Cricket 1914

28 THE WORLD OF CRICKET. F e b r u a r y , 19 14 . H e a r t ie s t of co n gra tu latio n s to M on tagu e A lfred N o b le w h o w as m arried in S y d n e y on J a n u a ry 14 to Miss E llen F ergu so n . I t w o uld ap p ear th a t Mr. and Mrs. N oble were to m a k e th e N ew Zealan d to u r a p a rt of th eir honeym oon. H a r r y D e a n ’ s knee, w h ich ga ve him a good deal of tro u b le la st seasofi, has been under treatm en t during the W inter, and it is hoped th a t he w ill be q u ite fit for th e com in g cam paign . T h e Adelaide Observer of J a n u a ry 17 states th a t a w rit claim in g £ 1,000 for libel has been issued a t th e instance of E d g a r R ich ard M ayne, described as “ an organiser of com ­ p e titiv e crick et team s ” (w hatever th a t m a y mean), again st D a v id S ym e & Co., proprietors of th e Melbourne Age. T h e alleged libels for w h ich dam ages are sough t w ere published in th e Age on A u g u st 11 and S eptem ber 13 of last y ear, under th e headings of “ Strand ed C ricketers ” and “ U n ­ p rofitab le C rick et T o u r.” W o r c e ste r sh ir e w ill n ot h a v e H. K . F oster as cap tain n ex t y ear. B usiness claim s call him to liv e in town, and if h e tu rn s ou t a t all it can o n ly be rarely. W . B. B urn s has gone to C an ada, and G . H . Simpson-HayVvard w ill n o t ta k e over th e reins again. T h e cap ta in cy w ill be in th e hands of W . H . T aylo r, a keen cricketer, if som ew hat la ck in g in experience. I t is said th a t th e you n gest tw o of th e F o ster seven— M. K . and N . J. A .— w ill be availab le th ro u gh ou t th e season ; the la tte r has n ever y e t appeared for th e cou n ty, h ow ever. G . N . F oster w ill p la y in A u gu st. T h e E d ito r h as arranged w ith w ell-qualified contributors a t b o th O xford and C am bridge to deal regu larly in th ese pages w ith ’V a rs ity crick et from th e beginning of the season up to th e grea t gam e a t L o rd ’ s ; and he feels sure th a t th eir articles w ill be app reciated n o t on ly a t th e U n iversities, b u t b y readers gen erally, for theirs w ill be “ inside in form ation.” T H E W AN D ER E R S C. C. This club held its annual general meeting on Thursday, February 5, at 24, Laurence Lane, E.C., Mr. Stanley Colman taking the chair. The Hon. Secretary’s report and the balance-sheet (showing a small sum due to the Hon. Treasurer) were read and adopted. The following Officers were elected for T914 :— President, F, G. Colman ; Vice-Presidents, H. V. Bate, A. H. Behrend, C. A. Beldam, G. W. Beldam, Hon. S. R. Beresford, G. R. Blades, E . H. Chubb, W . E. Hobbs, D. L. A. Jephson, H. C. Pretty, A. W. Winterbotham ; Committee, B. Batchelor, W . M. Bradley, R. Brooks, E. H. Fischer, P. G. Gale, F. S. Gillespie, R. Ken- ward, P. P. Lincoln, F. L. Nightingale, F. W . Robarts, O. Taylor, L. S. Wells ; Hort. Treasurer, Stanley Colm an; Hon. Secretary, A. M. Latham . The card for 1914, containing 38 matches, was considered and approved. Votes of thanks to the Chairman and to Mr. R. Brooks for allowing the use of the room were carried unani­ mously. It is interesting to note th at a Colman has always held the presidency of the club. The new President is a son of the first holder of that office. The annual dinner will take place at the Criterion on Wednes­ day, April 29, when the new President will take the chair. It is hoped that members will turn up in force to give him a cordial welcome on this, his first appearance, in that office. I Z in g a r i will send a team to E gypt in March. Six matches will be played, two at Alexandria and four a t Cairo, and the following players are expected to form the t e a m F . H. Browning (captain), the H on.. Rupert Anson, Capt. M. F. Crichton-Maitland, Lord Bernard Gordon-Lennox, J. R. Head, H. Hesketh-Prichard, H. C. Lloyd, E. C. Mordaunt, Capt. the Hon. A. E. Mulholland, the Hon. J. S. R. Tufton, and Capt. E- G. Wynvard. " A . C. M .” Barnes and Other Great Bowlers. B y A . C. M a c L a r e n . Some reference w as made in “ P avilion Gossip ” la s t m onth to th e brillian t bow ling of B arnes in S ou th A frica. I t m ight h a ve been added th a t if a n y gauge o f th e q u a lity of the S ou th A frican b a ttin g w as needed, th e doings of th e other E n glish bow lers offered one of some valu e. W e kn ow th a t B ooth , J. W . H . T . D ouglas, A lb e rt R elf, W oolley, and Rhodes are all bow lers of class. A ll h a v e had a fair b o w l again st th eir opponents. B u t B arn es has had th e m a jo rity of th e w ickets and th e best figures n early every tim e. W hile th e S outh A frican batsm en could p la y them , th ey could n ot— or m ost of th em could n ot— p la y him , it w ould seem . H e is more difficult to score from th an a n y of th e rest. H e bow ls the p ra ctica lly u n p layab le b all w ith fa r greater frequen cy th an an y of them . G ood as th e oth er five are, B arn es is th eir m aster. B arn es is alw ays a great bow ler on b atsm en ’s w ickets. H e has th e qualities th a t tell under such conditions— fizz off the p itch and flight, as w ell as true length. T o possess these three attrib u tes is rare in an y bow'ler. H e does n ot ask for “ conditions.” A ll w ickets are to him good to bow l upon. H e n ever looks e asy to a n y batsm an. T o m y m ind he has stood o u t for the last tw elv e years as our best bow ler. T h a t he has retain ed his excellence long p a st w h a t is gen erally regarded as a bow ler’s prim e is no d o u b t largely due to th e fact th a t h e has chosen to p la y for a second-class cou nty, under much less strenuous conditions th an obtain, in first-class cricket— tw o-d ay m atches, few er m atches, and n ot so m a n y good batsm en to contend against. T h e cap tain of a first-class side can n ot help over-bow ling his best bowlers a t tim es. T h e other fellow s h a v e to be go t out, you know ; and m atch follow s m atch so closely th a t th e crack bow ler gets little chance of a rest. L o o k a t T om R ichardson’s case, to ta k e on ly one instance. H e was alw ays willing, and he had to keep on ; b u t th e hard w ork shortened his bow ling life. Com parison betw een bow lers o f different generations is alw ays difficult, and perhaps n ot sp ecially profitable. B u t B arn es m ust be ranked w ith the v e ry b est of an y d ay. T o m y m ind the greatest are those who ask no help from " conditions,” who h ave a k n ack of bow ling ou t the real top-saw yers, men whose defence is p ra ctica lly flawless. L ockw ood a t his best was a bow ler of this ty p e, and he did some extraord in ary perform ances before h e became- unsound. Then there was lion-hearted T om R ichardson,