Cricket 1913

August 16, 1913. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. Cricket Chirps. (B y E . H . D . S e w e l l . ) Results last week were much in accordance with general expectation, and by last week I mean ending Aug. 9 th. Of course one did not expect Middlesex to smash Sussex as they did, nor Northamptonshire to do the same thing to Essex, but, I take it, most camp followers would have their money on the winners in both instances. There is no stopping J. W. just now. He’s had a very good year and has been more successful than usual since he caused the flutter in the dovecots in M .C .C . and Ground v. Clifton College. Why an England cricketer should not be allowed (!!) to bowl a School side out and then make a cool hundred or two, I have not been able to discover, nor have I heard a single sound cricket argument against. At the same time I have a high respect for the many eminent ones who hold that the Young Jack v. Clifton College performance was a “ criminal one.” U n fortu n ately, those who hold that view do not appear to con sid er the other side o f the picture. T h ere is such a th in g as the ch a n ce o f an E n g la n d cricketer bagging a b race and taking no w icket. Im agine the joy of the C lifto n boys had th ey som ehow or other outed this young m an for what is best known as a b lo b ?— or trounced his googlies ‘‘ all over the sh op .” I think the M .C .C . hon our a S ch o o l X I. when th ey play T est-m atch people a gain st th em— others think otherw ise. Surely an y sch oolb oy w ould rather get 25 to 40 runs with Y o u n g J a c k bow lin g th an 50-70 again st the attack of a has-been p rofession al ? It’s the old story, spare the rod and m ake a n incom poop o f your bu d d in g M acL aren s and su ckin g Sp oon ers. T h e re is a virtue und erlyin g the popular “ L e t ’em all com e ,” that has n ot yet revealed itself to som e go od folk. I f the C lifto n X I . o f this notable o ccasio n con tain s c rick eters in em bryo then they will be a ll th e better for their experien ce o f J. W . T h e reap p earan ce o f E . R . W ilson in th e Y o rksh ire X I. was an imm ediate su ccess— and a further strong advertisem ent for “ len gth ” bow ling. S ix for 89 at the first time o f a skin g must have m ade th at n ation al asset, G eorge H irst, sm ile even broader than ever. W ilson is right-handed w ith a very little leg-turn and the a ccu racy of a seism ograph. E ver and anon, as su ch spinners do, he n ot on ly h olds straight (E . B . C rockford, lbw , b W ilso n ) but, if the b a ll “ catch es ” th e air at the critical moment, he goes the other way and bow ls w h at is tantam ount to an in ch o f off-break. W e must be prepared therefore for the ann oun cem en t that “ th e googlies o f E . R . W ilson paralysed the opposition , redu cin g A ll E n glan d batsm en to a state b o rd erin g on com a ” whereas the fam ous O . R . has never spun a true go oglie in his life in anger__th at is if he ever gets angry, on w h ich point, n ot bein g a b o y at W inchester, I can n ot speak with assurance. I may, however, say th at a m ore deligh tful person to p lay with or against it h as rarely indeed been m y luck to m e e t; though, in future, I hope it w ill alw ays be with, for I d o n ’t approve o f th ese chaps who h it the sam e b lade o f grass every tim e. T h e N otts and L eicestersh ire X I .’s o f 19 13 w ill rem em ber H itc h for a while. A bird w h isp ers— not the bird you th in k— th at N o tts d id n ’t lik e the m usic a bit at the O val. S p ea k in g as a too o ld at 40, I sym pathise, for one does bruise so after 35 and som e years arm chair experience. B u t I can n ot understand yo u n g ’uns doin g the jib b in g trick when up again st fast stuff. A cricket ball doesn ’t hurt so much as a wasp sting anyway, and th in k o f the d ip lom a you can show your fam ily a day or two afterw ards. M ention o f which rem inds m e o f the best specim en I ever saw. It was, I think, in 1905, at the C rystal P a la ce. T h e O ld M an m issed a full toss from C otter by just the fraction o f a m om ent o f tim e th at m akes all the differen ce betw een a four on th e leg side and a sunset- after-a-storm -at-sea on your body. T h e b all struck him above the heart, a little forw ard, w ithout h avin g had any o f its vis viva redu ced b y b at or glove T w o days later the specim en was on view in the dressing-room . T h e O ld M an has been resp on sib le for m any b rillian t things in crick et in his day— .1 claim n o origin alty in this state­ m ent— but the mark o f this bruise cou ld only have been d ep icted by the brush o f a T u rn er. T h e size o f a large ch eese plate it m ade one th in k at on ce o f the ‘ ‘ F igh tin g T em eraire,” the vile b o d y on which it was p ain ted doubtless aid in g the thought. F or the old fellow never flinched when that b all got hom e. D ear o ld B illy M urdoch used to open his eyes w ide en o u gh when exp ressin g surprise, but surely he n ever opened them w ider th an when he saw C o tter’s mark on W. G .’s chest as he gasp ed :— “ M y ! w hat a beauty.” R um our su cceeds rumour. A t first it was A . H . H o rn b y, then J. W . D ou glas, then M . C . B ird, then H . K . F oster, and now it ’s Jessopus for the cap tain cy a t the C ap e . I hop e the lyin g jad e has fou nd the w inner at last. T h e re ’ll b e p len ty o f catch in g for th e Y u n kers to do if he does go, as th at b a ll alw ays jum p s a bit, though at a fairly n orm al heigh t th rough ou t, on the m atting w ickets o f S ou th A frica and she w ill be in the air a lot this trip when the C ro u ch er is on the jo b . I d o n ’t suppose for a m om en t I am givin g S outh A frica a tip how to stop him gettin g runs when I tell them th at if he go es they w ill see what cu ttin g really is, b ecau se n o b o d y has yet p laced the field su ccessfu lly for Jessopus— not even the A ustralian s. I f my youn g friend H . W . T a y lo r su cceeds in do in g so, all the more cred it to him . H e is, I am to ld , to skipper S ou th A frica in the presum ed absen ce o f G . A . F aulkn er, who at the m om ent, does n ot know w hether he w ill be b a ck in S outh A frica or not. C ap t. W . G . M . Sarel, who is go in g with the In co g n iti to A m e rica, has tw ice this season m ade two cen tu ries in a m atch, early in June a n d a week or two ago. T h e Sportsman chron icles the last A u stralian m atch as a w in over th e W est In d ies. It was, o f course, n othing o f th e sort. T h e eleven coloured gentlem en who distin ­ gu ish ed th em selves by getting ou t for 13 had no claim to represen t the W est Ind ies. R ich a rd O llivierre and W . C . Shepherd , who m ay have p layed , are W est Ind ian rep re­ sentatives, it is true ; bu t th at’s an oth er matter.