NOTES BY LONG SLIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 60

NOTES BY LONG SLIP.

| The death is announced of A. Henri, the Queensland aboriginal, who was probably the fastest bowler in the world. He played against Warner's M.C.C. team in their Australian tour in ISO 3-4. The arrangements are proceeding apace for the visit of the M.C.C. team to South > Africa in the 'autumn. They leave in November, opening at Capetown on Saturday, December 4, and leaving for home in March. There will be three tests in , Johannesburg, one at Capetown, and one at Durban, and, if not a fully representative side, H. D. G. Leveson-Gower will have undar his commi.nd several of the professionals now figuring in the test games. , Keif, the Auckland coach, is to leave Home by the lonic, due early in November. It is possible that Buckenbam and Board will travel by the same steamer. : It is understood that the terms upon ' which Board comes out under engagement to the Hawke's Bay Cricket Association are £5 a week and expenses out and Home. While some members of cricket clubs of the old order are regretting the severance of old tie 3 and the breaking of venerable associations involved hj the adoption of tho district scheme, the Wellington Club has vigorously begun to do its best to have the new era ushered in with good prospects of success from the outset. The honorary seoretary, Mr William Adams, states that it is the intention of the club to soil its assets, and to hand to • the new District '• Association-—after final expenses have been deducted—the cash derived therefrom. The amount estimated to be to the credit of i the club when this has been done is between £30 and £40. This prompt effort to make tfc# old order gracefully give way to the new (to the pjofit and glory of the I new) should not be overlooked by other '• clubs that may be now in the Balfour mood of '"philosophic doubt." Though Lancashire has met erery Australian Eleven, save that of 1880, the county has only once been successful —viz., against the 1888 team by 23 runs. Australia has won 12 matches and 3 have been drawn. It will thus be seen that the county of A. G. Steel, A. N. Hornby, Briggs. A. C. Maclaren, Mold, and Tyldesfey has not been a bright performer against the colonials. i D. W. Carr, who was cnosen among the possibles for" England in the fourth, and . in the eleven for the fifth, test match, recently took all ten wickets in an innings for 47 runs for Mr Percy Christopherson's Eleven against Hemel Hempstead, the total being 147. Recently he captured three wickets in four balls for Kent against Hampshire, for whom C. B. Fry scored 63 and 94. The Players defeated the Gentlemen at Kenmngton Oval by 74 runs, scoring 203 and 189 (Hayes 32 and 56, Woolley 55 and 15, Kinneir 7 and 46, and G. J. Thompson 14 not out and 28), and the Gentlemen 110 and 218 (E. W. Dillon 27 and 17, W. 11. B. Evans 26 and 39, K. L. Hutchings 0 and 59). D. W. Carr, the new "'googlie" bowlpr. took three for 58 and five for 80 and S. G. Smith two of 50 and five for ' 40 for the Gentlemen; and C. Blythe five '■ for 48 and seven for 65 for the victors. i ' The Gentlemen v. Players match at ■ ' Lord's produced an easy win for the : Players by 200 runs, after ''closing" at 204 ; for five wickota in the second innings. ' They made 214 &nd 204 for five wickets < (Rhodes 61, Tyldesley 32 and 63, Hayes 30 1 and 43, Hayward 22 and 24, and Denton 8 1 and 32 not out). Carr secured six for 71 i i and one for 57. The Gentlemen made 76 , . and 142 (P F. Warner 3 and 58, H. K. ( Foster 28 and 8, S. G. Smith 3 and 35, j and A. C. Maclaren 12 and 17). Barnes 1 took five for 22 and three for 33, and . i Hirst four for 43 and thr&e for 31., ' i Kent have discovered a man of merit in 1 D W. Carr, a gentleman vlho bowJ3 < "goog'Acs." In the match between the ] Gcntlem-e.n and Players, at the Oval, that | concluded in a victory for the Players by , i 6* runs, Carr took three for 58 and fivo j ( for 80 at tho second attempt. The triumph, i of the "googlie," as expounded by D. YV. j -y Carr —known to his friends as "John" — £ has brought from many influential quarters i tha assertion that thk form of bowlinig, :f ! , it became general, would be a seriou3 matter ' $ for county cricket, inasmuch as it would < tend to deprive the l.atting of its chief charm —that of hard, free hitting. Carr's f bowling at th 3 Oval certainly teemed to 1 have this effect. He 6imply puEzled all the i } batsmen —we did hear it said 1 that ho para- ( lysed some of them, but possibly that was \ only a very mild exaggeration. He can, ] without altering his arm action in any psT- ' ceptiblo way, make the ball break both | ( ways. However closely the batsmen or | g wicket-keeper may watch him, they find it a impossible to tell which way the' ball will i r cutl, and many times in the uiatah at the J fc Oval, Shields, as well as the batsmen, was j v completely mystified. Sometimes Carr c makes the ball break in an extraordinary fashion right across the wicket from either j side. At others he will make ir, turn just 1 a little, and frequently he bowls a straight n ball which goes rijrht through. ! 1] Mr E. F. Uipham, the New Zealand g cricketer, has been mart's the -ecipient of j h a unique memento of his long association , fc with the Midland Club. The presentation t was the idea of Mr Hyams, It *] k an album, handsomely bound in I the club colours, maroon and white, ' I with Mr Upham's monogram in gold b on tho first outside cover-ra unique thing. J It contains the <records of the Midland Club i since ite inception, on September 21, 1883, ' t up to the end of 1908, when the club dis- ' 1 banded owing to the institution of district o cricket. The club won 104 matohes, lost 1 43, and 10 wore unfinished. Of 26 cham- v pionships, the club won 9, and tied 4 a -times for firet place. For over 20 years Mi ttt-haiu's lxnv.ii.nfi; fljMJjtljn^ we^e t>

■ ' ... [ features of oforb and intetrprovinoial cricket. 1 He captured 1033 wicketa at en average of 11.99, haying delivered 34,216 balls Hia average injp per innings for 264 irminge are ! 13.64. Mr A. G-. Steel stands next to W. G. Grace ! as the bast all-round English cricketer of his time. Hundreds of Australians will thoroughly agree with his views on captaincy, and hundreds in Sydney will also agree wibh this reference to Victor Trumper When V.T. waa younger he was able to make the strokes, but now that he seemingly does not sight the ball so minutely, he frequently falls in trying to guide to lej^ a ball which he might easily have driven sgEwight to the fence. Nevertheless, few m Australia wiS agree with him that the pull strolce is not a good one. It has its limitations, and the successful batsman has to recognise the fact. When Trumper plays a straight bat driving game he is still a wonder ; but he rarely is able to play the orthodox game. The jugglery with him has become a mechanical action. But it is the art of youth, and- depends largely on a matchless vision. Charles Bannerman, the old international ' cricketer, desires "Not Out," of Sydney Referee, to state that he is open for engXrgemeait as coach in any part of Australasia. Mr Frank Layer, the Australian team's manager, in a letter mentions act interesting series of coincidences. Writing ->usfc ' after the second test match, belaid: — "On the lost morning of the match A. C. Maclaren went out to the ground with us in our motor, and I told him -we were gom£" to wan, as 13 -was- my lue-ky miniber. We are the thirteenth Australian cricket team. Ho said, ' I suppose you wall make 13 -and ' get all the wickets.' I replied, 'I don't oare whether I get any -wickets as. long as we win.' Speaking of 13, other curious coincidisnees "have ocoured -this season; In our first tour in the provinces we onfly took 13 with- us, and "won all out games. Then we were all together, and had a succession of draws and defeats. Our next trip to th^. provinces was with 13, and we won. evesrything, and have not lost a match since. I forgot to mention that after my talk to Maclaren on tibe morning of the third day I made 13 not out. A wager was also madia during England's second innings that they would not make 100. They failed by 13 to do co. How doses this do for the superstitious 13? I only took the number to upset the superstitious ideas. »I could: go still further, for I was the thirteenth chosen when first picked for Australia."