Cricket 1913

374 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. J uly 5, 1913. 0. M. R. w . O. M. R. W. Hickmott ................ 3 2 4 0 — — . — — Douglas ... 20 3 63 4 — — — — Freeman ................. I9 ’ i 3 6.5 3 1 0 5 1 Preston ................. 14 2 53 2 1 0 7 0 Whycherley ... ................. 12 0 38 1 4 0 16 0 Collins G lam o r gan sh ir e B o w le r s ’ A n a l y s is . 3 0 ° 0 O. M R. W. O. M. R. w . Crebcr .................... 6 0 24 0 6 2 14 2 Hacker .................... 15 4 49 6 21 0 «3 2 Maxwell 10 3 28 4 18-4 3 66 6 The Library. T h e C l u b C r i c k e t e r s ’ O f f i c i a l H a n d b o o k f o r 19 13 + is capital value. An excellent feature is the Guide to Club Grounds, and another is the list of Club Secretaries’ Names and Addresses. The book is we'l illustrated; there is an article by Mr. H . V . Dorey suggesting- no. less radical a change in county cricket than the absolute elimination of the professional, one by another hand on “ W h at’s Wrong with County Cricket? ” which is less iconoclastic in tendency, one on “ The Value of Coaching,” a brief history of the Thames Ditton club, “ London Club Cricket : Its Future,” by Mr. E. A. C . Thomson, the Law s of the Game, and, of course, the Report of the Club Cricketers’ Charity Fund. The balance in hand for distribution when the report was drawn up amounted to ^8 7 7s. 3d. Iremonger (Aberdeen, late Notts) appear among the dozen others with 20 or over. Benskin (Perth, late Leicestershire) headed the bowling averages— 37 wickets at under 11 each. In the Western Union averages six Ayr batsmen figure in the first nine, so that one does not wonder that Ayr comes out well on top. I was told last year that it was a pity I should give space to the doings of semi-barbarians who played cricket—or what they imagined to be cricket— in the Highlands. Well, in the North of Scotland League table there are batsmen with averages such as t h is : A. A. MacDonald (Elgin City) 54.40, J. L. Mackintosh (Northern Counties) 41.50, J. Grant (Elgin City) 39.75, J. A. Russell (Elgin City) 33-22, and Ian S. Clarke (Nairn) 27.33. That does not suggest such a low standard of play. Many runs are never made sufficiently often by duffers against any sort of bowling to give the said duffers a high average. In the same league eight bowlers took 25 wickets or more at under 10 runs each. Comparing the batting and bowling figures, one is forced to the conclusion that in Highland cricket there are long tails which don’t w ag very hard or very often. But it is not by their tails one judges cricket sides. A column of criticism of a penny b o o k ! So I can imagine some scoffer saying. But I don’t rank everything by rules of £ s. d .; and to me Joe Anderson’s little blue- covered volume has a value far above its price— which same price is to me not even a penny. I would not part with the half-score editions of it I have for twenty times their price if I knew them unreplaceable. And, anyway, this is | not all— or mostly— criticism. It is news— if rather belated news. Scottish cricket is worth a good deal more attention liundred =Wickets Takers in Recent Years. T h e S c o t t i s h C r i c k e t A n n u a l] ; is in its 13th year. It is still published at the extremely low price which has always j than it receives south of Tweed, obtained, and Joe Anderson’s enterprise in bringing it out | season after season ought to be well rewarded. There is I one suggestion I should like to make— that the “ Leading First-Class Scottish Averages ” should certainly include the j figures in representative games, the only matches to which the term “ first-class ” can properly be applied, as well as those in the county and leading club games. For instance, J. A. Ferguson’s figures are given as 16-9-664-94.85. But these are for Perthshire only. He also played in three repre­ sentative games, totalling 54 runs in 6 innings, which makes a material reduction, though it leaves him still with a fine record. Others of the leading players are affected. Thus while Ferguson’s figures shou’d read 22-9-718-average 55.23, M. R. D ickson’s should be 21-1-821-41.05, R. G. T a it’s 24-0-945-39.37, J. B. W alker’s 21-3-693-38.50, W . Webster’s 23-4-759-39.94, A. Broadbent’s 15-0-565-37.66, P. S. Fraser’s 17-2-455-30.33, J. W . Sorrie’s 17-0-477-28.05, and so on. R. W . Sievwright should be credited with 77 wickets for 927, instead of 51 for 509, and' of course other bowlers would be affected. An anomaly qf the first-class classifica­ tion thus used is, too, that while A v. B and A v. C are both reckoned first-class gam es, B v. C is not. Certain clubs are considered first-class, and all their matches come in ; but they play matches with clubs not so ranked, hence confusion. Smith makes a century for B v. A which is not reckoned first-class, Brown one for A v. B which is so reckoned. The system is illogical, and as being so should not commend itself to the Scottish mind. Over fifty centuries are listed as having been made in Scotland last season. R. G. Tait made three, A. Broadbent (the Yorkshireman), J. B. Walker, and W . Webster two each. The Scottish Counties’ averages are given separately. 'Die six competing counties were Perth, Forfar, Aberdeen, Clackmannan, Stirling, and Fife. J. A. Ferguson (6-4-243) averaged 121.50 for Perth, R. G. Tait (8-0-463) averaged I 57.87 for Forfar, and West, Clackmannan’s pro., made 200 in 6 innings, twice not out, average exactly 50. Gooder (Stirling, late Surrey), Cox, (Fife, late Northants), and J. N. P. The first six English bowlers to qualify for the list in each of the last half-dozen years are given here, in the order in which they qualified :— 1912— Dean, Blyth, Thompson, Haigh, W. T. Greswell, Kennedy. 19 1 1— Dean, Hirst, Sm ith (W. C.), Relf (A. E.), Buckenham, Rushby. 1910— Smith (W. C.), Lewellyn, Relf (A. E.), Newman, Blythe, Dean. 1909— Blythe, Thompson, Relf (A. E.), Dennett, S. G. Smith, Rhodes. 1908— W. Brearley, Hirst, Blythe, Tarrant, Wass, Bennett. 1907— Tarrant, Cox, Rhodes, Blythe, J. N . Crawford, Hirst. Blythe’s name occurs five times out of the six ; no one else appears more than thrice. Obituary. M r. H e r b e r t E dw ard Sugden died at Bradford on May 14, aged 50. He represented Derbyshire in two matches in 1882, scoring 9 and 1 against the Australians, and o and 3 against Lancashire. These were his only appearances in county cricket. t T h e C lu b C r ic k e te rs' H an db ook f o r 1913, price 3d. ; published by Cricket and Sports Publishers, Ltd., 353, Strand, % T h e S cottish C ric k e t A n n u a l : 1913, price id. ; pub­ lished by Joe Anderson, Perth. G eorg e O sborne died on the first of March. He was a fast bowler, and in 1881 played for Middlesex in three matches, in which he obtained 4 wickets for 102 runs. For more than thirty years he was professional to the Upper Clapton Club. G E O R G E L E W I N & Club Col our S peci al i st s & At hl et ic C l ot h in g M a n u f a c t u r e r s . OUTFITTERS BY APPO INTMENT TO The Royal Navy and Army, Cornwall, Kent, Middlesex, Somerset and Surrey Counties, and London Scottish, Irish and Welsh, Blackheath, Harlequins, Rich­ mond, Catford Rugby Football Clubs, and all the leading Clubs in the British Isles and abroad ; M.C.C. S. African Tour 1909 , S. African Cricket Association 1910 , and Queen’s Club, Kensington, the M.C.C. Australian Team 1911-12, and the South African Association Cricket Team 1912. Established 1869 . W rite fo e Estimates. Telephone: P.O. 607 C IT Y . Works at Cambenueli. 8 , CROOKED LANE, MONUMENT , E.C.