Cricket 1912

522 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. S e p t . 21, 1912. Men of the Moment in London Club Cricket. B y “ S u r e C a t c h . ” This week I am able to present photos of two of the best known cricketers in London—E. A. 0. Thomson and W. H. Long. For over twenty years this pair have been playing in good class matches, and they have taken during their careers a sackfull of wickets and made many hundreds of runs. Long has pei'haps had more opportunities in the playing line than Thomson ; but both havo had a long innings, and still the glad hand of welcome is extended to them both on every cricket ground they visit. In one season Long played for the Newspaper League against the Printing Trades team at the Oval, was presented with a marble clock by the Newspaper League, a silver teapot by the Morning Leader Cricket Club, and a pedestal lamp by the Arlington Cricket Club, who two seasons previously had given him a ball on silver stumps suitably inscribed. Thompson has met with equal success, and when their careers on the field of play were drawing to a close, they organised the Club Cricketers’ Charity Fund. W o r k e r s f o r C h a r it y . Of this Mr. O. R. Borradaile, the Essex County secre­ tary, in an article on the history of this fund, wrote :— “ Charities in connection with sport have for many years M r. E. A . C. TH O M SO N . J oint -G eneral H on . S ec . and H on . S ec . S outhern S ection . been great features, notably in football, in which game some thousands of pounds are annually raised for distribu­ tion among innumerable British charitable institutions. For very many years a few London cricket clubs have had an organised charity festival on their ground for the purpose of assisting some local hospital, and good results have been obtained. Generally speaking, however, cricketers in the past have been somewhat lacking in appreciating the great claims of charity, and with the majority of clubs it has been difficult to properly organise any system by which a fair amount of money could be raised. Club cricket in London and the South has never bothered itself about organisation, and I think the game has been all the better for this blissful condition. Yet club cricketers are not one bit less charit­ able in spirit than footballers, or any other sportmen, only the opportunity has never been really presented to them. Suggestions thrown out in the Cricket Star, in May, 1910, led Mr. Thomson to confer with Mr. W. H. Long, with the result that our General Hon. Secretaries agreed to devote their time to the formation of the Club Cricketers’ Charity Fund. The first meeting was called late in May at Strat­ ford, by Mr. W. H. Long, and the Eastern Section was promptly formed, officers appointed, and a committee elected. Then in June, Mr. Thomson called a repre­ sentative meeting of South London clubs at the Oval, at which Mr. P. H. Slater took the chair. Here again M r. W M . H. LONQ. J oint -G eneral H on . S ec . and H on . S ec . E astern S ection . success was encountered, and the Southern section was established with officers and a good working committee. Having broken the ice, Messrs. Thomson and Long decided to throw all their energies into the great project, and another meeting was held at the Eyre Arms, St. .John’s Wood, in July, whereat representatives of the North and West London clubs gathered together under the chairman­ ship of Mr. P. F. Warner, and the result was the formation of the Northern and Western sections together with officers and committee. Cricketers all over London, directly the scheme was made known to them, entered thoroughly into it, and the next act was the organising of the Executive Council, which consisted of representatives from all four sections. Securing the invaluable influence and active services of so sterling a sportsman as Lord Alverstone as president was the next success attained, and I may remark here that his Lordship has shown a great interest in the doings of the fund, and proved his keen sympathy by taking the chair at the first annual general meeting held at the Charterhouse Hotel on November 22nd, when the sub­ mission of the First Annual Report and Balance sheet created considerable satisfaction, and provoked the remark from Lord Alverstone, that seeing the short existence of the fund, the results were extremely gratifying, and augured well for the future. Nearly £90 was raised, and I make bold to say it reflected considerable credit on all those concerned in the various collections. “ Upon the shoulders of Messrs. W. H. Long and E. A. C. Thomson have devolved all the hard work, initia­ tive, and organising, and the results obtained to date speak highly for their energies and tremendous amount of time devoted to the fund. I must also award special thanks to all the other officers and gentlemen who sit on the various committees for their labours in helping to promote the best interests of the fund.” D e a d l y S l o w B o w l e r . Since Charlie Wells lost some of his old effectiveness, I do not think there has been a bettor slow bowler in club cricket than Allis, the Loughton wicket taker. Allis has been playing almost as long as Wells, and it must be over twelve years ago since I first played against him. He is a slow bowler with a very easy action, and a perfect master of length, and it is this, combined with his deceptive flight and break, that makes him so difficult to play, even on the best of wickets. N o te on T a p p e n d e n . Another man who has often accomplished remarkable deeds is L. B. Tappenden, the old Boston Park match winner. Tappenden is a big, strongly-built man, who has always played the game in the right spirit. A good length bowler, he has taken a large number of wickets, and as a quick-scoring batsman he has registered hundreds of runs with a splendid variety of strokes. Two F in e P l a y e r s . A batsman well above the average is Greenside, of Epsom. Greenside plays very correct cricket. He has a nice stance, plays a fine straight bat, and scores his runs all round the wicket with a pretty variety of strokes. Another player who makes a lot of runs every season is Longhurst, of Clapham Ramblers. He is a left-hand batsman of the vigorous type. His defence is quite good, and as he can hit with rare power it is not surprising that he scores at a good pace. His placing of the ball is decidedly clever. C l e v e r B r o t h e r s . Wrightson. of the TT.C.S. Old Boys, is a very fine player to watch. With very sound defence he picks out the right ball to hit with judgment. Parker, of Pallingswick, is also a pretty player to watch. He wields a straight bat, and hits all-round the wicket with fine effect. Two very able cricketers are the brothers Higgs, of Parson’s Green. J. S. Higgs is a batsman who registers centuries. He hits with wonderful vigour, and scores his runs splendidly. A. C. Higgs is also a quick-scoring batsman and a high-class bowler. He keeps .a good length, makes the ball turn quickly, and takes a large number of wickets every season. These clever brothers must have thoroughly enjoyed them­ selves this summer with bat and ball, in spite of the rain and the absence of sunshine.