Cricket 1913

August 16, 1913. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 507 Obituary. M r . VV. H . B . E v a n s . B orn in S ou th A frica on January 29, 1883, Mr. W illiam H e n ry B rereton E van s perished by a fall from C o lo n el S. F . C o d y ’s aeroplane on A ugust 7th. T h e best all-round player M alvern C o lle g e ever turned out, he did great things at O xford, where he was in the eleven four years a n d captain in the third. P layin g first for W orcestershire (see reference in “ Pavilion G ossip ” ) under the sch ool qualification , he afterw ards represented H am p sh ire under the fam ily hom e clause, his uncle, Mr. A . H . E van s, o f C lifton , Oxford, Som erset, and H ants fam e, liv in g ju st inside the cou n ty’s northern border, n ear N ew bury, B erks. In his four m atches v. C am b rid ge W . H . B . E v a n s scored 16 , 67 , 21 , 60 , 65 , 86*, 21, and 8— a record o f alm ost unbroken success such as few m en have a ch iev ed ; his bow lin g analyses in these games were : 0 for 37 , 11 for 86, 1 for 139 , and 6 for 116 . H e and J. E . R a p h a el were the m ain factors in w inning the 1903 m atch for O xford , C . D . M clv e r, K . M . C arlisle, and A . C . von E rn sth au sen bein g their ch ie f assistants. Am o n g oth er con tem poraries o f E vans in the D ark Blue X I .’s were W . F in d lay, C . H . B. M arsham , E . W . D illon , G . W . F . K e lly , R . W . Aw d ry, W. S. B ird, G. T . Branston, L . D . B row nlee, G . N . Foster, E . L . W right, and F. A . H . H en ley. E van s was a w onderful sch oolb oy cricketer. H is record in the M alvern team ( 1898 — 1901 ) was 58 innings, 7 not outs, 1975 runs, average 38 . 72 , and 137 w ickets at 16 . 37 . T h a t he did not b e lie his prom ise in after years— though he never qu ite attained the p lace that at one tim e seemed open to h im — the follow in g summ ary o f his doings in first-class crick et w ill s h o w :— Com p. For Inns. Runs. Aver. Runs. W kts. Aver. Oxford U niv. (1902— 4) ... 5 2 1778 34-19 .. . 2382 120 19.85 Worcestershire (1901) ... 7 217 31.00 ... 185 3 61.66 Hampshire (1902— 10) ... 35 940 26.85 ... 1491 45 3313 Gentlemen (v. P. & A ust.) 10 159 I 5-90 ... 358 5 71.60 Other first-class matches 5 81 16.20 ... 134 2 6 7.O O Total 109 3175 29.12 4550 i 75 26.00 A s w ill be seen, his success in the b ig gam es in which h e took part— G entlem en v. P layers and the like— was n ot very great. Y e t the general opinion was that he had “ the big gam e tem peram ent,’’ and had not the circum stances o f his career— he held a post in the Sudan C iv il S ervice— kept him so m uch out o f E n glan d it is likely th at he would have figured in test m atches. A first- class batsm an, w ith a fine pair o f wrists, p ractically all the strokes on the book, and a marked in clin ation to get runs q u ickly whenever p ossib le, he was also a bow ler o f great p oten tialities, fast m edium , with a high arm, an excellen t and very easy delivery, and a head on his shoulders. In ch ro n o lo gica l order his best bow lin g feats may be thus enum erated :— 6 for 3 1, O xford v. G entlem en, 1903 ; 5 for 6 1, O xford v. W orcestershire, 1903 ; 7 for 4 1, O xford v. Som erset, 1903 ; 1 r for 86, O xford v. C am bridge (two inns.), 19 0 3 ; 10 for 60, O xford v. Som erset (two inns.), 19 0 4 ; 5 for 66, O xford v. A ustralian s, 190 5; 6 for 25, O xford v. N o tts, 1905 ; 5 for 66, O xford v. C am brid ge, 19 0 5 ; 7 for 59, H an ts v G loucester, 19 0 9 ; and 9 for 93, H an ts v. L eicestersh ire (two inns.), ^ 0 9 . H e m ade five centuries in first-class c ric k e t: 107, W orcestershire v. G lou cestersh ire, W orcester, A u gu st 30, 1 9 0 1 ; 142, O xford v. Sussex, H o ve, Ju n e 28, 1902 ; 113 , O xford v. Sussex, H ove, June 24, 25, 1904 ; 115 , H an ts v. W orcestershire, W orcester, July 19, 20, ^ 0 4 ; and 139*, O xford v. M .C .C ., L o rd ’s, Ju ly 3, 1905. Am o n g his other c h ie f scores m ay be m entioned : 74 v. Som erset, SS v. A ll Ireland, 61 v. Surrey, and 67 v. C am bridge, in 1902 ; 96 v. Sussex, and 60 v. C am b rid ge in 1903 ; 80 v. the G en tlem en , 78 v. Som erset, 59 v. Y orksh ire, 54 and 59 v. Surrey, 65 and 86* v. C am b rid ge, in 1904, all for O x fo r d ; for H am p sh ire, 90 v. D erbyshire, 58 v. Y o rk ­ shire, 51 and 48 v. W orcestershire, in 1905 ; and 80 v. D erbyshire in 1909. It was stated at the inquest th at he had am bition s to take up aviation profession ally. H a d he been spared to do so, h e w ould doubtless have m ade a most su ccessfu l aviator. B ut h is first flight was his last. So he passes, still young, but leavin g a fine record ; and alm ost the last wo.rds h e spoke were a jest. B u t a few m inutes after they h ad left his lip s the end cam e, sudden, horrible. H e never flinched, one feels sure, and he died in go od com pan y : th at is som ethin g. Y e t it is strange that in so casual a m anner— for had he been a few m inutes later in arrivin g, M r. L e o n C o d y w ould have gone up with his father— it should h ave ch a n ced that one who was born overseas and had served the Em p ire on one o f its outskirts, should h ave helped to pay the d eb t o f Em p ire at hom e ! J. N . P. A printer’s error last week m ade M r. E . H . D . Sew ell out younger than he is. H e w ill be 4 1, n ot 40, in Sept. next. T h e latest rumour as to the M .C .C . T eam for S outh A frica is th at G . L . Jessop w ill be captain , and th at the other am ateurs are likely to be D . C . R obin son , M . C . B ird, and F . L . Fane. H ayes, T arran t, M ign on , and F airservice are all b ooked for In d ia this off-season, the Surrey m an for C alcu tta, th e K e n t man for B om b ay, and the tw o M idd lesex m en for Patiala. T h e In cogn iti team for Am erica w ill sail for S o u th ­ am pton on the 27 th inst. It is a good , if not a great, side both in batting and bow ling, and w ill g iv e the P h ilad elp h ian s all th ey kn ow to beat it. The American Cricketer likens Philadelphian cricket, after the Australian victories, to the parrot who was swung about like an Indian club, dashed violently against furniture, walls, and floor till there was scarcely a feather left, all to the end that his flow o f profan ity might be suppressed, and the dear o ld lady might purchase him, and then rem arked : “ Where in hell were you when the cyclone struck us ?” Is that what the Philadelphians have been say ­ ing to one another? They need not be discouraged. The present may appear a lean tim e; but there is g o o d material com ing along, and in H . G. Pearce they have one who ought to develop into a match- winning bowler. Scarcely a second Barton K ing per­ haps; but Bart K ings don ’t grow in every pumpkin- patch.