Cricket 1914

go THE WORLD OF CRICKET. M a y 2. 1 914. Some Crack Amateur Bowlers. W h e n the Gentlemen could boast of such bowlers as S. M. J. Woods, C. J. Kortright, and C. M. Wells, to say nothing of the Hon. F. S. Jackson, the Players had to look to their guns. Sammy Woods, on a damaged pitch, was no pinch, from the batsman’s point of view, and it required a Coeur de Lion to stand up and take his gruel under these conditions. The old Cantab, for one of his pace, was a very accurate bowler, and always made the most of his opportunities, such as no over-tossing of the ball on a fiery wicket, whilst he was fond of a friendly full toss level with the head occasionally, just to see if it had any disconcerting effect on the batsman. There is no doubt that he struck terror into the hearts of many a batsman, as with ruffled hair he came tripping up to the wicket to bang the ball fairly into the ground. In a certain Gentlemen v. Players match at Lord’s, with C. J. Kortright tiring them down at the other end, he was in his element, the light being bad and the wicket fast. On this occasion a popular little pro. remarked to him as he passed him on his way to the far wicket : “ Don’t forget, Mr. Woods, you hit me on the forehead at Tonbridge ! ” “ 1 won’t forget,” replied the genial Sam with a grin from ear to ear. The result of this n’oubliez- vous pas business was a lightning full toss straight for the napper, to the dire consternation of the batsman, w’hose wickets were spread-eagled the next ball with a very fast long-hop ! When at his best, Sam on one occasion carefully brushed his hair, to be told by his skipper, who had lost the toss, “ Go back, you fool, and ruffle your hair ! ” S. M. J. was as fine a mid-off as one could wish to see, and as a batsman, ask the County X I that plied him with fizz when he was looking dan­ gerous at luncheon time what they thought of him after he had passed the second cen tu ry! The old Cantab relates this tit-bit with rare gusto. C. J. Kortright was an exceptionally line bowler, bowling a great pace, keeping an excellent length, and making the utmost use of his great height. After bowling the ball he used fairly to gallop down the wicket to collect it with obvious design to hurl it at the wicket should the batsman dare to move one inch out of the crease. We were much better off for bowlers in his day than we are now, and there are some who have played for England since then whom I cannot reckon as his equals. Some of our Gentle­ men’s wins were in a very large measure due to the Essex amateur, who was a rare grafter and one who never failed to do credit to any side he played for. The -Hon. F. S. Jackson developed into quite a high-class bowler on leaving Cambridge ; and but for Yorkshire’s being so rich in bowding he would have had more opportunity of proving his worth in this department. Jacker— as he was to all of us who played with him— had a capital ball that used to swing away at the last very quickly, and also one which would pitch on the middle and off and send the leg peg flying. If we remember that he seldom, if ever, bowled for Yorkshire until two batsmen got set and th at he rarely failed to separate them, it is not difficult to realise how good he was. When he so successfully captained England, he never could have been accused of over-rating himself as a bowler, and in our first match v. Australia at Nottingham, it was only after the strongest persuasion on my part that he went on to bowl during a stand that looked like saving the game. The result was that he had two or three wickets and the game was in our pocket before we could say ” Jack Robinson.” He ahvays did more good work in the biggest cricket than he did for his county, which class of cricket was of little use to him with Yorkshire walking through five sides out of six. I have always felt that his responsibility as captain of England made him a still greater player, causing him to take the maximum amount of pains with his batting, which could not possibly have been finer. C. M. Wells was a contemporary of these three, and one who used his head with great effect as a bowler. He varied the height of the ball well, and knew how to bowl against his opponents. He was exceptionally clever with a coming straight through ball on a wicket that he could turn to account, one, I mean, on which it was easier to turn the ball than not. Shrews­ bury had to retire l.b.w. to Wells’s straight non-spinner after he had received several break-backs in a Gentlemen v. Players match on one occasion. Something was always doing when Wells was bowling, and he never let his side down when con­ ditions were against big scoring. W A R D ’S LU CK . A l b e r t W a r d tells a good story of one of his experiences in “ The Wars of the Roses,” as follows :— “ One of my earliest bits of luck in county cricket was a score of sixty odd I managed to knock up on the opening day of a Lancashire v. Yorkshire match at Bradford. After the close of play, I boarded a tramcar on m y way to my sister’s house at the other end of the town. The car soon filled with spectators leaving the ground, all eagerly discussing the day’s play and the prospects of the match. As I sat in a corner of the car, reading an evening paper, I caught my own name, and, modestly wishing to, avoid recognition, I held up the paper before my face, and then overheard the following little dialogue : “ * Ah ! ’ sighed a burly Bob Broad Acres, ‘ an' just to think 'at Albert Ward’s a Y'orkshireman, an’ owt, by reets, to be laakin’ (playing) for his own county.” “ 4Ay, ay, lad,’ chimed in another Tyke, ‘ but, tha sees he’s doin’ a deeal betther for hissel’ nor that. Here he is, laakin’ weel, an’ addlin’ good brass (earning good pay) w i’ Lancashire county. An’ mooar nor that, somebody tell’t me to-day 'at he wur gooin’ to be wred soon to Mr. Stanning’s dowter at Leyland. What doesta think o’ that, eh ? ’ ” “ I hadn’t been many minutes in my sister's house before she exclaimed, ‘ Albert, what in the world are you chuckling so much about ? ' ” T .F.E . GOOD F IE LD ING IN A U STR A L IA ! G e o r g e U l y e t t , on his return from an Australian tour, found himself in the company of a few of his Yorkshire pals at home, and, of course, he had to recount some of his antipodean ex­ periences for their benefit. During a pause in the conversation one of the Tykes remarked, “ I've heer’d there’s a good two-thri o ’ snakes in Austrailv ; didsta ever see onv snakes theer, George ? ” George was ready with his reply. “ Ay, lad,” said he, “ 1 see’d just one. We were laakin’ (playing) at a place up country, as they ca’ it. Th’ cricket ground wur a bit rough, an’ I was fieldin’ i’ th ’ country, an' chasin’ a ball ’at went a good way. Just as I wur gettin’ to it, a snake popped it’s yead up out of a hoyle (hole) took th ’ ball between it ’ teeth, an’ popped back again w i’ it into th ’ hoyle ! ” T .F .E . D e r r ic k W a n d e r e r s (Hon. Sec., Mr. F. T. Evans, 52, Mark Lane, E.C.) play Cyphers, African Banks, Buckhurst Hill, Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Dulwich, £ssex C. & G., Dulwich Hamlet, Union- Castle, Oxshott, Brixton, Lessness Park, Berkhamsted, Northbrook, Afldiscombe, and Linden Park. Their ground is at Manor Way, Blackheath. L. a n d N.W.R. (96 for 8—Gate 30*, Paris 25, Wilson 22) drew with Highgate (164 for 6, dec.—Whitehead 43, Foxcroft 37) at High- gate on Saturday. O l d O l a v ia n s (145 for 8, dec.—H. Bessell 45, W. J. Williams 27) beat Lloyd’s Register (77) at Dulwich on Saturday. It was agreed to play to a finish if possible ; and at 6.30, when Lloyd’s Register had only 5 wickets down, an extension of a quarter of an hour was arranged. A result scarcely seemed likely, but the last wicket fell in the last over. W. B. Owen took 4 for 14 for the winners. K n o w l e a n d D o r r id g e (Hon. Sec., Mr. Wilfrid Hughes^ Packwood Grange, Dorridge) is one of the principal clubs eschewing League cricket in the Birmingham district. Mr. W. E. Patterson, J.P., is their President, and their list of Vice-Presidents runs to nearly 100 names, which would seem to indicate that the club has plenty of support apart from that of its playing members. The fixture-list includes a tour in Devon in July, when Sidmouth (twice), Bystock, Axminster, Exmouth, and Chard (Somerset) will be met ; and a number of the best local clubs figure on the card, including Bournville, Dunstall, Ashfield, Barnt Green. Coventry and North Warwickshire, Olton, Wellesbourne, Stratford-on-Avon, Camp Hill Old Edwardians, Har- borne, Old Warwickians, and Sutton Coldfield. D e r r ic k W ta n d e r e r s started their season with a victory after a closely contested game on Saturday, beating Cyphers at Beckenham bv 7 runs—98 (E. C. Street 34) to 91 (R. Gale 43*, C. Watson 25). Street bowled finely for the winners, taking 8 for 40. S c a r c e B o o k s o n C r ic k e t . — Large stock. Send par­ ticulars of requirements.— W right & Co., 7, Temple Lane, London, E.C.