Cricket 1914

322 THE WORLD OF CRICKET. J u l y i i , 1914. taken for granted th a t the rank and file of county elevens don’t exactly relish th at man’s attack. Going home from town one evening during the Horsham week I chanced to hear in the train a significant few words. Said one Sussex pro. to another : “ It all depends upon what Mr. Jaques does.” This is not a biography. The writer does not know enough for that. He does not even know when Jaques was born. B u t he must have been born, and one conjectures 1888 or 1889 as thereabouts the year. Anyhow , he was taking w ickets for Aldenham School—-43 of them, a t under 11 each— in 1907. And in 1908 he played in the Freshmen’s Match at Cambridge, and took 3 for 29 and 1 for 15, which suggests that he m ight well have been given further trial. In the Seniors’ Match of 1909 he took 1 for 71, and in 1910 he did little. He seems to have gone down w ithout anyone’s ever thinking of him as a potential first-class cricketer. Nobody— or scarcely anybody— knew anything about him when he went to the W est Indies w ith Mr. A. F. Somerset’s M.C.C. Team early in 1913. He had played for the Hampshire Hogs, of course, but lots of men p lay for the Hampshire Hogs who are not county form. It was not the W est Indian tour th at brought him fame. He did little w ith the bat, fielded— well, as he usually fields— which does not necessarily mean fielded well, and took 5 w ickets for 29 each. Nor did he do anything amazing in 1913, though good judges saw in him the makings of a bowler of more than ordinary ability. His 53 w ickets cost over 28 each. He bowled well on occasions, but did not unduly alarm an y­ body. B u t this year he seems to have got most people thinking. And th at is an exercise which most people— cricketers or otherwise— rather dislike. I t makes them uncom­ fortable. Now when you have made a batsman uncom­ fortable, you are well over half-way towards getting him out. And when a batsman has fieldsmen of the Brown type crowding him— b y the way, I am not sure that our artist has his crowd of fieldsmen quite correctly placed— and are wondering what on earth he is to do w ith those diabolical in-swingers— well, it’s likely th at if he does not shortly receive a tonic in the shape of a four or two he will soon be seeking seclusion ! Whether Jaques will continue to be so successful when he is better known remains to be seen. His success is most welcome to those who are tired of hearing the old tale th at the days of amateur bowling are over. They are not over, and never will be over as long as cricket lasts. Frank Foster and J. C. W hite are two striking instances to the contrary ; and are there not also Michael Falcon (some said he was no bowler when he was up at Cambridge), John Douglas, A. P. Day, and others ? The verses which follow are lifted from the Athletic News. They are too good to miss, and the author will forgive the lifting, we are sure. I t was a genuine curiosity thatjthey should appear on the Monday after Fred Bow ley’s 27&Jjat Dudley, though ! J aques : A fool, a fool!—I met a fool i’ the meadow, A flannel’d fool!—a Kipling-rated world !— As I do live by “ ducks,” I met a fool, Who took his stance and smiled upon the crowd, And cooed at Lady Fortune in good terms, In flattering terms, and yet a flannel’d fool. “ Good morrow, fool.” quoth I, *' No, sir,” quoth he, “ Call me not fool till I have lost my wicket ! ” Then, gazing on til’ pavilion horologe. And at the scoring-board, with eager eye, Says very cutely : “ It is three o’clock : Thus may we see,” quoth he, “ how the game wags ; ’Tis but an hour ago the score was blank, But after an hour more it will be vast; And so, four after four, I ’ll slog and slog, And thus, four after four, you’ll weep and weep ; ’Twill be a merrv tale ! ” When I did hear The flannel’d fool thus moral on the score, My lungs began to crow like Wilkie Bard That fools should be so deep-pragmatical, And I did take his stump—the middle one— With my first ball. A comic.fool! A thistled ass ! Flannel’s the only wear ! P o e t : What fool is this ? J a q u e s : A jocund fool : One that had dreamed a dream Of mighty scores ’gainst Hampshire in the field, Without the gift to get them............ O, for more That I might shatter soon their wickets and their egotism. I am ambitious for the hat trick ! P o e t ( prophetically): Thou yet shall do ’t. “ As You (M a y ) L i k e I t ”—up-to-date. J.N.P. --------+■-------- P u t n e y (158—A. Coates 54, Lee U ff 30) easily beat Beaumont (75). Boulton, who took half-a-dozen wickets, bowled well for the losers. C a t f o r d E x c e l s io r (139—H. R. Spooner 44, R. Gander 25, A. S. J. Newell 24) had a good win over St. Dunstan’s College (62 and 74 for 4—G. A. Masters 44*). Besides making top score, Spooner took 8 for 56 in the match. A f r ic a n B a n k s scored 180 (A. C. Morton 37) against Derrick Wanderers, who were left with only i f hours to make the runs, but scored 210 for 5 in that time—H. M. Gorringe 57, Street 41*, C. E. Norman 36, R. T. Childs 28, T. W. Brown 23. T h e North Staffordshire League matches were mostly played on pitches which gave the bowlers big help, and several of them did not fail to seize the opportunity. Barnes, of course—6 for 11, Porthill Park v. Crewe Alexandra ; Nichols, 8 for 55 (4 in 6 balls at one stage), Stoke v. Leek ; Barber, 7 for 56 (all clean bowled), Longton v. Norton; Deyes, 6 for 39, Stone v. Burslem ; R. Mornington, 7 for 29, Oldfields v. Tunstall ; Downs, 7 for 58, Tunstall v. Oldfields ; J. J. Awty, 5 for 40, and J. Skellern, 5 for 45, Fenton v. Silverdale ; and A. Cook, 6 for 37. Burslem v. Stone. T h e only scores of 50 or more were made by Nichols, who batted over two hours for 56 (Stoke v. Leek); G. Worthington, who hit up 53 * in about an hour (Norton v. Longton), and H. Heasman, 58* in 20 minutes, 21 off the first over he received, 12 fours in all (Oldfields v. Tunstall). BLANCO For Cleaning and Whitening White Buckskin and Canvas Shoes, Cricket Pads, and all other articles of a similar nature. It is prepared in a very careful manner, and extra precautions are taken to ensure an evenness of colour. It contains nothing that will in any way injure the article to which it is applied, and if used as directed, a Splendid W hite of a glossy, satin-like appearance and soft silky surface is ensured, which will not readily rub off. 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