Cricket 1914

J u n e 27, 19 14 . THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 281 In the Rev. W . S. Caldwell, who made a century for Derbyshire Clergy v. Notts Clergy the other day, one recog­ nises a player who for a season or two did good service to Worcestershire. “ W illie ” Caldwell, as everyone styled him then, grew up in an atmosphere of cricket, his father, the Head of Barbourne College, Worcester, being a real enthusiast. Quite a youngster when he was first tried for the county— after many successes in local cricket— W . S. could not get going. Ill-luck seemed to dog his footsteps. In 1901 he made o, o, and 5 in the tw o matches in which he played— a heavy disappointment to his many friends, and heaviest of all to his father. In 1902 he did not play at all. H is turn came in 1903, however, when useful scores against Hants, Somerset, and Leicestershire (at Leicester) were followed b y centuries against Sussex and Leicester­ shire, both on the Worcester ground. In 1904 he scarcely did so well, but he made 52 and 35 v. Somerset at Taunton, and thirties against K ent and Gloucestershire at Worcester. Had he been able to continue county cricket, he would probably have developed into a heavy run-getter ; for, though short, he put plenty of powder into his strokes, and had a good variety of strokes. A t Dublin University he scored a lot of runs. P e r h a p s he is not y et qualified for Derbyshire ; a year or two back he was asked to captain Cheshire, but could not find time. If he has a qualification for the Peak County, and is able to play, he ought easily to be worth a place in the team. A. G. S t e e l was at Lord’s on the Saturday before his death— he died on Monday— apparently in the best of health. In the Westminster Gazette P. F. Warner points out that Steel captained Marlborough, Cambridge, Lancashire, the Gentlemen, and England. T h e Buckinghamshire teams will this season be selected from E . H. D. Sewell (captain), W . F . Lowndes, A. de Rothschild, P. L. Frith, W . B. Franklin, P. W. Le Gros, S. G. Fairbairn, D. A. D. Sewell, D. R. Osborne, Captain Trevor, W . E. Hazelton, M. Wright, D. H. Field, T. R. Kent, E. A. Shaw, Dr. E . W eaver Adams, W . Adams, and Edwards (F). I t is good to hear th a t county cricket at Colchester has had a more than fair send-off. ■>There was a very good attendance on each day, and a match which was always interesting, if never specially thrilling, ended in a capital win for the home side. No efforts were spared b y Mr. H. D. Swan and his col­ leagues on the Essex Committee to ensure success. A very strong local committee was formed ; m ilitary bands (those of the 1st Somerset L .I. and the Rifle Brigade, b y kind permission of Colonels E. H. Swayne and H. M. Biddulph and the officers of those regiments) enlivened the proceedings on Thursday and F riday afternoons ; half- price was charged for admission after four o’clock each day ; special fares were obtained'from the G .E .R . ; special programmes were arranged at t the Grand Theatre and Hippodrome, the Electric Theatre, and the Vaudeville Electric Theatre ; and there was an invitation subscription ball at the Officers’ Club on the Friday. I n s h o r t , all that could be done was done. The circular of announcement forms a souvenir that collectors of cricket- ana will prize. Its first page has five views of Colchester “ lions,” small, but finely reproduced, and bears in colours reproductions of the arms of the town, of the Portreeve, and of St. John’s Abbey, and the seal of Colchester ( a . d . 1190). G e o r g e M o o r e , the oldest living Australian cricketer, recently celebrated his 94th birthday. He is the grand­ father of C. G . Macartney, and will still tell with pride how he taught C. G . the rudiments of cricket in a backyard, with a tin for wicket, a home-made bat, and green apples as balls. B u t it was Alec Bannerman who taught the Governor- General how to use his feet p ro p erly ; perhaps in the veteran’s days fast-footed hitting— when they hit at all— was the rule. A p r o j e c t is on foot to send a Fijian team, partly white, partly native, to tour New Zealand in 1914-5. Such a team played eight matches in the Dominion in 1894-5, doing fairly well, and later a Fijian team visited Australia. A m o n g the possible players is mentioned Tui Vanua Vou, who was a member of the 1894-5 team. Vanua Vou (“ Tu i,” we believe, stands for “ chief ” ) has evidently stuck to the game well. S o u t h A u s t r a l ia is being asked to send a team to the Dominion. Failing the Wheatfield state, Queensland might oblige. B u t the Queensland terms are all expenses paid and a daily allowance to players (not unreasonable, of course). It is likely that the Fijians m ight p ay the greater part of their expenses themselves, and if so the two visits could be made in one season. The time suggested for the Fijian tour is December and January ; the South Australian or Queensland team would hardly be able to reach New Zealand before the latter part of February. T h e Sydney Referee says on one page th at an article b y A. C . MacLaren on Great Australian Bowlers will be found on another. A ll the acknowledgment we get is W o r l d o f C r ic k e t in small letters at the end of the article, which is thus made to appear to all but the very observant a special article b y the Editor contributed to the Referee. T h e Weekly Press and Referee (Christchurch, N.Z.) goes one better. It says : “ A. C. MacLaren makes the following observations on Barnes and other bowlers,” proceeds to lift a whole article from this paper, and never mentions the paper a t all ! T h e A ustralasian behaves better. The article is annexed, but due acknowledgment is given. Bu t “ Felix ” had to do w ith that, and he is a cricketer! T h e Ceylon Sportsman goes the whole hog, and lifts three articles. Bu t in each case due acknowledgment is accorded. It’s a trifle wholesale, but we are not inclined to grumble much. W i l l our “ esteemed contemporaries ” — th a t’s the proper phrase, we believe— kindly note th at we regard lifting w ithout mention of the paper at all as larceny, lifting with inadequate mention as hardly the game, but lifting with due mention as a compliment ? One can have too many compliments, however. J o h n C r a w f o r d ’ s engagement (at £350 per annum) b y Otago was put through as quickly as possible in order that he might be available for the province in next season’s interprovincial games. A six months’ residence is necessary to qualify. C o n g r a t u l a t io n s to Andrew Ducat, who on Saturday was married to Miss Vera Barbour,