Cricket 1914

230 THE WORLD OF CRICKET. J u n e 13 , 1914. H . P . Chaplin, H. L. Simms, G. G. Napier, G. N. Foster, Major A. P. Douglas, Captain W . M. Turner, E . E . Steel, L. G. Colbeck, W . F. O. Faviell, F. R . R. Brooke, F. D. H. Joy, Surgeon-Captain J. E. Trask, B. N. Bosworth-Smith, Captain E . D. Tillard, E . B. Raikes, J. L. Ainsworth, Captain M. D. Wood, and Captain C. G. Barton. E very man of these has played county cricket in England. Others, worthy to rank w ith them, w ith greater names in Indian cricket indeed, though unknown to the limelight in this country, are such as R. L. Sinclair, F . L . Sprott, E. L. Sale, and H. E. Cheetham. The history o f the matches between the Presidency and the native sides is too long and too full of iuterest to go into here. It would call for several pages. W hat we are concerned w ith now is Major Greig’s part in these matches. Note th at a really fast plumb w icket is practically an un­ known thing in Bombay. Interviewed years ago, the sub­ ject of this sketch said : “ In Bom bay itself the average rainfall for the three and a half months th at we call our cricket season is about 100 inches. In other towns of the Presidency the rainfall is much less, and we do occasionally get fast true w ickets . . . . Matting w ickets are very much the exception, and on the Bombay side of India we always p lay on tu rf.” There can be no doubt that this constant playing on im­ perfect wickets has made Greig more resourceful. It m ight have spoiled some men’s cricket alto geth er; his it has improved. He has lost none o f his ability to score on good wickets ; he is less ready than the man to whom good wickets are the rule to accept the theory of the un­ p layability of any bowler on any type of pitch. Here, eloquent in themselves, are his batting figures in big cricket in India, as far as they are ascertainable :— Against the Parsis at Bombay : 1893, 23 and 32 (highest score in each innings) ; 1894, 79* (through innings of 170) and 2 ; 1895, 94 1 1896, 98 (in a total of 173) and 5* ; 1898,. 50 ; 1899, 184 ; 1900, 11 and 5 ; 1902, 43 and 12 ; 1904, 4 and 7 ; 1907, 3 and 27 (totals, 44 and 63) ; 1908, 39 and 1 1 5 ; 1909, 1 5 ; 1911, 22* and 9. Total, 879 in 22 inning;s, 3 not out— average, 46-26. Against the Parsis at Poona : 1893, 2 ; 1894, 8 and 33* ; 1895, 7 and 5 ; 1896, 96 and 62* (highest scorer each innings) ; 1898, 2:4 ; 1900, 6 and 58 ; 1902, 39 and 30 ; 1905, 66 and 42 (highest scorer each innings) ; 1907, 92* and 51 (through first innings, of 192, highest scorer in each) ; 1908, 21 and 1 ; 1909, 36 ; 1911, 13 and o ; 1912, 142 and 66 (highest scorer each innings) ; 1913, o and 29. Total, 929 in 25 innings, 3 not out— average 42-22. Against the Hindus ( Bombay and Poona) : 1906, 11 and 27 ; 1907, 3 and o ; 1908, 52 and 38 ; 1912, 22 and 54*, 1913, 15 and 8. Total, 230 in 10 innings, one not out— average, 25-55. Against the Mahommedans : 1912, 31 and 7. Against Madras Presidency: 1893 (at Ootacamund), 28 ; 1894 (at Bombay), 12 and 22. (Uncertain whether there were other matches.) Against Oxford University Authentics : 1902, 5 and 204. Total, as far as ascertainable, 2347 runs in 64 innings, 7 not out— average 41-17. B u t his value has never been limited to his batting. A p art from his fine fielding, he is a slow bowler of consider­ able ability, inclined to be unduly modest in this direction, however. What he can do at times is shown b y such figures as 13 for 58 v. Parsis at Poona in 1898 ; 7 for 89 v. Parsis a t Bombay in 1900 ; 10 for 69 v. Parsis a t Poona and 6 for 29 (second innings) at Bom bay in 1902. O f late years he has done comparatively litttle bowling, but has almost always taken a w icket or two when he has gone on. His English first-class record begins in 1897, when he played for Mr. A . J. Webbe’s X I v. Cambridge, scoring 32 in his two innings, and for M.C.C. v. Oxford, rain pre­ venting his getting an innings a t all. It was in 1901 th a t he first played for Hampshire. In his third match for the county he scored an excellent 119 v. the South Africans. A few weeks later he played great cricket against Lancashire at Liverpool. He was the only batsman who could do anything w ith John Sharp and Sidney Webb in the first innings, when, going in first w icket down, he carried his bat for 47 ; in the second, after Lancashire had run up over 400, he saved his side from defeat by a magnificent innings of 249 not out. He gave no chance until he had made over 150, batted 5 hours 20 minutes, and hit one five and 32 fours, making a number of brilliant late cuts. In the following match he made 77 v. Leicestershire at Southampton, and a little later scored in consecutive games 114 and 50 v. Leicestershire a t Leicester and 103 v. Sussex a t Hove. He also made 113 f. Somer­ set at Taunton, and his complete first-class record for the season showed a total of nearly 1300, w ith an average of over 40. In 1905, when he was next available for the county, he scarcely played so much cricket. Curiously enough, all three of his centuries were against Worcestershire, 115 and 130 at Worcester, 187 (retired hurt) a t Bourne­ mouth. Both the innings a t Worcester were in every way good ; but still better was th at a t Bournemouth, when he batted 4£ hours, hitting 21 fours, and lost the chance of making 200 through being lamed b y a fast ball. His record in 1906 was distinguished rather b y con­ sistency than by any outstanding big innings. Among his best performances were 79 and 98 v. Warwickshire at Basingstoke, 81 and 70 v. Derbyshire at Southampton, and 65 v. Warwickshire at Birmingham. In a dozen other innings he made scores of from 20 to 50. Four years later he again took his place in the Hamp­ shire team, and showed that he still retained his form b y scoring 112 v. Warwickshire, 97 not out v. Derbyshire, 81 v. Sussex, 70 v. Somerset, and 64 v. Gloucestershire, all except the 70 being made on the Southampton ground. His batting record to date (again the possible incom­ pleteness of the Indian figures should be noted) m ay be summed up thus :— IN N S. N .O . RU N S. A V ER . H .S. In India (1893-1913) .............. 64 7 2347 41*17 204 In England (18 9 7 )..................... 2 o 32 16-00 17 In England (1 9 0 1 )..................... 35 4 1277 41-19 249* In England (19 0 5 )..................... 18 2 804 50-25 187* In England (19 0 6 )..................... 33 o 867 26-27 98 In England (1 9 1 0 )..................... 21 1 656 32-80 112 In England (1914) t .............. 8 1 246 35-14 100 T o ta ls ........................ 181 15 6229 37-52 249* t To June 6, inclusive. In English first-class cricket he has taken 61 w ickets for 1979 runs, which shows a high cost per w ic k e t; in India his 70 or so wickets (complete bowling analyses are not always available) have been taken at about half the cost of each of those in England. Asked to give his impressions of Major Greig, A . C. M. writes :— A very watchful batsmen, and, a t the same time, a highly interesting one, for there is never a dull moment when he is a t the wicket. Built on slight lines, he is beauti­ fully loose in limb. He takes no liberties, but scores all round the wicket, playing always orthodox cricket, w ith perfect timing. He is a very similar type of player to th at great K ent batsmen of a few years ago, W . H. Patterson, whose batting was always a delightful lesson to me. If Greig was asked which was his favourite stroke, he would probably say that square drive in front of point, his execution of this stroke being splendid. He plays so easily th at many a fine bowler has been made to look simple by him. Had he been able to accompany me to Australia, he would have been a certain success on those w ickets and in that climate, which would have suited him far better than