Cricket 1912

62 CEICKET : A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. A p r i l 20, 1912. The Sussex Scheme. (At the meeting of the Advisory County Committee on April 1st, Mr. W . Newham, in the name of Sussex, put forward the following motion : “ That any amateur having no qualification for a first-class county may elect to play for any county he desires.” The motion was lost. In the verses which follow, the office rhymester has fairly let himself go on the subject, suggesting that Sussex is bent on acquiring all the best minor county amateurs, thus causing consternation in the second-class camp. He pictures the Sussex Committee dispensing with their professionals to make room for the new-comers. He imagines Dr. Earl Norman, Messrs. C. B. Leathes Prior, W . C. Hancock, and E. H. D. Sewell— a fairly representative quartet of keen and hard-working minor county secretaries, it must be admitted— as indignant. But probably they were not. It is scarcely likely that the motion was taken seriously, one would think.) Are you coming to our party Down at Hove ? Your welcome shall be hearty Down at Hove ! North or south or east or west, So that only you’re the best Of your crowd, now don’t waste time, but come along ! To the place where they belong B y such trifling ties as birth We will nobly leave the rest ; For we don’t want all tho earth— It’s the best we want— the b e s t! (Not the whole confounded crowd, but just the b e st!) There’s a young man in the north— Bradford hight. He’s a hitter of great worth. In hot fight. He could help us down at Hove, So no farther need he rove. There’s Stafford’s gallant, dashing Meakin— It’s such as he we’re seekin’. Falcon may come from Norwich— H e’s a rare good “ all-round cove ” ; Geoffrey Stevens we’ll encourage To feel quite at home at Hove— (To be comfortable and happy down at Hove !) Riches, Whittington, and Morcom, Good men all— Oh, and Bennett— let all four come When we c a ll! We can mop up more— if good. But it’s clearly understood That we want no fourth or third or second-raters. If it comes to “ small pertaters ” We can grow our own, we reckon— A t least, we always could ! Ireland, Brougham— such we beckon To our party— for they’re good ! (We will have you at our party, if you’re good !) Of Bob and Tim and .Toe Folks are tired ; George may back to Durban go, And we’ve wired To Auckland that their Relf Will quite shortly find himself Free, and of course they’ll very promptly snatch A t the chance of such a catch. As for Butt and Leach and others They must go upon the shelf, While our minor county brothers Reap great glory—we great pelf ? (Theirs the glory, beyond doubt—and ours the pelf ?) Hancock may look astounded, Sewell frown, Prior, Norman, wrath unbounded Strive to drown. Their rage we can ignore, Their bad language we deplore. Why, each insignificant minor county Ought to thank us for our bounty ! They’ll be playing F ir s t -C lass C r ic k e t On the sunny Sussex shore These good ’uns that we nick— it Must be wrong to ask for more— (Grossly wrong and most ungrateful to wish more !) It’s surely very hard if A young man Mayn’t choose Brighton before Cardiff ! B y our plan No crack amateur at Stoke Need ever play ; the smoke Of Newcastle sha’n’t shed blacks upon his trousers ! To us they’ll come, and how, sirs, Can we possibly refuse them ? That would be beyond a joke ! They’ll choose Hove, and we shall choose them. ’Tis the Sussex masterstroke ! (Isn’t it a Machiavellian masterstroke ?) The Philadelphian Team in Bermuda. The Associated Cricket Clubs of Philadelphia for a sixth time sent a team to Bermuda in February. The side was scarcely as strong as some former ones, which have included such cracks as Herbert Hordern, J. Barton King, Percy Clark, H. C. Thayer and F. S. White ; but there were in it three men who had made the trip before— C. C. Morris, R. L. Perot and J. P. Dornan. The twelve who made up the side were : C. C. Morris (Captain), .1. B. Clement, jun., and E. W ood (Merion), G. F. Bottomley (Belmont), J. P. Dornan and T. F. Dixon, Jun. (Philadelphia), B. Saddington (Frankford), and R. L. Perot, J. H. Savage, jun., A. R. Sexton and F. H. Tripp (Germantown). Of the four matches played the only one won was that against the Garrison. But it is only fair to point out that the Philadelphian players are always at a disadvantage in these trips to Bermuda, as they have had no practice for several montlis beforehand. On this occasion, too, they had a rough and unduly prolonged voyage. Run-getting ruled low throughout. G. F. Bottomley— who, curiously enough, played scarcely any cricket during last summer, owing to absence abroad—was the only man who did himself justice for the visitors. He totalled 170 for 8 completed innings. T. F. Dixon, jun., made 113 in 8, and C. C. Morris, the side’s crack bat, i07 in 8. The rest scarcely gave a sign. Tripp, slow, and Savage, fast, did some execution with the ball, the latter living up to his name b y breaking three bats— two of them the property of one unfortunate player— during the short tour ! Tripp’s 20 wickets at under 12 each is a good record ; but on the home side Gerald Conyers, who in three matches had 29 for 205, far surpassed it. The brothers Conyers are the backbone of Bermudian cricket. In recent matches, none of them marked by heavy scoring, between All Bermuda and visiting Philadelphian sides (this match is of course the most important one of each tour) J. R. (“ Reggie ” ) has totalled 245 runs in 10 innings, once not out, and G. C. (“ Gerald ” ) has taken 41 wickets for 299 runs. THE AMERICAN CRICKETER. F ounded 1877. Published by H. H. Cornish on behalf or The Associated Cricket Clubs of Philadelphia. An Illustrated Journal of Cricket, Association Football, Tennis, Golf, and Kindred Pastimes. No. 608, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. 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