Cricket 1914

A pr il , 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 71 Notes from the ’Varsities. C AM B R ID G E : TH E PROSPECTS OF TH E SEASON. T h e outlook is certainly promising. In all likelihood we shall have twelve old Blues up, and there are besides quite the average number of Seniors and Freshmen with claims to be considered. Eight of last year’s team are certain to be in residence. These are S. H. Saville (captain, 1914), R. B. Lagden (hon. sec.), G. B. Davies (asst, treasurer), Hon. F. S. G. Calthorpe, J. H. Naumann, K. H. C. Woodroffe, and G. A. Fairbairn. Then last year’s captain, the Hon. H. G. H. Mulholland, is almost sure to be up again ; and there are four members of the 1912 team— W. N. Riley, G. W. V. Hopley, J. S. F. Morrison, and E. C. Baker— who did not appear at Lord’s last year, but are available if needed this. Among the best of the Seniors— and there are plenty of good ones— may be mentioned B. D. Hylton-Stewart (Peter- house), who played for Somerset with success during the vacation; S. McCaughey (Jesus), a medium-fast leg-break bowler, who keeps a very good length ; J. White (Jesus), a fast bowler, who took five wickets against Yorkshire last year ; A. C. Straker (Jesus), a very big hitter ; G. E. C. Wood (Pembroke), a good bat and useful wicket-keeper ; R. du B. Evans, a medium-pace bowler with the gift of mixing them w e ll; A. C. P. Arnold (Magdalene), who has done duty as wicket-keeper for Hants ; and M. Woosnam (Trinity), the golf and soccer blue. Woosnam is a good bat and a very fine cover-point, and if he is not working should have quite a good chance of a place. Concerning the Freshmen, one does not care to say much till they have been put through the mill a bit. School reputations are not always lived up to in 'Varsity days. But on their school form some who seem worth mentioning are F. W. Musson (Tonbridge), good before the stumps and very good behind them ; J. H. Fosdick (Charterhouse), another wicket-keeper of ability ; J. R. M. Lawrence (Haileybury) and F. Brundrett (Rossall), each with a batting reputation to sustain ; and C. L. Mackay (Clifton), an all-rounder of distinct promise. Saville will have his work cut out to choose the best eleven from among all those mentioned, with others whom the future may bring to the front ; and the old blues will have to be in good form if they are to keep their places. Perhaps the choice of a wicket-keeper will be the Cambridge captain’s toughest problem. There are four in the running— Arnold, Wood, Fosdick, and Musson. Anyway, the Light Blue side should turn out one that will not be easily beaten. C a m . O X FO RD : TH E PROSPECTS OF TH E SEASON. While we know that Cambridge will have a dozen blues to choose from this season, and we cannot claim that number, still we think our prospects quite good, and have hopes of a different result at Lord’s from those of the last two years when the great days in July come. There are a number of old choices here, too. F. H. Knott is captain, with G. R. R. Colman secretary, and there are also in residence B. G. von B. Melle, P. Havelock Davies-, A. C. Wilkinson, W. G. K. Boswell, and J. N. Fraser, of last year's team, w'ith E. A. Shaw, who kept wicket in 1912. Campbell, Bardsley, Twining, and Peat are the men who have gone down. W ith choice of the eight mentioned and plenty of likely Seniors and Freshmen, Knott ought to be able to get together a strong side. Though he himself never struck his best form in 1913, the captain is a batsman of great possibilities. W ilkinson’s proper methods are undoubtedly those he employed in knocking up a century in the Parks against M.C.C. last year, and we shall hope to see more of this sort of thing from him. Boswell and Colman are really fine bats, Boswell the more brilliant, but Colman the sounder. Melle ought to make plenty of runs this year. He came straight from the South African matting, never quite got the hang of the turf, and was hopelessly at a loss on the bad pitch at Lord’s ; but the ability is there all right, and by this time he should be getting used to English conditions. As regards other batting candidates, there is E. F. Herring, who might have been given a longer trial last year. He is the very man Oxford has needed for the last two seasons as one of the first pair in, being so very sound and steady ; and when he is not struggling for a place— likely to upset anyone’s play, that— he is quite without nerves. Among the freshers, D. J. Knight, of Malvern, is the most noted. He has already played with success in county cricket, and has done great deeds for his school. He is both sound and steady. Another man who might do well is Kerr, the latest Melbourne Rhodes Scholar. He has proved himself an all­ round player of no mean order in the Melbourne University ranks. As a bowler he is slow-medium right, and makes good use of his height. D. G. W igan (Eton) is a fine free bat, but his fielding tells against his chances. There are others one might mention— for example, A. C. Williamson (B.N.C.) and B. Pawle (Magdalen), both sound, as well as quick-scoring, batsmen. Bowling seems to offer more variety and more real talent than has been the case for some time past. In last year’s form— and there is no reason why he should not reproduce it— Melle will be the mainstay of the attack. -4He can bowl any length of time without tiring ; he keeps his length, and that in-swing of his gets him many wickets. Davies was last year better at the beginning than later on ; he appeared to lose his form as the season progressed. Fraser seems to be a doubtful quantity ; his weakness is inconsistency. He bowled well in a couple of matches, it is true ; but this season he will have a rival in O. C. Bristowe, who bowled the googly for H. K . Foster's side against Oxford last year, and appeared later for Essex, so the Australian may have to bustle for his place. Boswell and Wilkinson can bowl a bit, too, the former medium to fast, the latter in Melle's style, but scarcely in Melle’s class. Besides Bristowe, the pick of the Freshmen bowlers would appear to be Heathcote-Amory (Eton) and Rucker (Charter­ house). Heathcote-Amory is on the fast side and has consider­ able swerve ; Rucker (I am told) is very fast, but rather erratic. Knott will have a number of stumpers, all quite good, to choose from. These are E. A. Shaw, who kept in 1912, R. S. M. White, who kept on tour last year right up to the Hants match but had to be dropped owing to damaged hands, and R. A. Boddington, who appeared for Lancashire with credit. Perhaps Boddington has the best chance, for he is quite a respectable batsman. Fielding needs looking to. It has been patchy during the last two years— brilliant now and then, sometimes good, more often bad. A decent public school side would have been dis­ graced by some of the exhibitions— I was going to say of catching, but that is just what it was not— given. Critical catches have been dropped in both the last two ’Varsity matches, to say nothing of many in other games. Perhaps the display in the M.C.C. game at Lord's was the worst of the lot. A t one stage in that game four quite easy catches were put down in the course of a couple of overs ! i 1 The ground fielding has not been so bad, but there is plenty of room for improvement even here. It behoves Knott to do something. Regular practice ought to remedy this weakness. If the fielding is all right, I think the team will be all right, and should have quite a good chance of pulling off a win at Lord's. Isis. N o t t s have closed their players’ benefit fund with a final allocation of £ 300, making it up to /3039, and this sum has now been distributed among the six beneficiaries— the brothers Gunn, Iremonger, Wass, Oates, and Hallam. Match receipts at Trent Bridge in 1913 totalled ^1359, the Whitsuntide game with Surrey accounting for ^474 of this. Match expenses were £2054. There is a balance of close on £3000 due to the bank on the ordinary account ; but the financial outlook is regarded as satisfactory, and, except that a fast bowler is badly needed, the playing prospects are bright. L in c o l n s h ir e ' s prospects for the season are excellent. All the players of last season, with the possible exception of B. P. Nevile, will be available, for although Day is with a North Staffordshire League Club and Riley in Lancashire, there will be no difficulty about their getting off for county matches. Both men have done excellent service in the past, and Riley was at the top of his form last season, when he totalled 486 runs with an average of over 34, and took 55 wickets at just over 14 each. Major Weigall, M.P., is this year's President, and Mr. J. St. Vigor Fox Vice-President. The eleven will again be captained by W. E. Thompson, the Grantham skipper, and, meet­ ing Cambridgeshire instead of Cheshire, will have ten fixtures in all, home and home with Northumberland, Durham, Cambs, Suffolk, and Kent II.