Cricket 1914

M a r c h , 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 5 J accordin g to th e w a y he set his field for each batsm an, and no fieldsm an w as ever m isplaced. F req u en tly did he d istrib u te his men am on gst the most unorthodox positions, b u t those positions w ere alw ays impossible to be im proved upon. T h e acm e of accu racy, combined w ith a perfect know ledge of th e gam e and of his opponents, made Trum ble a h o ly terror on w ickets rendered difficult 'b y rain or on w ickets th a t had worn. I w ill confine m y rem arks this m onth to A ustralian bow lers and continue m y article on other great bowlers in m y n ext. N oble had a v ery peculiar flight, especially o n the S yd n ey ground, w ith the w ind blow ing as a rule to help his flittin g a w a y ball. T his ball, p articu larly in th e first few overs of the d ay, would be aim ed a t the b a ts­ m an ’s legs, o n ly to be h ittin g or ju st m issing the off stum p, w ith a beau tifu l len gth w ithal. I am n ot likely to forget the first occasion on w h ich I p layed again st him . H e very righ tly on ly had one m an deep on the off side, and I thought to m yself, I w ill soon see th a t he has another one ou t on the onside, and proceeded to attem p t to lo ft him over sh ort m id o n ; th e b all flew o ver 3rd m an ’s head for four ; again anoth er attem p ted drive to the on realised tw o runs, ju st clearing S yd G regory’s safe hands a t cover. I th en had ju st enough sense to kn ow I w as up again st som ething special and desisted from a ttem p tin g to score on the onside, although the off side w as well packed. I was fortun ate in the comm encem ent of w h at w as to be a longish knock, and on gettin g b a ck to the p avilion I rem arked to m y cap tain th a t N oble bow led a v e ry peculiar b all th a t wanted v e ry careful w atchin g. I am sure A . E . Stqd dart w ill forgive me for repeating his reply, which w as the classical “ R a ts ! ” O ur skipper had a brief innings sh ortly afterw ards, for in a ttem p tin g to h it N oble square to leg his off stum p w as kn ocked down— our skipper being the last in the w orld to m ake such a stroke to a n yth in g b u t a true leg ball. H e rem arked to m e as he joined us after his innings— “ T here w as som ething in w h at you said about this fellow .” Y e s, N oble was n ot on ly a great bow ler, b u t also a grea t batsm an , w ith a thorough know ledge of the gam e, w h ich all m ade up for the great cap tain th a t he w as, added to w h ich he w as a clinkin g field a t point. T om M cK ib b in used to bow l a fu n n y ball, m ixin g them up in a m arked degree and w ith more finger w ork throw n in th an m ost bow lers adopted. H e frequ en tly disguised his spin so w ell th a t some were never sure qu ite which w a y th e b all w ould break. H e was v e ry fond of the leg break, w h ich he used to p itch ju st outside th e off stum p, and it w ould skid a w a y v e ry qu ick ly. A t L iverp ool he once to o k more th an h alf the Lancashire w ickets on a difficult p itch , m ost of our boys bein g ta k en in and p layin g for the w ron g break. H is action b y m any was considered v ery doub tful, b u t it is n ot an easy m atter to th row a leg b reak, and he did n ot bow l as m an y off as leg spinners. A dangerous bow ler, b u t one who gave th e batsm an his opportunities a t tim es, like m ost bow lers w h o rely on their spin alone for w ickets, len gth suffering on beh alf of excessive finger work. T h e L o n d o n a n d N o r th -W e s t e r n R a il w a y C.C. had a good season in 1913, when they won 14 matches and only lost 4, and averaged close on 17 per wicket against just under 11 per wicket by their opponents. A. E. Wilson (574 runs, average 35 9) headed their batting, with H. J. Paris (519 runs, average 30-5) second, and A. R . Gate (276— 23 0) third. P. G. Skilton was their best all-round man ; he scored 300, averaged 20, and took 63 wickets at 6 61 each. E. Howard had 58 at 11-38 ; and Wilson (32 at 7' 71} and Paris (29 at 9*48) practically did the rest of the bowling. Alec J. Houghton led the team well, but was quite out of luck as a batsman. Wilson alone topped the century. He did so twice, with 106 ti. Highgate on July 26, and 133* v. Ilford on Sept. 13. Gate was promoted from the second team, and fully justified his promotion. Skilton took xo for 32 v. Harpenden— a record for the club. New clubs to be met in 1914 include Southend, West Shene, North London, High Wycombe, Alexandra Park, and Steinway. Overseas Cricket Chat. AU STRAL IA . Percy Heather, the ex-Transvaalian, seems to be earning golden opinions in Melbourne, whither he lately returned after a number of years spent in South Africa. “ Felix ” of the Australasian (Tom Horan of old Australian fame) says of him : I gathered from South African reports that he was a mere hitter. That is not correct. He can play the game, and play it well, by making sound, orthodox strokes on both sides of the wicket.” On the occasion upon which “ Felix ” saw Heather the latter made 40* (6 fours) in 26 minutes. On January 17, L. Mullett, the young Melbourne C.C. left-hand bowler took 6 for 20 v. Collingwood, who were all out for 47. Mullett did well in the N.S.W. v. Victoria Colts match, reported on another page. Robinson of Carlton took 5 for 16 in the course of 19 balls v. East Melbourne on the same day. E.M. had 5 down for 157, 6 and 7 for 161, 8 for 163, and 9 for 165. Then Seitz, the former Oxford blue, and Braid added 47 for the last wicket. Robinson’s analysis at the finish was 7 for 45. David Smith, who was here with the last Australian team, has retired from the game altogether, it is reported. Knee trouble is the cause. His knee was injured in a collision with another player during the match which the Australian side played at Hamilton, Bermuda. The hatchet is to be buried in Melbourne, and if things go as happily as is expected next season, the Melbourne C.C. will play in pennant matches, and will give up their direct repre­ sentation on the Board of Control— a matter which has always caused friction between them and the Victorian Cricket Association. Centuries in Australia during January included :— Jan. 10.— L. de C. Kemmis, 107, Balmain v. Glebe (Sydney). „ 10.— H. G. Pratten, 123*, Burwood v. Waverley (Sydney). ,, 10.— C. J. Tozer, 164*, University v. Middle Harbor (Syd.). „ 24.— Clyde Smith, 138, South Hobart v. East Hobart. „ 24.— A. Findlay, 114, East Launceston v. North Launceston. „ 24.— V. Jones, 100, East Perth v. North Perth. ,, 24.— L. Cohen, n o, Carlton v. North Melbourne. „ 26— J. A. Seitz, 105*, East Melbourne v. Prahran. „ 31.— J. B. H. Cranney, 117, Central Cumberland v. Middle Harbor (Sydney). „ 31.— F. B. Anderson, 100, Middle Harbor v. Central Cumber­ land. „ 31.— F. M. Farrar, n 7 , University v. Balmain (Sydney). ,, 31.— S. G. Moore, i n , North Sydney v. Gordon. „ 31.— T. J. E. Andrews, 113*, Petersham v. Western Suburbs (Sydney). „ 31.— R. J. Hartigan, 102, Toombul v. Nundah (Brisbane). „ 31.— E. R. Mayne, 254, East Torrens v. University (Adelaide). „ 31.— A. Smith, 105, East Torrens v. University. ,, 31.— G. Healy, 136*, Prahran v. Northcote (Melbourne). „ 31.— S. Stephens, 149*, Prahran v. Northcote. Mayne, who has become a much freer batsman since his tours to England and America, though he can still play the rock when necessary, made his 254 in only a trifle over 4 hours, hitting 6 sixes and 21 fours. His side were set 305 to win, and got 460 for 7. . J. M. Taylor, the schoolboy who played so brilliantly for the N.S.W. Colts in the Christmas match, scored 235 for Hunter's Hill v. Drummoyne late in January. P. C. Gillespie (of Petersburg, South Australia) made 109 in 42 minutes in a match between the Burra Automobile Club and Morgan a t Morgan in January. Seven fives and 13 fours were included. Gillespie regularly scores his 1000 and more as eason in country matches, and some of his friends think th at he ought to be seen in better-class cricket. Another country player of note is C. Apps, of the Western C.C. (Grafton, N.S.W.), who, up to about the end of January, had scored 1,344 in 24 innings, 10 not outs, his last nine innings being h i *, 55*, 25*, 115*, 67*, 57*, 36, 117, and 59. It will be seen that he aggregated 466 between one dismissal and the next.