Cricket 1913

164 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M a y 3, 1913. The Library. y e a r’s team left a successful season m ay be looked for. Roberts, by far the best bat on the side, is also a useful bow ler, while Bourne, though erratic, is difficult to play on his day. O f the others, B arnes, whose bad fielding cost him his place in the eleven last year, m ay be useful with the ball. T he bow lin g w ill not be on a par w ith the batting, w hile in 1912 the fielding w as as bad as bad could be despite numerous practices. A ll this m ilitates again st m atch-w inning how ever m any runs a side m ay m ake. As usual the side w ill have the valuable coaching' of Mr. L. T . Driffield. Cullen, who is cap tain ing C h r is t ’ s H ospita l this summer, is a go od bat, even if his average of 70 last year rath er flattered him , since some of the sides played were very w eak. T h e only others left are W oods, T eagu e, and, possibly, D . W righ t. U n iv e r sit y C o lleg e S c h o o l are very hopeful for 1913. L ast year they w ere almost a one-man side, practically everyth in g depending on C . C . A ston, th ou gh some useful w o rk w ith the ball w as performed by V . J. G arrow , the captain for this summer. H e w ill have three old colours to help him , as well as half-a-dozen of the 1912 second strin g. T h e b a ttin g should be fairly strong, but the bow l­ in g, apart from G arrow , w ill probably be w eak. C rick et prospects at H igh gate are not of the brightest. G . D . Loup is the only colour rem aining, though there are several prom ising players from last y e a r ’s second eleven. Ixmp, how ever, is quite a likely cricketer— a useful left- hand bat, w ith plenty of strokes, but a little uncertain, and a fair bowler. T h e most prom ising of the “ probables ” are Scott, Lindley, and Coltm an. A ll of these bat and bowl a bit, and they should come on quickly under the able tuition of A lbert K n igh t. O akham w ill be led by S. H . G . H um frey this summer. H e is a sound batsm an, and has been tried for the N orthamptonshire colts. H e is a useful bow ler as well, w ith every likelihood of im proving further. H e w ill be assisted by C risp, R yan, M itchell, and Thornton. A suc­ cessful season is confidently hoped for. From D f . n sto n e one ga th ers th at if all the rem aining members o f the 1912 team improve the side should have quite a good season. T h e same m igh t, of course, be said of m ost other school elevens. T h e Denstone representatives did so well in 1911 and 1912 th at the fixture list has been considerably strengthened. Bowm an, last y e ar’s captain, is the chief loss. J. W . K n igh t, who batted very well in 1912, succeeds to h is place. G . L . T om pkins, w in g three- quarter of the X V ., m ay train on a s a fast bowler. T here w ill be plenty of slow stuff, and E . P . C ross is a really good w icket-keeper. D erby did better last year than for some seasons past. T h e ir grea t man w a s L . Jacques, who totalled 614 runs (average 30.70) and took 63 w ickets at about 7 each. F ive of last season’s team have left, but m y informant does not state whether Jacques is one of them . In the six rem aining there should be the nucleus o f a good side. A ldenham w ill have five old colours, F aw cu s (captain), N elson, Geddes, R aw lin s, and Reid, and T ownsend m ay also be available. If this should be the case, the b attin g w ill be m aterially strengthened. R aw lin s, Nelson, and Geddes are the bowlers who w ill have to bear the brunt of the attack, and they have variety. Nelson is also a good bat, and he, F aw cu s, and Reid are likely to be the chief run-getters. T here w ill be keen Competition for the vacant places. A s far as one can tell, the most likely choices are Lutyens, Hunter, H art, M cV icker, and a w icket-keeper, wh o has yet to be discovered. T h e fielding should be up to the standard of previous years— thanks to tradition and constant practice a h igh one. Several much-needed improvements have been effected on the grou nd , and gam e w ickets are in capital order. Before concluding these notes I should like to offer my hearty thanks to all those captains who have been good enough to send m e reports; w ithout their help such an article a s this w ould have been quite impossible. L ittle , b u t g o o d ! S o one m ig h t sum up M essrs. P . VV. and G . H . V a s e y ’s H in ts and S u g g estio n s to S ch ool C r ic k e te r s .* In a booklet o f 48 p a g e s th ese tw o g e n tle ­ m en , p ractical crick e te rs and p ractised co ach es, h a v e com ­ pressed th e resu lts o f m uch exp erien ce and a g o o d d eal of h ard th in k in g . T h e boy w h o is re a lly k een can n ot help but g e t g o o d from th eir h in ts ; fo r h im w h o is n ot k een th ey h a v e n o m essa g e , o f cou rse. H e re is an in stan ce o f how stro k es are d ealt w ith : “ T he H o o k .— A very u se fu l sco rin g stro k e fo r d e a lin g w ith a sh ort b all, p a rtic u la rly recom ­ m ended on a slow d ead w ic k e t a s b e in g on e o f the few sh ots w ith w h ich ru n s can be scored freely. I t is m ad e by p u ttin g the b a ck le g rig h t across an d a little b a c k an d then h ittin g a cro ss the lin e o f the b all, w ith the b at in a h orizon tal position , an yw h ere in a direction b etw een m id-on and fine- le g . G rea t ca re m u st be tak en to see th at th e r ig h t shoulder is ou tsid e th e line o f th e b all w h en th e stro k e is m ade, oth erw ise th e shot is doom ed to fa ilu re .” A nd so on ; every w ord te llin g , an d n o th in g su perflu ous. ! I t is a m a tter for real regret th a t no A u stralia n crick et annual has y e t su rvived for more th an three or fou r years ; b u t to th ose w ho h a ve th e good lu ck to acquire a co p y o f th e V ic t o r ia n C r i c k e t A s s o c ia t io n ’ s A n n u a l R e p o r t t th is is of less consequence th an it used to be, for th e report has developed in to som ething v e r y like an A u stralian annual. In th e 1911-2 edition th e score of e v e ry m atch played b y th e M .C.C. T eam is given, and also th e score of all in ter-state gam es, excep t those betw een Queensland and N .S .W . T here is one b l o t ; in th e T asm an ian v . V ic ­ to ria gam es the bow lin g analyses are d efective. A n d this w as unnecessary ; if th e official score-book did n ot giv e th e figures, th e y w ere in C r i c k e t ! C lu b crick et is n atu ra lly n ot dealt w ith on th e scale attem p ted in Boyle and Scott or th e Australian Cricket A n n u a l in th e n ineties ; b u t the leading averages in M elbourne penn ant m atch es are recorded. A lto geth er, there is an enormous am ou n t of valu ab le inform ation in the 105 p ages to w h ich th e bo ok­ let runs. A y r e s ’ L aw n T e n n is A lm an ack J . — Not very m uch in our own line, but doubtless appealing to m any readers. A really sumptuous volume for one sh illin g ; paper and print excel­ len t; illustrations d itto ; accounts of the championship and all the principal tournaments a t hom e and a b ro ad ; bijou biographies; and numerous other features. F ive hundred pages in all— no one w h o is not greed y could a sk for more for the money. F itn e ss f o r P lay and W o r k ] [ . — A sm aller sh illin g’s- worth, but w ith much of value in it. Mr. Eu stace Miles is alw ays very much in earnest, and a lw ays has som ething to say worth sayin g. T he book is intended for boys ; and it is divided into three sections, “ F itn ess for P la y ,” “ Fitness for W o rk ,” “ Fitness for L ife,” and thirteen chapters. There is a g rea t deal of very sound advice, and illustrations drawn from cricket are not w a n tin g ; but it is difficult to im agine the average boy practising some of the exercises given, and w h y does Mr. M iles class “ sm all gam es of cricket, football, hockey, etc., and gam es lik e squash- racquets and five9 ” am ong hobbies ? • “ Hints and Suggestions to School Cricketers.” (See Advertisement on cover.) t The Victorian Cricket Association's Annual Report, 1911-12 Published b y the Association for Members. No Price. J “ Ayres’ Lawn Tennis A lm anack," Messrs. F. H. Ayies. Ltd., i n , Aldersgate Street, E.C. Price. One Shilling. I|“ Fitness for Play and W ork,” Messrs. Thos. Murby and Co., 6, Bouverir Street, E.C. Pric“ , One Shillin?. Printed and published for the Proprietors by CriOkkt & Sports Pubm -ihers L td ., 12c>, Strand, 1 ondon, -W.C., May 3rd; 1913 . Agents for Australia, 4 c., Gordos * Gotch, London, Melbourne-, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Launceston, Hobart and Wellington, N.Z. For South Africa, C e n tra l News A oen gt, L td ., Cape Town, Johannesburg and branches. The trade supplied by E. S eale , 10, Imperial Arcade, Ludga,e Circus, E.C.