Cricket 1913

142 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A pril 26, 1913. Public School Cricket Prospects for 1 9 1 3 . L ast year the standard of public school cricket— despite the disastrous effect of the bad w eather— w as generally considered to be decidedly above the average. Many of the leading ligh ts of 1912 are still at school, and, with a little more sun and a few more hard w ickets, some rare batting ability should be evident this year. T h e gen eral trend of the numerous reports which have kindly been supplied to me go es to giv e the impression that the batting w ill be better than usual, anyw ay, though the bow ling w ill prove a most uncertain quantity. T h is is the usual tale year by year, but frequent repetition does not m ake it any the less deplorable. Such om issions as there are in this article— and there are some— are entirely unavoidable, so long as some schools fail to reply when circularised. T h e only course open in such cases is to om it reference to them . For the sake of con­ venience, I have endeavoured to group the schools more or less as they play each o th e r; and, this being the case, we w ill start w ith those ancient rivals, Eton, Harrow , and W inchester. From E to n n ew s is very scanty, but w ith s ix of last y e a r’s successful eleven rem aining, a pretty good side should be certain. J. H eathcote-Amory, the captain, is a really prom ising fast right-hand bowler, whose excellent record of last year would doubtless have been much better had he been granted a few hard w ickets to bowl on. G . S. Raw thorne and M. B . B urrow s are both full of promise as batsmen, in which department the side should be decidedly strong. G . Llew ellyn D avies, a medium-paced left-hand bowler, should also prove useful. W h at the side really w ants is a slow bowler to take C h an ce’s p la ce ; but, unfortunately, there does not seem to be one forthcom ing. A s last year, the fielding should be strong. H a r r o w have only three old colours left, G . L. Jackson (captain), E . T . Buller, and G . W ilson ; but there is plenty of quite prom ising material to choose from . Jackson should turn out one of the most successful all-round cricketers of the year. H e bowls a fast-m edium hall w ith a b ig gish in- sw ing, hut is erratic. As a bat he is somewhat inconsistent, though he possesses brilliant strokes and a fine pair of w rists. He is a really good cover-point. O f those likely to g e t their “ flannels,” G . R. Jackson, a sound, left-hand bats­ man, and E . H . Le M archant, a fast, but erratic, bowler, are the most prom ising; while J. C . O ates will probably be the stumper of the team . A s a side they should be considerably above the level of recent years in field in g; but, though there is plenty of variety, th e bow lin g is very moderate in quality, while the batting is rather uncertain. Still, w ith average luck and safe fielding, they should do pretty well. G . L . H ough , the W in c h e st e r captain, is a useful slow- medium righ t hand bowler, w ith a decided sw erve both “ in ” and “ aw ay .” H e is a prom ising bat, w ith plenty of scoring shots to leg, but is a very uncertain beginner. He will have four other of last y e a r’s eleven to support him, Ham ilton, Cooper, B urge, and Morshead-— the latter a beautiful bat, though as yet la ck in g in strength. T h e most prom ising recruit is H . H . B um , a go o g ly merchant, of whom much is expected. B ow lin g, however, w ill prove the w eak point, as there is nobody available w ith any pretensions to pace. T h e fielding is expected to be up to the usual high standard, though as yet no wicket-keeper of promise has been un­ earthed. In D . J. K n ig h t M a l v e r n possess the greatest school cricketer of last summer, and w ith him a gain available as captain prospects are distinctly bright. H is form for Surrey last A ugust m arks him out as a batsman likely to do great th in gs in the future. J. G rieve, w h o gave such valuable assistance to Naum ann in the attack last year, is still at school. He is almost, but not quite fast, but a trifle erratic. In A . N. O dling, also a useful bat, a stumper of great prom ise has been found. If not up to the standard of their greatest years— and by this the side must inevitably be judged-— R e pt o n should have a good eleven this summer. M. H ow ell, the captain, is a sound batsman, difficult to g e t out, and a fine field. He will have four of last y e a r’s eleven to help him— J. Howell, a stylish bat with possibilities; E . R . Pallett, a useful b a t; E. L . Francis, a fair bowler and fine field, and L . T . S. Bower, a prom ising left hand bowler, though w eak in the field. Parsons, Popham , and Chevallier are perhaps the pick of the probables. A s a whole, the batting is distinctly prom ising, though the bow ling, w ith unlim ited variety, lacks real quality. W ith four of the star performers o f last year left, U p p in g ­ ham should have a very useful side this summer. E . R. Wynne, a consistent batsman, is the captain, and he w ill be supported by R . A. T . Miller, quite the most prom ising school wicket-keeper, though a poor b a t ; J. G . Stephen, who topped the bow ling tables last year, and C . T . Newton, who came out w ith a brilliant century again st Shrew sbury. W ith these to form the nucleus of the team and plenty o f prom ising juniors com ing on, the side should do well. T h e fielding will be up to the usual standard. M a r l b o r o u g h are looking forw ard to a successful season. H. M . Batson is the captain, and h e w ill have as his right- hand man W . F. O liver, a forcing left hand batsman of great prom ise, who w as in a class by him self last year. There w ill also be R. D . Busk, a fast medium bowler, who headed the averages, H. P. Cole, and H . A . Vallance. Moreover, there is plenty of talent all through the school to keep up the present high standard. R u g b y were an unlucky side last year. T h ey started the season w ith great hopes, but never recovered from their fatal collapse again st C lifton. Six of the 1912 side rem ain. A. de Selincourt is the captain, and am ong the others m ay be mentioned C . P. Johnstone, a youn g batsman w ho shows signs of reliability, Btckersteth, Leslie, Bryan, and Poole. C . E . S. Rucker is the C h a r t e r h o u se skipper for 1913, and prospects for the season are bright. H e w ill have to support him H . L. Payne, a fine field and useful bat, B. H. Bennett, a fast scorer w ith a pow erful drive, and J. H. Fosdick, a steady bat and good field. A. S. D allas, who w as tw elfth man, m ay develop into a useful slow left hand bowler. T h e most likely of the others are H inds and G regson-Ellis. T he batting and fielding should be strong, but the bow ling m ay be rather too w eak to dispose of good sides cheaply. In 19 12 W e s t m in st e r had one of the best sides of the year, and with seven o f that successful combination available, grea t th in gs are expected. G . B. F . Rudd, w h o is again captain, topped the batting table last year w ith the fine average of 55, and he is a good fast-medium bowler into the bargain. H e should have a future. F. R . C . Cobbold, who w as quite one of the best boy bowlers of 1 9 1 2 , will still be at school, and should do w ell. He is slow, with the little b it of break that just beats the bat and no more. Further, he can keep a length all day. K ann is a fine, free left-handed bat, who had the capital average of 46 last y e a r. H. D . H ake is again leading the H a il e y b u r y team . It :s h is fourth season in the eleven, and his past experience should prove useful to him in han dlin g his bow ling. T he great need of the side is a fast bow ler, but none seems to be forthcom ing. H ughes-H allett, a slow leg-break bowler, who delivers the ball from a great h eigh t, should be u se fu l; but though the bow ling m ay prove sufficient on w et w ickets, it will be very w eak on dry pitches. C arstairs and B aker are both useful bats when the ground is fast, w hile Law rence, who h as capital w rists, and M arson should do well. W ith six old colours left, W e l l in g t o n ’ s prospects seem a good deal better than they have been for some years past. T h e batting and fielding of the side should be quite good. | K M an ger may develop into a sound batsman. Most ot the more prominent members of last y e ar’s second are also left T he bow ling, chiefly from lack of a fast bowler, will probablv be on the w eak side. A new second-eleven ground has been laid out, and the full benefit of it should be reaped this summer.