Cricket 1912

48 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M a e . 30, 1912. The Second and Third Test Matches. B y G. H . S. T r o tt . B e f o r e this reaches you the rubber will have been decided. The general opinion here is now that England, one ahead with three matches played, will win it. Three months ago anyone who had ventured to suggest that the English bowlers were capable of going through our strong batting side for a paltry total of 133, on a good wicket, would have been laughed at. But the thing has been done ! I am not going to make excuses for the Australian failures ; but I think perhaps your readers may be interested in m y explanation of them. Firstly, then, I will frankly admit that I never saw better bowling than that of Foster and Barnes before lunch on both days that the Australians were batting in the second match. Their length was perfect. Hardly a single loose ball was sent down. Foster swung in from outside the off stump at a great pace, and Barnes swung in from leg and nipped back— a pretty difficult combination, you will allow ! They bowled so well that no one in the great crowd present who knew the game ever expected anybody to make many runs against them. So much for the bowling. Now for the conditions under which it was done. I have thought a good deal on this subject, and I believe my theory now to be set down is a correct one. Our wickets are prepared to last four or five days. Because of this the curator gives them as much water as they will take up to the last possible moment. If the first morning of the match is bright and fine this works out all right. But if the weather happens to be dull the pitch is very liable to play a trifle queerly up to lunch time. The morning of the opening day in the second test broke dull and cloudy, and for some time the light was indifferent. After lunch there came a change, and the sun shone gloriously. Next day, when your men batted, the conditions were ideal for cricket. Rain fell in the night, but it was only slight, and the wicket, though perhaps a little on the slow side, looked good for Any number of runs. But Barnes and Foster were as deadly as before, the latter the more difficult, and until the after­ noon, when the pace of the wicket had become much faster and Armstrong and Ransford made a great stand, no one did much against them. Set a trifle over 200 for victory, the Englishmen never looked like getting beaten. None of our bowlers troubled them. Hordern, from whom so much was hoped, proved quite harmless. Young Hearne, in particular, played him with consummate ease, seeming to know all about the “ wrong ’un.” It really looks as though your men have found him out. If this is so, I no longer expect Australia to come out top in the Triangular Tournament. England will easily hold her own. Mark you, not one of our men was “ out before he was in.” They battled for all they were worth against grand bowling, and they admit, like sportsmen, that it was too good for them. It was not from any one of our players that I got my theory about the wicket. They grumbled neither at the pitch nor the light. At home, with Hobbs, Gunn, Hearne and Rhodes as batsmen, and Barnes and Foster as bowlers, of the men seen here, with such batsmen as Fry and Spooner filling two of the remaining places, and of course a fast bowler, England will have a really fine side. Unless some new bowling talent is discovered before the season closes, I fear both England and South Africa will hit up some big scores against Australia. The fielding of our men is not up to the old form, which will tend to make our not over strong bowling weaker. There is slowness in the field in several instances, and more inaccu­ racy than one likes to see. Of their batting I have no fear.* * In each case these remarks must be read in the light of recent events. Mr. Trott did not know that Messrs. Armstrong, Carter, Cotter, Hill, Hordern, Eanaford and Trumper were all to be left at home.— E d ito r . The Adelaide match was won even more easily than that at Melbourne. There is iio doubt now that Hobbs is the star batsman of the team. He shaped like a master in both these games. And he is keen— no mistake ! A t Melbourne, when he reached his century, and cheers rang out all round the arena, he waved his bat high over his head in response. He has a rare partner in Rhodes. They understand one another finely, and their running between wickets is a treat to watch. A t Melbourne, I reckon that they stole at least 30 of the first 50 runs ! Even when Hill brought Ransford up to cover-point they got them all the same. I should like this team to play the Rest of England. It would be worth going a long way to see the match. Press and public blame the Australians’ bad batting for these two lickings. I do not, knowing better than some, perhaps, what facing really great bowling means to a batsman. Brilliant bowling and fielding have put England in the excellent position they now hold— but one must not forget the splendid batting of Jack Hobbs in saying this. Cricket in Natal. D u r b a n , March 1, 1912. Greyville has now gone down, and Maritzburg has the only undefeated record in the two Senior Leagues of Natal. The scoring systems are different. In the Durban League a club takes three points for a win in an innings, two for an ordinary win (on first or on both innings), and a single point for a draw. In the Maritzburg competition five points are given for a win outright, three points to the winners and one point to the losers for a game decided on the first innings, and draws are ignored. Up to date the Durban table stands thus:—Greyville, 11 points in 7 matches; Zingari, 11 in 8 ; Wanderers, 9 in 8 ; Queen’s Park, 8 in 8 ; Casuals, 6 in 7 ; Escombes, 4 in 7. It was the Wanderers who upset Greyville’s apple-cart. Nourse failed with bat aDd ball, and only F. W . Holmes (59) and Joe Cox (4 for 29) did much for the losers, whose total was 128. For Wanderers (152) Ken Thomson scored 49 not out, and J. W. Easterbrook did splendid work in the attack. He not only took 6 wickets for 50, but also caught out Nourse in magnificent style. The ball was cut hard and low, but Easterbrook, throwing himself full length on the turf, caught it with his left hand close to the ground. Though Taylor’s ill-luck continued, Queen’s Park were in winning vein on February 3, their 128 (C. Platt 28) sufficing to give them victory' over Zingari (who only made 52 and 72) in an innings. Carter, with 28 not out in the second innings and 7 wickets for 44, did good work for the losers. Platt, 6 for 18, was the best bowler as well as the highest scorer for the winners. Like Queen’s Park, Escombes won for the first time, thanks to a brilliant innings of 138 by their captain, T. H. Trotter, and the all-round play of “ Sussex ” Cox, who scored 34, took 7 wickets for 56 (he had 5 for 10 at one stage), and caught the remaining three batsmen at slip, thus having a hand in the downfall of all ten wickets. Casuals could only score 115 to Escombes’ 255, and 75 of the losers’ runs were put on for the last wicket by P. De Gersigny (59) and V. N. Lumsden (21). In their second innings the Casuals went in for some big hitting. J. Beningfield ran up 35 runs in 15 minutes, twice hitting sixes on to the roof of the pavilion; C. C. Acutt made 46 not out, and Lumsden 27. At Maritzburg, Standard (294 for 8—E . Arbuthnot 81, F. A- Morris 41, L. Bandies 40) beat Zingari (217— S. V. Samuelson 49, H, G. B. Hime 42). Thanks chiefly to the efforts of Mr. F. A. Morris, the energetic secretary of the Maritzburg Union, it is likely that the capital will have a professional coach from England next season. A fund has been opened, and one generous donor, who prefers to remain anonymous, has promised £50 a year for three years. The disappointment felt at the City’s lack of representation in the S.A. team seems to have died down. Dudley Pearse, though he scored in every innings at the trials, is said to have been plainly nervous. He is really good, though, and experience should cure this weakness. His elder brother did not field very well, and Samuelson is certainly not at the top of his bowling form this season. There was no League match in Durban on the 10th, when Bight-Handers met Left-Handers on Lord’s Main Oval. The Left- Handers won easily, thanks chiefly to Dave Nourse, who made 82 of the best, and took i wiokets for 18. Claude Carter had 4 for 40. Totals—179 and 74. The Esoombe team went up to Ladysmith,