Cricket 1913

A p r il 26, 1913. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 143 In G . W . E . W hitehead, their captain, C l if t o n possess a school batsm an o f really g re a t promise. H e represented the Public Schools a t L o rd ’s in th eM .C .C . match last A ugust, and great th in gs are expected of him. O f the others W . St. C . G rant is a useful bat and a fair field, while H . H . L. H iggins possesses beautiful style and has the m a k in gs of a sound batsman. T h e others of last y e a r’s side still at school are Hughes-Jam es and M ackay. T he fielding should be quite good. R a d l e y prospects for 1913 are a good deal brigh ter than usual, and there is undoubtedly more cricket ability in the school now than for m any years past. O . A. Reid, whose fourth season in the eleven this is, is the captain. H e should train on into a dangerous bow ler w ith a b ig gish swerve. Apart from that, he is a really class w icket-keeper. Three others of last y e a r’s side are left, T . P. Gibbons, who headed the batting table, a sound bat, alw ays hard to g e t out, R. C . K eller, a brilliant cover-point, and a bow ler of possi­ bilities if he could only keep a length, and L. B . H ardy, a useful bat and lob bow ler of more than average merit. O f the probables, H . L . C . A ked, a medium slow right-handed bowler, is the most prom ising. T h e fielding, it is hoped, w ill be better than last year, when numerous easy catches were missed. B r a d f i e l d are hoping for a good season, w ith five old colours and the m ajority of the second eleven left. A. Gordon is a fine left-handed batsman, who should m ake his m ark in the future. H e is also a useful bowler. T h e others are D. W . Jones, a fast scorer, but apt to lose his w icket before he g e ts set, P . H . C ox, T . B . H issey, a painstaking if rather clum sy stumper, and H . P . Roberts, w ho w as somewhat disappointing last year. T h e most prom ising candidates for the vacancies are E . A. W orskett and E . A. Moore. A fast bow ler is badly needed. (To be continued.) -------- ----------- Wisden’s Jubilee. The celebration o f a jubilee is alw ays a m atter for con­ gratulation. N ot seldom it m arks the culm ination of long years of h ig h endeavour w ith its resultant of successful achievement. A study of the methods which have been ■crowned by fortune is alike interesting and instructive. W is d e n ’ s Jubilee is an event of almost national im portance; and one feels sure th at a short account of W is d e n ’ s progress and development, and a comparison of the first edition with the fiftieth, w ill find appreciative readers. When W isd e n first made h is bow to the public, clad in his decent buff jacket, he w as a very modest little fellow indeed; a trifle w eakly-looking too, appearing not unlikely to be cut down by rickets in the flower of his youth. It is difficult to recognise him to-day, in the full vigou r of his manhood— stout and prosperous— as the same individual. One regrets that history does not record the name of the literary gentlem an who acted as sponsor to this delicate child, but one strongly suspects him of being closely related to Uriah H e ep ; in any case, a s w ill presently appear, h e was *' a very ’umble person.” The title-page of the first edition is on very sim ilar lines to that of the present day. T h e readerw as informed inj 1864 that the A lm anack m igh t be had “ of all respectable I Booksellers in the United K in g d om ” ; now adays of course j it may be had of all booksellers, respectable or otherwise,j A note to the reader occupies the firstpage, and is as| follows :— ., vr^10^er*n8 ° ur first edition of the C r ic k e t e r s ' A l m a n a c k to the patrons of the »M°k ^ame>” w'e have taken great pains to collect a certain amount of information, j men we trust will prove interesting to all those that take pleasure in this glorious 1 Pastime. Should the present work meet with but moderate success, it is intended | next year to present our readers with a variety of other matches, which the confined I nature of an Almanack precludes us from doing this year. The calendar for 1864 comes next, a p age being devoted to each month. T h e moon’s changes are first given , then the days of the month, w ith an entry again st each recording the anniversary of the birth or d eath of a celebrated cricketer— j “ •is being the origin o f later cricketers’ birthday books. At I this period there were not enough famous cricketers whose birthdays w ere known to g iv e an entry for each day of the year, so the vacant dates were devoted to events of historical importance. G lan cin g over these, one cannot fail to be struck by the curious ideas o f the compiler as to the relative importance of historical events. F or instance, A u gu st 15 is stated by him to be notable only as bein g the anniversary of the B attle of T chernaya, 1855— an obscure en gagem en t now totally forgotten, except by that rara avis the m ilitary student. T he fact that Napoleon w as born on that date (in 1769), or that he died on M ay 5 (in 1821), w ere apparently not regarded by the compiler as m atters of historical importance. B u t he patriotically records the B attle of W aterloo. O u r compiler w as, however, a good Churchm an, and he carefully earm arks the S ain ts’ days. T h is juxtaposition of sain ts’ and cricketers’ names has quite a ludicrous effect. T h u s the entry opposite July 22 reads, “ M ary M agdalene. John B eagley b. 1800 June 24, “ St. John B aptist. G . Jarvis b. 1800,” and so forth. T h e entry again st A u gu st 5 states that “ John W illes, E sq., the reviver of the round-armed bow ling, d. 1852.” T h e word “ reviver ” at once arrests attention. One w as alw ays under the impression th at John W illes, or rather h is sister, originated “ the round-armed b ow lin g.” It is certainly stated on his tombstone that “ he w as the first to introduce round­ armed bow ling in cricket.” T h e point seems sufficiently curious to m erit investigation. One could w ish that M r. Ashley-Cooper, whose scholarly and deligh tful articles on old-time cricket form such a valuable contribution to the literature of the gam e, would deal w ith this reference. T h e L aw s of C ricket follow the C alendar, and a note appended to them throws such an unexpected ligh t on the methods of certain old-time players a s to be worth repro­ du cing :— Complaints having been made that it is the practice of some players when at tha wicket to make holes in the ground for a footing, the Committee are of opinion that the Umpires should be empowered to prevent it. A reprehensible practice in d eed ! W ith characteristic am biguity it. is stated that the Um pires “ should be em ­ pow ered,” and not “ are empow ered.’1 A fter the L aw s comes a list of dates of various p layers' first appearance a t L o rd ’s, from 1787 to 1850, and the scores they made on these occasions. Then the hundreds scored in g re a t m atches from 1850 to 1863 are tabulated : only 58 all told. These are followed by the scores o f three “ extra­ ordinary matches ” ; next come the scores of the Gentlemen and P layers’ m atches to that date (with the exception oi one inadvertently om itted ); but the analysis of the bow ling is not given , and there are no details o f the play. T h e absence of comment is quaintly explained in an introductory paragraph, which reads as follows We have taken great pains, and been at considerable expense, in collecting for the information of our readers, the matches which have been annually played between the Gentlemen and the Players. We have begun with the first match, thinking it would prove an agreeable reading for our subscribers to see the doings of the past distinguished cricketers who in their day stood pre-eminent in the “ noble game.' We, of course, make no comments upon the matches, leaving the cricketer to form his own opinion with regard to the merits of the men, since a great many of our readers are at least equal, if not superior, tooursslves in arriving at a right judgment of the play. One know s not which to adm ire the more, the unctuous hum ility of the literary gen tlem an, or the honeyed words of flattery to his readers. T h e scores of the T w o Elevens (thirteen m atches between the All En glan d and the United) bring up the rear of the cricket portion. Here again our ingenuous Editor is worth quoting in full. H is introductory paragraph is as follow s :— We have great pleasure in presenting to our readers a full and correct account of all the matches that have been played between these distinguished elevens. We can vouch for the accuracv of the scores, since thev have been taken from well- authenticated sources. With regard to these matches, we have abstained from making any remarks concerning the individual play of any man, since, where all are so good, it would, perhaps, be invidious to single out any one as being superior to those with whom he has so often played with varied success. It should be observed that though details of the play are again conspicuous only by their absence, it is not in this instance occasioned (as one w as formerly led to suppose) by the reader’s jud gm en t being superior to that of the literary gentlem an, but by the fact of the players’ perform ances bein g so much on a par that it would be invidious to select a n y one in particular for special mention.