Cricket 1913

30 CRTCKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J an . 18, 1913. Park, besides lowering more than his fair share of wickets. W ith glee was the news heard that A. S. J. was coming to live at Abbey Wood and play for the local club. So were the Romans glad in that doubtful hour of the battle of the Lake Regillus : “ When from the south the cheering Rose like a m ighty swell, Herminius comes— Herminius, Who kept the bridge so well ! ” The club elected him at once to the difficult task of filling John Shuter’s boots. It is a great p ity that the complete figures of John Shuter, R. S. H. Baiss, C. A. Smith, and some others for L .P . are lost in oblivion. But I can give Arthur Johnston’s. Here are the records of his five seasons’ work for the club. He played 77 innings, was 7 times not out, scored 2,177 runs, and averaged 31-10. The Late Mr. F. J. RUTTER. He made centuries as follow s:— 162 v. Granville (Lee), 105 v. Royal Fusiliers, 102 not out v. Eltham , and 102 v. Woolwich Garrison. He bowled 868 overs (108 maidens) for 3,304 runs and 195 w ickets— average 16.94. Susceptibilities might be wounded if I compared these with the doings of other players during the period. Suffice it to say that he was our champion from 1904 to 1907. Then he left us, though only because he was leaving the neighbourhood. Followed the dark days. Enthusiasm waned. Mem­ bership decreased. It was not entirely due to the loss of Johnston, of course ; other causes were at work. Few clubs go many years without a bit of a slump. The climax was reached in 1911. Second eleven matches were several times scratched because teams could not be raised. In the winter a meeting was called to consider the question of winding up the club. It was not wound u p ; its President saved it. Lessness Park has been more than fortunate in its presidents, real lovers of the game, real friends of the club. To Mr. Sydney Baiss (father of R. S. H.) succeeded Mr. F. J. Rutter (of whom more anon), and then came the club’s present head, Mr. Robert K aye Gray. He it was who stepped into the breach and retrieved the seemingly lost day. For years he had been doing good b y stealth, so to speak, helping in ways of which even the committee did not know. Now he made an offer so munificent that the loyal little band present, all resolute to keep the flag flying if by any means they might, were stirred, heartened, and made deeply grateful. They set out to scour the neighbourhood for new members. Money is much ; but members are a club’s life-blood. The result ? Is it too early to speak of that, remembering how short a time ago this was ? I think not. The close of 1912 finds the club flourishing, with a. greatly increased membership, and a balance on the right side (the first such for many years). Honour to the men who kept us going through the dark days— to the plucky skipper who week after week led a forlorn hope (eight members and two emergencies picked up on the ground was not an unknown state of affairs even in first eleven matches), to the secretary who met bills from an ei»}pty cash-box, and found one or two old I opponents refusing fixtures because— well, perhaps I because some. folks think it the thing to kick a lame dog ! C. Gerald Beasley and E. J. Beal are the men to whom the club chiefly owes (with Mr. Gray) its continued existence. Gerald Beasley had a hard row to hoe when he accepted the captaincy in 1908. Remember that his predecessors were men with vast cricket experience, first- class players in their day, and that prospects were none too rosy when he took over the reins that Arthur John­ ston had let fall. Bu t he rose to the occasion. He has played for the club longer than any other member it ever had ; he has been a most consistent run-getter ; and he has captained with excellent judgment a side from which at times it really seemed hopeless to expect anything. Not even his complete records are available ; but I can answer for his having scored over 2,800 runs for Lessness Park, and if full figures could be given I believe he would stand next in aggregate to John Shuter. This last season gladdened his heart, I know. The club he has so loyally served pulled itself out of the Slough of Despond, and it has now a future that can be reckoned bright. I am not going to say anything good of E. J. Beal, our secretary. What is the use of carrying about an empty cash-box for years ? What right has he, in his prime, to give up playing ? “ Too old for cricket,” he says. It isn’t true ! What of that knock of 54 v. Blackheath only a few years back— with everything going against us, and Jack Mason bowling at one end |throughout ? He can do that sort of thing again if he ] chooses. Presently, perhaps, the cash-box will get too j heavy for him ; then he may drop it, and don flannels again. The club’s ground seems to me ideal. A quarter of j an hour’s walk from Abbey Wood station, it is on the