Cricket 1914

THE WORLD OF CRICKET. J u n e 13, 1914. C o u n t y cricket club finance is always a subject of interest to those who have the welfare of the game a t heart. The fact th a t at Whitsuntide over £800 gate-money was taken at Bramall Lane and nearly ^700 at Trent Bridge is en­ couraging ; but one is bound to remember that these are extraordinary, not average, receipts. The takings during the Surrey match often amount to fully 30 per cent, of Nottinghamshire’s gate-money for the season, and Y o rk­ shire v. Lancashire a t Sheffield during general holidays is naturally a bigger draw than, say, Yorkshire v. Tailendshire a t Wakefield when no holiday is toward. T h e Northamptonshire annual meeting was held last week, and the balance-sheet showed that, in spite of all the success which has attended the county X I in the field, the club is over ^1400 on the wrong side of the ledger at present. Receipts last year totalled £.\ 180, and even with rigid economy this was not enough. S t a f f o r d s h ir e , the strongest side among the minor counties, w ith a big and sport-loving (but hard-working, which means that there is little leisure to spare for watching cricket) population to draw upon, lost ^120 in 1913, and have a total debt of over £600. It is little wonder that those who run the club cannot see eye to eye w ith the enthusiasts who would like its claims to first-class rank to be pressed. W h i l e the Sussex batsmen were pasting the Worcester­ shire bowling on Saturday last, the Worcestershire Com­ mittee held a meeting to which some of its members brought heavy hearts, one feels sure. F o r nowhere are there to be found keener supporters of county cricket than on th at committee. The p ity of it is th at they are so few in number. I n spite of the fund recently raised, another crisis has developed in the affairs of the club. So poverty-stricken has been the public support, and so serious is the falling- off in membership, th a t it has again become necessary to consider seriously whether a continuance is possible. A s u b s t a n t ia l guarantee is necessary. Half of it was promised in the room— b y the men who have again and again pu t their hands in their pockets to keep the club going. If the other half cannot be raised by a fixed date in July, the club must go to the wall. C o u n t y fixtures are being arranged earlier this year, on account of the Saturday start business. Worcester­ shire’s will be made provisionally. If the guarantee is not forthcoming, they will fall through, and the professional staff will be disbanded. E v e r y o n e will be sorry should such a catastrophe eventu­ ate, but it has been made sufficiently evident that the county is one in which cricket enthusiasm is not widespread. That is the real root of the trouble. A remedy for it is more than one can suggest. J a m e s I r e m o n g e r ’ s century a t Old Trafford is his first in county cricket since 1910, though for a few years before that he was a frequent century-maker. K e n t had the luck of the w icket a t Northampton. The runs they made on Friday, when the pitch was at its easiest, largely accounted for their victory. There can be no doubt that the home side had to face the difficulties of a real B lythe pitch— an anything but blithe matter for them. L e ic e s t e r s h ir e looked very like taking down the White Rose colours. As it was, they gained first innings’ points— a highly creditable achievement. T h e old Carthusian and Northumberland representa­ tive, J. S. F . Morrison, has set up a new record. His 233 not out v. M.C.C. at Fenner’s last week is the highest individual innings ever played for Cambridge. J. M. L e e , in 1848, scored the first century for the ’Varsity— n o v. Gentlemen of Kent, a t Canterbury. In :i857 Joseph Makinson made 126 v. Cambridgeshire at Fenner’s, and a year later set up a new record w ith 136 v. Players engaged at Cambridge. T h e next step upwards was H. A. Richardson’s 143 not out v. Surrey at the Oval in 1868. Then came W . B. Money’s 165 v. Birkenhead Park (rather a betwixt-wind-and- water type of match, this) in 1870. C. T. S t u d d set up a new record in 1883, w ith 175 not out v. Surrey at the Oval. Seven years later F. G. J. Ford made 191 v. Sussex at Hove. In 1895 Norman Druce scored 199 not out v. M.C.C. at Fenner’s, and in 1897 the same stylish batsman put up the record which Morrison beat— 227 not out v. Mr. C. I. Thornton’s X I. O f 442 runs from the bat scored by Gloucestershire at Portsmouth Dipper and Smith accounted between them for 287, or just under two-thirds. Dipper made top score and Smith second highest in each innings, and they had partnerships of 147 and 73. T h is match will afford those who object to the first innings’ points principle a practical illustration of the in­ justice it sometimes works. Here a t the close, they may say, nearly another 100 runs were needed, and only one w icket was outstanding, while 50 from either of the men who were not out would have been only a little short of a miracle. B u t there are arguments on the other side. The visitors gained a first innings’ lead (of which both teams must have recognised fully the importance) b y good and plucky play. A t a time when they looked certain to be beaten Dipper and Smith again played up gamely, and at the crisis Parker and Dennett were not found wanting. Another over might have done the trick ; but another twenty overs might not-— who can tell ? S o m e bowlers who really must have had quite an en­ joyable time of it at Whitsuntide (besides Field) :— E. Bowden, Lancashire v. Yorkshire, o for 197 ; Dennett, Gloucestershire v. Somerset, 1 for 89 ; Gange, same match, 2 foi 141 ; Kennedy, Hants v. Middlesex, 2 for i n ; Rob­ son, Somersets. Gloucestershire, 3 for 161 ; N. J. Holloway, Sussex v. Kent, 2 for 126 ; W. H. Taylor, Worcestershire v. Warwickshire, o for 144 ; Burrows, same match, 2 for 140. I t does not follow that all, or even that any, of them bowled badly. Bowden must have bowled particularly well, though w ithout any luck, or surely he would not have been given so much work while neither Law ton nor Make­ peace sent down a ball. B u t even a poor long-suffering bowler does like a little more in the way of results for a lot of hard work than any of the eight got. One does not include Frank Foster (o for 85), because if he was not satis­ fied with his share in the match a t Dudley it would argue him a very greedy fellow— and he certainly is not that. W r it t e n later.— not so sure about Foster. He was in a monopolistic mood on Saturday last, when he would hardly give Parsons the chance of playing a b a ll!