Cricket 1913

536 C R ICKE T : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. August 23, 1013. Special Club Notes. C o n t r ib u t e d b y T h e C h i e l . My recent notes upon veiled professionalism in club cricket have brought me shoals of letters. Some of them are adverse but the majority are entirely with me. One signed •*Brum” points out that many a good class club in the Midlands has disbanded through the money question entering. I was not concerned with the clubs in the provinces at the time of writing, confining my remarks to clubs surrounding the metropolis, and it has come to my knowledge that some of these semi-professional clubs have been refused fixtures for next season, for very good reasons. The average good class London club is very con­ servative, not only as to the game itself, but also as to the management of their club affairs. No possible persuasion will induce them to give up principles that have worked well for many years. The good class amateur objects to the semi-pros element, and quite rightly. His idea of club cricket is that the game should be played for the game’s sakej and not for lucre There is only one way to check this semi-professionalism, and that is to refuse the clubs practising it fixtures. A contemporary has taken up the old, old question of the need of good umpires in club cricket. The writer says that in many cases incapable umpires are picked up, and gives as instances of his charge the names of many prominent and old-established clubs ir^ the eastern part of London. I cannot think these charges well founded. There are plenty of rocky umpires about; but intentionally unfair umpires are few and far between, I believe. Most of the wrong decisions are given innocently. The sporting papers have discovered the boom in club cricket, and are endeavouring to make the most of it in a cash sense. Not so very long ago these same papers simply pestered clubs for notes and scores, and advertised challenges free. It is quite a different tale now : charge for challenge, charge for score sheets, and it is seldom your teams are printed. Such treatment as this reminds one of the builder and his greed for higher rentals of cricket grounds. We get columns of public school and bank cricket. Why not put all underone heading? The distinction seems unnecessary, for after all the game with the public schools and the banks is all club cricket. I wish we had a daily paper devoting itself entirely to county and club cricket in the season, and football (Rugger and Soccer) in the winter. This may be asking too much, but club cricket has done a lot of good to the newspapers, and they should give it a quid pro quo. U M P I R E . GEORGE F. HEARNE, who umpires for I.Z. Incogs., Free Foresters, and Royal Artillery, has several dates open for third and fourth weeks in August; tours preferred; reasonable terms.—Apply, M.C.C. House, Ealing. Overseas Cricket. CANADA. Another specimen of the way in which cricket is re­ ported in Canada. The Victoria Daily Times , in a resume, on Tuesday, July 22 , of Saturday’s matches, stated : "Heavy hitting won for the Cowichan team, L. S. V. York putting onthe splendid total of 140 for the winners. This is one of the best scores that has been put on this season.” So the report; now for facts ! The full score of the match was given in the paper’s preceding issue. York played for Victoria, not Cowichan ; his side was beaten ; his score was 40 , not 140 ; and the total was only 131 , though it casts UP ' 53 - On July 19 , A. Leighton scored 74 for Nanaimo v. Burrard, and J. Beacham 69 for Burrard II v. New Westminster. Vancouver ( 183 —G. C. Peel 34 s, E. M. Webb 32 , F. J. Peers 27 . R. K. McRoberts 23 ), had a big win over Albion (38 and 81 ). J. F. Mends took eight for 15 in Albion’s first. A week later Guelph beat Galt by 85 runs in the Western Ontario League, Stuart Saunders making 43 for the winners, who have not lost a game inthe league this season. Another Saunders —whether of the same family I don’t know—hit up 72 for St. David’s v. Bedford Park (Toronto). W. A. Whitaker, who used to make big scores for Mimico Asylum, rattled up 57 in about half-an-hour for St. Matthias v. St. Cyprians. One ball he hit through a top window of Trinity College, and three on to the roofs of houses in the street outside the College ground. Rosedale (who were disqualified from competing for the John Ross Robertson trophy owing to an accidental delay in forwarding entrance fee) have been scoring well this season, averaging 150 per innings, which is considered high in Canada. Their players are rather sore at the disqualification mentioned, I hear. But rules must be obeyed. Roberts, of St. Barnabas, took 8 for 12 and did the hat trick v. Toronto B. Liverpool Jottings. ( B y G . A . B r o o k i n g . ) Sefton enjoyed a glorious victory at the expense of Northern. The latter went first to the wicket, and owing to good bowling by Clare and Curtis were all dismissed for 79 . Even this moderate total seemed too much for Sefton, for they had six wickets down for 30 , and the game appeared to be slipping away, when Stubbs, sen. came in and commenced to hit in daring fashion. Imlach was at the other end, steadily plodding along, and between them the match was won. Stubbs conpiled 42 and his colleague 16 * and no words of praise can be too great for turning defeat into such a triumph. Coulson, whomCambs have had towork sohardat the crease, actually played through the match with Norfolk at Norwich, without sending down a ball! Last season he kept one end going for the greater part of the time. He sent down 269 overs, and all the other bowlers —13 of them —440 in all.