Cricket 1912

44 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M ar . 30, 1912. Mb. W a l l a c e s L tjm b , J.P., in proposing the toast of the Minor Counties’ champions, said that he hoped the day was not far distant when Staffordshire would be raised to first-class cricket. W e share the hope. But there are difficulties in the way. Ask Mr. Hancock— ask Mr. G. T. Bagguley, the Staffordshire C.C.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, who takes care of the balance— or the deficit, as the case may be 1 One great difficulty is that the county’s amateurs, Messrs. Meakin, Briggs, Heath, and the rest— are all busy men, and could hardly afford time for a minimum of sixteen three-day matches. Mr. E. G it t e n s K n ig h t , writing from Grenada, asks the editorial opinion as to a remarkable occurrence lately witnessed there. A batsmen played a ball down on the off ; it rose and curled back on to the w ick et; he hit it again in defence of his stumps, and was caught by the wicket-keeper. Was he out ? D e c id e d l y — no ! The stroke had been completed ; the attempt to keep the ball out of his wicket was as part of it. If he had hit the ball to the boundary no runs would have been scored to him ; if he had attempted a run the umpire could— and would, if he knew his business— have given him out, “ hit the ball twice.” One hazards the suggestion that the match was played on m atting; it would scarcely be possible for a ball to come back thus on a turf wicket, but queer things happen on matting at times. T h e members of the old Brockley C.C. (1881-1892) held a reunion supper at the Cannon Street Hotel, on March 15th. Among those present were Mr. F. E. Lander, who, although over sixty, made a century for the Granville (Lee) Club last season, Dr. H. J. Spon, the old Guy’s Hospital player, Messrs. G. H. and J. H. Welchman, of Forest Hill fame, and Messrs. S. J. and A. E. Fraser, with Mr. G. H. Apps in the chair, and Messrs. J. Ramage and J. F. Griffith as vice-chairmen. So big a success was the, meeting that it has been decided to make it an annual function. This is something quite out of the ordinary line. Cricket club celebrations are many ; but these are of clubs still living. For so many members of a club defunct twenty years to meet and “ fight their battles o ’er again ” is unusual, and not without a touch of real charm. King Cricket still holds his own. But why was the Brockley C.C. ever allowed to disband ? C r ic k e t ’ s congratulations to Mr. Philip Cartwright, of Sussex fame, upon his marriage on March 20th to Miss Louise Jordan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. N.' Jordan, of Oak Lea, Plumpton. A Chat with Mr. C. P. Carter. LTHOUGH he is undoubtedly a fine bowler, and also a good all-round club cricketer, very few anticipated that international honours awaited C. P. Carter of the Zingari Cricket Club, Durban, this year. From the first day of the trial matches in Johannesburg however, when he made 75 in a practice game, he was well in the running ; and when he took 7 wickets for 116 runs in the flrst big trial, his chance of selection became very rosy. He was again chosen for the final trial game, and for Mr.Tancred’s team shared the brunt of the attack with Joe Cox and Le Roux, taking 2 wickets for 121 runs. The choice then lay between him and H. V. Baumgartner, the old Bedford School boy, as slow bowler, and the Natal man received the preference. Claude Paget Carter was born on the 23rd of April, 1881, at Durban. He was educated at the Old Boys’ Model School, Smith Street, Durban, where he early showed promise as a cricketer, learning the flrst rudiments of the game under Mr. Hawes, who will be better remembered as the husband of Ada Forrest, the Natal soprano. At that time Mr. Hawes was an assistant master in the Natal Education Department, and also games master at the school in question; but latterly, before he retired on pension, he was Headmaster of the Richmond Government School, Natal. Carter left school when he was 16 years of age, and at once commenced playing Senior League cricket, joining his present club, the Zingari. He afterwards played for Queen’s Park for three seasons, when he rejoined his old club, remaining with them this time for four seasons. Three years ago he went to the Transvaal to study mine-engineer­ ing, and he represented the Transvaal last season in the Currie Cup Tournament. His bowling figures in the Tournament were 32 wickets for 385 runs, his average being 12.03, whilst he had a batting average of 14 runs an innings. He played in his flrst Currie Cup Tournament in 1898, when he was 17 years of age, then representing Natal, and he has played in nearly every representative match since. Returning to Durban last year he again joined the ranks of the Zingari, for whom so far this season he has taken 22 wickets for 217 runs, which gives him the splendid average of 9.86. In batting he has not done very much for his club, but his fielding has been first-rate. I managed to get a few words with him during the course of the second day’s play in the Zingari’s match against the Escombes, at Lord’s Ground on January 13th, when he was in fine bowling trim, taking altogether 9 wickets for 77 runs. “ What do you think of the comjjosi- tion of the South African team for England this year, Mr. Carter ? ” I asked after introducing myself. “ I think it is a fine combination, and, with the exception of the want of a fast bowler, remarkably strong all round. Just remember that we have Faulkner, Schwarz, Llewellyn, Hartigan, White, Snooke, Pegler, Nourse, Cox and myself, ten bowlers out of the seventeen, and practically every man can bat. We certainly ought to do well.” “ Then you think Cox is safe to go after all ? ” “ Yes, I think it is ridiculous to think of trying to put Kotze into the team again, for he is hardly likely to get back anything like his old form after once going to seed, as it were. His moderate show in last season’s Currie Cup Tournament speaks for itself, and then there is another year’s inactivity on the top of that. I remember him well enough when he was at the top of his form, and have played against him in those days. He was a fast bowler then, no mistake ! I have seen a delivery of his go over the wicket-keeper’s head, and then, after the second bounce, strike the screen behind the wickets. He could also take wickets, and his 117 wickets in all matches at home during the tour of 1904 was a great factor in South Africa’s success. I hear he has gone to the Rand for a month’s practice with a view to his possible inclusion in the team, but although a good many lay stress on the fact that he is a teetotaler and non* smoker, I have very little belief that he will come to the fore again as a fast bowler.” “ What did you think of our men’s performances at the trial matches ? ” “ Everyone certainly did well, and so did those from other centres. The committee must have had a hard job to select the best men. Our fellows who were selected certainly deserved their places, though, of course, I cannot very well give an opinion in my own case. The committee were certainly very good to us, and it was made much more noticeable, seeing that Hartigan of the Border, was the only other man outside the Transvaal who got a place.” “ Yes, I was in Cape Town when the names were published,"” I replied “ and they seemed rather bitter over it down there ; they quite expected that Lewis, Luyt, or Tapscott would have got a show.” “ Well, I don’t agree with them there, and without being biassed in any way (I regard all three as good batsmen) they could hardly, any one of them, have seriously expected to get in. It was bowlers who were required, and, as far as possible, those who were also useful in other branches of the game. If any batsman was unfortunate, it was D. K, Pearse of Maritzburg, who really is a fine promising bat, and who played consistently well throughout the trials. He is also a fine field, but he also had to give way to bowlers. L. G. Tapscott certainly hit wonderfully well when he scored 111 and 60 in the second trial ; but when he knocked up against Vogler in the last match, he could do nothing in either innings. Hartigan thoroughly deserves