Cricket 1913

410 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J uly 19, 1913. “ I ’m not sure to h a lf an inch or so ; but it’s not ■more than five feet fo u r.” “ D o you believe that lack o f height handicaps a jatsm an ? ” On this point Mr. Titchmarsh was emphatic. For the matter o f that, his opinions on most o f the subjects we touched upon were clear-cut and d ecisive; he knows his own mind, and does not q u alify h a lf his statements w ith ifs and buts, as do many men. “ Not a bit o f it ! In several ways I believe it’s a positive advantage. When one has to p lay a defensive game on a sticky wicket, fo r in stance; a tall man can ’t get down quickly to a ‘ squatter.’ And fo r pulling— I ’m sure it helps there! You first shift your le ft foot back a few inches, you know, and— — ” “ Then you wouldn’t be taller if you had the choice ? ’ ’ “ Certainly n o t.” “ What are your chief strokes? ” “ I suppose I make most o f them more or less. Cut? Y es, I can cut. I don’t do as much driving as some m en ; I think on the whole I do more pulling. I should say that I get a larger proportion o f my runs by the pull- stroke than in any other w a y .” “ When did you first p lay for the county? ” “ In 1900, but only in one match. From 1906 on I have played regu larly.” Here are his figures fo r the last seven years, taken from W isden. Whether they include all matches— those w ith the M .C .C . as well as county games, that is— I am not quite sure. Season. Inns. N.O. R. A. H.S. Season. Inns. N.O. R. A. H.S. 1906 20 2 796 44-22 170 1911 20 1 647 34*05 138* 1907 14 1 235 18-07 54 * 1912 18 2 710 44-37 100 1908 17 2 610 40-66 104 1909 17 0 141 8-47 33 Totals 120 9 3450 31-08 170 1910 14 1 311 23-92 76 H e has had one really bad season and two moderate ones; but he topped the averages in 1906, 19 11, and 1912, and was second in 1908. H is seven centuries were made in those four seasons, except for one this year, thus :— 170 v. Norfolk, at Norwich, 1906. 138* v. Suffolk, at Ipswich, 1911. 127 v. M .C .C ., at St. Albans. 1913. 104 v. Bedfordshire, at Watford, 1908. 103* v. Cambridgeshire, at Cambridge, 1908. 100 v. Norfolk, at Norwich, 1911. 100 v. Cambridgeshire, at Hitchin, 1912. “ What do you consider the best innings you have ever p la y e d ? ” “ One at Norw ich seven years or so ago. No, not because it was the biggest. But the wicket was fiery, and no one else did very m u ch ; the fu ll total was 287, and I made 170. It may not often happen that a man’s best innings is also his biggest, but it is so in my case. “ Hertfordshire has, I should say, as strong a side now as at any tim e.” “ Yes, I do believe we are a pretty useful lot. There are the Rev. C . G. Ward, our skipper, who has played both for Hants and Lincolnshire; E . S. Household, a really good b a t; E . H . Cuthbertson, also a good bat, though out o f luck last year, and a capable w icket-keeper; W . H . Marsh, who can bat and bowl too; S. G. Etheridge, o f the Cockfosters club, who made a century fo r us the other day v. Su ffo lk ; W . Montgomery, who has played (as a professional) both for Surrey and Somerset, and other amateurs. Then we have four capital pros.— Coleman, a fast bowler and good b a t ; Golding, who has made lots o f runs for the county and for B u sh ey; Burton (a son o f old George Burton), a fine medium-pace right­ hander ; and Shelford, a useful slow left. Cuthbertson, by the way, is a left-handed bat, as is Shelford, though Shelford himself m ight tell you that he isn’t a bat at a ll.’ “ Touching on finance, would not that question be a bar to any general scheme o f promotion? I mean, isn’t it likely that most second-class counties would refuse promotion if offered on the score that they could not afford it? ” “ I can ’t speak for the re st; but I am not sure that that would be our ch ief difficulty. Probably Hertfordshire is better organised than most o f the minor counties; for that we have largely D r. E arl Norman to thank. W e have a number o f really good supporters. Whether we have enough to provide the sinews o f war for a first-class programme is not a thing one can say off­ hand. But I can tell you what would be an objection that could not be got over— and that is three-day matches. We may be able to muster something like our best side for, say, half-a-score two-day gam es; but we could not begin to do it for a minimum o f sixteen three-day fix­ tures. The men simply couldn’t afford the tim e.” “ Second-class county cricket has greatly improved of late, I feel sure. What do you thin k?” “ I should rather say it has— even in my time. And I can tell you this— though it’s only saying the same thing in other words— men are a good deal keener than they used to be about it. We may not receive much public attention; but there is plenty o f good cricket played by the ‘ minor ’ counties, and I believe at least half-a-dozen o f them could put up a good show in competition with the less powerful first-class sides.” Mr. Titchmarsh is in the happy position o f being able to play as much cricket as he likes. Messrs. A . G. Sp ald­ ing and B ros., over whose cricket section in England he has fu ll control, give him a free hand in this respect. I should judge that Messrs. Spalding did an excellent thing for themselves when they appointed the Herts man to this responsible post. He has— or I am no judge of men— the right sort o f personality, carrying into business the thoroughness he shows in sport. BLANCO For Cleaning and Whitening White Buckskin and Canvas Shoes, Cricket Pads, and all other articles of a similar nature. It Is prepared in a v e r y careful manner, and extra p recau tion s are taken to en su re an evenness of colou r. 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