Cricket 1913

64(! C R I C K E T : A W E E K L Y RECORD OF THE GAME. September 27, 1013. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. P e rh a p s the m ost notab le featu re in the last two s e a so n ’s cricket h a s been the ad van ce to a p la ce in th e v e ry fron t rank o f the cou n ty last p rom oted . S e c o n d in 1912 to Y o r k s h ir e , N o rth an ts were fou rth , w ith K e n t, Y o r k s h ir e , and S u rr e y ahead of them , th is sea son . O n the com b in ed record o f the tw o y e a rs th e y a re e a sily th ird , the first five places b e in g thu s fd led .— d e So 0 c n 5 O.Sc t/i C £ c4JO 0 £ 0 J (S o H -1 'oP h 0 O h CU Kent 34 8 6 4 192 260 73-84 Yorkshire... 29 5 11 7 185 260 71.15 Northants. 22 5 3 9 128 195 65.64 Surrey 20 10 10 9 139 245 56.73 Middlesex 14 10 9 5 102 190 53.68 It w ill be ob served th at N o rth an ts are nearer to K e n t, w h o take first p lace, than S u rr e y , in fourth p o sition , are to them . It is cu riou s to note how freq u e n tly the sid e has been beaten in the first in n in g s ; and it m a y not b e irrelevan t to poin t ou t that in fou r o f these in stan ces the m a rg in s a g a in st them were as low a s 9, 13, 15, and 28 runs, w h ile in fo u r o f the m atch es th is season th e y were p retty m u ch on term s w ith th eir op p on en ts b y the tim e th e end cam e. O n e does not care to b e d o gm a tic ; y e t one h a s no hesitation in s a y in g th a t the N o rth an ts sid e th is season w as far and aw a y a better on e than ever b efo re. T h e y lost the h elp o f G . A . T . V ia ls and E a st qu ite ea rly in the c am p a ig n— and these were tw o o f the men w h o had p la y ed rig h t th ro u g h in 1912— and had W e lls d isa b led fo r a tim e ; they g a v e up S y d n e y Sm ith to p la y fo r the Gen tlem en at L o r d ’s, and suffered b y h is absence. N ow and then th e y p la y ed slow c r ic k e t; bu t the old com p lain t that th eir cricket w as c on sisten tly slow cou ld no lo n g e r b e m ade. W illiam D en ton and T h om p so n are not rap id sc o re rs; bu t H a yw o o d has d evelop ed into a fine fo r c in g b at, S y d n e y Sm ith , John D en ton , S e y ­ m ou r, and W o o lle y do not potter a b o u t; and on the w h o le the sid e p ro b a b ly scored as fast as most c o u n ty team s in 1913. E ven w ithou t E a st th ey w ere stro n g in b ow lin g . S u c h fine w o rk d id Sm ith , T h om p so n , and W e lls do that c om p a ra tiv ely little w as required o f the rest. J. S . D en ton , W o o lle y , and S e ym o u r— to leave F reem an and M u rd in , irre g u la r p la y e rs , out o f a c­ coun t— are not, p erh ap s, a v e ry c o n v in c in g s trin g o f c h a n g e b ow le rs; bu t w h a t does c h a n g e b o w lin g m atter when y o u r first th ree trund lers can g e t rid o f m ost sides fo r a reasonab le cost ? T h e y cou ld not h ave done it w ith ou t go od b a c k ­ in g in the field, o f cou rse. T h e fie ld in g w as nearly a lw a y s g o o d , and som e o f it w a s ex cellen t. W a l ­ den is first rate ; John S e ym o u r h a s a h a p p y knack o f fre e z in g on to a n y th in g like a p o ssib le ch an ce; and B u sw ell is a g re a tly im p roved w icket-keeper. It is com p a ra tiv ely a y o u n g side, and it should g o far. T h e ch am p ion sh ip m a y fall to it next year or the yea r after. T h e cricket pu b lic g e n e ra lly w ill be ready w ith con g ra tu la tion s if it d o e s ; N orthants won go lden op in ion s th is season in several quarters where their reputation had h itherto been that of b e in g rather a s to d g y side. A p p en d ed are the names and dates and places of b irth o f the le a d in g p la y ers :— W a lte r A lfred B u sw ell, born at W e lfo rd , N orthan ts, January 12, 1875. M r. John S y d n e y D en ton , born at R u sh d en , N ovem ber 2, 1890. M r. W illiam H erbert D en ton , born at R u sh d e n , N ovem ber 2, 1890. W illiam E ast, born at N o rth am p ton , A u g u s t 29, 1876. R o b ert A lln u tt H a yw o o d , born at E lth am , K e n t, S ep tem b er 16, 1887. John S eym ou r, born at H rig h tlin g , S u ssex , A u g u s t 24, 1883. M r. S y d n e y G . Sm ith , born in T r in id a d , Janu­ a ry 15, 188 t . G e o rg e Joseph T h om p so n , born at N o rth am p ton , O ctob er 27, 1877. M r. G e o rg e A lfre d T u rn e r V ia ls , born at N o rth ­ am pton , M arch 18, 1887. F red W a ld e n , born at N o rth am p ton , M arch 1, 1888. W illiam W e lls , born at D a v e n try , M a rch 14, 1881. C lau d e N . W o o lle y , born at T o n b r i d g e ,----------, 1885 (? ). BLANCO For Cleaning and Whitening White Buckskin and Canvas Shoes, Cricket Pads, ar.2 ail other articles of a similar nature. It is prepared 111 a v e ry ca refu l m anner, and extra p recau tion s are taken to en su re an even n ess o f co lo u r. It con ta in s n oth in g th at w ill in any w a y in ju re the a rticle to w h ich It Is a p p lied , and if used as d ire cte d , a Splendid W h ite o f a g lo ssy , sa tin -lik e appearance and s o ft silk y surface Is en su red , w h ich '■■•III not rea d ilj rub off. “ BLANCO" CLOTH & LEATHER BALI For cleaning Suede, Ooze Call, and Clo-h Boots and Shoes, Cor Breeches, Suede Gloves, Cloth Spats, Leather and Cloth Leggings. 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