Cricket 1914

444 THE WORLD OF CRICKET S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 1 4 . P r o f it fr o m issues p u b lis h e d d u r in g th e W a r is im p o ssib le . W e s h a ll h a v e a loss to m e e t. B u t w e c a n face th a t. T h is is a letter received from a subscriber to whom the balance of his subscription was returned, without comment, within an hour of its receipt. “ I n o te t h a t T h e W o r l d o f C r ic k e t is ta k in g a d v a n ta g e of th e W a r fe v er to re p u d ia te its e n g a g e m e n ts, as n o re tu rn of s u b sc rip tio n s is m e n tio n e d . “ Regarding remarks in the ‘ War Number ’ such as ‘ mad scoundrel styled Emperor,’ I always understood that courtesy and respect towards an opponent was one of the first obligations of a sportsman. I wish to remind you that there are many Englishmen who hold very different views to those you express and who believe that jealousy and envy of Germany have been the sole (“ sole ” deleted) impelling force in England’s participa­ tion in this war.” W e withhold the name of this pro-German creature, who, while lecturing us on the duties of a sportsman, accuses us of “ repudiat­ ing our engagements.” We have repudiated nothing, and we don’t believe one other subscriber will hold that we have done so. As for courtesy and respect towards an opponent, none but a madman, being British, could respect the hog in armour who has launched his Thugs against a little nation which had never provoked him, with orders to murder, ravage, burn, and pillage, that terror may be struck into the Belgians. T h e blasphemous patron of God Almighty, the War-Lord of the Huns, foul with crimes that make our hearts burn in us only to read of, the false kinsman, the Emperor with the manners of a Prussian bagman, who insulted our beloved and honoured King at a moment when common decency should have prevented such loss of dignity—to write of him with courtesy and respect ! A m id s t the shocks of the War comes another shock—a minor one, yet not to be passed over in silence—to those who love county cricket. Worcestershire has been saved for the time being ; but Gloucestershire is in dire straits. A meeting will be held on October 26 to decide whether the county club can possibly go on. B ig things have been done in the cricket field since we last wrote. Only a few of them can be referred to here. I think that in after years some of them will come to those of us who are left with strange unfamiliarity when we look over the records. We read of them at the time ; but we had forgotten them before the next day. There were other things to occupy our minds. A m o n g the most notable of August’s happenings was the sudden return to form of Elias (“ Patsy ” to his friends) Hendren. Up to the end of July he had made only 317 in 17 completed innings. In August he scored in succession 59 not out v. Hants, 51 v. Sussex, 8 and 121 v. Yorkshire, 22 v. Lancashire, 88 and 133 not out v. Notts, and 124 and 40 v. Surrey—646 in 7 com­ pleted innings. J o h n Hobbs has now scored three centuries in successive innings— v. Kent, Notts, and Worcestershire. He was credited in the article about him in our issue of August 1with having done so last year, v. Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucester­ shire. This was a slip of the pen, or perhaps of memory ; I really don’t know now whether I intended to write “ successive matches” oroverlooked altogetherhissecondinnings at Edgbaston. In the three days August 17-T9 fifteen first-class centuries were scored in seven matches then in progress—or rather in six and a third, as only one day of the Northants v. Essex match was in­ cluded. T h is is fairly high, but not a record. Fifteen were scored during the three days June 26-28 last year. Nineteen were made in the three days June 12-14 1911* In 1901 a week— August 5—10—saw 33 registered, 15 in the first three days^ 18 in the second. A lo n z o D r a k e 's feat of taking all ten wickets in an innings has never been performed before by a Yorkshireman in a first- class match, though Wainwright once did it v. Staffordshire. Only Blythe, A . E. E. Vogler, Dennett, and Fielder have taken all ten in an innings in a first-class game since this century*began its course. Overseas Cricket Chat. C a n a d a . On July 25 H. A. Yeoman (79) and E. Shakespeare (49) put up over 100 for the first wicket of Oak Bay v. Victoria. W. B. Burns scored 102 for McGill v. Verdun on August 1 ; ^nd on the same day M. Coppinger made 103, retired, for Civil Service v. Restorer, and H. Jepson 90 for Nanaimo v. Garrison in matches in British Columbia. In Winnipeg on July 25 McNab made 61 in a total of 104 and took 4 for 9 for Young Conservatives v. C.P.R., who were all out for 61. Wanderers put out Eatons for 35, W. L. Price taking 5 for 12, and E. C. Laver 3 for 4. C. L. Stocks took 9 for 28 and did the hat trick for Free Press v. International Securities (Selkirk County C.A.). The annual Prairie Provinces Tournament was held at Regina, August 3-8. Four teams entered, the home province, Sas­ katchewan, fielding two elevens. Nothing very sensational happened ; in fact, the twelve matches played suggest a dead level of mediocrity for which faulty wickets must probably bear part of the blame. Only one total passed 250, and only one batsman scored a century. This was P. P. Barnett, late of Gloucestershire, who made 117 for Alberta v. Saskatchewan B. He scored 91 in the first match between the same sides, and had by far the best batting average for the tournament, scoring 278 in 6 innings, one not out. Other scores of 50 and over were : for Alberta, W. Mole 89 v. Manitoba (second match) and 78 v. Manitoba (first match), P. W. Johnson 65 and J. D. McKay 60 v. Manitoba (second match) ; for Manitoba, L. V. Ray 54* v. Saskatchewan B (second match), W. S. Metcalfe 53 and T. A. Felstead 50* v. Saskatchewan A (second match) ; for Saskatchewan A, R. Edwards 53 and S. P. Meston 50 v. Alberta (first match), G. L. Slater 63 v. Manitoba (second match), and Vickers 51, retired, v. Saskatche­ wan B (second match). No one reached 50 for Saskatchewan B. Rothwell’s 7 for 30 (Manitoba v. Saskatchewan B) was the best bowling analysis of the twelve games. T. A. Felstead (Mani­ toba), who took 17 wickets for 178, and made scores of 50*, 49, and 33, showed about the best all-round cricket. The other bowlers who lowered 10 or more wickets were Farnsworth (Sask. B), 15 at 19*33 each ; Napper (Alb.), 15 at 14-26 ; Elliott (Sask. A), 14 at 13 ; Johnson (Alb.), 14 at 18-14 ; Meston (Sask. A), 13 at 11-38; Edwards (Sask. A), 12 at 15-41 ; and Rothwell (Man.), 11 at 17-36. Each side played each of the others twice. For the first time the tournament was won by a visiting side, Alberta, who beat Saskatchewan B twice and Saskatchewan A once, and drew with Saskatchewan A once and Manitoba twice. Manitoba won two games, lost one, and drew three. Saskatchewan B won two, lost four. Saskatchewan A won one, lost three, and drew two. The highest total was Alberta’s 278 for 9, dec., v. Manitoba. Alberta also made 241 and 203 for 5, dec., v. Saskatchewan B, and 204 v. Manitoba. Saskatchewan A (207 for 9, dec., v. Alberta) were the only other teams to reach 200. AN INVALUABLE HINT TO ALL DEFENDERS OF BRITAIN, I n War disease often levies a heavier toll among large masses of men than the enemy does. Owing to fatigue and exposure, and especially to polluted water, intestinal disorders such as diarrhoea and dysentery frequently become rife. Therefore, next to the weapons he bears, the best safeguard of a soldier’s life is a small bottle of Dr. Collis Browne’s Chlorodyne. This famous medicine, first compounded over 60 years ago by Dr. Collis Browne, an Army Doctor in India, is without a rival in checking and curing all intestinal complaints. One or two doses (of a few drops each) act like a charm in checking diarrhoea, dysentery, colic, and allied ailments. Collis Browne’sChlorodyne is highly concentrated—a medicine-chest in itself—and the small-sized bottle, containing about 20 doses, is only 2f ins. long, and takes no appreciable room in a soldier’s kit. All Chemists sell it, and the wisest and most precious gift one can give to a soldier about to join his regiment, whether for the front or for a training camp, is a bottle of this wonderful medicine, which was used with enormous benefit to the troops in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and in the Boer War.