Cricket 1914

J u n e 13, 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 239 F o r Marlborough College v. Liverpool three centuries— by R. C. Ashfield, J. R. Barnes, and R. D. Busk— were made in an innings on June 1st and 2nd. Has this ever occurred in a school match before ? It is a fact worth noting that only one batsman besides the three mentioned reached double figures. The total was 452 ; the trio and L. K . M. Paul (54) made 404 amongst them ; extras were 35 ; so the other seven batsmen divided 13. Not that it mattered much. K . G . M a c L e o d was playing for Liverpool. Is he one of those— G. Trevor Branston and B. J. T. Bosanquet are among them— for whom county cricket has lost its charm ? For the Notts man, though, it never seems to have had any ; he has only been induced to play by special request. T h e r e was not time last week to do justice to Field’s wonderful bowling feat v. Worcestershire at Dudley. He must have bowled well, though it is possible that at times he has bowled quite as well w ith an analysis more like 6 for 102 than 6 for 2. A good deal of luck— good or bad— goes to these things. It is usually the man who chances upon the good luck who achieves records. N o t th at Frank Field has been a specially lucky cricketer. He has had more accidents of various kinds than fall to the lot of most cricketers. More than one season has seen him chafing in in activity through the greater part of its course. Two or three years ago he was so certain th at his number was up, th a t the days ’of his usefulness were at an end, that he took it for granted his club’s committee would not desire to re-engage him, and had to be specially sent for. F o r a bowler of his up-and-at-them type, who sticks to his work w ith a big heart, Field is evidently a modest man. Some of his friends say in jest that he thinks himself a better batsman than bowler. B u t that century from his bat which is to make a nine hours’ wonder— when it comes — has y e t to come. Fielder did the thing ; why should not Field ? P o u g h e r ’ s 5 for o (M.C.C. v. Australia, 1896) is the first- class bowling record. The Sportsman says th at Wisden states th at G. E lliott in 1857-8 took 9 for 2 for Victoria v. Tasmania. There is no reason to doubt the statem en t; score and analysis are on record. B u t 9 for 2 against Tasmania in the fifties, though wonderful, did not mean quite what it looks to mean on paper. Peate's 8 for 5 (Yorkshire v. Surrey, 1883) was an extraordinary perform­ ance ; but the left-hander had all the help that a wicket which m ight have been made for him could give him. I n the second innings of Oxford v. M.C.C., G. R. R. Colman, then batting well after a scratchy start, was at 49 gi ven out hit wicket. It is said that the appeal was actually for stumping, and that the ball came off the wicket-keeper’s pads. C. B. F r y ’ s fine work on the training-ship “ M ercury” is evidently appreciated by the Adm iralty, who have lent him the old sloop “ President ” — formerly the Royal Naval Reserve drill ship at West India Docks— to supplement the “ Mercury’s ” accommodation. In the Times of June 4 B. J. T. Bosanquet has a lusty tilt a t golf. He says th at “ it has none of the essentials of a great game. It destroys rather than builds up character, and tends to selfishness and ill-temper. “ T h e day that sees the youth of England given up to lawn tennis and golf in preference to the old manly games (cricket, football, polo, etc.) will be of sad omen for the future of the race.” A s becomes a cricketer, the old Oxonian puts cricket first. We of T h e W o r l d o f C r ic k e t have no quarrel with golf per se. It is an excellent game for elderly gentlemen and for ladies. It is a more suitable game for the bad- tempered individual of any age than cricket, because the man who lets his temper get the better of him on the cricket field— save in the rare instances where shady tactics by opponents justify indignation— would be better elsewhere ; whereas on the links— well, they do say that free lessons in forcible flow of speech are to be had gratis there, and that letting oneself go appears to be regarded generally as part of the game. B u t it makes us sad to see schoolboys and ’V arsity men forsaking cricket for the other game, and to read of even a Jackson or a Jessop achieving triumphs on the links is as though one read of a great chess player winning matches at dominoes ! W e recognise the fact th at a man may not have time for three-day cricket, but may have enough for golf ; but better would we like to see Stanley Jackson make another century or two for Yorkshire than to hear that he had won the Amateur Golf Championship ! L i o n e l P a l a ir e t , probably the greatest batsman Somer­ set ever had, an exemplar of grace and skill, is an adapt at croquet nowadays. We can hardly claim A. F. Wilding as a cricketer turned lawn tennis champion, for he was coached in both games during boyhood by his father, one of New Zealand’s best in both ; but it is a fact that as quite a youth he played for Canterbury in interprovincial matches in the Dominion. If he had stuck to the game, he would almost certainly have become a first-class exponent of it, w ith such gifts of eye and a ctivity and judgment as he possesses. W ic k e t - k e e p e r s were well to the fore in some of the matches played on June 4, 5, and 6. Smith, for Gloucester­ shire, caught six and stumped one (7 of 20 wickets th at fell) ; Whysall, for Notts, caught three and stumped two (5 of 16) ; Buswell, for Northants, caught five (5 of 19) ; Livesey, for Hants, caught four (4 of 19) ; Huish, for Kent, caught two and stumped two (4 of 20) ; and Humphries, for M.C.C. at Cambridge, caught two and stumped one (3 of 14). Total wickets lowered in the innings in which these six kept— 108. Their share— 28. Rather over 25 per cent.—- an unusual proportion. M o r e curious figures than H. G. Garnett’s for Lancashire this season up to the end of last week it would be difficult to find. In successive innings he made o, o, o, 2, o, 6, 7, and 1— and then 96. The contrast would have looked greater if the 96 had been augmented by one more boundary stroke, of course. D e a t h as the result of a blow from a cricket ball is uncommon, but by no means unprecedented. B u t for a mortal injury from a blow on the hand, such as the Christ’s Hospital boy, F. H. M. Lenn, met w ith one’s recollection holds no parallel. The injury, according to medical evidence a t the inquest, hastened the growth of bacilli (already present), and the result was paralysis of the dia­ phragm and failure of respiration. The injury was sus­ tained on May n th , death not following till over three weeks later. F i v e of the eight county matches at Whitsuntide realised over 1000 runs each, that at Sheffield (1180) coming highest, in spite of the very slow scoring when Lancashire batted a second time.