Cricket 1912

CR I CKE T : A W E E K L Y R E C O R D O F T H E G A M E . — D e ce mb er 1 4 t h , 1 9 1 2 . “ Together joined in Cricket’ s manly toil.” — Byron. JEW S e r i e s . SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1912. P r i c e 2 d . A Chat with Mr. L. F. Taylor. W ith all her professionals— and it is worth noting that practically every man among these is engaged by league clubs, and not by the cou nty club itself— Staffordshire would not hold the position she does in the world of cricket but for the loyal service and fine play of several prom inent amateurs. T hey are all busy m e n ; they have to make sacrifices in order to help the county ; some of them cannot play in every m atch ; but they play whenever they can, and perhaps they enjoy their cricket none the less because the sterner affairs of life prevent their playing cricket all the summer long. Bernard Meakin, dashing and stylish, would be a welcom e figure in any county team ; for many years Percy Briggs has been a Staffordshire m ainstay ; E. H. Bourne, a really splendid bat, com es dow n from Yorkshire to play when he can get away, though that is, unluckily, all too seldom ; and H . Dealing, W . H . Twigg, H. Eardley, and others help, and help effectively. B ut the rising hope of Staffordshire just now is un­ doubtedly Leonard Taylor, though it is to be feared that in future he will not be able to play for the county before August. H e is quite young, so that there is every prospect of his improving. H e is so good already that even if he m erely refrains from going back he must be very valuable to the side. H e has the great assets of height and strength. Driving hard to the off and cutting late with rare wristy power, he is an attractive batsman as well as a good one. N or is he merely a batsman. His right hand slow medium stuff, off breaks mainly, but varied with an occasional leg break, is very effective in club crick e t; and as a fieldsman at cover-point and m id-off he is quite first-class. A t a pinch, too, he can keep wicket. “ This is not the first time you have been interviewed, I believe Mr. Taylor ? ” said the repre­ sentative of C r ic k e t . “ No. Still, it is not quite an everyday occurrence with me, and you must not expect me to do more than answer questions. I haven’t a speech prepared. B ut I ’m quite willing to tell you alL you want to know .” “ W hen and where were you born ? ” “ A t the M alt Shovel H otel, Birm ingham R oad, W alsall, on October 8, 1890.” “ Where were you educated ? ” “ A t Walsall Grammar School. But I did not learn all m y cricket there. The Y.M .F.S. ground is- ‘ next door ’ to us at home, and I began to play on it before I went to the Grammar School, while I wasn’t much higher than the bat, indeed. I was captain at school tw o seasons, and topped the averages in both. In m y last season I averaged 66 per innings, and made a century against Sutton Coldfield Grammar School.” “ H ow long ago was that ? ” “ F our years— in 1908. I scored over a thousand runs that season, including a century for the Y .M .F.S. v. Dudley. It was then that I first played for the Wallsall club, too.” “ I suppose you have played regularly for the club since ? ” “ E xcep t when away at Car­ marthen. I went to the Training College there to prepare for the teaching profession. Yes, I did pretty well. The bowling I had to -meet was not as difficult as I had been used to in playing for Walsall. In 1910 I averaged 46 for the College, and in 1911, when I was captain, 58.” “ W hen did you first play for Staffordshire ? ” “ In 1910. I had done fairly well for W alsall the year before, and perhaps a century I made against Swansea— one of the best matches on the College card, of course— helped to get me selected. My first game was against N orth­ umberland, at Stoke. H ow did I start ? Like a good m any others— with a duck, caught in the slips off N orbury. B ut I made top score— 30— in m y second innings. I remember that Barnes and Bucknell bowled M r . L . F. T A Y L O R (S ta ffs ).