Cricket 1914

M a y 16, 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 145 Great Bowlers. T h ree Y o r k s h ir em e n . B y A . C. M a c L a re n . W i l f r i d R h o d e s bowls so little nowadays that some have almost forgotten what a fine bowler he was when he got the left-hander’s ideal pitch upon which to operate. On some of those sticky wickets he has done very great things— his action was delightfully easy, whilst he found the blind length at least five balls out of six, and the ball used to spin just as much or just as little as he required. The Australians weighed him up as not likely to trouble them in Australia ; but they found they were wrong in 1903-4, when he headed the bowling averages of Warner’s Team in first-class matches, and in the second test at Melbourne took 15 wickets for 124 runs. If we had had him w ith us in 1901-2— and he was only absent from my team because he was refused permission to go— I am con­ fident th at two test matches which we lost b y narrow margins would have been turned the other way. . Prince Ranjitsinhji once told Lord Hawke that Rhodes would be a better b at than bowler before long, which at the moment is quite true. As a slip or cover he is remark­ ably sure, and somehow or other it has never quite struck many of the critics what a high-class fieldsman he has always been. W ilfrid is very fond of batting, and on one occasion in a T est at the Oval, when we had as many runs as were necessary on the board, I told D ick Lilley as he was going in to bat to tell Wilfrid th at we had all we wanted and he was to get out. “ And what did he tell you to do, then ? ” was W ilfrid’s reply. Yorkshire have been fortunate in always having a clinking lot of bowlers, and it was not possible to find a wicket upon which at least one could not operate success­ fully. Schofield Haigh in recent years has done some very fine bowling on his wicket, which he liked to be a wee bit soft on the top, but firm underneath. The ball used to turn very quickly under these conditions. I remember remarking to Hon. F. S. Jackson once that I could not quite understand where the difficulty came in whilst playing against Schofield. He replied th at when he got his w icket to bowl upon he appeared almost unplayable ; but that w icket he never seemed to strike in a Lancashire and Yorkshire match. I t did come along later, and I was not long in realising th at the old Cantab had in no way exaggerated Haigh’s merit. One o f the cheeriest and best of good fellows, he always looked a t things from the brightest point of view, and when he was played at Lord’s against Australia on a w icket that was of no use to him whatever, when the selectors would not give me Jayes on the morning of the game, he came up to me as we walked to the w icket on losing the toss and said : “ I don’t know what I am played for, Mr. Mac­ Laren ; yon w icket is no good to me, but I ’ll do my best.” " You are such a jolly good fellow, Scho, th a t’s why you are played,” was my reply, and such being undoubtedly the case, I could not greatly resent mv brother selectors preferring him to m y choice on that occasion. George H irst comes last, but not least by any means. He must be one of the hardest fellows, ever born to have gone through what he has on the cricket field. Years back he was bound up almost from head to foot, and y et he still goes on skittling them out and hitting up an odd hundred here and there ! George is undoubtedly one of the greatest grafters we ever have had. No bowler would have liked to see the Ibw rule altered more than this Yorkshireman, whose tremendous swerve w ith the new ball has been sudden death to all and sundry who did not get back on to their wickets. When he swung into you and then nipped back the other wav, as he did occasionally when the w icket allowed finger spin, he was almost unplayable. One of his greatest performances was the occasion of England getting Australia out for under 40, of which George claimed six wickets, unless my memory plays me false. W h at George H irst means to Yorkshire was shown years ago when an accident kept him out of the team for some time, w ith the result th at the side went to pieces. He has dug his side out of more tight corners than falls to the lot of two players pu t together. He never did himself justice in Australia, and I can testify to the fact th at his luck was shocking both w ith bat and ball. It is a pleasure to see th at honest face lit up b y some mischief that is going about, such as on the occasion when he gave his famous answer at Adelaide to the cycle manu­ facturer. A bicycle each was put at the disposal of our professionals ; but George didn’t want one, and the owner of the machines then asked how he managed to keep fit in the winter at home. The reply was a staggerer. “ Ah ’oont,” which, being interpreted, is “ I hunt.” Mr. M. C. D e m P s e y (Captain, Shrewsbury XI). T he Schoo ls . The Shrewsbury card has reached us, and is appended, together with a portrait of M. C. Dempsey, captain of cricket at the school by Severnside. May 21— v. Shrewsbury C.C. „ 27— v. Rock Ferry. June 6— v. Aliens C.C. 12— v. Gent, of Shropshire. 17 & 18— v. Friars C.C. 24— v. Liverpool C.C. 25— v. Haverford College. 30 & July 1— v. Rossall School (at Rossall). July 7 & 8— v. Uppingham School (at Shrewsbury). „ 10 & 11— v. Sedbergh School (at Shrewsbury). „ 13 & 14— v. Free Foresters. ,., 16 & 17— v. Old Salopians. 2 n d XI. M a tc h . June 18— v. Welshpool. The Harrow School fixture-list is as under :— May 26 — v. Household Brigade. June 25 — v. Authentics. 30— v. Mr. M. C. Kemp’s XI. „ 27 — v. I Zingari. July 4 June 6— v. Free Foresters. „ 13— v. M.C.C. ,, 16— v. Harlequins. ,, 20— v. Quidnuncs. The 2nd XI play Mr. G. L. Jackson’s XI on June 6, Mr. F. N. Eiloart’s XI on June 13, and Har^Qw 9 lues on June ?q. v. Old Harrovians. & 11— v. Eton (Lord’s). 24— v. Haverford College.