Cricket 1914

J u l y 4, 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 305 Gbc mo rlfr of Cricket. E d it o r : M r. A . C . M a c L a r e n . A s s is t a n t E d it 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, EMBANKMENT, 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 rates : Inland, Nine Shillings per annum ; Overseas Ten Shillings Pavilion Gossip. I remember a day when I felt in form, in the pink of condition, ne’er fitter ; Yet all went awry, and Kerr’s language was warm at my third miss— an absolute sitter. He sent me in early. I went for a duck, but first managed to run out our great man Small use to repine ! It was cricketer’s luck— and at cricket you ne’er know your fate, m an! You never know your luck— A century or a duck! For chance plays havoc with skill at its best, And a Trumper may get a pair in a test— You never know your lu ck! I recall, too, a day when the veriest muff or anyone’s aged grandmother Seemed as likely to be of use as I. “ Stuff! ” said Kerr. “ I can’t get another.” The pitch was a brute ; we suffered a slump, and yet won, for I hit like a good ’un— Which proves to conclusions you mustn’t jump, and that eating’s the proof of the pudden’ ! You never know your luck— A century or a duck! You can but go in and do your best, And leave to chance— and to pluck— the rest— You never know your lu ck! A. N. O. N. “ H e who p ays the piper calls the tune,” says an old adage. Now the spectators on county cricket grounds are apt to imagine that they pay the piper. This is only partially true, for many county clubs reap more from sub­ scriptions than from gate-money ; and the subscriber is usually a man who knows the game well enough not to share the crowd’s abhorrence of all slow scoring. T h e r e were two instances of slow scoring last week where the object was quite easily apparent to the man whose knowledge of cricket is somewhat beyond “ one boundary = 4 runs.” These were at Gloucester and at Ashby-de-la- Zouch. W h a t were Langdon and Dipper doing to make only 80 in two hours or thereabouts at the beginning of the match v. Lancashire ? T h e y were playing the game. They have heard— every­ body has heard— that the County Palatine’s bowling this season is deplorably weak. W eak bowling can be collared ; but it must be very weak indeed if it can be collared from the word “ P lay ! ” The two pros, knew th at Sewell, Jessop, and Nason, a hefty trio against worn down bowling, were to follow them. They tried to wear down the bowling, leaving it to their successors to punch it ; and if they had stayed another hour or so they m ight well have succeeded. As it was, they deserved credit for good intentions. A t Ashby-de-la-Zouch on Saturday Cecil Wood batted nearly four hours for 66. Dreadful ! Dreadful, that is, till one looks more clearly into the matter. L e i c e s t e r s h i r e had been left to get 375 for victory, and nearly all d ay to get them in. Hurry was unnecessary, and against the K ent bowling Leicestershire’s only chance was not to hurry. Like Dipper and Langdon— like William Denton in several recent matches— like John Douglas, Joe Vine, Iremonger, and Rhodes— Wood was bent on the wearing-down process. So stolid was his defence that he made K ing— no verv rapid scorer as a rule— seem an express train compared w ith a L . B . and S.C.R . local (one writes feelingly). W o o d ’ s side failed. It was not the captain’s fault. He did his share. Bu t Lord, brought in early because he is of the steady type, went cheaply, and Mounteney, kept back to force the game later, did nothing. Only K ing and Coe gave their skipper adequate help. Had but two of the others— Whitehead, Lord, Sharp, Mounteney, Shipman — come off, the Midland county m ight have won a big victory. T h a t Pearson-Gregory is a fine b a t is coommh knowledge to those who follow A rm y c ric k e t; but as a county player he was unknown till last week, for on his single previous appearance for Notts (if one can trust one’s memory) he had no innings. His form a t Trent Bridge against Yorkshire was capital and it is to be hoped he will be frequently available in later matches. T h e Victoria D aily Tim es says that Gilbert Curgenven has been offered John Crawford’s vacated place as coach to the South Australian Cricket Association. Gordon Campbell, it is said, cabled to the Cowichan Club offering Curgenven a three-year contract, and the Cowichan secretary forwarded the cable to Derby. C a p t a i n H. S. P o y n t z , since he last appeared for Somerset, has represented Bermuda and the Orange Free State. Captain F. J. C . W yatt, who bowled well for the A rm y v. the N a vy at Lord’s, is also a former O .F.S. player, as he took part in the Currie Cup Tournament on the Hand in 1906-7. O n e report of the Worcestershire v. Hampshire match at Dudley shows a scribe in a frame of mind unusually cautious for the cricket penciller. He said th at Bow ley’s 276 was the highest score ever made for Worcestershire in first- class matches. We can assure him that the score was never approached in the old second-class days. T h e y w ill call him Von Melle ! Bu t it is not his name. B. G. von B. Melle is correct, unless B. G. von B. Melle is. F o r a comparative youngster B arratt of Notts is getting enough— perhaps a little more than enough— hard work at the crease. Bu t he is evidently a stalwart, and his latest feat— 11 for 149 v. Yorkshire, while the other Notts bowlers utilised took 4 for 245— is better than good. B o w l e r s who have taken ten or more wickets in a match this season include, besides Barratt, J. W. H. T. Douglas (12, 11, and 12), A. Jaques (14 and 14), J. W. Hearne (14 and 11), Booth (14 and 11), T . Forester (14 and 10), Hitch (12 and 10), Ralph Whitehead (12 and 10), J. C. White (11 and 11), Tarrant (14), Wass (13), G. B. Davies, Slater, Kennedy, Huddleston, Wells, Rushby and Rhodes (each i i once), Dennett, Thompson, and Field (each 10 once). No Kent, Leicestershire, Sussex, or Worcestershire bowler appears here. There have been ten bigger bags than B arratt’s at Trent Bridge ; but in most of the cases the bowlers concerned got more help from conditions than he did.