Cricket 1914

26 THE WORLD OF CRICKET. F e b r u a r y , 1914. £bc movlb of Cricket. E ditor : Mr. A. C. M ac L aren . A s s i s t a n t E d i t o r a n d M a n a g e r : M r. J. N. P e n t e l o w . 61, TEMPLE CHAMBERS, TEMPLE AVENUE, ENBANKMENT, LONDON, E.C. Correspondence should be addressed to the E d ito r; sub" scriptions, advertisements, and all communications on business matters to the Manager. Subscription ra te s: Inland, six shillings and sixpence per annum ; Overseas, seven shillings and sixpence. Thirty issues will be published during the year— one in each of the winter months, with a weekly issue from the middle of April to September. T h e n e x t is s u e w il l b e o u t b y M a r c h 2 1 . Pavilion Gossip. When Time of all our flannelled hosts Leaves only the renown, Our cracks, perhaps, may join the ghosts That roam on Windmill Down, Where shadowy crowds will watch the strife, And cheer the deeds of wonder Achieved by giants whom in life A century kept asunder.— A. H. J. C o c h ra n e . H e r b e r t T a y l o r is v e ry m u ch in th e pu blic eye, and h is nam e is v e r y m u ch on th e lips of th e p u blic ju st now . H e deserves th e good things th a t are bein g said abou t him , for h e has rea lly done w onderful w ork for his side again st th a t led b y John D ou glas. In tw o m atches for N a ta l and fou r for S ou th A fric a to d a te h e has scored 83 n ot out, 42 n o t out, 109, 8, 29, 40, 14, 70, 91, 100, 16, and 93— to ta l, 695 in 12 innnings, tw ice n o t out, average 69-50. H e has n ever failed entirely, and in nine innings of tw e lv e has m et w ith a d istin ct m easure of success, while in six of th e nine h e has m ade 70 or over, and in four of th e six 90 or over. B eyo n d all d o u b t he has shown h im ­ self far b etter able to cope w ith th e strategic w iles of B arn es th an a n y of his com rades, and ju s t now he stands o n a pinnacle of his own am ong S ou th A frica n cricketers. I t is likely, too, th a t th e b est has n ot been seen of him y e t, th ou gh he m a y n ever again p la y th e p a rt of a G ulliver am on g L illip u tian s q u ite so con vin cin gly. T h e first-class gam e w as v e r y near losing him a few m on ths ago. T h e call of th e land cam e to him , and he h a d all b u t m ade u p his m ind to leave D urban for an up- c o u n try farm . B u t anoth er chance presented itself, and T a y lo r is now a p artn er w ith his eldest brother, E . D ., in a sto ck auctioneering firm . G ood lu ck to him in business as in c r ic k e t! H is brother, D an, w h o ga ve qu ite a good account of him self on his first appearance as a S ou th A frica n repre­ se n ta tiv e in the te st m atch la st finished, is on th e staff o f M ichaelhouse College, B ulgow an, and a you n ger brother, w h o show s distin ct all-round prom ise, is a b o y a t th a t seat o f learning. N o u r s e has had tw o narrow squeaks of spoiling his record— th a t of n ot m issing a single S ou th A frican te st sin ce h e first p layed , again st th e A u stralian s in 1902. H e w as n o t a certain ty for the first gam e of th e present rubber, and w as n o t in th e earliest published list of those chosen fo r th e fou rth gam e. On th e whole, how ever, it m u st be conceded th at, th ou gh he m a y be n earing his lim it, he has done a t least as w ell as most of th e batsm en of the side. He failed b a d ly— 1 and 6— in th e second Johannesburg t e s t ; b u t his other six innings in cluded a 56, a 46, and a 45, and in all he has to talled 199 in 8 innings to date, on ly T ay lo r and Zulch h a v in g done better. E v e r y o n e w ill h a v e regretted to learn th a t A . E . S tod d art has been v e ry unw ell. H e is tak in g a sea-trip for recu p erative purposes, and w ill go to Colom bo, whence he m ay extend th e v o y ag e to A u stralia. I f a h e a rty w elcom e could be counted on for m edicinal effect— and a t the w orst it should do no harm— he should certain ly v isit the island-continent once more. H e w as alw ays imm ensely popular there, alike as cricketer and R u g b y footb all player, and he m a y be qu ite sure th a t he is rem embered still. T h e news th a t A ndrew E rn est S to d d a rt w as on th e ground would cause qu ite a stir a t S yd n ey, Melbourne, or A delaide. S to d d a r t visited A u stralia in 1887-8 w ith th e team captain ed b y L ord (then the Hon. M. B.) H aw ke, of which the late G. F . V ernon to o k comm and when its original leader w as called hom e b y the d eath of his fath er ; stayed to p la y R u gger w ith the team organised b y Shaw and Shrew sbury, thus m issing th e E n glish crick et season of 1888 ; w en t ou t a second tim e w ith L ord Sheffield’s T eam (W. G. captain) in 18 91-2 ; cap tain ed the 18 94-5 side, w h ich b e a t A u stralia and won th e rubber in a history- m aking m a tc h ; and also cap tain ed th e 1897-8 team ,, although he on ly p la yed one te st m atch, w h ich did n ot w in th e rubber. T h e first m atch w as finely w on, b u t th e other four fell to A ustralia. C. T . A . W ilk in so n , who w ill lead th e S u rrey team during th e early p art of th e com ing season, is one of those p layers who h a ve been preven ted b y th e exigencies of business from p rovin g as fu lly as th e y m igh t h a v e done th eir ca p a city to hold th eir ow n in first-class com pany. T he old B lundellian has n ot appeared m an y tim es in th e first eleven of Surrey, b u t on his few appearances he has m ade a d istin ctly favou rab le impression, and for som e years p a st he has been doing valu ab le all-round w ork for th e second team . D u rin g th e p ast five seasons he has p layed over 40 innings for Surrey II w ith an average of 21, and has taken 59 w ickets a t betw een 22 and 23 each. N ot often does it chance to a m an to be advan ced in the course of less th an a couple of years from N o. 11 on the b attin g -list to th e honour of being one of th e first p air in. John B oard w orked his w a y up thus, b u t it to ok him longer th an tw o years. H e w as a t the ou tset an unm is­ ta k ab le No. 11 ; n ob ody— least of all him self— expected him to get double figures. T his w as n ot qu ite th e case w ith T . A . W ard, th e S outh A frican w icket-keeper, for he has alw ays been reckoned w orth a few runs ; b u t during 1912 he u su ally w en t in last for th e South A frican s when C ox w as n o t p laying. S e v e r a l tim es again st the present M .C.C. team , how ever, he has shown dogged determ ination a t critical periods, and a t D urban in th e fou rth te st T a y lo r chose him (in th e absence of Zulch) to com e in first w ith him . A n d it w as really an off-chance th a t W ard should h a ve been p layin g a t all. S ou th A frica n opinion w as p re tty equ ally divided betw een his claim s and those of D elroy J. N icol, of N atal, for th e w icket-keeper’s post. W ard was a dm itted ly th e b etter b a t ; b u t N ico l’s supporters claim ed th a t he w as th e cleverer w icket-keeper. O n l y a short tim e before th e first te st W ard m et w ith a n asty acciden t in th e course of his w ork. H e was n ot