Cricket 1914

330 THE WORLD OF CRICKET. J u l y i i , 1914. and Roberts helped Chaplin to add 60 for the ninth w icket— - they would have taken three points on the first innings, y e t would have lost 10 wickets while their rivals had only had three men dismissed. The injustice would hardly have been greater than th a t which Yorkshire and W ar­ wickshire experienced on the same day. Essex and Lan ­ cashire were, in all human likelihood, whacked to the wide ; but a thunderstorm gave each first innings’ points. And grumbling is vain ; it is just the luck of the game with which in this country— more than in any other— weather conditions must always be intimately associated. O n the day th at he left Adelaide for Dunedin John Crawford met, for the first time for years, Joe Darling, who had arrived in the C ity of Churches th at morning from Tasmania, where he has a big sheep run. T hk old Australian skipper was present at the farewell luncheon (at the South Australian Hotel) given to Craw ­ ford, over which Mr. G. Mostyn Evan presided. To Clement H ill was entrusted the presentation of a set of gold sleeve links, and an umbrella on behalf of the S.A.C.A ., and Hill made a very nice little speech. He said that if he were asked to go around the world to find a man to substitute for Jack Crawford he would reply that there was not a cricketer in the world who could take his place. He felt sure that cricket in Otago would soon improve 100 per cent, under Craw ford’s tuition. D a r l i n g , rising to speak, was received with cheers. He said that the first time he met Crawford was at Hastings — this would be in 1905— when he was caught at point off the Surrey man’s bowling. He was sorry Crawford should be going. Though now himself a resident in Tasmania, his heart was always w ith his birth-state. R e p l y i n g , John Crawford said that he was sorry to go ; but he had to do the best he could for himself. He would leave many good friends behind, he knew. A y , and he will w ant th at umbrella in Dunedin— far more frequently than he would have done in sun-bright Adelaide. T h e y say old friends fail to recognise Joe Darling now. The square fighting jaw is covered with a healthy growth of whiskers, and there are other changes. Perhaps when shearing time comes round the J. D. of old may emerge from what some rude humorist calls “ face-fungus.” L a n c a s h i r e are fixing up a big programme for 1915. They hope to p lay all the other first-class counties, and to have an extra game w ith Yorkshire, while their second eleven will compete in the Minor Counties’ Championship. S a t u r d a y ’ s play was an illustration of what wind means after rain. Most people expected gluepot wickets, pro­ vided the sun appeared. And the gluepot wickets would have materialised but for the strong wind which licked up a lot of the moisture from pitches before the sun got fairly to work on them. There was no indication of special difficulty in the case of any w icket except possibly that at Hull, and perhaps the wind there made matters nasty for the Hampshire batsmen b y sending aid to George Hirst, whose excellent bowling will please everybody. George has not done too well in the attack this season ; but he has a lot of wickets in him— if the phrase be permissible— yet. I t was of another great George— Giffen, to w it— that, upon someone’s remarking at a time when he could not get going, th at he “ had a lot of runs in him y e t,” someone else unkindly suggested th at a post mortem would be ad­ visable in order to find them ! F rom far Maoriland comes a letter relative to a little story concerning Warw ick Armstrong which was given in these columns some time ago. Mr. M acKenzie’s letter, which we have pleasure in inserting, will speak for itself. But it may be mentioned here th at the yarn was not told in order to cast any reflection on the umpire concerned. To us the point of the story has the characteristic query of the big Victorian— “ W h at’s the penalty ? ” Just so might George Giffen, with whom Armstrong has much in common besides all-round ability, have spoken. T h e programme for the Australian Team in South Africa will be so arranged th at the test matches will not start until all the chief centres have been met, thus giving the selectors of the South African side a chance to weigh up the form of candidates. This is all the more necessary, as when South A frica entertains an overseas side practically no other matches of importance are played. In Australia, of course, the usual programme of state games is but slightly affected bv a similar visit. M r . I v o r D . D i f f o r d has been succeeded in the secretary­ ship of the S.A.C.A. by Mr. Martin Luckin. T a r r a n t and J. W. Hearne have been at it again. This time, however, it can scarcely be said by the sternest critic that their runs were not needed. That victory over Worcestershire on a day when no other county match got itself finished may weigh heavily in the balance of accounts for the championship. C. N . B. H u r t , who made his first appearance for D erby­ shire on Saturday, averaged 20 for Malvern College in 1912 and 27 last season. H e is now up at Oxford. A n o t h e r Malvernian, A. C. P. Arnold, has no doubt improved immensely as a batsman of late, but he did not come into first-class cricket w ith it all to learn. For his school in 1910 he topped the averages w ith 44. F ive not­ outs in 11 innings helped him, it is true. " O l d B l u e ” in the Sporting L ife says : “ The 1913-14 Universities sporting year is fast drawing to a close. It curiously illustrates the great hold such fray has upon all sorts and conditions of people that, despite the big lead of 19 wins to Oxford’s 8 claimed b y Cambridge, interest in the three remaining contests is universal.” • T h is “ curiously illustrates ” an attitude of mind not easily understood by the average man ! So far is interest in the three remaining contests from being universal that the majority of us positively do not know what the other two— that is, the two in addition to the Lord’s match— are ! And interest even in that is not universal, although it is wide­ spread . O n e believes that chess— half blue for chess, isn’t there ?— is included among the sporting events between the two ’Varsities. Now the addition of chess to cricket, of football under both codes to these, of hockey to the four, and of boxing, etc., to hockey, reminds one of the old, foolish conun­ drum, w ithout an answer : “ How far is it from the first of January to the top of St. Paul’s ? ” O l d a n d I n t e r e s t i n g O i l P a i n t i n g , C r i c k e t M a t c h a t C a l c u t t a . Size 2 ft. 7 ins. by 2 ft. Also Coloured Engraving England X I, 1847.— W r i g h t & Co., 7, Temple Lane, London, E.C.—Advert. FOR SALE— C r ic k e t , Volumes 1 to 30 (1882-1911), regulation binding, good as new; price £'12 12s.—Apply, J. G. Q: B., 11, Dean Road, Cricklewood, N.W.