English Cricketers.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 35, 3 November 1911, Page 16

English Cricketers.

The Australian'Touir% ;

(By P. F- Warner, in the. "Westminster Gazette.")

Yvarwicksmre, by their decisive victory over Northamptonshire, haA-e Avon, the county championship. Everyone will offer Mr. F. R. Foster and his team the most hearty congratulations. A year ago, and for many years previously, Wanvickshire \A r ere voted a dull side, and there was, if the truth must be told, no. great competition' to arrange matches Avith them. Now Aye shall be all falling over one another to play them next season, for instead of the uninteresting side which a. as supposed, rightly or wrongly, to think first of all-of defeat, they have become, under the keen and inspiring leadership of their young captain, . a thoroughly attractive team. And im praising Mr. F. R. Foster for his happy oaptaincy, one must not forget the good example set in the previous year by Mir. H. J. GoodAvin, avlio created the ; new spirit Avhich Mr. Foster has so splendidly carried on. I am aa advocate of the present system of awarding points on the first innings—though, like every other system of scoring, it has its obvious drawbacks —but one cannot but regret that the champion county of 1911 did not meet Kent, or Middlesex or Notts. This Avas not WarAvickshire's fault, but it is none the less a pity that three of the strongest team 3 should not have been found among their opponents. They will be very Avelcome a.t the Oval on September 11, for their success Avill do a great deal for cricket in the Midlands, Avhcro the game Ava,s in sad need of encouragement. At tho beginning of this season I Avas talking to a, prominent member of the Warwickshire C.C He AAas full of 'lamentations, saying that cricket Avas losing its popularity, and ! that tho laA. s and customs should be changed; indeed, he was full of new ideas. I told him, as I had said all along, that the game but needed a really fine sumanor to boom again. Well, thank heaven, I happened to be right. The game is booming as it never boomed before. Warwickshire cricket is booming, and I hope my friend is as happy as to the future of cricket in England as I am. REMARKS ON BOWLING. Mr. G. L. Jessop's inability to ac- | cept the M.C.C.'s invitation to go to A»s&_»_ia. gave Vine his chance, and the team, for better or AA'orse, is uoav definitely chosen. Mr. Jessop has been batting very finely .latefiy—in quite- his best form, indeed—and his fielding is. as good as ever. Mr. Fry tells mc he "saved fifteen certain fours Avhich no other man would have fingered even" in the match between* Hampshire and Gloucestershire. "I should have made 318 instead of 258 but for Jess-opus. His fielding was a revelation." This is hig_i praise, indeed, and well deserved, I am sure; but Mr. Jessop cannot see his Avay to help us, and his place has 'been taken by Vino. Until this season Vine used to bowl his leghreaks round the wicket Avith all but tAvo fieldsmen-on the leg side. Candidly, I used to like his bowling! One could frequently run out and.hit it on the off-side, and on one occasion I got 20 runs off him in. an over, and I am no Bonner. He bowled so much to .leg fchat_ even, a highly skilful wicke-t- ---■ keeper like Butt found it necessary to have a long-stop, and a man Avas thereby wasted in the field. Nowadays, •hoAA-over, Vine bowls all over the wicket and at the wicket with a slip, sometimes tAA'o slips, a coverpoiiit square, a mid-off, and occasionally an. extra cover. In fact, he tries to boAvl the batsman cut. As a result, he is, to my mind, an altogether better bowler. He can spin the ball tremendously, and his pace through the air is not slow. He must, however, learn to vary his pace without shoAving it. Against Middlesex, at Brighton, he boAvled uncommonly well, and as he is the type of cricketer Avho is always persevering and learning, he ought to boAvl better every time he goes on. I believe ho Avill be a very useful member of the team, for, apart from his bowling, ho can 1 , as everyone knows, bat extremely Well, and he is a keen and most untiring fielder in "the country." I am glad Hitch has been chosen. He has great pace, and he is improving in his length every day. If. used for six or seven overs at a time he Avill be bowling his fastest throughout an innings. On the very fast Australian wickets he Avill be even, faster than he is here. He is a superb field, and his energy, like that of Strudwick, is infectious. He should do well, and he will come back a much-improved cri_keter. A STRONG TEAM. There is no doubt that M.C.C. haA-e given us a strong team, and it will get stronger as the tour proceeds. We have ten bowlers in all, counting'Hobbs and Mead, and the former is a good bOAvler Avith a new ball. Of course ten boAvlers Aviil not play ml one and the same match, but it Avill enable one to so ■ manage the bowling that no individual should be overworked. Mr. and Hit£h fast, -Barnes and Iremonger medium paced; Wooley, Rhodes and Mead, left-hand sloav ; Vino leg-breaks; Mr. Foster fast medium left; and Hobbs fast"medium'" right. To make Humanity Divine! ■What a plethora of bowling. As for the batting, horo again there is a great

deal, but.we lack a Fry, a batsman of the highest skill, and Mr. Fry has never been so<>pod as.he is iioav. He , has corrected his strokes, down to the wax-polish point. I shduld haA r e rejoiced to have been No. 4 to his No. 3. The fielding has been considerably strengthened lately, and we shall not all be wanting to field at point, as has been suggested. Barnes, when not actually bowling, will be there—if we want a point—and Hobbs, Hitch and Rhodes on the on-side will take a lot of getting through. We have plenty of slips, and plenty of practice they will get on board ship and on the Adelaide ■ground, and of out-fields we have Mead, Woolley and Vine, and, if necessary, Hobbs, though I should be reluctant to take him away from cover. As for our manager, we are very lucky in having Mr. Tom Pawley, for lie is a born organiser, Avho leaves nothing to chance, and Avho Avill take care, not only of ns personally, but also of M.C.C.'s interests. Mr. PaAvley has so

directed the affairs of Kent that A'ictory fo,r that county is almost taken for granted. Let us hope that he may be equally fortunate with M.C.C. But the enemy are strong, thej' have great resources, and their grit and courage are AA'ell knoAAUi. We cannot, therefore, afford to fchroiv away a chance. I hope, however, to instil a great enthusiasm in all ranks, an enthusiasm so great that the fine team which has been given to my care may realise its best potentialities. It is no light task, this captaincy of an English team in, the test matches. There is much anxiety, there is much responsibility, and there is much thinking to be done- But I love cricket—indeed, the older I grow the more I love it —and the sporting side of the adventure appeals to mc. It. may be said that I. am something of a veteran, but on the other hand nearly 20 years of first-class cricket should not lay mc open to the charge of inexperience. Loyalty and discipline tare the first tAvo essentials in any cricket team. These I am sure to find in every member of the M.C.C. team, and that every man will do his best I am equally certain. Moreover, the knoA.ledge that practically every man, woman and child in this country is taking an interest in our doings will be an additional incentive to us to fight hard, to fight strong, to fight keen, and, above all, to fight straight, for England.