Cricket 1913

M ay 24 , 1913. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 217 WH Y ABANDON CRICKET BECAUSE OF A FEW DROPS OF R A IN ? T h i s is a very different result from th at o f last year, when 12 gam es— A u stralia v. South A fric a , 8 first-class county, tw o second-class county, and W arw ickshire I I . v. Northants I I . — produced 10,623 runs fo r 363 w ickets— average over 29. A t Southampton, L eyton , and the O val then over 1000 runs w ere sco red ; at N ortham pton and Taunton over 900 ; at M anchester and N ew castle.over 800. T w o years ago 11 matches produced 10,393 runs f ° r 384 w ickets, average 27 ; at L eyton , N ew castle, and the j Oval over 1000 w ere scored, and a t Southampton 14 4 6 ; the on ly m atch which fe ll below the 800 m ark w as South W ales v. the A ll Ind ian T eam at C ard iff. B u t both in 1911 and 1912 W hitsun fe ll later. It is a p ity it should not be fixed fo r the S u n d ay nearest the 31st o f M ay, which w ould b e a very su itab le date. A n o t h e r weather discovery ! T h e degree o f salin ity in the Irish S ea late in spring is said to be an index to the kind o f summer w e are go in g to have. W ill this produce a corner in sa lt next year? One pictures enthu ­ siastic cricketers on both sides o f the sea b u yin g up that necessary comm odity in h u ge quantities, just to g iv e the great gam e a fa ir chance du rin g the summer months. N ot | e'en a left-h an d slow bow ler could be so traitorous as to wish fo r a wet season ! B ut stay ! I am not sure whether a low or a high degree o f salin ity -is- the required condition. H ow ever, there is time before 1914 to find out— or to forget all about it. 0 I t is o f no use for the ordin ary man to try prophesying -weather, -and I most sincerely hope that “ C h ic ’s ” cartoon this w eek w ill not be ap p licable to the p revailin g con d i­ tions when it appears. B ut I think it should be ap p re­ ciated at W orcester and at Perth. J a m e s S u t c l i f f e H e a p has bow led in eigh t matches fo r L an cash ire against Y orksh ire, a n d -h as taken therein 36 w ickets at exa ctly 10 runs each, which is not too bad. H is one b ig perform an ce p rior to last w eek was 11 fo r 95 at B ra d fo rd in 1907. I n “ C rick et C h ir p s ” this week referen ce is m ade to the C am bridge cap ta in ’s sw erving a b ility. I hear on good authority th at the L ig h t B lues have another bow ler, hitherto little regarded, w h o possesses a very aw kw ard sw erve indeed, and m ight w ell be utilised more frequen tly. T h is is W . N . R ile y , who o n ly bow led 9 overs for C am ­ brid ge in 19 12. “ T h a t note o f regret comes to all cricketers sooner or la te r,” writes a frien d , w ith reference to the review o f D . L . A . Jeph son ’s poems in the last issue. “ T o a ll, great men or mere enthusiastic duffers. W e knock off p la y in g footer and other gam es because we are too o ld , but w e don ’t care a snap. B u t when it comes to leaving cricket behind— alas, the d a y ! W hat a glamour the gam e has ? W h a t is it th at so en thralls us ? The white tent in a corner o f the ground— the sk yla rk w e hear and try to discern between the overs? W e lie aw ake and think o f th at cut fo r f o u r ; but w h o gives a second thought to the try th at won the m atch? T h e tram conductor sees one read ­ ing the E vening N ew s and asks eag erly how K en t are d o in g? G od bless him ! T h e man w ith the motor-car tells one h e is go in g to B rooklan d s. A n d there are games on at the O val and L o rd ’ s ! ” (Remainder suppressed).