CRICKET.

NZ Truth, Issue 119, 28 September 1907, Page 3

CRICKET.

(By Scout)

A' testimonial is being engineered to assist H. F. Boyle, the old Victorian cricketer who was a member of the pioneer Australian Eleven. His health for some time past has not been good, and it was necessary for him to undergo an operation, which was successfully carried out a few weeks ago.. As .the old cricketer has been put to considerable expense the committee is trying to collect not less than £250 to enable him to have a thorough change of air and scen.e when he is able to take advantage of it.

A very unusual event occurred m a match m England this season. One of the batsmen, m making a stroke to leg, sent the ball into the umpire's coat pocket, from where it was taken by one of the fieldsmen. The umpire at the bowler's end, upon being appealed to, gave the batsman "not out," explaining that the ball was dead. A writer m "Cricket" thinks the decision was wrong, and that the player should have been given out.

The London "Sportsman" says that the South Africans are not, m the public estimation at any rate, quite the equal as a magnet of the Australians, despite the fact that they have recently had the audacity to lower the colors of the White Rose.

F. Tarrant is returning to Victoria for the Summer, his expenses being defrayed by. the Middlesex ' County Club. He was the most successful all-round cricketer m England this year.

K. L. Hutchings (Kent), who is coming out as one of A. 0. Jones' lieutenants, is . a remarkably hard driver. George Hirst said last season that he would sooner field midoff to anyone rather than to Hutchings, and that he always took the precaution of getting three or four yards deeper when he saw the young Kent amateur coming on. Sydney grade conpetition matches commence this afternoon.

Judging from M. A. Noble's appearance m a photographic group of N.S.W. baseball players, this great cricketer has wintered well. He bears quite a plump-featured appearance. The abondonment of the match, Middlesex v. Lancashire, owing to the behavior of the spectators m rushing on the ground (Lords), and interfering v/ith the wickets because the players did not continue the game m the rain, has caused great indignation m England. The secretary of the Marylebone C.C. wrote to the secretary' of the Middlesex County Club, stating that the committee of the Middlesex Club were responsible for the admission of the public and the control of the spectators, and for the protection of the pitch, m the Middlesex matches. C. B. Fry rubs it m to the crowd m a very forcible manner. Amongst other things he says :— "Nothing is more certain than that the attitude of a certain class of spectators of first-class cricket matches has become a disgrace to English sport." The public' of to-day has been encouraged m the belief that first-class cricket is played* entirely for their entertainment, without any regard to the character and requirements of the game of cricket. Dr. E. M. Grace, who is m nis 66th year, still plays cricket. During the present season he took 126 wickets for 1335 runs, for Thornby Club. When he bats, however, he has a man to run between the wickets for him. When Kent met Lanchasire on August Bth a collection for G. Blythe,

m recognition of his fine bowling In the Test match against the South Africans, realised £79, and he expressed his intention of sharing a portion -with his brother professionals of Kent.

Dave Denton, they Yorkshire cricket-* er, had a very successful benefit match at Leeds last month, the receipts amounting to £1776 17s. •A capital story is told about one of the South Australian contingent m the 1896 Australian Eleven. Several of the team were m the room talking to Fitzsimanons, the famous pugilist. A silk hat lay on a table, and Fitzsimmons offered to bet that he could punch a hole through it without moving the hat from the table. The cricketer conceived the idea that the hat belonged to Fitzsimmons, and was not reluctant to wager. The fighter, however, and some of those gathered round him, knew that the owner of the hat was the cricketer. Anyway, the wager was made. Fitzsimmons knocked the hole m the hat, and the cricketer laughed as loudly as anyone, until he discovered that besides having lost his wager he had also lost his hat.

The first English team which visited Australia— in 1862— was brought out by Messrs Spiers and Pond, of Victoria, at a cost of £7000. The players were given £150 each, and had all their expenses paid. They came out m the Great Britain, Twenty-five thousand people witnessed the first match, the entrance fee being five shillings. The Englishmen won by an innings and 96 runs.

J. N. Crawford, who is coming out to Australia with the M.C.C. team this season, wears spectacles while playing.

A cricket team has been formed m a Northern country town, and its membership contains seven brothers and their bald-headed old man. The old cove has evidently been bowling well all his life and is still "not out" !

Grainger, who has represented South Africa, , and also played against the Australians there, has arrived m Auckland, and as he intends staying there he should be a great acquisition to local cricket. It is understood that he will throw m his lot with City.

A. E. Relf,. the Sussex professional, was expected to leave London for Auckland on the 20th inst. Definite > information will shortly be forthcoming. Major Ward ill, secretary to the Melbourne CO., now receives a salary of £700 per annum, after having put m 16 years at £600.

The M.C.C. was cock-a-doodle-do-ing a lot as to the English team that is coming to Australia to do battle for "them ashes." That's all right, but the unfortunate part of the business is, that while at first topno tchers were named, it is now a different team m point of calibre to the one originally named. Jackson was the first to drop out, and as per usual, other crack manipulators of the willow soon dropped out.

Prom Secretary Bill Salmon, of the Old Boys' Cricket Club, I have to acknowledge a copy of the report and balance-sheet m connection with last season's doings, which were rendered memorable by the fact that the senior team was at the top of the tree m competitions for its class. The Club was represented m representative matches by Tucker. Collins, Beechey, Monaghan. and J. P. Blacklock, while the first-named had the honor of being included m the New Zealand team against De TraSord's men.

The financial position of the Old Boys' Club is not. altogether satisfactory, there being an overdraft at the Bank, though outstanding subscriptions will, it is alleged, more than cover it. The fact of £18 3s 6d being set down as outstanding subscriptions is not creditable to those who play on the credit system, and it might pay. the Old Boys' Club handsomely were these gentlemen (sic) fired right out from the Club and stopped from following their contemptible tactics m the playing arena until such time as their liabilities had been made good. Players of this kidney are an excrescence m any realm of sport. This is where the Sports Governing Federation justifies its existence.

Ken Tucker headed the batting averages m the Old Boys' senior team last season, his figures reaching 55.2. Then comes D. Collins, 39.3 ; E. Beechey, 33.1 ; S. Jacobs, 25.5 ; H. W. Monaghan, £2.7 ; D. Hay, 21.0 ; C. P. Blacklock, 20.8 ; H. E. Dixon, 19.0 ; F. M. B. Fisher, 14.8 ; J. P. Blacklock, 13.0 ; S. Wills, 11.6. Tucker aggregated 442 runs, his nearest attendants being Beecliv 265, C. P. Blacklock 167, Collins 118, and S. Jacobs 102. The bowling honors were snavelled by J. Dickson (11.7). the next m order of merit being H. Monaghan (15.1), Tucker (16.7), S. Wills (20.8), and E. Beechey (28.3). Monaghan captured the? most wickets," viz.. 31 at a cost of 470 runs ; Tucker following with 29 at a cost of 485. E. K. Kirkcaldie carried off the second eleven batting honors (26.0) ; A. Otterson being runner-up (25.2). M. Lomax was -to the fore with he ball (n.3), with H. R. McGowan lying handy (9.9).

A reader of "Truth" m Napier requests me to furnish him with the names of the English team of cricketers that visited Australia m 1876, and also seeks information as to the men who made up the combination that are still m the land of the living. The te.im was composed as fellows :— J. Lillywhite (captain 1 ) , T. Armitago, H. R. Charlwood, T Emmett, A. G-reenwood, • A. Hill, H. Jupp, E. Pooley, J. Selby. A. Shaw, J, Southerton, G-. Ullyett. Since that period all the members of the team, with the exception of Armitage, Lillywhite and Hill, have crossed the "Great Divide." The M.C.C. team' now on its way to Australia is the 17th English combination to visit Australia, as Lord Hawke's team m 1887 cannot be said to come under the heading of touring teams, seeing that it only played three matches., viz., m Adelaide, Melbourne, *.'nd Sydney.

Harry Moorhouse, the old-time cricket and Poneke Football Club player, is now residing m Christchurch. Moorhouse, when m England, played for the Merton C.C. and also took part m a lot of Survey club cricket.

A. 0. Jones has invented a position for himself at short third man to fast bowling — a place that can ottty be acquired by a man of great pluck, a safe pair of hands, an\\ fine eytsight. Jones hag &M these- attributes, and agfttast the flayers m England \n faQughjj, off three' »ost

brilliant catches.- The one by which he dismissed George Hirst was, m fact, one of the finest ever seen upon Lord's ground, for he dived down almost at full length, and just captured the ball before it reached the ground.