Cricket 1913

146 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M a y 3, 1913. m atches fo r th e c lu b , H o sk in g s never once, to the best o f his recollection , go t ou t under 20. H is highest score w as in th e n eighbourhood o f 60. T h is is consistency indeed ! H is b o w lin g w as most effective. T a k in g a longish run fo r a bow ler o f h is pace— h e is o n ly slow medium— he brou gh t his arm over q u ick ly , and h ad a w o nd erfu l k n ack o f v a ry in g p ace and p itch w ithout giv in g th e batsm an the sligh test hint. In 19 1 1 h e p la y e d fo r th e N ew Y o rk V eteran s, did little in th e b a ttin g line, bu t was o f use w ith the b a ll, ta k in g 45 w ickets at 13-69 each. L a s t season w as a great on e fo r him . H e to talled over 1000 runs and took over 100 w ic k e ts ; and th a t his b a ttin g w as alm ost as consistent in M anh attan as it h ad been in the o ld country m ay be ju d g e d from the fa c t th at he o n ly m ade one century— 123 n ot ou t fo r the N .Y . V eteran s v. A ll P h ila d e lp h ia C olts. F o r X V . o f N ew Y o rk again st th e A u stralia n T eam he m ad e few runs, but bow led w ith some effect, ta k in g 6 w ick ets fo r 96. H o sk in g s is a ta ll, loose-lim bed p layer, w h o u nd ou btedly possesses a n atural ap titu d e fo r the gam e, and w h o m ight, h a d his lo t been cast in S yd n ey or M el­ bourne, p ossib ly h a v e w on th e h igh est honours it has to give. Cricket in Scotland. P R O S P E C T S F O R T H E S E A SO N . (B y H a m is h .) T h e season th at is opening m ay not evoke the excite­ ment and expectations of 1912, when w e had the visits of two C olonial sides to stir our blood, but the outlook is sufficiently attractive to banish any fear of the g am e ’s lan gu ish in g in this part of the country d u rin g the present year of grace. T h e C ricket Union is sh ow ing itself a body fully alive to the interests of all those under its w in g, and the progressive policy that w as inaugurated last year w ill be carried forw ard another step. T h e piece de resistance w ill be the tour in the South d u rin g the w eek comm encing June 9, when O xford U n iversity and Surrey w ill be encountered. T h is is an innovation which has lo n g been advocated, and every one adm its that our cricket w ould be immensely improved were such tours undertaken at frequent in te rv als; but— w e can­ not forget it— there enters in the question of finance ! H ad fine w eather favoured all our b ig matches last season, our Union would have been placed on a firm financial basis, and they could have launched forth into new schemes with lig h t hearts. B u t, as it w as, these m atches only paid their w ay, and hence w e m ust proceed w arily. Fortunately, the E n glish tour is freed from all monetary worries, a few generous patrons of the g am e h avin g guaranteed to meet any loss that m ay result. In such circum stances it is hoped th at a strong and representative side w ill m ake the journey. T h e m ajority of the players w ill be chosen early in the season, so that they m ay have tim e to m ake the necessary arran gem en ts; and I understand that a few of the lead ing men have already been approached. W ith the exception of tw o or three places, the side w ill be easy of choice, and possibly all chosen w ill already have had experience o f big cricket, though few of the men will have played across the Borders. T h e other representative gam es w ill be those with Northamptonshire at B rou gh ty Ferry on the first tw o days o f A u gu st, and w ith the Gentlemen of Ireland at Edinburgh on July 10, 11, and 12. I am gla d to see that the first three m atches mentioned are to be reckoned as first-class. A grea ter keenness is thereby imparted into the gam e, and better cricket— from a critical point of view-— is exhibited than when the match is m erely for “ show ” purposes. Club cricket w ill show few changes, and throughout the various districts it w ill proceed on the old familiar^ lines. T he competitive element does not ga in g r o u n d ; in the East it is non-existent, and in the other quarters opinion is divided. T he public may cry out for leagu es and cham ­ pionships, but the cricketer who has been lo n g in the gam e is well content with the old-fashioned ‘ ‘ friend ly.” L ast season the Edinburgh form er Pupil School teams resolved to dispense w ith professional aid in m atches am ong themselves, w ith the idea inter alia of en cou ragin g amateur bow ling, and the results were em inently satisfactory. The scheme is being further exploited, and certain clubs have now determ ined to do w ithout a professional altogether. I am certain it is only a matter of a few years when, as a match-winner, he w ill be extinct. Be that as it m ay, only one new professional of note will come north this summer. Dunferm line and Fifeshire w ill have the assistance of Morfee, o f K ent, who ought to suit the taste o f the Fifers, both players and spectators. L o okin g now to the various districts north o f the Forth, the Scottish C oun ties’ Championship prom ises to be a more open competition than is gen erally the case. Forfarshire and Perthshire w ill be as strong as ever, and their m eetings will not lose anything in attractiven ess; but the other coun­ ties w ill be more strenuous opponents than usual. U n ­ fortunately, Forfarshire have lost the services o f R ingrose, who has completely broken down in health, and his place will be very hard to fill. F ifeshire expect much of Morfee, and S tirlin g County are anticipating a grea t season. T h e latter w ill be captained by J. H . O rr, who is not likely to be seen often in the ranks o f the G ran ge on this accou nt; and E . L . K idd, the C am bridge U niversity skipper of last summer, w ill lend his assistance for at least part of the season. T h e same six clubs— Ayr, Uddingston, Poloc, K ilm arnock, Kelburne, and F erguslie— w ill take part in the W estern Union competition, and the enterprising A yr club are hopeful of finishing at the top for the second year in succession. They have arranged a very ambitious programm e, which includes a tour in B elgium at the end of July. F ew clubs have such an enthusiastic set of cricketers a s the “ auld toon.” Uddingston, their most form idable rivals, have lost a sterling player in D . M cNab, who has departed for Canada. Drumpellier, Clydesdale, and G reenock keep aloof from the Union, but their cricket does not appear to suffer thereby, as each had last summ er a most successful season. Drumpellier, though often opposing tw o first-class elevens on the same afternoon, met w ith only one defeat. T hey have, however, lost the services of J. F . Gibson, one of the best wicket-keepers in the country, now in Burm a, where he still keeps up the gam e. T h e Eastern clubs w ill jo g a lon g as of yore, extracting a m aximum of enjoyment out o f their gam es w ithout creat­ in g any undue excitement. T h e G ran ge have a s attractive a list of fixtures as ever, and, though the prem ier club has not in recent years shown the pre-eminence of ancient days, there are you n g players in its ra n k s who h ave a lot of cricket in them, and who m ay yet fill the shoes of the heroes o f the past. J. K eene, of W orcester and Surrey, has now settled down at Raeburn Place as chief grounds­ man, but he w ill still play as much as ever. M isfortune has overtaken tw o o f the clubs in the E ast, and their position is a t present very precarious. D alkeith — a famous combination tw enty or thirty years a go— has been reduced to playing junior m atches; and Leith Caledonian, who rented the R u gb y Union field a t Inverleith, find them selves w ithout a ground, and thus have been compelled to play all their fixtures aw ay from home. It would be a g rea t pity were these clubs forced to disband, as open clubs in Edinburgh and district a re none too numerous. T he Border L eagu e w ill en gage the principal attention of the South C ountry clubs, Peebles County excepted. G ala headed the table last vear.