Cricket 1913

M arch 15, 1913. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 83 West Indian Cricket and Cricketers. (i Continued from, page 43.) British Guiana has scarcely been able to claim so many players of note as either Barbados or Trinidad. ; E. F. Wright, C. H. King, S.W. Sproston, A. B. Clarke, H. C. and B. H. Bayley, E. R. D. Moulder, W. P. and Oscar Weber, F. H. Abraham, H. Vyfhuis, S. C. Snow 1 (though he was only a short time at Georgetown, and I really belongs to Jamaica), and T. J. Burton have j probably been the best. Wright was a tower of strength to the side in the earlier d a y s ; he made 466 runs in 15 innings, and took wickets cheaply in nearly every match while at Georgetown ; when he played later at Kingston (he migrated to Jamaica with a high appointment in the Police when that keen cricketer, Sir Augustus W. L. Hemming, exchanged his governor­ ship of the mainland colony for that of the island) he had reached the sere and yellow leaf, and did little. King was an inconsistent batsman, but a fine hitter on his day ; he twice reached three figures in tournament games, and in two matches (twelve a side) against Jamaica in 1896 took 21 wickets for 194 runs. Sproston (1,167 runs in 48 completed innings, average 24-31, including the 1900 tour in England) was a capital bat and a rare good field. Clarke, while seldom doing anything specially big, always made runs. An excellent bat is H. C. B ayley, who piled up 332 in 4 innings against Shepherd’ s Team in 1909-10, and has altogether the capital average of 28-34 in important cricket. His brother B. H., has played less frequently, but has generally done well when playing. Moulder never again showed form to equal that which enabled him to carry his side on his shoulders to victory against the English Team of 1901-2 ; but he has made useful scores in other matches, and has an average of just over 20 (513 in 25 completed innings). Neither of the Webers was a big run-getter and neither was consisten t; but both showed fine cricket qualities at times, and W. P. has totalled 433 runs with an average of just on 15. Each bowled with success on one or two occasions. Abraham looked like making a first-class all-round man three or four years ago ; he has scarcely come on as expected, bu t he has a capital batting style, and should yet improve on his record to date of 409 runs in 20 innings. Vyfhuis played years ago as a fast bowler, and quite recently returned from the wilds of Essequibo to show that he had not lost all his old form. Snow first appeared for Jamaica v. the English Team of 1901-2, playing innings of 54, 34, and 22 in three m atch es; at Georgetown in September, 1907, and at Bridgetown in January, 1909, he played for British Guiana in the tournaments, and in the later match made 52 and 49. He has also sojourned in the States. He was back in Jamaica when the last English Team visited the island, but did little against them. Burton was the best bowler of the West Indian Team of 1900 in England ; he came again in 1906, but, for some reason unknown to me, was dropped after the first few matches. He was in particularly fine form in 1901-2, and in five matches against the men under B . J. T. Bosanquet’ s captaincy took 34 wickets at only a trifle over 12 each. His career was quite a short one ; but in the course of it (including the English tours) he took 140 wickets at about 19 runs each^-53 of them at under 14 each at home. His name recalls that of Woods, fast bowler of the ebon countenance, who might have been mentioned with the Trinidad men, for he first played for Trinidad. He, like Burton, has now dropped out, but not before he had taken 178 wickets at an average cost of between 15 and 16. This is the largest number secured b y any West Indian bowler as yet. H. A. Croal is a promising all-rounder ; C. Simpson though he has not done much in important cricket yet, is looked upon as a good bat ; J. E. Chabral has played but little, yet with some success, a remark which also applies to W. V. Sherlock. A t present, however, it cannot be said that British Guiana is strong in rising men. E. F. W right’s good services to the game there in earlier days have already been mentioned. Another who did even more than he, though b y no means his Iequal as a player, was G. R. Garnett, an old Cheltonian. Of the Jamaican players it is difficult to say much ; the island’s matches have been played at such irregular intervals that it can hardly be allowed that Jamaica ever had a regular team, and in the earlier days the biggest scores (not very big at that) were usually made by garrison men. Bu t of late scoring has improved, and J. K . Holt, H. C. Duncker, G. C. and F. A . Foster, A. E Motta, R. Hutton, E. G. Hull and others have won some distinction. Holt made 72, 34, 16, 0, 39 and 37 in his six innings against the last English Team ; Duncker scored 18, 55, 4, 11, 25 and 41 not out, F. A. Foster 23, 56, 8, 21 not out, 12 and o, G. C. Foster 33, 42, 22 not out, 2, 9 and 28, E. G. Hull 34, 13, 12, 10, 21 and 19 ; and altogether the side aggregated 1,235 f° r 58 wickets in three matches, a distinct advance on anything Jamaica had formerly done against strong opposition— as witness these figures : 743 for 51 v. Philadelphia Team of 1908-9 ; 935 for 80 v. Trinidad, 1905-6 ; 706 for 37 v. English Team, 1904-5 ; 985 for 80 v. English Team, 1901-2 ; 579 for 60 v. English Team, 1896-7 ; 738 for 62 v. British Guiana and v. Barbados, 1896-7 ; and 509 for 52 v. English Team, 1894-5. There is evidence of progress here ; but Jamaica badly needs regular matches with some other colony (or colonies) to give her men experience. Only one century has ever been scored for the island, and that b y an Arm y man, Captain T. B. Nicholson. Probably C. S. Morrison is the best bowler the side ever had. He took 11 for 78 in the memorable game when All Jamaica defeated a Philadelphian team which included Herbert Hordern, master of the googly, and J. R. Conyers of Bermuda, and he had 6 for 44 in the tie match with the last English team. O. Scott (11 for 138 in the tie game), H. Kennedy (9 for n o in the match preceding it), H. Shannon, M. Moiston, F. A. Foster, C. R. W. Chandler, a slow bowler who learned the game at a Barbados school, G. V. Livingstone (who had analyses of 7 for 49 and 6 for 62 v. Priestley’s side in 1896-7), and J. W. Toone (whose fast bowling had 13 for I 70 when Lucas’s men were beaten two years earlier) are all entitled to mention, and F. L. Pearce and M. M. j Kerr (who staggered humanity by taking 6 for 30 in an ! innings, 9 for 100 in the match, against the Philadel- i phians, having scarcely been considered a bowler at all i before) must not be overlooked. Twenty years ago the Farquharson family possessed | several of the island’s best players, and since then C. H. Burton, a very steady bat, who scored 47 against Lucas’s