Cricket 1914

No. 2 , V o l. I. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1914. P r ic e 2 d. A Bowler of High Promise. U n t i l la st season T hom as H arcou rt G an ge w as qu ite unknow n in first-class cricket. H is nam e was m entioned when th e prospects of th e season were being discussed ; b u t his in itial appearance for G loucestershire w as made q u ite w ith o u t a n y p refato ry flourish of trum pets, though L an cash ire a t B ristol, 5 for 109 v. N orth an ts a t N o rth am p ­ ton, 3 for 119 again st th e sam e side a t B ristol, 3 for 107 v. W arw ickshire a t N uneaton, ; o for 47 v. Lan cash ire a t M anchester, 2 for 11 7 v. N o tts a t N ottingham . W ith o u t being in a n y w a y great, these perform ances show ed him a t least u s e fu l; and again st Y o rk sh ire a t Sheffield he ga ve a h in t th a t he m ight be som ething more. G loucestershire won th a t m atch b y tw o runs, it m a y be rem embered. Jessop’s share in th e v icto ry w as such a grea t one th a t his com rades w ere q u ite cast in to the shade. T h e accou n t in W isden does n ot even m ention G an ge’s nam e. Y e t th e new m an’s analysis for th e m atch, on a soft p itch th a t could scarcely h a ve suited him , was 8 for 83 ; and his w ickets included those of D av id D enton (tw ice). M ajor B ooth (twice), W ilfrid Rhodes, and G eorge H irst. A fte r Jessop, he w as en titled to a bigger share in the honours of th e gam e than anyone else. In th e A u g u st B an k H o lid ay m atch v. Som erset a t B ristol he to o k 6 for 140— m oderate, b u t th e best for his side. A ga in st W orcestershire a t C heltenham he m ade 38 and th en had 5 for 45, b u t go t punished afterw ards, and finished up w ith an an alysis of 5 for 95 for th e innings. H e w ound up th e season well, gettin g 7 for 91 and 2 for 65 v. H am pshire a t B ourn em outh. A lto geth er he to o k 54 w ickets a t 25-68 each, and scored 321 runs a t ju st under 14 per innings. B u t it is rath er for w h a t he is exp ected to do in the fu tu re th an for a n yth in g in th e p a st;th a t G ange is chiefly interesting. A strap p in g big fellow— 6 ft. 3^ ins. high, and w eighing n early 14^ stone— he seems exp ressly b u ilt for th e fast bow ler’s job, and ough t to be able to get th rough a lo t of hard w o rk w ith o u t feeling it too much. G ange has a b irth qualification for S ou th A frica . H is fath er was Q u arterm aster in th e 1st R o y a l S cots R egim en t, station ed in 1891 a t P ieterm aritzb urg, where th e futu re fast bow ler first saw the lig h t on A p ril 15 th of th a t y ear. B u t he cam e to E n glan d and to B risto l when little o v er a y e a r old, so th a t he is genuine G loucestershire in all sa v e th e acciden t o f birth. H e learned his crick et a t A sh ley D ow n School, close to th e C o u n ty G round, and he p la yed in succession for B risto l Y .M .C .A ., G loucester C ity, N orthleach, D evizes, and Cow bridge. M an y good perform ances h a ve been recorded to him in clu b cricket, and one a t least of these deserves m ention here — 7 for 8, includin g th e h a t trick, for N orthleach v. Stow - on -the-W old. G ange has o n ly to ta k e care of him self— no one needs to do th a t more th an a fa st bow ler— and, bar accidents, his fu tu re seems certain to be bright. E n glan d m a y need a • fa st bow ler in 1916, when th e A ustralian s w ill be w ith us again, and if he train s on as is hoped he m a y w ell fill th e bill. the authorities of his co u n ty ’s club (and his cap tain espe­ cially) entertained great hopes of him. T h e m atch w as again st W orcestershire a t W o rc e ste r; and as G an ge’s analysis on th a t true and easy p itch b y Severnside was o for 81 it can n ot be said th a t he did a n y ­ thing th en to suggest th a t a new bow ler had arisen. B u t w ith scores of 39 and 36 h e show ed him self a useful bat. In m atches closely follow ing th is he to ok 4 for 47 v.