Cricket 1913

September 6 , 1913. CR I CKET : A WE E K L Y RECORD OF THE GAME. 593 G . L . D . H o le , E d in b u rg h A c a d em ic a ls, h as been e n jo y in g h im se lf w ith L o r d L in lith g o w ’s X I . lately. In fo u r m a tc h e s h e h a s sc o re d 313 runs fo r o n ce out, h is la te st sc o re b e in g 114 * again st M r. G . D a v ie s’s X I. A rb ro a th U n ite d ( 242 ) an d F o rfa rs h ire ( 196 ) is a lw a y s a k e e n ly c o n te ste d g am e— a n o th e r c a se o f the co u n ty v ersu s on e o f its c lu b s— a n d th eir la te st v icto ry w o u ld b e h ig h ly p a la ta b le to th e A rb ro a th men, n o tw ith sta n d in g th e a b se n ce o f R . G . T a it from the F o r fa r ran k s. N . J. A . Sm ith ( 56 ) a n d A . V . K in n ea r ( 52 ) o b ta in e d m o st run s, a n d R . W . S ie v w rig h t se c u re d sev en w ic k e ts fo r 81 . T . M c L e o d , F o rfa rsh ire ( 73 ), w a s to p sc o re r in th e m a tch . M . R . D ick so n , w h o h ad 26 , ra ttle d up 143 fo r A rb ro a th again st th e G lam is C a s tle X I. th e o th e r d a y . S e lk irk c om p le te d th e ir B o rd e r L e a g u e p ro gram m e w ith o u t su ffe rin g a d e fe a t. St. B o s w e lls to ta lle d 129 , a n d in a n h o u r o r so S e lk irk re p lie d w ith 171 fo r 4 , th e b ro th e rs G rie v e , W illiam ( 82 *) a n d W a lte r ( 4 9 *) m ak in g m erry. Cricket Notes. (B y E. H. D. S e w e ll.) That was a most rousing finish to the season at Lord’s last Saturday, and no wonder the crowd rose at the players at the close. There is no finish in any other game or sport to equal the “ near th in g” at cricket. Search where you may other tight finishes are exicting enough— for example, a try-all at Rugger between t wo good sides, or a dead heat on the river— but the win by two or three runs beats them all. In this case but 5 runs separated Kent and Middlesex, of whom I took the liberty of writing last February: “ I expect either Kent or Middlesex will win the championship this season ” — and you can’t really get very much closer than the value of a no-ball and a snick through the slips. Why even a close thing in the most ordinary and unim­ portant of club games is worth living through. I have been in one tie match, in which nations were not hanging over the tape to read the result and that was strenuous work enough. And the other day an 1 8 runs’ success over Berkshire was a simply terrific affair, especially afteir you have gone out on the field with little or no bowling with which to prevent a batting side like that from piecing to­ gether a paltry 2 1 8 or so. Aye, the close thing at cricket stands alone, unrivalled, and always will. I have had a most stirring account of the joys to be enjoyed on a cricket tour in hospitable Holland— so long, at all events, as C. J. Posthuma and his present band of enthusiasts and thorough good sorts are alive and well— from more than one of the fortunate team of Gentlemen of Bucks which spent August 2 4 to 3 0 in the land of wind­ mills, canals, bulbs and beer. Accounts do not differ in the least. “ A priceless time,” and “ must go again,” are the chief utterances I have heard, and I daresay it will be so. Much of the cricket is jolly sound over there, and the team which was fortunate enough to be under the guid­ ance of the genial Herbert Bull was just strong enough to draw twice and win once in three games. The dual failure to get runs on the part of D. H. Field contributed towards the drawn game against C. J. Posthuma’s XI. at Haarlem. The stout defensive play of Posthuma himself, of Van der Schau, and of Van Loon (who was in for nearly 4 0 minutes without scoring when that was the right game to play) were the chief causes of the second drawn game, also at Haarlem, and then, at Amsterdam, last Friday and Saturday, a fine hundred by Field and some useful all-round cricket by vari­ ous members of the side produced the victory over J. O. Schroder’s sporting side. Schroder himself is the best wicket keeper they have go t; Posthuma still the best all-rounder; Van Gogh the best bat; Rincker the fastest bowler right hand; Van der Schau a most useful all-rounder, and Van Loon a very steady right-handed bowler. The fielding is keen and brisk from start to finish, but as a set of cricketers, the Dutchmen need to improve their running between wickets and their judgment of a run. There is here a great deal of hesitation. The main idea seems to be to make good the ground at both ends. There is very little seen of the batsman who is furthest from the fieldman (who has th)e ball, or who is likely to get it) just touching inside the popping crease and turning instantly to run two or three yards in case there may be another run. Apart from the running the cricket shown is wonderfully sound all things considered, and the umpiring was simply excellent throughout. A t Haarlem there is quite a “ g a te ” of enthusiasts, and these show their knowledge of the game by applause at the right time. On their pretty ground, girt by lime trees, the fielding is quite good, much better than it is at Amsterdam where there is not so much cricket played, and where the game is, naturally, not so well understood. The matting wicket is about—six feet wide laid on a prepared pitch of clay. An oblong hole is cut for the stumps to be fixed in the soil and the matting extends about four yards beyond the wicket at each end. There is plenty of grass of a coarse kind, and the turf is of a rather spongy nature. It is well rolled and the grass is short, but the visitors did not see any mowing operations in progress. The Haarlem is in every respect a better ground than the Amsterdam ground. Both grounds are of about the same size and up to the average size of our own club grounds. S Joubert, who played at both Haarlem and Amsterdam, is the little full back who played for the 1 9 0 7 South African Kugby football team. He is studying medicine in Amster­ dam where he has been for five years. He expects to return to the Cape before our next cricket season. He is a good fieldsman anywhere, and quite a good left-hand bat with a good hook stroke. 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 ry ca refu l m anner, and extra p recau tion s are tak en to en su re an even n ess of co lo u r. 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