Cricket 1913

F eb . 15, 1913. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. disparage Messrs. Mitchell and Tancred) it might have been said, in the words o f a music-hall ditty : “ Any old thing will do ! ” On his showing in this match, and other things considered, Taylor should be a certainty for the position next season. You will, I know, agree that with a good wicket and with only 85 runs behind him, the fielding captain has a lot o f hard thinking before him, if he is to win or even save the match. To readers o f C r i c k e t it is unnecessary to detail the why and wherefore of this assertion. Apropos o f Taylor’s score, writing from memory, the double century has only been scored or exceeded four times in first-class cricket in S .A ., viz., 250*, by H. W. Taylor, Natal v. Transvaal, at Johannesburg, 1913; 220, by Lieut. Paine. Western Province v. Griqualand West, at Johan­ nesburg, 1897; 212 bv A. D. Nourse, Natal v. Griqualand West, Johannesburg, 1907 ; and 200* by A. D. Nourse, Natal v. Western Province, Cape Town, 1908. The Western Province are suffering from a superabund­ ance o f batsmen, and judging from the fact that they can dispense with F . Bond, also a glut of good bowlers, though I am not so sure that the latter inference is based on a sound foundation. On their own ground they have whacked both the Transvaal and the Free State, though neither side was represented by its strongest eleven. The members o f 'the Transvaal team who made the journey to Cape Town say we have no batsmen up here to compare with George Hearne and P. A. M. Hands. This state­ ment has received such ready credence as to be almost insulting to the informants ! Certainly the records this season o f the two men named are fine ones. In club and representative fixtures, Hands has scored 619 runs in eleven complete innings, giving him an average o f 56-27, and Hearne 481 in the same number o f finished knocks, aver­ age 43.72. These two are not the only heavy rungetters in the Western Provinces, for M. Commaille, 1 ’ . T . Lewis, A. Bisset, J. Carstens, and R. A. H. Hai’ ds, to mention only a few, have been scoring consistently. W. H . Mars, a left-hander, bowled well against the Free State, but perhaps the Province’s best bowlers on present form are W. H. Short and R. de Smidt. Western Province will provide Natal with a hard struggle when they meet at Durban at Easter; but I fancy the holders, with the advantage o f ground, will retain the cup. The Free State have completed their fixtures, and as they lost them all it cannot be said that they have covered themselves with glory. As a matter o f fact, if they have not earned glory, they have won respect for the plucky way they have stuck to their guns. In both their home matches (Transvaal and Natal) they made splendid re­ coveries in their second innings. Capt. H. S. Poyntz, from whom they expected much, proved a comparative fail ure, as he only totalled 93 runs in six innings. N. V . Lindsay and J. E . Jewell batted extremely well against Natal, whilst Lindsay (109) helped to give the Transvaal the fight o f their lives in the opening match o f the tourney. None o f the Free State’s best men could make the jour­ ney to Port Elizabeth for the Eastern Province match; but this scarcely excuses a defeat by an innings and 31 runs. Personally I looked upon the Eastern Province as the weakest team in the last tournament, when they fell to the Free State by an innings and 7 runs, being bundled out in their second innings for 40, the smallest score o f the tournament. This season W. A. Glisson, who was dis­ posed o f for 1 and 2 then, made 81 ; and he followed up his batting success with 6 wickets for 25 and 2 for 35, as compared with 1 for 63 two years ago. In F,. H. ( 'rouch the Eastern Province possesses a young fast bowler o f great possibilities, so I am told. This was his first representative match, and in the two innings he took six wickets for 61. I understand that at present he tires quickly, but should he prove himself even onlv a moderately good fast bowler it is quite certain he will be watched and encouraged to improve, for there is still a vacancy for a speed merchant in the S.A . team. The position o f the Currie Cup tournament now is Natal YYestern Province Eastern Province Transvaal O.F.S. Poss. Pts. Pts. Percent­ age. 100*00 100*00 100*oo 33 '33 00 *00 Points are calculated in the same manner as in the Rnglish County Championship. C y p h e r . Cricket in Natal. Durban , January 11, 1912. Dan T aylo r (elder brother of Herbert), who did good w ork lately both at Johannesburg and Bloem fontein for N atal, is in capital form just now. It may be remembered that he w as chosen to captain the side in the C urrie Cup tournament of tw o seasons ago, but had to stand down ow in g to breaking a blood-vessel just before the tourney began. He only recently came back to the gam e, and he showed w'hile helping his old school, M ichael House, during the holidays that he is as good as ever. yj. E. Henvvood, who w as also a success in the big gam es, has only lately returned from Johannesburg, where he spent several months, and 1 believe there w as some talk earlier of playing him for the T ran svaal. I cannot under­ stand why some people should decry R. H . Blake. The M aritzburg man w as good enough for a century in the last tournament, and on such form he deserves further chances, surely. 1 don’t think he has gone back since then, either. It is pleasant, too, 10 see J. Davison m ak in g good. Possibly, w ith increased experience, he m ay gain higher honours. A nyw ay there w as never a time when a bowler of pace had a better chance of such honours out here, for J. J. K o tze’s boots are still to fill. I said som ething in m y last about the Intertown match. As I w as scoring for Durban throughout, I saw .all that w as to be seen ; and 1 am sorry to have been obliged to form the conclusion that C ity cricket has go n e back. But is this to be wondered at? T here are only three teams in the M aritzburg Senior L eagu e this season, and of course that means but one match per fortnight, with the third side standing down. Samuelson is not half the bowler he was, and the C ity side had no trundler to compare with Carter, C ox, or Nourse. Its b attin g was w eak, too. B ut— and it is a big “ but " — the fielding w as excellent. Herbert T aylor took 64 in about three-quarters of an hour in D urban ’s second, and the other H. W .— his partner, Chapm an— passed the century, though he should have been cau ght by M orris off Dudley Pearse at 85. A word for C . O . C . Pearse, the captain of the losing side. I am not sure that he ough t to have been playing, for h e had had no serious cricket this season, and w as in bandages as the