Cricket 1914

M a y 16, 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 139 could hold his own w ith m o s t; but captaincy does not begin and end on the field of play. When the young Cantab took over the reins loosely held b y paid players for years before, Yorkshire cricket needed some reformation. There were men who had got out of hand, and the task of dealing with them was no easy one. Firmness in crises and kindli­ ness always carried Lord Hawke through. He had doubtless to mete out what m ight seem stern justice in more cases than one, but he had always before his eyes the good of the side. Under his leadership Yorkshire were champions in 1893, 1896, 1898, for a glorious three years from j 900 to 1902, in 1905, and again in 1908. They had never been cham­ pions before he took command. One side of his cricket a ctivity has been left untouched as yet— his many tours abroad. These began in 1887-8, when he captained a team in Australia, but was called home after the first few matches had been played b y the death of his father, the sixth Lord Hawke. In 1889-90 he was a member of Mr. G. F. Vernon’s Team in India ; in 1891 he took a team to America ; in 1892-3 he again visited India, this time in command ; in 1894 he took a second team to America ; in 1895-6 he led a side in South Africa, in 1896-7 in the West Indies, in 1898-9 in South Africa again, and in 1912 in the Argentine. Between the penulti­ mate and the last tour he nearly made another, for he organised the side which toured New Zealand in 1902-3, and only his mother’s illness prevented his accompanying it. Abroad he seldom scored very largely. Indian wickets seemed to suit him b e s t; the matting of South Africa never suited him at all. A great record ! Thirty-two years from first to last, though every season was not a full one. L o r d H a w k e in F ir s t -C la s s C r ic k e t a t H o m e a n d A b r o a d . SEASON. INNS. NO. RUNS. AVER. H.S. England, 1881 .. 4 O 46 11*50 32 1882 .. •• 33 2 570 18-38 66 1883.. .. 29 I 557 19-89 141 ,, 1884 16 O 108 6-75 22 1885 .. .. 19 2 357 21-00 73 1886 .. .. 36 I 831 23*74 144 „ 1887 Australia, 1887-8 . . 41 2 967 24-79 125 5 O 76 15-20 48 England, 1888 .. 20 I 155 8-15 21* ,, 1889 India, 1889—90 .. 24 I 417 18-13 69 5 O 171 34-20 60 England, 1890 .. •• 33 3 658 21-93 74 „ 1891 America, 1891 .. .. 24 0 322 I 3 - 4 I 126 f • 9 0 259 28-77 74 England, 1892 .. .. 30 1 499 17-20 74 * India, 1892-3 .. 24 2 617 28-04 79 England, 1893 16 0 241 15-06 59 „ 1894 .. America, 1894 .. .. 38 2 725 2013 157 5 0 156 31-20 78 England, 1895 .. •• 5 i 6 1078 23-95 79 S. Africa, 1895-6 6 1 46 9-20 30 England, 1896 .. •. 36 7 708 24-41 166 W. Indies, 1896-7 10 0 143 14-30 30 England, 1897 .. •• 30 7 642 27 - 9 1 91* „ 1898 ... S. Africa, 1898-9 •• 38 7 950 30-64 134 8 2 69 11-50 3 i* England, 1899 .. . . 41 6 923 26-37 127 „ 1900 .. . . 41 3 696 18-31 79 „ 1901 .. . . 42 5 902 24-37 89 „ 1902 •• 33 6 565 20-92 126 1903 •• •• 38 7 766 24-70 79 1904 •• 33 5 669 23-89 100* 1905 •• •• 37 10 494 18-29 51 ,, 1906 .. 29 3 302 i i -6 i 36 1907 •• .. 29 3 316 12-15 61* „ 1908 .. 28 8 317 15-85 50 * 1909 .. 9 1 7 1 8-87 22* „ 1910 .. 6 0 59 9-83 3 i ,, 1911 Argentina, 1911-2 3 1 30 15-00 20 10 1 142 15-77 54 * Totals 969 107 17,620 2044 166 A s regards m atches abroad, those again st odds are not included here. A ll on even term s are included, excep t those again st the sm aller W est Indian islands, u su ally one- d ay affairs of no significance. In one of these he scored his only century on tour— 108 v. St. Lucia. It is on record that in a match in Canada he took a wicket. Mr. C. W . W right had the ball mounted and presented to him as a trophy. Notes from t h e ’V a rs itie s , OXFORD . T h e Seniors’ Match last week was remarkable chiefly in a negative way— for the lack of brilliancy displayed in any depart­ ment. The bowling was not great, Britten-Jones and Burton being probably the best of a moderate lot. The batting was nothing to get excited about, though Wigan, Stanyforth, and Boddington, also Herring (in the first innings) all showed good form. What the match did show was that Oxford has three or four really good keepers. White, Boddington, and Stanyforth are quite class ; and as the latter two are more than useful batsmen, while White’s hands are liable to give way, it is likely that the choice may lie between them, in spite of the fact that White is in the team v. Middlesex. The Freshers’ Match disclosed more talent. Howell’s per­ formance was very good indeed, though he had one or two of fortune’s favours. He made some beautiful leg shots and some pretty cuts. In him there seem the makings of a first-class bat. B artlett also did well, but can scarcely be ranked with Howell. For K n ott’s side Jackson alone gave any real trouble, the rest succumbing rather weakly to the bowling of Heathcote-Amory and Christison. Knight, of Surrey fame, did not come off, and seems scarcely to have struck form yet. Heathcote-Amory keeps a good length, and in this match was not easy to score off. He is fairly fa s t; but his chief reliance seems to be on length, and the fact that his height tends to bring about bumping balls. In the nets the other day he seemed quite straight— though I believe he does swing occasionally— and not to have any break worth mentioning. In fact, he did not strike us as likely to be difficult to play on a plumb pitch. Christison (slow left) bowled fairly well for a tim e; bu t the batting was too weak really to test his form. The only other man worth noting was Bristowe. He was not particularly successful; but if he can control his length— always the difficulty with those who try to deliver the wrong ’un— he should be useful. Middlesex on Monday were put out for 197 on a dead easy wicket. Tarrant was trapped at deep square leg off Melle ; Fiaser rather luckily disposed of Hearne ; and Davies, who bowled very well indeed, did the hat trick. Melle seems to be relying on the same old ball all the time, and it gets a trifle monotonous to see the m artyr behind the sticks dealing with an average of four balls per over. I am sure th at a more frequent straight one and greater variation of pace would p ay the South African bowler. Fraser bowled two or three good overs before lunch ; but afterwards the cold upset him, in spite of three sweaters ! Howell and Boswell gave the ’Varsity quite a decent s ta r t; but when they were once out Wilkinson and Knott seemed in a hurry to follow their lead. CAMBRIDGE. As in the Seniors’ match, so in the Freshmen’s, the weather was most unpleasant. A strong wind blew ; occasional showers fe ll; and it was never too warm. The 'Varsity captain and secretary each captained a side, but only fielded, neither batting nor bowling. All drawbacks allowed, the match formed a pretty good test, for each side had one innings on a good wicket and one on a bad one— or at least a much slower one, upon which the ball could be made to turn. Two men with big school reputations were unluckily injured. These were Musson, the Tonbridge wicket-keeper, who had a finger hurt during the first day, and Garrett, an Australian and a googly bowler, who troubled the batsmen of both ’Varsities when playing for Leveson-Gower’s team at Eastbourne last year. Leggatt has come in for some adverse criticism ; but I can say that he impressed the authorities, though he might possibly have punished the bowling more. He was in over 2 £ hours for his 116, which included a six and 11 fours. Fosdick, who