Cricket 1912

Dec. 14, 1912. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 587 Wisden’s. The Little Wonder—The Firm of Wisden—A Coming= of=age Presentation—Wisden’s C.C. The average man, speaking of “ W isden ” nowadays, usually means the “ Alm anack,” the jubilee number of which we are now awaiting, not the fam ous player— “ the Little W onder,” they called him— who did such great things for Sussex sixty years or so ago. John W isden scored centuries (100 v. K en t at Tunbridge W ells in 1850,148 v. Yorkshire at Sheffield in 1855) for his county in days when centuries were so rare that he was the only man in each of the years named to reach three figures in first-class cricket, and for m any years, at first as a fast bowler, later as a lobster, he was a m ost destructive bowler. H e took 15 wickets in one o f the K ent matches of 1848, 14 v. England in 1854, three times (v. M.C.C. twice and v. Notts) 13 in a match, and five times 12 in a match. Tw ice (against Kent at Brighton in 1852, against M.C.C. on the same ground in 1855) he and Jimm y Dean (“ the Sussex Ploughboy ” ) bowled unchanged through both innings of their opponents. He went with George Mr. E. C. WISDEN-LUFF. Parr’s team to America in 1859, and his bowling com pletely non­ plussed Yankees and Canadians— 29 wickets fell to him in one match, six of them with successive balls ! This was the founder of the firm which is now known wherever the great game is played. The succession has since passed into the female line ; but the present heads of the firm bear the name of W isden with their father’s cognom en of Luff, and as W isden-Luff their descendants are likely to be known, so that the fam ous name will be kept alive otherwise than by the “ Alm anack ” — though that in itself* will ensure its remembrance. A t the annual sm oking concert held recently in connection with W isden’s C.C. (at the Quarry H ill B all Factory, Tonbridge) a m ost interesting cerem ony took place. A splendid walnut writing- cabinet was presented to Mr. E. C. W isden-Luff as a recognition by the firm ’s Tonbridge em ployees of his attainm ent of his majority. Mr. W isden-Luff made a telling little speech of thanks, referring to the pleasure that the handsome present would give to those at home. W isden’s C.C. can hold their own in the field, as is only fitting and propei-. During last season they won 10 and lost 6 of 16 matches played. M oreover, their cash balance showed an increase. H appy club ! The counties did not fare thuswise in 1912. N ot a single drawn game, and the exchequer flourishing. Again— happy club ! -----------------------------■■ ■ --------------------------- S yd n e y G regory gives it as his op in ion that B arton K ing, the Philadelphian crack, is the best bow ler in the w orld. K in g , was n o t bow lin g as fast this last season as o f old ; bu t the terrible swe ve w as even m ore in evidence. N ot him self a cricketer— or at least not him self a cricketer o f a n yth in g bu t very m oderate skill— the late B aron de W orm s was a g o o d friend o f the gam e, an d m an y fam ous players have appeared in m atches on his ground a t M ilton Park, E gham . Cricket; A W E E K L Y R E C O R D O F T H E G A M E . 125, ST R A N D , LONDON , W .C . SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1912. Letters for the E ditor should be addressed to M r. J. N. P e n t e l o w , Malvern, Steyning, Sussex. Advertisem ents, Subscriptions, &c., should be sent to : The Manager of C r ic k e t , 125, Strand, W .C. The follow ing are the subscription rates :— United Kingdom. Abroad. One Y ear ... ... ... 6s. 3d. ... 7s. 6d. The 24 Summer Numbers 5s. Od. ... 6s. Od. The 6 W inter Numl ?rs ... Is. 3d. ... Is. 6d. The remaining winter numbers will be dated January 11, February 15, and March 15, and will reach postal subscribers on or before these dates. Ipmvtlton (Sosstp. “ The abstract and brief chronicle of the tim e.” — Hamlet. T he n ext issue o f C ricket begins a new volu m e ; and great im provem ents will be m ade in it— am on g them a new an d very artistic cover, w ith a title w h ich will fo rm in course o f tim e a gallery o f portraits, a new on e being given each issue, an increase in the num ber o f pages, bigger and m ore artistic typ e-settin g, better paper and generally enhanced appearance. I h op e to include in the n um ber a portra it o f and ch at w ith M r. A . F . S om er­ set (captain o f the M .C .C .’s T eam to th e W est Indies), a special illustrated article o n W est Indian cricket, a clever w ord-sketch ( “ R ural C ricket ” ) b y Mr. Claude B uckingham , and a h istory of the Lessness P ark C.C. (th e first o f a series o f such histories), as well as the usual features. T he follow in g nasty k n ock appeared in the N ew castle (N .S .W .) notes in a recent issue of the Sydney Sportsman, a paper which som e go od b u t unknow n frien d d ow n under (thanks here and n ow expressed) sends m e at intervals : “ H a rvey in a m atch against ju n iors secured 6 w ickets fo r 9 overs on a bad w ick et, b u t, as the total w as on ly 30 runs, it w as n o t such a w onderful p erform ance, and' he need n ot ha ve m ade such a fuss o ver it. A w ritten guarantee cou ld easily be given him th a t he w ou ld n o t repeat the p erform ance again durin g the season, and he w ou ld also find that there are others w h o can p la y crick et besides S yd n ey players.” D o y ou know , I qu ite like the n otion o f that w ritten guarantee ? I t ’s so scath in g— and so safe ! F o r if H a rvey repeated his fea t— w hich has som e claim to be con sidered d ecen t— the gu aran tor or guarantors w ou ld still be on the safe side. I t scarcely seem s likely that the p rop osed triangular tou rn a­ m ent at H am ilton , B erm uda, will m aterialise, a t a n y rate in q u ite the form h op ed for. O n a ccou n t o f the visit o f the M .C.C. team under M r. A . F. Som erset to the W est Indies (the team will sail on Jan u ary 15, its captain tells m e), it is im p roba b le th a t a W est Indian team can be g o t together to visit th e B erm udas. B u t I hear that the C anadian Zingari w ill go, an d if Philadelphia also sends a side, the hom e players, w ho can put up a really goo d gam e, will m ake a w orth y third team . W . C. S heppard , the colou red B arbadian professional, now in the States, w anted the A ustralians to p la y a team selected b y him . T h ey cou ld n ot squeeze in the m atch ; b u t G regory told Sheppard th a t th ey were com in g back n ex t year, w ou ld visit the W est Indies as well as the States and C anada, and w ou ld