Cricket 1914

4io THE WORLD OF CRICKET. A ugust 8, 1914. H o b b s claims 7 of the 140, J. W. Hearne 6, Philip Mead 5, Ducat, Tarrant, and Frank Woolley 4 each, Charlesworth, Coe, Hardinge, Hayes, Hayward, Hirst, Robert Relf, Seymour, John Sharp, and Wilson 3 each. Seventeen players have made two each, and 46 one each. Thus 84 names figure in the list. E l e v e n names not in any previous list appear, those of Birtles, Buswell, M. K. Foster, M. Howell, B. D. Hylton- Stewart, D. J. Knight (who comes in twice), A. E . D. Rippon L. H. W. Troughton, Whysall, C. T. A. Wilkinson, and Claude Woolley. Of these Howell and Rippon are the only men who had played no first-class cricket prior to this year. T h e r e were 153 centuries during the corresponding period of 1913, Mead making 7 of them, George Gunn, Hobbs, and Quaife 5 each, and Rhodes, Seymour, and John Tyldesley 4 each. In 19 12 the total was 144 at the end of July. David Denton and Mead had made 6 each, Warren Bardsley, C. B. Fry, and C. G. Macartney 5, and Hayes, the Jamsaheb of Nawanagar, and R. H. Spooner 4 each. F o r t y totals of 400 and over have thus far been regis­ tered. Warwickshire’s 645 for 7 v. Worcestershire tops the list. Surrey have to their credit three 500 totals, Leicestershire and Middlesex two each, and Derbj'shire, Kent, Northants, Notts and Sussex one each. Gloucester­ shire and Somerset alone have failed to reach 400 in any innings. T h e r e have been very few seasons in the past which have been so full of genuine interest as this one. No test matches ; no overseas team here to play first-class cricket; nothing but the ordinary county fare; and yet what a wealth of variety—what ups and dowfts— what unexpected developments ! O f the five matches started on Monday of last week two took a tame road to a sure end ; there was little, if anything, of drama in either Yorkshire v. Somerset or Lancashire v. Gloucestershire. Little of drama, yet something of interest, for one must not overlook capital centuries by such deservedly popular players as George Hirst and John Sharp, some excellent bowling by Dean, lately come back to the Lancashire team after being kept out since early in the season by that troublesome knee of his, and good all-round form on his first appearance for Yorkshire by R. C. Burton, of Malvern and Oxford. B u t the other three games could scarcely have been more genuinely thrilling if they had been stage-managed by a man who knew exactly what the public liked to see. T a k e that at Leyton first. A big score by Essex—a complete failure by Leicestershire in their first innings— a follow-on—a fight little short of heroic, in which Coe, Whitehead, H. M. Bannister, A. T . Sharp, King, and Sidwell all played their parts right manfully—a total of over 500 realised—Essex sent in to get near on 200 for victory. They got them. It would have been more dra­ matic had they failed, perhaps. But though they had time in which to get them— 70 per hour is not phenomenal scoring -—and always looked like getting them, yet there was some­ thing in the way of a battle with the clock to keep interest alive. A t Trent Bridge luck played a bigger part, but pluck had also its share. But for the rain that fell on Tuesday night and the sun that wouldn’t shine on Tuesday morning, but shone in the afternoon, Kent could not have won. Perhaps they could not have won had Wass not found his injured hand too painful to allow of his bowling more than one over in the second innings. But not many teams would have fought their way from a wretchedly bad position to victory as Kent did, and probably no other team possesses; two bowlers who could have put out Notts, needing only 101 and full of keeness, for 53, as did Blythe and Woolley. B u t best of all was the Oval match. Here we had Surrey, recently come to the head of affairs by dint of help from their rivals of Kent (who were also helping themselves- when they beat Middlesex, of course), facing Sussex, a good team, with plenty of big hearts and capable hands in it,, but scarcely a team of champions. A n d for two days Surrey were on top—quite easily on. top—though Sussex were always fighting hard, and the lengthy Vincett did great work. On Wednesday the home team needed 149. No one would have been surprised had they won by 10 wickets, though admittedly the pitch was.- never perfect. General opinion might have given them a. victory by 7, 6, or 5 wickets—not fewer than five. B u t they had to fight for their lives. K. H. C. Woodroffe 'rose to the occasion, and bowled splendidly. He does not look a typical fast bowler, this slim young Cantab. In no particular of physical development—body, shoulders, or legs—can one see him fitted for the part. He will (one fancies) scarcely last long in the speed merchant’s role. But if he never does another big thing what he did at Kennington on July 29 of this year will not readily be for­ gotten. A n d Surrey, 119 for 5 at lunch, after being at 66 with only Hayward out, won by a single wicket ! Upon that win may well turn the question of championship honours.. All credit to Platt that he did not fail at the pinch ! His score was but a small one, but it meant much to his county. H a y w a r d ’ s 122 was his third century at Blackheath and his sixth v. Kent. R. B. L a g d e n (Cambridge) and G. R. R. Colmg,n (Oxford)' are the likely ’Varsity captains for 1915, and ff the usual custom is followed G. B. Davies (Cambridge^ and D. J.. Knight (Oxford) may skipper the 1916 sides. E x c l u d in g members of Colonial sides, John Douglas is the twelfth amateur player to put his name on the iooo- runs and 100 wickets in a season list. W. G. is there for seven seasons ; and the others are S. G. Smith, C. T. Studd, J. N. Crawford, G. L. Jessop, C. L. Townsend, the Hon. F. S. Jackson, J. R. Mason, B. J. T. Bosanquet, F. R. Foster, and H. L. Simms. In the early days of Australian tours all their eleven-a­ side matches were reckoned as first-class “ by courtesy.”' Wisden for 1887 actually includes in the first-class averages an odds game played by the 1886 team at Skegness, indeed. Later there came picking and choosing of fixtures, and sometimes one did not know until afterwards whether a given match was reckoned first-class or not. None of the South African matches of 1894 or the West Indian matches- of 1900 were so reckoned. B u t including all matches on even terms the following Colonial players qualified for inclusion in the double honours list : G. Giffen (1886, 1893 an(I *896), W. W. Armstrong (1905 and 1909), G. E. Palmer (1886), H. Trumble (1899) for Australian teams, and S. G. Smith (1906) for the West: Indians.