteem of people who cannot accept defeat gracefully, but in the dark hours must fling such charges about. Though, to be sure, it is not likely that many people in Australia believe them. H e r e is an interesting reminiscence of Frank Foster’s early cricket days, which are not so very long ago, after all. A t the dinner of the Nuneaton Town C .C ., Mr. J. H . Phillips, who has several times captained the Warwickshire team, told how on one occasion when he was skippering a side, the county secretary wrote to him that Foster would be included. “ This boy slings them down left-handed,” he added. “ Give him a trial and say what you think of him. He’s no bat.” The boy, Mr. Phillips added, took eight wickets, and made fifty-four runs in eighteen minutes ! LE ST’a n y reader should turn up the records of Foster’s early appearances for Warwickshire in search of this