Cricket 1913

August !), I 1 .)IB. CR ICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME The M. C. C. Team for India. W I L L “ R A N J I ” T A K E C O M M A N D ? B y P e r c y C r o s s S t a n d i n g . “ T h e fact o f the m atter i s ” said Mr. F. E. L acey to me at L o rd ’s the other day, “ that we were still aw aiting a definite letter or cab legram from H. H. the Jam S ah ib of N aw anagar co n ctrn in g the M . C . C . team , which may tour th rough In d ia during the next ‘ cold weather.’ P rin ce R an jitsin h ji has seemed- rem arkably enthusiastic about the tour; but naturally we c a n ’t move in the matter until we have a definite word from him , and tim e is getting so sh ort.” “ H e would cap tain the side? ” I queried. “ W ell, his comm an din g personality and h igh position out there sh ould o f cou rse have a lot to say to the su ccess of such a tour. B ut at present I can ’t even give you the names o f p ro bable m em bers o f the M. C . C . eleven, or the itin erary o f the tour. L o r d H a w k e a S t a r t e r ? I th in k it very likely that L o rd H aw ke would be induced to go. H e is no stranger to cricket in Ind ia, and he is a popular and gen ial sportsm an. It w ould be interesting, too, if “ S k ip p er” Priestley (now S ir A rthur Priestley, M .P .) sh ould make one o f the party. H e is not a great cricketer, but when he m ade one o f R a n ji’s team to Am e rica in 1899 he disp layed great sense o f humour. T h e cra ck Y an kee trundler bow led “ S k ip p e r” first ball, but rep lacin g the b ails he co o lly rem arked, “ I never could play those trial b a lls ! ”_ A n d what a team th at w a s! It in cluded R anjitsinhji (captain), A . C . M aclaren , A. E . S toddart, S. M. J. W oods, B . J. T . B osanquet, G . L . Jessop, G eorge Brann, C . L . T ow n sen d, W . P . R obertson , C . R o b son , and C . B . L le w e lly n ! M y s e l f i n I n d i a . I went to In d ia with R an jitsin h ji for the winter 1903-4, when in addition to en jo yin g the tim e o f my life I heard all sorts o f weird stories o f this W izard o f the W illow. But the follow in g is n ot a mere story, it is a fact. B rockw ell and J. T . H earn e were at P a ’ iala co a ch in g the late M ah arajah ’s native cricketers, when R an jiarrived there on a little visit in 1898. H e prom ptly hit up 133 for Patiala v. S im la V olun teers, and 257 not out v. Um balla. In th is latter gam e, K . M . M istri, the great Parsi le ft­ hander, started the battin g with B rockw ell, and when R anji w ent in first w icket down, M istri was not out 160. N ow the M ararajah laid heavy wagers th at R an ji would not m ake as many runs as M istri, who how ever was d ism issed for 255, while the l ’rin ce o f C rick et was u ndefeated at the close with 2 5 7 10 his c re d it! (T h is rem ained an Ind ian record until beaten by T arran t’s 262, also for P atiala). R a n j i B a g s a P a i r . T h e deligh ted M ah arajah prom ptly presented him with a m agnificent set o f diam ond studs and a pair o f superb Purdy sp orting guns. O d d ly enough, playing for K ath iaw ar v. Poona, R an ji was shortly afterwards dis'nissed for the u nen viable pair o f spectacles ! Such is the “ glorious u ncertainty.” A t S im la an am usin g in cid en t m arked a m atch in which R a n ji was bow lin g his slows. A certain m ilitary player, who was very keen on running very short runs, was batting at the bow ler’s w ick et. L o n g before R a n ji had delivered the ball, he saw th at this batsm an had left his crease to b a ck up his partner who was about to receive the bowling. T h o u g h he warned the M ajo r to com e back the latter con tin ued running, so the bow ler w h ip p ed off the bails. A t first the discom fited soldier was in clin ed to suspect the P rince o f sharp p ractice, but later on they becam e fast friends. I f “ J a c k i o r ” w e n t . It would be a splendid thing if the H on . F . S. Jackson cou ld be in du ced to jo in the M .C .C . team for India. T h ere is still lots o f go od crick et in him , and he, like his friend L o rd H aw ke, is no stranger to In d ia. Mr. Jack so n was, in fact, a m em ber o f L o rd H aw k e’s team to India o f tw enty seasons ago, when he scored 700 runs with an average o f 30, and to ok 69 w ickets for 10.27 runs apiece. L o rd H arris was then G overn or o f B om b ay, w h ich rendered the sporting and so cial side o f the trip all the more enjoyable. W h ile the P arsis are still first as regards skill, the gam e is fast extending am on g all the native races. T h e Jam S ah ib has em ployed several o f our m ost fam ous pros, as coach es at N aw anagar du rin g the winter months, and there is prom ise o f genuine sport for the p rojected M .C .C . com b in ation . The J. H. Sinclair Memorial Fund is to be d ivided roughly thus: 10 per cent, or thereabouts fo r the erection o f a tombstone, the remainder to be placed in trust fo r the education o f James Sinclair's two boys. Members o f the English team wrio have been in South A frica before will miss the stalwart, sm iling giant who filled so big a place in cricket on the Rand. Excitement was great at Wallsend, where the home team defeated Ryton by 2 run&—165 to 164. J. L. Toole (40) for the winners and J. Caughley (54) for the losers were chief scorers. J. R. Philipson took 5 for 53 for Ryton. Nine Tynemouth batsmen contributed doubles to their side’s total of 266 v. Benwell, Hickton making 54, S. Old­ royd 45, and R. Myers 44. To Benwell’s 174, T. Jameson (47) was the chief contributor. It is stated that Glamorgan will not compete in the Minor Counties’ competition next year, but will arrange guarantee matches with first-class counties. If this method survives a year’s experiment most people will be surprised. I am afraid that Jonah will take no more guard in county cricket this season. He has had a strenuous first-class experience, for he is one of the all too few who have put in every ounce ever since he left Bedford. He has never ■played, at the game. Mr. George Bird (father of M. C. Bird, the Surrey captain) suggests in the Sportsman that the Champion County v. Rest match at the Oval in September should be played on a matting wicket, to give the players who are going to South Africa practice under those conditions. But would it not be better, if practicable, to arrange two or three extra matches on matting— say, Team for S.A. v. Home Counties, v. Surrey and Sussex, v. Middlesex, Kent, and Essex ?