Cricket 1913

56 CRICKET : A WEEKLY unrepresentative. Natal were without C. O. C. Pearse and Samuelson, the latter because he has lost his form—- temporarily, let us hope— and the former through sickness. The game opened in the most sensational manner imaginable. Natal, who batted first, found R. A. Thompson, whom I have previously described as a good fast bowler, at the top o f his form ; and within twenty minutes they had lost H . W. Taylor, H. W. Chapman, V. L. Henwood, and A. D. Nourse for an aggregate of eight runs ! They were all victims to Thompson, whose analysis, when the fourth wicket fell at 13, read four wickets for five runs. Natal made no real recovery, and Mr. H. W . TAYLOR. were all out for 85. Thanks to a very fine innings by A. H. Cooper (74), the Transvaal topped this by 56. Cooper, who only left school a year ago, drove with exceptional power. The nature o f his hitting can l>e judged when it is stated his score included no less than fourteen 4’s and a 6. He is one o f Atfield’s pupils, and, moreover, his father is an old Transvaal player, so that he has been well grounded in something more than the mere rudiments o f the game. In the second innings he made 4T, and altogether deported himself so well that it is no exaggeration to style him the greatest “ find ” in the Transvaal ranks this season. RECORD OF THE GAME. F eb . 15, 1913. In their second innings Natal piled up 384 for five wickets in three and three-quarter hours, when the innings was declared. In this effort H. W. Taylor loomed gigantic. When he was 19, Taylor might have been caught by the bowler (Thompson) from a very hard low return. It would have been a wonderful catch had it been made. Apart from this his innings was faultless. He scored his last hundred runs in fifty minutes, and gave as perfect an exposition o f on-side play as it is possible to imagine. Until he reached his double century he had had to cope with really good bowling, but from that stage onwards the bowlers were reduced to a state o f panic; indeed, I am told one actually refused to go on ! It is almost incon­ ceivable that any batsman should improve to such an extent in so short a time as Tavlor had done. While, the Natal men were batting, a regrettable accident robbed the Transvaal o f M. J. Susskind’s assistance in the second innings. In endeavouring to stop a drive with his foot, he trod on the ball and sprained his ankle so badly that he could take no further part in the match. I hear he is hoping to play next Saturday, however. Susskind rattled up 20 in the Transvaal first innings in very work­ manlike fashion, and his loss was a serious one to his side ; but I do not think it had any bearing on the actual result, though I am inclined to think him the best batsman in the Transvaal team. In the end Natal won comfortably by 129 runs. In both innings J. L. Cox bowled very well, taking four wickets for 53 in the first, and five for 48 in the second. This has completely rehabilitated him in the good graces of the cricketing public, who were inclined to believe he had been over-rated. Opinion that he was unfairly treated in England is more pronounced than ever. Indeed, the consensus o f opinion is that Cox is the best bowler at the present time in South Africa. The suspicion that Pegler would prove innocuous against good batsmen on matting wickets received further confirmation in this match. From beginning to end he bowled with a most commendable length; he turned the ball at will, and did many other clever things, but his-nip off the pitch and “ his work in the air,” to uss .Mr. Allsop’s phrase, were lacking. Pegler’s inability to reproduce his English form will prove a sad blow to our prospects next season against the M .C .C . We badly want bowlers. There are two other points about this Natal-Transvaal match which I cannot possibly pass over without refer­ ence. Space forbids a detailed description o f the wicket- keeping, but both Ward and Nicol gave finished displays behind the stumps. Hitherto I had always ranked the ex­ hibition given by the Rev. C. D. Robinson in the Natal- M .C .C . match at Durban in 1906 as the best I had ever seen. I am not certain that Ward and Nicol excelled Robinson’s form, but they certainly equalled it. Between the two men (Ward and Nicol) it seems to me impossible to choose. I have been wondering whether if Nicol had gone to England instead of Ward— seeing how much the latter benefited by the tour— would Blackham have been eclipsed ? The last point, like a lady’s postscript, is the most im­ portant. In Ormerod Pearse’ s absence. H. W. Taylor was entrusted with the captaincy o f the Natal side. You all know how hard up South Africa is for a leader. Indeed, her necessity was so desperate that (though I don’t want to