Cricket 1913

J u ly 5, 1913. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 361 the last 30 years the two counties have met 28 times at Hove, the other two games in Sussex being at Hastings (1897 and 1908). In these 28 games 33 centuries have been registered; or, rather, 33 were made in 19 o f them, the run-getting in 1886, ’ 88, ’89, ’ 92, ’94, 1900, ’02, ’03, and ’04 being quite moderate, with no three-figure innings. N o t t s claim 23 o f the 33— 6 by Shrewsbury, 5 by William Gunn, 3 by John Gunn, 3 by Barnes, one each by Alletson, Butler, Hardstaff, A . O. Jones, Lee, and Payton. The 10 for Sussex were made by K . S. Ran- jitsinhji (3), Robert R e lf (3), and Bean, C. B. F ry , A lbert R elf, and H . L. Simms (one each). N o t t s totalled 515 in 1887, 674 in 1893, 642 for 7 (dec.) in 1901. T h e last three matches have produced 3624 runs fo r 86 wickets, an average o f well over 40 per wicket, the totals being 1139 for 31 (1913), 1208 for 17 (1912), and 1277 for 38 (19 11). In 1905 there were 1166 scored for 36 w ickets; in 1901 22 wickets realised 11 6 2 ; in 1899 just over 1000 runs were m ade; in 1893 1159 were scored for 26 w ickets; and in 1891 the total was 1138. S h r e w s b u r y made 209 and W illiam Gunn 122 in the 1884 match. Barnes scored 104 in 1885. Barnes again (160) and Shrewsbury (101) were chief scorers in 1887. Butler made 171 in 1890. In 1891 “ the cutting Bean ” (a Notts-born man) ran up 145 not out and 92 for Sussex, and in Notts’ second innings W illiam Gunn (161) and Shrewsbury (165) added 312 in partnership. B a r n e s , W illiam Gunn, and Shrewsbury all made centuries in 1893. The Star o f the E ast scored 100 out o f 171 on a ruined pitch in 1895, and 52 and 100* in 1896. Shrewsbury (154*) and W illiam Gunn (125) had a partnership o f 241 in 1898. In 1899 they had one of 208, Gunn making 150, Shrewsbury 1 1 4 ; Ran jitsinhji scored 178 for Sussex. A r t h u r J o n e s made a brilliant 249 in 1901, and he and Shrewsbury put on 183 together. In 1905 Charles F ry ’s contributions to his side’s totals were '97 and 201 not out. A lbert R e lf in 1906, John Gunn in 1907, and Robert R e lf in 1909 and again in 1910 made centuries in matches otherwise o f moderate scoring. A lletson’s 189 was the great feature o f the 1911 match. In 1912 five centuries were recorded— one in each innings for Sussex (by R. R e lf and H . L . Simms), three in the innings o f Notts (Hardstaff, John Gunn, Payton). Now John Gunn has again distinguished himself, and Lee has made his first entry upon the century register. A r e m a r k a b le feature o f this season has been the number o f long stands made for the third wicket. Among these may be noted the 210 o f Seymour and Woolley (Kent v. Oxford), the 235 o f Kinneir and Q uaife (War­ wickshire v. Surrey), the 173 o f M. C . Bird and Hayes (Surrey v. Hants), the 168 o f the brothers R e lf (Sussex v. Leicestershire), the 152 o f the elder R e lf and Vine (Sussex v. Warwickshire)), the 184, unparted, o f John Gunn and Hardstaff (Notts v. Lancashire), the 264 o f R. R elf and Vine (Sussex v. Oxford), the 240 o f the Rev. F . H . Gillingham and P . A . Perrin (Essex v. Surrey), the 167 o f Hardinge and Woolley (Kent v. Hants), and the 231 o f John Gunn and Lee (Notts v. Sussex). A c c o r d in g to my calculations, there have been fifteen more o f 100 but under 150— that is to say, 25 in all, up to June 28 inclusive, for the third wicket. T h e total o f partnerships o f 100 and over up to that date, if I have managed to note all, as I believe, was 108. Seventeen of these were for the first wicket, 20 for the second, and 20 for the fourth, so that in all only 26 o f the 108— under 25 per cent.-— took place after the fa ll o f the fourth wicket. M r. W . A. S m ith , o f H alstead, writes me with refer­ ence to the article about H . B. McGiverin in a recent issue. Mr. Smith played a good deal with the Canadian crack when he was in England in 1893, and, turning up an old scrap-book, is able to give his figures for St. Neots in that year. McGiverin played 22 innings for that club, and averaged 16.29 with a highest score o f 4 6 ; his bowling figures were :— 333 overs, 640 runs, 117 wickets, average 5.47. V ery frequently he took 6, 7, or 8 wickets in an innings. A n old subscriber in Massachusetts (Mr. J. E . Green- smith) writes to say how delighted he was with D erby­ shire’s fine start this season. H e Was born nearly opposite the Derby County Ground, and has always followed the fortunes o f the county with keen interest. I am afraid more recent happenings w ill have taken the edge off his pleasure. But I cannot believe that those three victories — by 9, 8, and 7 wickets— were a mere flash in the pan. Derbyshire w ill come again yet before the season ends ! M r. F r e d e r ic k S e t a y , o f Durban, N atal, whose con­ tributions to C r ic k e t w ill doubtless be remembered, has forwarded to the Secretary o f the M .C .C . a scheme for the reorganisation o f point-scoring in the Championship. That he has spent much time and trouble over it is eviden t; but the chance o f its adoption is nil. It is altogether too elaborate; moreover, it throws too much stress upon the margin o f victory, which is a very minor matter, often depending largely upon chance. T h e thing is to win— fa irly , o f course, whether by a run or a wicket or by an innings and 400 is immaterial, and often a question o f the changing state o f the pitch. For matches on matting wickets, comparatively little affected by weather changes, it might work very well, though its complications would not please the man in the street. T h e author o f the scheme suggests the scoring o f points as follow s :— One for a lead o f 50 runs or under on the first innings, 2 between 50 and 100, 3 between 100 and 150, 4 between 150 and 200, 5 over 200 (he has omitted the points suggested to be scored for wins by wickets on the first innings— these do not often occur, but may happen as a result o f bad weather setting in early in a match). F o r wins outright his sliding scale runs thus B y a wicket or 30 runs or under, 6 poin ts; 2 wickets or from 30 to 60 runs, 7 ; 3 wickets or 60 to 90 runs, 8 ; 4 wickets or 90 to 120 runs, 9 ; 5 wickets or 120 to 150 runs, 10 ; 6 wickets or 15c to 180 runs, 1 1 ; 7 wickets or 180 to 210 runs, 1 2 ; 8 wickets or 210 to 240 runs, 1 3 ; 9 wickets or 240 to 270 runs, 1 4 ; 10 wickets or more than 270 runs, 15 ; an innings and not more than 30 runs, 16 ; an innings and from 30 to 60, 17 ; an innings and from 60 to 90, 18 ; an innings and from 90 to 120, 1 9 ; an innings and from 120 to 150, 20; an innings and from 150 to 180,