Cricket 1914

M a y g, 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 12 9 Tw o C a n a d ia n C ricke te rs . A m o n g Winnipeg players E. C. Laver has for some years past held a prominent place. Like a good many— perhaps the majority— of Canada’s best cricketers he is not a Canuck born. He hails from Somerset, and 1881 was his natal year. Educated at Bristol, he came up to town after schooldays were over, and for a brief time played for Forest Hill. But in 1900 he went to -the War, and served in the South African Light Horse. The fighting over, he joined the South African Constabulary. While in the land of veldt and kopje and matting wickets, lie got some cricket, and scored a good many runs, among his innings being 140* for S.A.C. v. Incogniti, 181 for Carolina v. Ermelo, and 176 for Troop 8, S.A.C., v. Troop 11. But his best performance, in his own estimation, was making 80 or thereabouts M r. E . C. L a v e r (Winnipeg). 'infthe first innings and 90 or thereabouts in the second for his "troop v. Middleburg. He returned home in 1905, and emigrated to Canada after a holiday of six months or so. In the summer of 1906 Mr. T. Smith (" Tom Smith " to all Winnipeg cricketers), to whose •courtesy we are indebted for these notes, took a team on tour in Western Manitoba, and met Laver at Napinka ; and doubtless it was due to this meeting that when the ex-trooper came to Winnipeg he joined the Wanderers’ club at once. His first game for it was in August, 1906. For the Wanderers— without disrespect to the rest, quite W innipeg’s best side— Laver has been a tower of strength. His highest score for the club— 160* v. Royal Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1910— is, or was until quite recently, a Manitoban record. That season was his best in batting, his average being 30*75. Besides his 160* he made 121* v. St. Jude's. In bowling he took 33 -wickets at about 9 each ; but in this department he had better figures in 1909 (49 at under 7J) and 1908 (47 at a ■trifle over 8). While in England on holiday in 1911 Mr. Laver was asked to play for Somerset, but was unable to accept the invitation. He is fortunate in having a wife who is a most enthusiastic follower of the game. Mrs. Laver was for several seasons official scorer to the Wanderers, and a most efficient scorer too. She has also gone on tour with the side, on one occasion on a trip that extended to Chicago, Toronto, and Philadelphia. R . J. Beecham, whose 249 for Burrard v. New Westminster last year set up a fresh Canadian record, is, like Laver, a West Countryman. Cirencester was the place of his birth, and there he learned the game, coached by an uncle. He played, for the town club for a number of years, and in 1909 totalled over 1200 M r. R . J. B e e c h a m (Vancouver). runs, with an average of 56 per innings, and made 126* v. Gloucester City. Curiously enough, he, like E. C. Laver, has played the game in South Africa, for the Wanderers C.C. of Durban. He has not been as long in the Dominion as Laver, but during his stay there he has not failed to make his presence felt. Many a batsman has fallen a victim to his fast bowling. His score of 249, alluded to above, was made during the Pacific Coast Tournament of last year. He hit up his first hundred in 50 minutes, reached 200 in 130 minutes, and was in altogether 155 minutes. In September, 1913, he captained the Vancouver and District X V against the Australian Team. T h e P u t n e y C.C. (Hon. Sec., Mr. I). W. Denman, 39, Melrose Road, Southfields, S.W.) play Bowver, Polytechnic, Upper Teddington, Kingston, Twickenham Orleans, Grove Park (Chiswick), Kew, West Wimbledon, Fulham, Denbigh, and Beaumont ; they also run a second XI, with a good card. Mr. A. Coates is captain of the first XI, Mr. G. King of the second ; the vice-captains are Messrs. V. Fisher and D. W. Cooke. r. MM* » t M VM M ‘w P B u t *t M11 1 M i , ; * V o k ' ' ' ’- ¥ » ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ i H I M 1 . ' ‘ 4 4 A #-■' m