Cricket 1914

458 THE WORLD Two Men of 1914. J. W . Hearne and Kennedy were among the players who specially distinguished themselves in 1914 ; and there is a peculiar appropriateness in giving their portraits side b y side, for they were born in the same year (1891— the Hampshire man on January 24, the Middlesex prodigy on February n ) , and m ay be said to have commenced their careers in the same year (1909), though as a matter of fact Kennedy was tried in a couple of matches in 1907 (when only 16) and in three in 1908. They did great things this season. Hearne headed the batting averages, and besides scoring over 2000 runs captured over 100 wickets. Kennedy took more w ickets than anyone else except Colin B lyth e, and, though at present he can scarcely claim to be an all-round man in the sense th at Hearne is so, was p retty useful w ith the bat. There was nothing in either’s performances, on figures, in 1909 th at could be called remarkable. Kennedy did good work w ith the ball against Sussex at Hove (6 for 45) and Leicestershire at Portsmouth (4 for 30) ; Hearne scored 71 v. Somerset at Taunton, and took 3 for 18 v. Worcester shire at Worcester. B u t it is promise rather than per­ formances one expects of youngsters of 18, and promise was very evident in both cases. It was fulfilled in 1910. The Middlesex man made centuries v. Somerset a t Lord’s and Sussex at Eastbourne, and was often of use as a bowler, his best feats being achieved v. Somerset— a great match for him— when he took 5 for 28 in the second innings, and v. Essex a t Lord’s, when, after having 35 runs h it off him w ithout a w icket, he finished off the innings b y taking 7 of the last 8 wickets while only two runs were scored from his bowling. The Hampshire colt did not come to the front in so marked a degree ; but his 4 for 46 v. Northants at Northampton, 4 for 49 v. Somerset at Aldershot, and 4 for 10 v. W ar­ wickshire at Birmingham , gave evidence of the stuff th at was in him. In the off season Hearne w ent to the W est Indies w ith Mr. A. F . W . Somerset’s side, and bowled w ith considerable success. The campaign of 1911 brought him still more definitely to the front. A to tal of over 1600, including four centuries, and 102 wickets at 22 each made a wonderful record for a mere lad of 20. Kennedy did not move on as fast as his contemporary. His 51 w ickets cost over 30 each, though a t times— notably v. Derbyshire a t D erby, when he took 10 for 84 in the match, v. Worcestershire at South­ ampton (5 for 35), v. Sussex a t Portsmouth (5 for 77), and v. Yorkshire a t Portsmouth (5 for 61)— he did really well. He improved considerably as a batsman, making 62 v. Somerset, 57 not out v. Warwickshire a t Southampton, 51 not out v. Middlesex, 48 v. Warwickshire at Birmingham , and 46 v. Lancashire. Hearne had another tour in 19 11-2 . He went to Australia, and helped to win four test matches out of five. Runs were much harder to get in 1912 than they had been in 1911, and his batting figures for the later year m ay fairly be reckoned as showing quite as good work as those for the earlier, though his average was lower, and he only made one century— for Players v. Gentlemen at the Oval. In the bowling line he was again successful, taking fewer w ickets but at lighter cost. Among his analyses were 8 for 36 v. Worcestershire, 7 for 28 v. Sussex, and 5 for 16 v. Kent. He appeared in five of the six tests— all but the first— w ithout very marked success. That season was a great one for Kennedy. He took over 100 wickets for the first time, once securing 12 in a match, thrice 11, and twice 9. Against Surrey at Bourne­ mouth he had 7 for 29 in one innings. A s a batsman he was somewhat a t sea on the slow wickets, and his only score of note was 61 v. Worcestershire at Worcester. W ith over 2000 runs (average 44'26) and 124 wickets Hearne did wonderful work in 1913. He topped the century six times ; and among his best bowling feats were 11 for 187 v. Worcestershire a t Worcester, 11 for 206 v. Worcestershire at Lord’s, 10 for 158 v. Yorkshire at Sheffield, and 9 for 142 v. Essex at Lord’s. Kennedy had to undergo an operation in the winter, and could not appear till the season was nearly halfway over. B u t he soon showed that, if his strength m ight be a trifle below par, his skill had suffered no diminution. He got wickets in every match, and proved quite the mainstay of the Hants attack after rejoining it. Hearne again went on tour in 1913-4, thistime to South A frica, where in the eleven-a-side matches he scored a couple of centuries, and figured third in the batting averages to Hobbs and John Douglas. His record to date is a wonderful one for a young player of only 23. It is quite on the cards th at we m ay not y et have seen the best of him. As to Kennedy, nothing can be much more certain than th at he will y e t do bigger things than he has done, and should his undoubted promise as a batsman materialise w ithout detriment to his bowling he will very likely play for England before long. The figures of the two to date are given hereunder in synoptical form. J. W. H e a r n e . K e n n e d y . OF CRICKET. O c t o b e r , 1914. B a t t in g . B o w l in g . B a t t in g . B o w l in g . r . AVER. w . AVER. r . AVER. w . AVER. 1907.. — - — - 5 2-50 7 11-85 1908.. — - — - 1 0-50 11 14-72 19 0 9 .. 130 i i -8 i 10 18-60 73 4-68 3 i 21-9 6 1 9 1 0 .. 725 22-65 48 24-68 123 5-34 31 27-67 1 9 1 1 .. 1627 42-81 102 22-00 554 18-46 5 i 30-70 1 9 1 2 . . 1502 35-76 80 20-07 2 13 9-68 139 I7-60 1 9 1 3 .. 2036 44-26 124 22-26 313 15-65 82 23-2I 1 9 1 4 .. 2 116 60-45 123 2 2 6 9 546 15-16 162 20-01 W.I., ’ io - i 344 18-10 67 21-49 — — — - A., ’11-2 808 44-88 14 50-07 — — — - S.A., ’13-4 695 46-33 27 26-81 — — — - Totals 9983 37-53 595 23-05 1828 12-26 514 21-29 Hearne’s first-class centuries to date are :— 155, Mdx. v. Smt., Lord’s, June 13, 14, 1910. 108, Mdx. v. Sx., Eastbourne, Aug. 11, 12, 1910. 109, Mdx. v. Notts., Lords’, June 13, 1911. 126, Mdx. v. Yorks., Lord’s, June 16, 17, 1911. 234*, Mdx. v. Sm t., Lord’s, July 13, 14, 1911. 115, Mdx. v. Wore., Lord’s, July 24, 25, 1911. 114, Eng. v. Aust., Melbourne, Dec. 30, Jan. 1, 1911-2. 143, Eng. v. Victoria, Melbourne, Feb. 2, 1912. 123*. Players v. Gent., Oval, July 12, 1912. 178*, Mdx. v. Essex, Leyton, June 28, 30, 1913. 126, Players v. Gent., Oval, July 12, 1913. 1-89, Mdx. v. Hants., Southampton, Aug. 5, 1913. 139, Mdx. v. Sx., Eastbourne, Aug. 8, 1913. 106, Mdx. v. Notts, Nottingham , Aug. 20, 1913. 102, Lord Londesbrough’s X I v. K ent, Scarborough, Sept. 8, 1913-4. 108, Eng. v. O .F.S., Bloemfontein, Jan. 23, 24, 1914. 136, Eng. v. Transvaal, Johannesburg, Jan. 30, 1914. And eight during the season of 1914, particulars of which will be found on another page. J. N. P. F or S a l e .— “ M .C.C. Scores and Biographies,” Vols. x and 2, 20s. each ; 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 6s. each ; 12, 13, 10s. each. C r ic k e t , Vols. 1884-86, 6s. each; 1908-9-10-11-12-13, 5s. each " Cricket Field,” 1892-3-4-5, complete, £1 5s. “ F . Lillywhite's Guide,” 1854 to 1865, 3s. 6d. each. 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