Cricket 1914

M a y 30, 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 185 ZTbe Wor l& of dvtchet. E d it o r : M r. A. C. M a c L a r e n . A s s is t a n t E d it o r a n d M a n a g e r : M r. J. N. P e n t e l o w . 61, TEMPLE CHAMBERS, TEMPLE AVENUE, EMBANKMENT, LONDON, E.C. Correspondence should be addressed to the E d ito r; sub­ scriptions, advertisements, and all communications on business matters to the Manager. Subscription ra tes: Inland, nine shillings per annum ; Overseas ten shillings. In order to give our Overseas Subscribers the same chance as others to come in at the old rates, we are extending the time limit for subscription a t those rates to May 31st. This applies to all. The old rates were 6/6 and 7/6. Pavilion Gossip. There be other games that one won’t deride, Games to their devotees dear, The game of the ball with the rubber inside, And the game of the air-filled sphere ; But the good red ball is the King of them all, And the King of all games is that Where the strife is keen ’twixt the good red ball And the fair white-bladed b a t! M y opinion of the Saturday start has been asked lately in more than one quarter. There appears to be a growing doubt as to the advisability of its general adoption. P l a y e r s themselves would doubtless prefer the old order of things. Then they had Sunday for travelling. Now, after bustling to get there, they may have to spend the whole Sunday in an unattractive town w ith nothing in particular to do. This is bound to choke off an amateur here and there. B u t committees deserve consideration, and I don’t think cricketers generally are selfish, so I shall be surprised if Saturday starts do not become general. When rain falls on Saturday, it is not fair or reasonable to blame the system. Granted fine weather, bigger gates w ill be com­ manded ; but to command the weather is beyond mere humanity. W e must not lose sight of the fact th at the game now has to contend against the drawing power of many more counter-attractions than was formerly the case. A number of people who used to be regular attendants at county grounds now seek pastures new. It is up to our first-class cricketers to make the game as attractive as possible. L et the play but be exhilarating, and we shall win back some of the temporary deserters. L o r d ’s last Saturday looked better than I have seen it for some time, and but for-the rain the w icket must have been perfect. That can scarcely be said of the practice wickets, which have sunk badly in places. A ll due allow­ ance made for the effects of the rain upon them, they were not, I must say, such as to inspire one w ith confidence for one’s knock on the pitch proper. A fter I had had one on the fingers and one over the heart, my bowlers were good enough merely to toss them up ; and, after all, th at is all we want when the object is merely shoulder- opening. G o o d practice is possible under all conditions if bowlers will only keep the ball well up. It has generally been my lo t when a young ’un comes out to have a go a t me— especially if the w icket be fiery— for him to keep the ball on the short side. This is apparently due to a reluctance to be hit, which they think will cause them to be set down as no good. Bu t they overlook the essential fact th at they are there to bowl for the batsman’s benefit, and as he wishes them to bowl. I know a member of the M.C.C. who prefers to travel to Harrow, to get his practice in the school ground, where he can be sure of having the bowling served up to him as he wants it. W e don’t mind hard knocks in the course of the game ; but few of us can quite see where the fun of them comes in at the nets. I t was pleasant to meet an old friend in Major J. G. Greig skippering Hants, and I am very glad indeed to hear th at he will be playing throughout the season. Some of us have not forgotten an innings of close on 250 he played against Lancashire at Liverpool over a dozen years ago ; and I was disappointed when his duties kept him from accompanying me on my last trip to Australia. The conditions there would have suited his orthodox and eminently sound batting. H a m p s h i r e , I think, should go up the ladder in the near fuvure. They were a lively lot of boys in the field on Saturday, all evidently enjoying the game, and every man doing his best. Brown, very full of go at mid-off, was jealous of the batsman standing ever so little out of his ground, and it behoved me to give timely word of warning more than once to brother Haig, when the leather was hurled at his wicket. F o r a short time the pitch helped the bowlers, and it was easy to see th at both Newman and Kennedy under­ stood their job well. Their length was splendid, and they gave aw ay nothing. Not many sides will get the better of these two w ith a little help from the wicket. N e w m a n mixes them up well. He fairly foxed me at the finish. A fast straight one followed one which had spun a full six inches, and I was l.b.w. ! K e n n e d y bowls a difficult ball on the leg to h it the off stump, and he impressed me considerably more than the average youngster. A f t e r luncheon heavy rain had rendered the w icket much easier, and Nigel Haig, who had been watching the ball most carefully while it turned, lost no opportunity of scoring, laying himself out for those pulls to the on which are characteristic of his play. He never made a mistake till actually caugh t at deep mid-on. H is 72 was full of merit. If Middlesex are so strong in batting th a t a place cannot be found for him, then Middlesex ought to be champion county out b y herself ! D. C. R o b in s o n , who had such wretched luck as to be obliged to return from South A frica w ithout a game, played a really nice innings, and ought to get plenty of runs. Robinson is a firm believer in the straight bat. I wished some of the Harrow boys could have been there to see him play forward. W . G. D r u c e was in the pavilion instead of the middle— rheumatism in the finger joints the reason. I fear his complaint is of rather a serious nature. His brother, N. F., who was w ith us in Australia ever so many years ago, plays just as attractively as ever. F r a n k T o w n s e n d , in the eighties the possessor of a very graceful style and a big help to Gloucestershire, was