Cricket 1914

4 § THE WORLD OF CRICKET. M a r c h . 1914. T h e A u stralia n side for N ew Zealand underw ent a few changes a t th e la st m om ent, and as far as one can gath er con sisted u ltim a te ly of the follow ing p layers : W . W . A rm stro n g, V . T . T rum p er, M. A . N oble, F . L aver, V . S. R a n sford , J. N . C raw ford, G . C. C am pbell, I - A . C od y, A . A . M ailey, E . L . W a d d y , H . L . Collins, D r. C, E. D ollin g, and W . M cG regor. T h e last-nam ed is th e M elbourne U n iv e rsity w icket-keeper ; he is th e on ly man on the side w h o has n ot p la yed in in ter-state cricket. D u r i n g the V icto ria v. N ew S outh W ales m atch a t M elbourne a discussion arose am on g some old frequenters o f th e ground as to w h at w as th e b est innings ever p layed upon it— so says “ F e lix ” in th e A ustralasian. One plum ped for J. R . M. M a ck a y ’s 194 for N ew S outh W ales in 1905-6. A n o th e r w as firm for th e 228 m ade b y a certain En glish ba tsm a n who w as a good deal you n ger in those d ays th an he is now. “ F e lix ” him self cham pioned Charles B anner- m an 's 165 (retired hurt) in th e v e ry first T est m atch of th em all. B u t w h a t of p oor Ja ck B row n ’s 140 in th e fifth T est of 1894-5 ■ One m an a t least w h o saw th a t is of opinion th a t few finer innings h ave e ver been p la yed anywhere. Indeed, accordin g to th e E d ito r it lite ra lly sw am ps all other efforts he saw on th a t ground, or a n y other for th a t m atter. G a t e s a t M elbourne this season h ave been far b etter th an a t S yd n ey. T h e m atch referred to above yielded o v e r /1000 in gross receipts, again st betw een £400 and /500 for th e corresponding m atch of last season. C o l o n e l E . A . B r u c e has resigned his p ost as Hon. Sec. of th e Sussex C o u n ty C .C ., and Mr. F . Oddie has been ap p oin ted paid secretary for a y e ar a t a sa la ry of £150. A t th e annual general m eetin g on the n t h inst. Lord H y th e, th e P resid en t elected for the y ear, said th a t it was n ot his in tention to regard his p ost as an orn am en tal one. H e w ould see th a t th e finances and adm inistration of th e clu b were p u t on a sa tisfa cto ry footing. B u t d o n ’t forget, yo u boys of Sussex, “ th e p la y is the th in g ! ” W ith a credit b alan ce on th e y e a r of £207, the club has reduced its to ta l deficit from £1200 to som ething over £250 as a result of th e special m eeting held la st m onth and th e ap p eal th en made. T h e nursery is to be continued for a t least one more year, w ith Mr. N ew h am in charge. T h a t it w ill n ot be allow ed to go o u t of existen ce a t th e end of the y e a r is earn estly to be hoped. S u s s e x needs yo u n g blood. V eteran s of m an y years in B u tt and K illick h a v e recen tly dropped o u t of the team . O f those le ft V in e, A lb ert R elf, and C o x m a y w ith o u t in justice be also described as veteran s. T h u s far the nursery has provid ed the side w ith tw o m en whose places seem now assured in S treet and Jupp. T h e form er is a rea lly good w icket-keeper and can b a t a b i t ; the la tte r has th e m akings of a m ost usefu l all-round man. R o b e r t s , B ow ley, Charlw ood, and T a te h ave all had trials, and h ave all done som e creditable w ork ; b u t it is to o early y e t to sa y of a n y one of th e fou r th a t he is w orth a regu lar place in. the side. T h e special L an cash ire appeal m ade b y Lord D e rb y has had big results. U p to a few d ays ago n early 300 new m em bers had joined th e club ; £2,543 had been prom ised in donations, and £869 an n u ally for three years. T he E d ito r is stron gly of opinion th a t the m on ey m ost w anted is th a t which comes th rough th e turn stiles. P la y up, L a n cs ! W a r w i c k s h i r e had a surplus of £495 la st.y e a r, in sp ite of the fa c t th a t the side’s doings w ere fa t below th e standard th ey set them selves a couple of seasons earlier. T he p ayin g m embers num bered over 2000 ; gate-m on ey to talled £2367 as again st £2344 in 1912. K in n eir w ill ta k e his benefit th is year, the m atch chosen being th a t v. L a n ca ­ shire, beginning on June 29. S an tall w ill coach th e you n g player, and, w h at is more, coach th em well, for he is heart and soul in the game. T h e ground staff consists of B aker, J. B row n, L . B row n, Charlesworth, F ield, H ow ell, H um - pherson, Jeeves, K inneir, Lu ckin , Parsons, and Quaife. Sm ith and H . B ates are on the L o rd ’s staff, and are a v a il­ able for th eir cou n ty’s m atches. W o r c e s t e r s h i r e ’ s m embership fell from 1,266 in 1912 to 795 in 1913. If this sort of th in g continues, th e club m ust be doom ed. T h e exertions of a sm all b a n d of enthusiasts cannot keep it going in face of the indifference of the cou n ty as a whole. M a t c h receipts fell from £942 to £448. T h e item of “ d o n a tio n s” — ^490 16s. 6d.— alone gives th e balance- sheet a respectable appearance ; b u t even w ith these th e deficiency w as £1172. B u t the special ap p eal has resulted in clearing off the deficit and the carryin g forw ard of a credit balance of betw een /500 and £600. In th e face of th is fa ct, one m a y be blam ed for ta k in g a pessim istic view . It should n ot be forgotten, however, th a t special appeals can scarcely be regarded as h ard y annuals. H . K . F oster’s absence and th a t of others of the fam ily m u st be sorely felt. T h e y all p la y cricket as it should be p layed . M r. C. R y d e r takes over th e secretarysh ip for the ensuing year, in succession to Mr. A . W . H ow , whose long illness necessitated his relinquishm ent of the office. L e i c e s t e r s h i r e ’ s outlook is regarded as prom ising. H ere again, though, the special appeal has p la ye d a prom inent part, som ething like £750 h avin g been realised b y it. N ew m embers are com ing forw ard in fair num bers— abou t 150 since the beginning of the year— b u t m an y more are needed. T here w ill be three cricket w eeks aw ay from Leicester, gates h aving been far b e tter on other grounds th an on th a t of the co u n ty town. W h i t e h e a d takes his benefit, th e Sussex m atch in Ju ly. He deserves a bum per for his sportsm anlike and k in d ly action in consenting to stand aside so th a t p oor Jayes m ight h ave a much-needed benefit ou t of his turn. D e r b y s h i r e is another of th e stru gglin g counties which reports m uch more hopefully. T h e y paid th eir w a y in 1913, and the three successive victories ach ieved b y the team under their new leader, C ap tain R . R . B agg alla y, offer hope for the futu re, th ou gh so m an y d efeats did follow them . R e f e r e n c e was m ade last m on th to W ard ’s going in first w ith his captain in the T est m atch a t D urban. This, it seems, was in th e nature of a last resource, how ever. Zulch w as absent. Chapm an, w ho goes in first w ith T ay lo r for their club, had n ot been in v e ry con vin cing form w ith the bat. L e R oux, asked to share his cap tain ’s responsibilities, did n ot refuse, b u t said he w ould rath er not, as he was n ot used to going in first. F in a lly W ard w as chosen. He did n ot m ake m an y runs, b u t k ep t up an end for some tim e in each innings. W it h o u t indulging in superlatives, one m a y y e t w rite of T a y lo r’s consistent success as wonderful. H e m ade 824 in 14 innings, 2 n ot out, again st the M .C.C. T eam ,