Cricket 1914

M a y 30 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 183 On P u t t i n g O n e ’s O p p o n e n ts in to B a t. J o h n D o u g l a s naturally is blamed for putting Middlesex in to b at to the tune of 464 for one w ick e t; but are we sure that his bowlers are entirely free from reproach ? My sympathies are always w ith the man who has the pluck to do what he considers the right thing, w ith the certainty that his action, if successful, will be construed as the only possible thing he could have done, and, if the game is not won, as the maddest thing he ever has put up for his side ! Nothing will make me believe that Essex would have done anything but lose had Douglas taken first knock. The Essex bowlers have had someone to bowl against in Tarrant at his best, and I have seen bowlers before now trundle much below their form when the wicket has played more easily than they expected it to do. The disappointment of not getting the jam they expected doesn’t leave them in a hurry, and has adisquieting effect on bowlers generally. Some very excellent judges aver that a captain should always take first knock, w ith which I absolutely disagree. When a. captain knows the ground, b y which I mean the nature of the soil, etc., the strength of his own men and the true strength of his opponents, then there are occasions when it is sheer folly to bat first. The weaker side’s only chance of a win at times is to put the better side in when the wicket is drying under a hot sun w ith a rising glass. There are conditions under which the w icket must improve, yet on winning the toss one should go in. A slow, easy w icket is nothing of which to be afraid, and good batsmen come out on top. When very soft the top comes off and can never be replaced, and the heavy roller never quite flattens it out again. When this type of w icket has dried and people have expected it to play easily, the reverse has often happened, especially when a fast bowler is utilised. Many a captain has been fooled by a drying wicket, when the sun has been shining and a smart breeze blowing, for under these conditions the w icket never plays so diffi­ cultly as when there is no wind and the sun alone dries the pitch. It does not follow that a captain has made a mistake if his opponents, on being put in to bat, total a good score. The year Lancashire went through the season undefeated, I put Yorkshire in to b at first on our opponents’ ground, remarking at the time the w icket would not present much difficulty to them, but it would be very suitable for two of the Yorkshire bowlers, who, in m y opinion, would be too much for our boys : hence I preferred they should bat rather than bowl on it. They ran up a big to ta l; we batted on an improved wicket, had to follow on, but then made a big second innings’ score, and were never really in danger of defeat. Had we batted first on that occasion, our eleven fully realised th at we should have lost that match, almost for a certainty. One must chance the weather sometimes. It will come right for some captains and wrong for others. During m y last tour in Australia, in the Melbourne test match I put them in on a softish w icket w ith the sun scorchingly hot, the match starting on a Saturday. Australia all out 110 or so, Joe Darling 30 odd, highest scorer, after being badly missed in deep field before reaching double figures. We made 70, but we took good care to be quick over it, to get our opponents in again for an hour w ith the w icket fairly talking. We had five of them out for 40, and on the Monday the w icket was plumb. Hill played a great innings after the first ball from Barnes grazed his leg stump. They occupied the wickets all day, then heavy rain and a gluepot for us on Tuesday— and such is cricket ! But I should do the same again. Batsmen occasionally play a very great game when the wicket is entirely in the bowler’s favour, which misleads many into thinking the w icket is not difficult. Reporters often make up their report of the game on the figures, which are at times most misleading. Bowlers have done great things on wickets that have been perfect, when batsmen m ay fancy the w icket was b y no means plumb. Onlookers do not see most of the game ; one has to be in the middle. A. C, M. ----- +----- M idd lesex ’s A n g lo - A u s t r a lia n . Good luck to Frank T arrant’s benefit ! He is getting it while still in his prime— only 32 last December— and he deserves all the luck that can come his way, for he is a very fine all-round player indeed, and a cricketer against whom no stone can be cast as to conduct. There is not space to spare for a full account of his career this week ; but to accompany his portrait we give his figures in first- class cricket to date. He played for Victoria when a lad of seventeen, and, visiting Australia again in 1907- 8, showed splendid form for his birth-state. SEASOV. IMNS. N.O. R. A. H.S OVERS. R. W. AVER. 1898-9 (A.) ......... 3 2 37 37-00 30* .. 53 195 4 48-75 1900-1 (A.) ......... 1 0 o — — .. 40 66 I 66-oo 1903 ...................... 8 3 69 11-50 24* .. 1841 407 23 17-69 190 4 ................. 19 4 461 30-73 84* .. 231*1 680 25 27-20 1905 ...................... 35 5 851 28 36 162* .. 5641 1550 60 25-83 190 6 ................. 50 3 1169 24-87 124 .. 626 1740 9i 19-12 190 7 ................. 52 4 5152 32-33 M 7 1085-5 2874 183 15-70 1907-8 (A.) ......... 10 o 762 76-20 206 .. 141 425 9 47-22 1908 ...................... 49 7 1724 41-04 157 •• 1124-22819169 16-68 1909 ...................... 53 3 1643 32-86 138 .. 866-5 2+08 125 19 26 191 0 ................. 41 2 1425 3653 142 .. 932-5 2169 134 1618 1911 ...................... 48 4 2030 4613 207* •• 86o-i 2135 h i 19-23 1912 ...................... 49 o 1492 30-44 140 . . 94°"4 2070 140 14-78 1913 ...................... 42 2 1630 40-75 142 •• 966 3 2323 136 17-08 I 9 i4 t .................... 9 1 621 77-62 250* .. 229 5 59 i 35 16-88 Total'............ 469 40 15,466 36-05 250* .. 8846-3 22,452 1246 18-01 t To May 25, inclusive. He has scored 29 centuries in first-class cricket, including three for Victoria. The last, th at v. Worcestershire, is not included above.