Cricket 1913

8 G CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M arch 15 , 1913 . Kingdom may be summarised thus : 122 innings, 3 not out, 2,455 runs, average 20.63 ; 270 wickets for 5,683 runs, average 21.04. All the South African matches are included here, not merely those labelled first-class, I may mention. It is a good all-round record ; but it lacks the stamp of greatness. The fact is that James Sinclair, a great cricketer at his best in South Africa, fell short of the highest both in England and Australia, whither he went (as a reinforce­ ment, after the rest of the team) in 1910-1. Perhaps it is not surprising to anyone who knows the difference between South African conditions and those in the other two countries that this should have been the case. He was a great cricketer in South Africa, a really great one, as the further tale of his deeds will show. The season of 1902-3 saw him at the top of his form. He played in four matches against Darling’s Australian team, three for South Africa and one for XV. of Transvaal, and his scores were 44, 19, 108, 9, 101, 18, o, and 104. The three centuries were all splendid innings. The 11 wickets he took cost over 50 runs each ; but he showed bowling as well as batting form in the Currie Cup Tournament at Port Elizabeth later in the season. His best analyses were 13 for 85 v. Eastern Province and 6 for 12 (one innings) v. Griqualand West. He hit up 136 v. Western Province in an innings of 243, the next highest score being G. H. Shepstone’s 36. This and the next season or two were the high-water mark of his career. In 1903-4 he had 13 wickets for 144 in the Currie Cup final, v. Western Province at Johannesburg. He played a great hitting innings of 149* for Mr. (now Sir) Abe Bailey’s team v. the Army in South Africa, made 57 for Transvaal v. Rhodesia, and took 10 for 96 v. Western Province at Newlands, in 1904-5. Innings of 66 and 48 and 7 wickets for 108 in one of the five tests were his best performances in 1905-6, and from that time onward he was never quite up to his old form, though to the last he was always reckoned a possible for South Africa, and many people would have liked to see him captaining the side in England in 1912. A few of his later deeds may be very briefly noted : 5 for 42 (one innings) Transvaal v. O.R.C., and 5 for 35 (one innings) Transvaal v. W. Province, in the Currie Cup matches of 1906-7 ; 8 for 177 (the other side made 128 and 426 for 8, and his was quite the best analysis) Wanderers v. Rest of South Africa, and 55 Transvaal v. E. Province at Cape Town, 1908-9. He made many big scores and took lots of wickets in club cricket on the Rand. His highest, an innings marked by wonderful hitting, which still stands, I believe, as the record South African individual score, was 301* for Gordon Beves’s XI. v. Roodeport, in February, 1897. Standing 6 ft. 4 in. and of massive build, Sinclair was not, as might have been expected, a mere ram-’em-down fast bowler. On the contrary, he bowled only a trifle over medium pace, and used his head well. His hitting was remarkable for the distance his strokes carried ; he was not on the hit continuallv. In the field, he was quite good. J. N. P. ----------------------------- -Cig'B'*- ■ — Within the next few years, if New Zealand cricketers will only show a little more enterprise and take a trip or two to Australia, we may see the silver fern cognisance on the playing-fields of the old country, and its wearers doing credit to the beautiful land of their rearing.— From “ Cricket : the World-Wide Game,” in Ayres' Cricket Companion. THE AMERICAN CRICKETER. Founded 1877. Published by the Associated Cricket Clubs of Philadelphia. An Illustrated Journal of Cricket, Association Football, Tennis* G olf, and Kindred Pastimes. N o. 114, South 18th Street, Philadelphia, Pa-» U .S.A. Price— 15s. per annum , post paid anyw here. Specim en copies m ailed on request. Northamptonshire in the County Championship. (1905-1912.) B y D. C. H e n r ik -J o n e s . In 1912 the Northamptonshire cricket team reached its high water mark in the county championship. The team has now passed eight seasons in first-class com­ pany, and has gradually advanced all the time. In the first four years they occupied a position among the last four counties— 13th in 1905 and 1906, and 15th in 1907 and 1908. In the next three years they were among the middle four, seventh in 1909, ninth in 1910, and tenth in 1911. But last season they jumped up to the second place, with the splendid record of only one match lost outright. It has, of course, already been a subject of comment that Northants should have played through all their county championship engagements without calling upon more than twelve players— an undoubted record. Steady batting, magnificent bowling, and good fielding all round have had their effect, and Northants must be congratulated on a fine season’s work. No longer do a couple of players have to carry the side on their shoulders, so to speak. The whole team is capable. The four chief bowlers, for instance, S. G. Smith, Thomp­ son, East and Wells, are (perhaps excepting Wells) more than ordinary batsmen. Then there is another quartette of all-rounders in J. S. Denton, Seymour, Haywood and Woolley. G. A. T. Vials, the captain, is an excellent batsman, and W. H. Denton and Walden are also good, whilst Buswell, who had the lowest batting average, is a most useful wicketkeeper. Northamptonshire’s advance is clearly shown when their record year b y year is set down, as follows Season. Played. Won. Lost. Drawn. Position in Table. 1905 12 2 8 2 13 1906 16 4 10 2 13 1907 .. 20 2 12 6 15 ", 1908 .. 22 3 14 5 15 1909 .. 18 9 8 1 7 1910 20 7 8 5 9 1911 .. 18 . . 8 . 9 1 10 1912 .. .. 18 10 1 7 2 144 45 70 29 As in the article on Yorkshire cricket, lately given, the match limited to two days in 1910 on account of King Edward’s funeral, and all the matches not brought to a definite issue in 1911 and 1912 have been treated as draws in the above table. It will be seen that in 1909, the turning point in their career, the team won nearly as many matches as in the previous four seasons taken together. From this table it would appear that Northants have the knack of finishing their matches, there being only two seasons in which more than five games were left drawn. W A N T E D , G ood PR A C T IC E B O W LE K and A S S IS T A N T G RO U N D MAN from May 1st to O ctober 1st, 1913- T he duties are to bow l for afternoon practice, to help around Club house, an I assist in keeping Cricket Ground and Tennis Courts in first class order. W ages, £2 10s. per week, and free board in Club house. £ l0 will be allowed for passage m oney. Address, with full particulars and references, W m , B o lst e r , Hon. Sec.. W anderers’ Club, 71st Street and East End Avenue, Parkside, Chicago, Ills., U.S.A.