Cricket 1914

A u g u s t 8, 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 411 Cheltenham v. Haileybury. (B y a n O l d H a ile y b u r ia n .) T h is public school m atch, which was played a t Lo rd ’s on July 31st and A ugust is t , proved rather disappointing. B u t it must "be taken into consideration th at conditions were not propitious. The spectators, parents and Old B oys, did not seem to show the enthusiasm th at one is accustom ed to see displayed a t this annual m atch. B oth H aileybu ry and Cheltenham send a large number of men into the arm y every year— in fact, prQbably more than any oth er schools except W ellington, which is becom ing the arm y school p a r excellence , and Eton. On the F rid ay and Saturday of the m atch war-clouds overhung E ngland. The boys them selves seemed to be affected b y the portents of war. And, indeed, there was reason for this. B oth schools support excellent Officers’ Training Corps. Some of the b oys playin g a t L o rd ’s m ay have to serve their country all too soon. M y on ly excuse for digressing from the subject of cricket proper is th a t several people sittin g b y me noticed the sym ptom s which I have endeavoured to analyse in m y opening paragraphs. N ow to our cricket. The schools were very evenly matched. B o th elevens showed signs of m ost careful coaching— in fact, th e y struck me as being “ over-coached.” Some years ago the U ppingham boys presented the sam e sym ptom s. Cheltenham batted first, and H illier and Lightfoot played very sound cricket, bu t there w as som ething lacking. Lightfoot, who knocked up a cen tury in a manner which I envy, w ill do great 1 hings if properly h an d led ; b u t I was disappointed to see Du B ou lay out for 7 lbw to Thorne. His brief sta y a t the w icket revealed th at he really can bat, and the prophecies con­ cerning him are founded on good reasons. Taylor, the Chelten­ ham captain, who ran past the half-century, is a sound left-hand batsm an, and, thank goodness, he can and did h i t ! In the pavilion the wise men who have seen m any cricketers come and go said, “ Good enough for coun ty cricket." The H aileybu ry bow ling was good and quite religious, for there w as not much d evil in it. The H ertfordshire school’s fielding has im proved imm ensely, and H eath, the w icket-keeper, really deserves praise, for he stumped three of his opponents, no mean feat wrhen the cautious character of the batting is taken into con­ sideration. O f all the H aileybury bowlers, H ake, w ith his lobs, w as the m ost useful, though D ibdin had the best average. H ake is b y no means the first successful lob bow ler who has worn the m agenta and white. In 1900 R. Lee, also a fine three-quarter and hurdler, captured m an y w ickets w ith his insidious deliveries. L e t not H aileyburians deem the present scribe to be a traitor to the three-winged hearts on the open book if he cannot praise the b attin g of his old school’s eleven. T h at lam entable scrape forward in search of a ball th at is not there is not cricket— it is “ nerves ” or “ L o rd itis," as a veteran next to me observed. The Cheltenham bow ling was mediocre, but their fielding was excellent. The spirit of the public school m atches is wonderful. T h ey are the purest exhibition of sportsmanship th at I have seen. It refreshes the heart and the mind to go to L o rd ’s on these occa­ sions, to get aw ay from the hustle and turm oil of the struggle for life, and to see the boys who bear honoured colours strive in keen com petition “ playing the gam e.” W ith due respect to *Eton and Harrow, their m atch does not come up to those of the oth er schools. It is too much of a society function. B u t at the H aileybu ry and Cheltenham m eeting old ties and traditions are revived. Y o u r old housemaster, a little older, a little greyer, inquires as to your success in the world. It does not m atter a R oyal Horse A rtillery continental sw ear to him whether you are a K .C ., a V .C ., or a clerk in a bank, living in a suburb. Y ou , too, h ave grown older and understand him better. Y o u see men from you r old house or form , some of them bronzed soldiers or •civil servants from the Empire overseas, some bearing the cloth o f the Church and living peaceful lives in quiet coun try vicarages, some w orking in the slums of great cities. O thers have grown prosperous. T h ey are “ som ething in the C ity ,” on 'Change, perhaps. Some are learned in the law . others are dragging up the rebellious youthful m ind. A few perhaps are in the A rts. B u t how ever rich, how ever successful, how ever downhearted th ey m ay be, there is one short period of the year when th ey forgot it, and th at is when th ey sit a t L o rd ’s and scan the score card, ask •questions when th ey see a fam iliar name. “ Oh ‘ H ’ . . . Is he a relative of «H ’ who used to be captain of the ‘ T h irty ’ in m y tim e ? ” To return to details of the m atch, the H aileybury b attin g im proved in the second innings. W hen I left sh ortly before the close of p la y on the second d ay, th ey had pu t on 150 for 4 w ickets, being 102 runs behind Cheltenham on the first innings. F ran kly, I was disappointed w ith the game. The cricket was correct cricket, everyth in g was done according to H oyle ; but there was a lack of snap, a lack of ginger. Our public schools could learn som ething from H averford College in this respect, for the Philadelphian cricketers are brimm ing over w ith speed and dash. Of the H aileybu ry eleven, H ake, the captain, and H eath look good to me. if I m ay be perm itted this Am ericanism . (H aving seen m y old housemaster, who is rather a w ell-known classical man, I m ust say som ething to shock him.) -------+ ------- Cricket in France. A t the last m eeting of the Council of the Union des Societ6s Fran<;aises des Sports A thletiques (the French am ateur asso­ ciation w hich governs am ateur sport in France) the central comm ittee of cricket w as chosen as follow s :— P resid e n t: Mr. P. H . Tom alin (Standard A.C.). V ice-President : Mr. T. H. Jordan (Stade Francais). Secretary : Mr. C. Rutherford (R acing Club de France). Mr. Tom alin and Mr. Jordan are b oth w ell-known as fathers of the Soccer code in France, while Mr. C yril R utherford was a parent of the R ugger m ovem ent, being a t one tim e captain of the R acing Club X V . It is a p ity th at Mr. E . P . D enny, headm aster of the Anglo- Saxon School, and graduate of three b ig universities, did not present him self for election. Mr. D en n y, who is an old H ailey­ burian, has done a great deal for ath letics in France, especially for hockey, cricket, and swimm ing. On the inter-scholastic comm ittees, and in a lesser degree w ith Association football, he did excellent w ork in those tim es when sports were not so m uch developed in France as th ey are to-day. -------+ ------- In the Tyneside League every game on Saturday except that between Benwell Hill (184 for 8, dec.) and Wallsend (147 for 8) was finished. The only close result was that in the match between South Northumberland (142) and Old Novocastrians (124); for Ryton beat Tynemouth by 99 runs, Benwell North Durham by 4 wickets and some runs to spare, St. George’s (245 for 6, dec.) the County Club by 124 runs, and Tynedale Backworth Percy by 71 runs. No one made a century. Hardisty scored 89* for Ryton, S. J. New'man 75* for Tynedale, Winghain 75 and C. F. Stanger-Leathes 65 for St. George’s, A. E. Veitch 53* for Benwell, H. C. Elliott 53 for Old Novocastrians, and Milne 52 for Benwell Hill. BLANCO For Cleaning and Whitening White Buckskin and Canvas Shoes, Cricket Pads, and all other articles of a similar nature. For cleaning Snede, Ooze Calf, and Cloth Boots and Shoes, Cord Breeches, Snede Gloves, Cloth Spats, Leather and Cloth Leggings. M ade in various shades of Colour. Sold by Athletic Dealers, Ironmongers. Oilmen, Stores, Boot and Shoe Dealers, &c. It is pre pare d in a very ca re fu l m a n n e r, a n d e x tra p re ca u tio n s a re ta k e n to ensure an evenness o f co lo u r. It c o n ta in s n o th in g th a t w ill in a n y w a y In ju re th e a r tic le to w h ic h it is applied, and if used as dire cte d, a S p le n d id W h ite o f a glossy, satin- lik e ap p e ara n ce an d soft s ilk y surface is ensured, w h ic h w ill n o t re ad ily ru b off. BLANCO” CLOTH & LEATHER BALL