Cricket 1914

IiJ ITh irill J 1 rTt'iI'ii..± Ini I I I 1 l i l i 1 .ll 1 1 1 n ..|— 1 1 — 1 . n~i m , r ~I 1 n 1 1 l . l t— ------ No. 12, V o l . I. SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1914. P r ic e 3 d. , Young Leicestershire. W hen the case for birth qualification crops up Leicester­ shire is seldom quoted, perhaps because the Leicestershire forces are more often engaged in making the best of a dis­ astrous defeat or in fighting a rearguard action, retreating in decent order and effecting a draw, than in marching, with flags flying and trumpets braying, to victory. Y et, whatever measure of success may have been granted or denied to the side th a t bears the fox badge, as a side, it can hardly be disputed th at some Leicestershire-born men have borne then" part individually w ith the best ; and a little research will prove th at the county authorities have seldom, in recent years, gone outside the county boundaries for their men, and, moreover, that they have done all that a committee well could do to develop and give adequate trial to such young players as have shown any marked promise. Knight, of the straight bat and the almost exaggerated left-elbow-well-up a ttitu d e ; th at capable all-rounder, John K ing ; Whitehead, a dashing b at at his best, and a fine field ; poor Thomas Jayes, the stalwart-looking fellow whom the white scourge claimed for its own ; sturdy Samuel Coe ; the burly Tomlin ; Warren, a fine batsman whose career chiefly belonged to the days of comparative obscurity when the county was second-class— Leicestershire born and bred, all of them. And so are the younger men— Shipman, Sidwell, Lord, Brown, Astill, Sturman, Skelding, and, last but far from least, Geary. Good j udges say that Geary has the makings of an England bowler. Time will show. In one way, the dice seem to be loaded against him. The England bowler is seldom a man whom his county captain is obliged to work to the limits of his strength and endurance. He usually comes from a side at least fairly well provided w ith the material of attack. And Geary is full young y et to be first bowler for a county side, as he has now practically become. But he has more help than some of his predecessors have had, for two or three of the other young Leicestershire bowlers are quite promising and useful, and King is still a reliable ; and it may be that there will be no occasion to put upon his willing shoulders more work than they are fitted to bear. Enough work hurts no man, bowler or batsman, parson or soldier, stockbroker or journalist ; it is the little (or the great deal) too much that does the G e o r g e C e a r y . damage.