Cricket 1914

F e b r u a r y , 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 27 T e a lly q u ite fit w hen th e te am cam e to be chosen. H ad N ico l show n his b est form in th e N atal-M .C .C . m atch a t M aritzb urg, h e w ould alm ost certain ly h a ve been selected and m ig h t h a v e k e p t his place. B u t he w as far below his b e s t ; and W ard w en t in to th e side, dam aged as he was, and now th ere can scarcely b e a question of ousting him . A l l is n ot peace dow n under. Judging from th e fact th a t A rm stro n g’s nam e does n ot occur in th e cabled report of th e S ou th A u stralia v. V icto ria m atch a t Adelaide, one fancies th a t th e p rojected A u stralian tour in N ew Zealand has been sanctioned b y th e B oard of Control, and th a t the b ig m an w as w ith th e side in th e Dom inion. B u t it looks as th ou gh th ere w ould be trou ble over the Am erican tour proposed for th is summ er ; and m eanwhile there has been a rum pus in Melbourne. I nto th is it is n o t w o rth w hile to go v e ry deeply, and w e refuse en tirely to ta k e side. T h e bare facts m a y be stated , and le ft to sp eak for them selves. U p till qu ite recen tly th e p ractice in A u stralia w as th a t the team , in th e dressing-room ju st before th e m atch began, elected a lead er from am ong its members. I t was n o t th e b e st possible m ethod, for a cap ta in ’s responsibilities sh ould begin earlier th an th a t stage. B u t its abolition in favou r of the system of team selectors’ choosing th e captain has produced trouble. I n several m atch es during th e la st few seasons A rm ­ stron g cap tain ed V icto ria— n ot in a great m an y, for P eter M cA lister w as th e usu al leader a t one tim e, and F ra n k L a v e r and A rn old Seitz, th e R h od es scholar, h a v e held th e reins. B u t A rm stron g had com e to be looked upon b y m an y as th e regu lar cap tain of th e side, and when the selectors (E. E . B ean, M atth ew E llis, and P . A . M cA lister, all stron g pro-B oard men) appointed V ern on R ansford in stead there w ould h a v e been more grum bling th an there w as b u t for th e fa ct th a t A rm stron g and R ansford were known to be on th e b est of term s, and it w as understood th a t th e older m an did n o t resen t th e appointm ent. R an sfo r d w as unw ell, and could n ot p la y again st N ew S outh W ales a t M elbourne. T h e selectors n otified to A rm stron g th a t th e y h ad chosen him as cap tain . H is answer w as th a t unless h e could be assured of continuance in th e p o st for th e rem ainder of th e season he w ould n ot und ertake it a t all. T h e selectors replied th a t th e y had n o p ow er to giv e him th is assurance. H e acted as captain, under p rotest, u n til lunch, and th en resigned th e post, E . V . C arroll— m uch again st his own wish— replacing him- T h en th ere w as tro u b le w ith a section of th e crowd, w h ich chose to lo ok upon Carroll as a Jacob, and jeered e ve ry th in g h e did. T h a t C arroll should h ave lost his nerve to some ex ten t under th is treatm en t is n o t to be wondered at. T h a t h e m a y h a ve m anaged his field badly, u p settin g his bow lers’ arrangem ents on occasion, and so on, is lik ely enough. B u t w h a t one m a y ta k e for granted is th a t h e did his best in a v e ry try in g position, forced upon him again st his wish. B etw een A rm stron g and th e selectors, th e hostile crow d and th e B oard, it is n ot for us to decide. T his we do say, h o w e v e r: th e one man w h o should h a v e every good sp ortsm an ’s sym p ath y in th e m atter is Carroll. H e has ours. E sse x w ill be glad to welcom e th e R ev. F . H . G illingham back hom e. T here w ere rumours a t one tim e th a t he would p la y for W arw ickshire as soon as qualified. B u t th is fine specimen of m u scular C h ristian ity is com ing back to his old w ork— th ou gh n ot to his old parish— in th e E a st End, and there is no ch an ce now of his w earing the B ear and R a gged S taff cognisance. G. L. J esso p has been p layin g a good deal of golf lately, and it is said th a t he considers his crick et career as v ery n ear its end. If this be true, all one can sa y is th a t there is sm all reason for a n y such opinion. M an y good judges consider th a t he never p la yed b etter in his life th an he did last year. C ertain ly no more great-hearted innings a t critical periods th an his for G entlem en v. P layers, b o th a t th e O v al and L o rd ’s, could be w ished for. H is successor, C. O. H . Sew ell is hoping, how ever, th a t Jessop w ill tu rn ou t p re tty often for G loucestershire in 1914. Mr. Sew ell thinks th a t he w ill be able to lead in to th e field in m ost m atches a stronger team th an for som e seasons past. S everal good am ateurs whose help h as been w an tin g of late years w ill tu rn out, and th e G loucestershire skipper— and o th ers— h a ve high hopes of Gange. T h e E d ito r w as sorry to find, when callin g upon Mr. F . E . L a cey, th a t th e condition of th e M .C.C. S ecretary w as n ot all th a t his m an y friends w ould wish. H e has been v ery' seriously ill, and a speedy convalescence is scarcely likely, th ough th e whole crick et comm un ity w ill hope th a t in this case the u n likely m ay happen. O th er distinguished crick et in valid s can be reported upon m ore cheerfully. Mr. R . D . W alk er has com e w ell th rough a sharp a tta ck of pneum onia ; and Messrs. H . D. G. Leveson -G ow er and E . C. A u sten L eigh are gettin g w ell over th eir ailm ents. S u sse x had a gath ering of the clans on F e b ru a ry 12, w hen a t th e Dom e, B righ ton , the futu re of the clu b was considered b y a big m eeting of its supporters. I t was stated th a t la st y e a r’s cricket paid its w a y, th ough , of course, th e P residen t’s generous don ation of /500 was la rgely responsible for this. T h e m eeting w as addressed b y th e Chairm an (Col. W . H . Cam pion), who officiated in th e u navoidable absence of the D u k e of D evonshire ; b y Mr. A . C. Oddie, who referred feelin gly to th e d eath of Mr, E . A . Sm ithers, an u n tirin g w orker for th e clu b ’s good, and to the fa c t th a t w e t w eath er lo st th em th e whole of the W hit-M onday gate, w h ich should h a v e been th e b est of th e season ; b y Mr. W . W . G ran th am , w h o m ade a m ost tellin g appeal for increased support, dw ellin g on th e p a st glories of Sussex cricket, and pleading for th e liftin g of th e incubus of d e b t ; b y Mr. W . E . S. Cheesm an, who stro n gly criticised the m a n a g em e n t; b y Lord H yth e, th e M ayor of Eastbourne, Mr. F . A . W h ite, Mr. W . Carless, th e M ayor of W orthing, S ir A . P . A shburnham -C lem ent, and others. A letter was read from Mr. T hom as F arrar offering to give £100 if 19 others w ould do likew ise, or £50 if 39 others would give th a t sum each. S u b s t a n t ia l sums w ere prom ised, either before or during th e m eeting, includin g tw o of £100 each, and tw o o f £50 each. Sussex is one of th e counties in w h ich a d eficit is of ann u al occurrence ; b u t it is n ot a sm all, a poor, or a th in ly-p opu lated cou nty, and if once th e debt can be cleared off and th e efforts m ade sustained it ought to be able to p a y its w a y in th e future. -T h e consent of th e B oard of C on trol to the v isit o f an A u stralian te am to N ew Zealand w as given, and the m embers of th e side were expected to sail on Jan u ary 28, th ou gh one man, Craw ford, was stay in g behind to p lay for S ou th A u stralia v. V icto ria a fortn igh t or so later. T h e team included, besides C raw ford and A rth u r Sims, of C an terbury, th e promoter, M. A . N oble, V . T . Trum per, W . W . A rm strong, V . S. Ransford, F . L aver, D r. C. E. D olling, E . L . W ad d y, Colin M cK enzie, and A . A. M ailey.