Cricket 1914

28 o THE WORLD OF CRICKET. J u n e 27, 19 14 . are the MOST popular balls on the m a rk e t! W H Y ? Because they are SOFTER to the hands and do NOT break your BEST bat! Used in ALL TEST Matches in the last M.C.C. Tour in South Africa. MARVELLOUS TESTIMONY! Messrs. Douglas and Taylor, the Captains, said:— “ Gave Entire Satisfaction.” being- the best on the market T O - D A Y is because nearly every County Cricketer uses them. A. E. RELF, As used in all in n i n g s by :— F. A. TARRANT, W. HARDINGE, F. E. WOOLLEY , Q. H. HIRST, W. RHODES, Q. THOMPSON, W. HAYWOOD, etc. JOHN WISDEN & CO., LTD., Catalogues post free from — The SPORTS Outfitter to H.M. King George V. 2 3 , C R A N B O U R N E S T R E E T , L E IC E S T E R S Q U A R E , W . C . W i s d e n ’s “ S p c c ia l C row n ” C r i c k e t B a l ls The Proof of the Wisden Crawford “ Exceller ” Cricket Bat C l e m e n t H i l l , H . V . Hordern, R . J. A. Massie, Vernon Ransford, and Victor Trumper are not available for the Australian tour in South Africa. The Central News Agency announces th a t invitations have been issued to the following thirteen players : T. J. E . Andrews, W . W . Armstrong, E. P. Barbour, W . Bardsley, F. Baring, W . Carkeek, G. R. Hazlitt, C. Kelleway, C. G. Macartney, E. R . Mayne, A. G. Moyes, J. Ryder, and W . J. W hitty. I f all these accept, the side will be a very strong one. Carkeek, H azlitt and W h itty would form the tail in batting, and all three of these is capable of making a few on his day, while H azlitt shaped a t one time like a- coming batsman. A n y one of the other ten m ight make centuries without exciting surprise. T h e chief bowlers would be Armstrong, Hazlitt, Kelle­ way, Ryder, and W h itty, for Macartney does little with the ball nowadays. He would be the n ext change to these, however, w ith Andrews, Barbour, Baring, Mayne, and Moyes all able to take a turn if necessary— none of them, perhaps, likely to get many wickets. Only one wicket­ keeper is included. A n d r e w s is the lucky man of the thirteen, and a good many people will be asking why he is preferred to Collins, Cody, Fennelly, and one or two others. Bu t Andrews is good, and will yet be better. W . B . B u r n s has been " going some ” in Montreal. According to a correspondent of the Sportsman he took in one week 19 wickets for 24 (5 for 8, 7 for 6, and 7 for 10), and hit up two fifties in addition. I t is w ith pleasure we hear th at Mr. Percival Briggs, the Staffordshire Hon. Sec., who has so frequently cap­ tained the County team, is well again after his recent seizure, though as yet he scarcely feels up to cricket. C o n w a y ’ s performance against Gloucestershire— 9 wickets for 38 runs in an innings— comes as a surprise. The Worcestershire authorities must have felt sure th at the player named had something in him, or they would not have kept him on so long ; but up to this week he had done practically nothing in his few trials. H e first played in 1 9 1 0 , when he bowled 9 overs for 46 runs and no wicket. In the following season he played in 9 matches for the county, and took 16 wickets a t an average cost of over 45 each. In 1 9 1 2 he did not play at all, and last year he only took 3 wickets for 74. I n club cricket he has done plenty of good performances, and th at in the Birmingham district, too, where in general wickets are not so cheap as around Worcester. S e l d o m can it have happened before that a side should make well on towards 500, as the rest of England did at Lord’s, after their earlier batsmen— men like Tarrant, Humphreys and George Gunn, too— have had to fight so desperately hard for runs. I t was a great pity th a t the match could not be played out under even conditions. The rain on Monday night and on Tuesday, followed b y sunshine, doubtless affected the w ick e t; but even so the collapse of the M.C.C. side in their first innings came as a big and disappointing surprise.