Cricket 1913

302 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J uly 5, 1913. 21 ; an innings and from 180 to 210, 22 ; an innings and from 210 to 240, 2 3 ; an innings and from 240 to 270, 2 4 ; an innings and over 270, 25. T h u s the points for a win outright would vary from 6 to 25, which seems to me quite too big a difference. No, I am afraid it w ill not do. But there are thousands o f people interested in point-scoring systems, and doubtless these will care to know o f this proposal. M r. B . J. T . B o s a n q u e t writes to the Daily Mail to call attention to three items o f last week’s crick et: 296 runs in 5J hours at B rig h ton ; W . H . Denton’s 92 in 4h. 50m. at Northampton; and B raund’s 257 in 3h. 50m. at Worcester. “ M ay I suggest,” he adds, “ that perform ­ ances like the first two are killin g cricket, and unless they are actively discouraged w ill inevitably do so? Too much credit, on the other hand, cannot be given fo r a perform ­ ance .like B raund’s, and all cricket should be played on similar lines.” A c o u n s e l o f perfection, indeed! But it may be allowable to point out that B raund’s usual rate o f scoring is a very great deali under a run per minute, and that at Worcester he met an attack by no means specially form id­ able on a wicket which is traditionally one o f the easiest in the country. W illiam Denton went in first for his side against the strong and varied Yorkshire battery. H e knew that a poor total might very probably mean an innings defeat for his side, who lacked two o f their four stock bowlers— E ast and W ells. H e was slow, no doubt— slower than he should have been. But he is not a fast scorer at any time, and I think he did his side good service with his 91. (B y the way, Mr. Bosanquet, giving him 92, ,slightly minimises his slowness.) I am disposed to agree with the critic about the Hove game, though. There was undue slowness on both sides. I did not see T hu rsd ay’s play ; but I was there for a couple o f hours on F rid a y afternoon, and I nearly went to sleep. Chaplin and Roberts kept the interest un flagging; but George Gunn and Lee caused a pall o f somnolence to descend upon the ground. Scarcely a sound was h e a rd ; the sparrows, who don’t mind people anyway, were joined by a thrush in front o f the pavilion ! A fter that I left. Jam es I re m o n g e r has doubtless some o f the qualities essential to a successful captain ; he is a man o f strong w ill, and he does not lack brains. But he scarcely uses his brains to the best advantage in the management o f his bowling. and John Gunn on, but George Gunn and H ardstaff too; I am not sure that I would not have tried Oates ! F ro m a Canadian p ap er:— -“ In a double inning cricket game held at Beacon H ill.” “ T h e losers were weak at the b a t.” Reads queerly, but is on ly an instance o f a baseball “ fan ” turned on to report cricket, I should say. T h e New York Herald o f June 8 says that the English people are dissatisfied with cricket and are be­ ginning to look to baseball as a substitute. I am saving 'the fu ll cutting in the hope o f being able to find room for it la te r; it certainly won’t go in this week. But there is more to follow . M . A . Noble is reported to have said that in a few years baseball and not cricket w ill be the national game o f Australia ! In view o f such a contin­ gency, I am trying to learn a little about this glorified game o f rounders. A t present, however, I don’t find m yself liking it anv better than I like professional footer— and I cannot say much less than that. Both at a distance, you understand; the distance, however, fails to lend enchantment to the view. O n June ,16 a complimentary dinner was given at the Grange Hotel, W innipeg, to Sir Hugh John Macdonald, who has Been for thirty years President o f the Winnipeg C .C ., and is at the present time President both o f the Canadian and Western Canada Cricket Associations. I n 1907 only one batsman reached 1000 runs in June, in 1908 one, in 1909 two, in 1910 one, in 19 11 as many as six, in 1912 three. This year four have done so. I n neglecting Alletson he only follow s the precedent set by A. O. Jones. I don’t say, and don’t think, that Alletson is a great bowler ; but he is a useful change. Yet while the opponents o f Notts scored 351 and 438 in suc­ cessive innings, Alletson did not bowl a ball ! W o r s e than that— at Southampton and at L ord ’s John Gunn was never given a chance. Wass strained himself at Hove, and Gunn had to be put on. H e proved the most successful bowler. From a side-on view his stuff looked to sh ; but a side-on view does not tell one much, and anyway it always did look easier than it was. A t L ord ’s Iremonger him self had 1 for 93, Horsley 1 for 92, R iley 1 fo r 85, Wass 4 for 121. I f I had been in Iremonger’s place I would have had not only Alletson THE LATEST BOOK ON CRICKET HOWTOMAKE A C IN TN R Y Cloth, Illustrated, price \\- net. (post free 1/3) of all Booksellers. A. & C. BLACK, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON.