Cricket 1913

December 17 , 1913 . C R I C K E T : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. S O U T H A F R IC A N C R IC K E T . T E S T M A T CH T O P I C S . (B y “ C y p h e r . ” ) Durban, Nov. 12, 1913. Barring- shipw reck, postal strikes, and other untoward events (such as relegation to the editorial waste-paper basket) these lines should appear before the gaze of E n glish readers of C r i c k e t on the opening day of the first test match between the M .C .C . and South A frica. Y o u will then be w iser than I am now, for doubtless the cables w ill have told you the S.A . team , whilst the important matches again st C ape Colony and Natal, to be played in the interim, will provide indications of what one may expect. A t the close of our last season the results of the T ri­ an gu lar Tournam ent w'ere still fresh in everybody’s mind, and very few had the heart or inclination to speculate on what was likely to hanpen this. T h e w riter claims to have been one of the few optim ists in a country denizened by pessim ists of the very worst type. T here were optim ists and optim ists; some who, possessed of a cheerful nature, spoke and wrote words of hope which, in their innermost hearts, they believed to be forlorn, but I did not belong to this class. I really believe, and do still believe, that there is a good future before S .A . cricket and, moreover, a good future not very far distant. F au lk n er’ s presence in the team would have strengthened it incalculably. A p art from his all-round ability as a player— a very considerable asset— his whole-hearted enthu­ siasm would have affected the others. T o be truthful, the S. A. sides which W'ent to A ustralia and E n glan d have not earned for them selves la stin g reputations as the embodi­ ments of zeal. Each of these sides contained some players whose lackadaisical methods discouraged those who really were keen. If the Selection Comm ittee do their duty pro­ perly no such reproach w ill be levelled at this season’s elevens, for every one of the probables is a trier. S.A . cricket is under a debt of gratitude to the Western Province for bu rstin g a b ig bubble. T o such an extent has the present M '.C.C. team been boomed, and our own men decried that the uublic at large, as well as a great many of the you n g cricketers who will have to play, had come to im agin e that the M .C .C . bowlers and batsmen were very terrible fellow s indeed, and that nothing could prevent their in flictin g tremendous hidin gs on all who crossed their path. Some even asserted that South A frica would be beaten by an innin gs in every test, and that it would not be worth while to pay good money to w itness the sla u g h te r! C roakers are not killed readily, and though the Western P rovince’ s perform ance has somewhat disconcerted them they are not lack in g in ready and, it must be adm itted, reasonable excuses. M uch may fairly be said in m itigation of the M .C .C .’s comparative failure on the first two days, whilst their recovery on the third was quite in accordance with what one would expect of them. But however one may argu e as to the why and the wherefore of events, the fact rem ains that these events have had the effect of rendering normal many minds which, on the subject of this M .C .C . tour, w ere in quite a disordered state. A t present one can only indu lge in generalities. We have yet to learn what Barnes is capable of on our m atting w ickets, and Hearne, too, when he comes to perform on w ickets more suitable to his type of bow ling, than those of Newlands. R elf has already demonstrated that he is a factor to be considered, but ta k in g a line through the last two tours, I do not think that Booth, Woolley, Rhodes, or D ou glas w ill be exceptionally successful again st our best batsmen. T h e present M .C .C . team will meet many more good bats than their predecessors did, and they will also have to cope with more bowlers of some class, if not of the highest class, than have form erly been encountered. It is the sh ortage of really outstanding bow'lers and the w eak­ ness in battin g of those who will have to be selected for their bow'ling which w ill tell again st the S. A. team w inning the rubber. T h e composition of that team for the first test is arousing considerable interest. I shall be surprised if the selection includes any names which are not given in the follow ing list of what m ay be termed “ p ro b a b le s” :— H. W. T aylor, A. D. Nourse, J. L. Cox, D. J. N icol, and C. O. C. Pearce (N atal); P. T . Lew is, P. A. M. Hands, G. Hearne, and M. J. Comm aille (Western Province); H. V. B aum gartner, F. L e Roux, T . A. Ward, M. J. Susskind, A. E. Cook, and F. W. Elw orthy (T ran svaal); L. G. T ap sco tt (Griqualand West); and G. P. D. H artigan (Border), with C. P. C arter and J. B eningfield (Natal), and A. H. C. Cooper (T ra n s­ vaal) as the most likely “ p ossib les.” T o prune the abov'e down to eleven is a very difficult task. My selection would be:— H. W. T aylor, P. T . Lew is, M. J. Commaille, and L. G. T ap sco tt (batsmen only); G. P. D. H artigan, A. D. Nourse, and F. L e Roux (batsmen and bowlers); H. V. B aum gartn er and J. L. C ox (bowlers only); and D. J. N icol (w icket-keeper). But I do not expect the selectors to see eye to eye with me, and rather im agine they will include P. A. M. Hands for Comm aille and F. W. Elworthy for Le Roux. A s regards captaincy, the consensus of opinion leans tow’ards H. W. T aylo r, and with this I concur, though Le Roux and Lew is m ay be considered. B y his innin gs of 151 for the Western Province again st the M .C .C . Lew is has taken quite a leap to the forefront. It may be remembered that he went up to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in the latter end of igo3, but th ough he was played in the trials of the four seasons he was up he did not get into the U niversity Eleven. He met with some success a couple of years ago in our trials prior to the selection of the T ria n g u la r Team , but failed to catch the selectors’ eyes. C R I C K E T IN N A T A L . D u r b a n , N o v . 12, 1913. John G un n ’s services were sought both by the Wanderers and W averley (form erly W anderers II), and a comprom ise has been arrived at. Gunn w ill play for the Wanderers in the first part of the competition, except when they have a bye; then W averley w ill be allowed to include him. In the second part of the competition, b egin n in g in January, W averley w ill have him, but he w ill play for Wanderers when they are idle. In matches played on October 18 and 25 here Q ueen’ s P ark went under to Escom bes, a result quite unexpected. On the first Saturday Q .P . made 159— E. O ’ Mara, a new man, 40, H. W. T ay lo r 31. Escom bes lost 4 w ickets for 35; but when the m atch was resumed K arl Siedle (68) and R. Morton (44) made a very fine stand, addin g 103 in all, and their side won by 17 runs. C asuals scored maximum points v. Zingari. T h e latter made 79 011 the first day, M. C. Jacobs tak in g 5 for 15 again st them. C asuals lost 5 for 55, and next Saturday took their total to 119. Z in gari went in again , made 95 for 8, and declared, m akin g a desperate bid for victory; but it did not come off, for C asuals won on the stroke of tim e by 7 wickets. Claude C arter took 7 for 72 in the match for the losers, and made top score (28) for his side. Wanderers met G reyville, with Gunn on one side and Nourse on the other. A t call of tim e on the 18th the state of affairs was: Wanderers 143 (G. H. Whyte 44, Gunn 39); G reyville, 7 for 32. T h e cham pions’ hope was in the fact that D ave Nourse and the veteran A. C. K in g were not out. T h ey took the score to 69 on the second Saturday before bein g parted. T hen K in g was run out, and neither Cox nor D avison could stay with the crack, so G reyville lost by 62. N ourse’ s score was 30*. G. H. Whyte contributed a fine 67* to the W anderers’ second in nin gs of 129 for 3. It is difficult to realise that W hyte was p la yin g cricket before some of those who now p lay with him were born ! He has seldom shown finer form than thus far this season. G unn’ s score was 28 this time. It was a better display than his first, w'hich was marred by more than one chance; but of course he is not yet used to the m atting, though he had a little experience of it in A u stralia a dozen years or so ago. H is perfect style of drivin g is much adm ired here. He has a habit of standin g with both feet outside the crease; but N icol does not allow liberties of this sort, and there is little doubt that in his first in nin gs Gunn w as stumped at 38, though given in on appeal. In M aritzburg cricket the new comers to senior circles, the R oyals, met M artizburg, and created quite a sensation by defeatin g them. Samuelson was the chief cause; he took 9 for 35 in the other side’ s first, and they were all out for 71. R oyals replied with 89, E . S aville ta k in g 7 for 22. M aritz­ b u rg on the second afternoon went hard out for victory, declaring at 171 for 3, of which Ormerod Pearse made 91. R oyals were left with 153 to get in 2I hours, and go t them