Cricket 1914

4 2 6 THE WORLD OF CRICKET. A u g u s t 15, 1914. £be TCIlorlfc of Cricket. E d i t o r : M r. A. C. M a c L a r e n . A s s i s t a n t E d i t o r a n d M a n a g e r : M r. J. N. P e n t e lo w . 61 , TEMPLE CHAMBERS, TEMPLE AVENUE, EMBANKMENT, LONDON, E.C. N O T I C E . A n I m p o r t a n t A n n o u n c e m e n t w ill b e f o u n d o n th e la st p a g e o f t h i s issue. Pavilion Gossip. Ever the faith endures, England, my England :— ‘ Take and break us ; we are yours, England, my own ! Life is good and joy runs high Between English earth and sky ; Death is death ; but we shall die To the song on your bugles blown, England — To the stars on your bugles blown ! ” W. E. H e n le y . T h e days of waiting are past. Great Britain is at war, and the people are glad thereof—glad with no riotous gladness, with no cocksure assurance, but soberly, sternly glad. It is not that we wanted war ; but we could not brook dishonour. We had to stand by our friends, and to bear England’s old, great part—that of the nation towards which the little peoples looked as a shield and buckler against the arrogant tyranny of the continental ■despots. T h a t crowned madman, William of Hohenzollern, has ■committed the greatest crime against civilisation of which any ruler has been guilty since the days of Napoleon. Through his restless ambition and insane lust for dominion the whole continent is likely to be shortly in the throes of a desperate struggle. The nations which now hold aloof will be dragged into the cockpit. Little Holland, full of stolid courage, remembering her great struggle of old against the might of Spain ; little Denmark, the blood of the sea-kings in her people’s veins, peaceful though they be to-day, with an old score to settle with the Teuton tyrant; gallant Italy, who will never fight on the same side as the hated Austrian white-coats, who so long held her in chains ; free Switzerland, indomitable among her mountains— these and others can scarcely stand aside. T h e might of Germany will go down''ringed by hostile steel. The enemies she has raised up by her wanton aggressions will see to it that at the end of the war there shall be no more a German Empire, that no Hohenzollern shall ever rule again. B ut before the end comes there will be dark days for all -of us—for our own people and our good friends and allies on the continent. Heroic Belgium has met the first on­ slaught of the War-Lord’s legions, and has done nobly. Her sufferings have already begun. I t may be that our own country will be spared the crash of opposing armies in her fair fields. But the manhood •of our country will give its toll of dead elsewhere, and the need is urgent that we should stand by ’ware and ready for invasion—always possible, if now less likely. A n d the manhood of Britain will not be found wanting. The talk of national decadence is at an end. Our statesmen, doubted by many, have rung true metal at the test. To­ day the names of Asquith and Grey—and not those names alone—are no longer the pride of a party, but the pride of a nation. Ireland has spoken with no uncertain voice. From the lands overseas sounds the message : “ We are coming ! ” And here at home there is a rush to recruit, a shoal of offers of help in any capacity. Some of us, they say, being over forty and having no service experience, are too old for the firing-line. It may be that before the war ends a use will be found for the man of over forty even there. Meanwhile, there are other ways in which he can help—if only (for the present, and until he is needed else­ where) by doing his own job as well as he can, that the life of the nation may go on with as little change as need be. So shall panic be held at bay, and so shall our enemies see that we go into this conflict (long dreaded, though with no craven dread) high of heart and resolute of purpose. T h e y are right who cancel their matches because of the W a r; they are right who propose to play their matches as long as may be. F o r conditions differ. Among the clubs those which have been first to cancel are mainly those whose members belong to the leisured class. Many of their men have joined the colours ; others are called upon to help, or are offering themselves for help, in other ways. Saturday afternoon cricket need not be stopped. Work must still be done ; and why should not the man who works during the week get his half-day’s cricket at its end ? S om e of the county clubs—mainly among the second class brigade—will have to stop, owing to being unable to raise teams. Dorset sent eight men to Exeter to fulfil their engagement with Devon; two were called away for service, and the game had to be abandoned. Dorset can scarcely play another match. Wiltshire have cancelled all their remaining fixtures. They, too, are hard hit. O n another page will be found as full a list as is possible up to the time of going to press of cancellations. K e n n in g t o n O v a l has passed into the hands of the War Office. The Trent Bridge pavilion has been requisi­ tioned for hospital purposes. The Ipswich ground has been laid under requisition also. As time goes on there must be more of this. Cricketers will meet the demands cheerfully. They could not resist if they would ; but they would not if they could. If a man goes on playing cricket now, it is not to be supposed for an instant that it is because of such a misguided idolatry of the game as puts it ahead of anything else. I n England during this troubled time we play cricket. In Germany they mob Englishmen. Ours is surely the better way ! A l r e a d y the army of crickethas had heavydemands made upon it for that other and greater army. Apart from the service players who hold their own so well in county matches, Territorials and others have answered the call. P. F. Warner, N. J. A. Foster, A. T. Sharp, B. G. von B. Melle, A. W. Carr, and Sir A. W. White were some of the earliest to be called upon. Sharp’s departure left his county a man short, and they lost to Northants by 4 runs. But what does it matter'? H. P. Chaplin—formerly in the Hussars—left the match at Hove on Friday at the call of the War Office. Kent I I played one short in the first innings at Stoke because a member of their side, Lowe, had been called up to join the reserves.