CRICKET CAPS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2533, 1 October 1902, Page 53

CRICKET CAPS.

CHAT ABOUT HEADGEAR ON THE FIELD. (Illustrations by "Rip.") First-class cricketers have nearly all their own particular caps, which they always wear, and their own peculiar ways of wearing them. . . i r A cricket cap is a convenient article of headgear. It can be put on in bo many different ways, as any observing person will notice at a cricket match, that it at once affords an opportunity for the great cricketer to display his individuality, and for the man in the crowd to distinguish him. ' . , If a cricket enthusiast enters a cricket ground and 6ees a figure in flannels with a blade beard and cap of red and gold at the wickets,' he at once becomes very excited, and runs off to a seat with a gasp. When he diecovers that the batsman ha» niade 50 he smile's with happiness. He does aIL thfa beoause one glance at that black beard and red-and-gold cap. w»s enough to t-ell him it wrs "W. G." But, of couise> it i'Cquires « o (•peoial knowledge of cricket I o rcooguise the doctor. A man who had lived in the backwoods of America the best part of his life would know that combination of brown face, beard, and red-and-gold cap, for he must have seen an illustrated paper. Just recently "W. G." has frequently worn the brand-new colours of the London County "Club; but every cricketer •till associates him with the old colours he 'wore £O long, and helped to make so famous. If the seasoned spectator observe* an active gentleman fielding in a blue cap with A white rose on the front, he may not be able to name him at once. But if at lunchtime this cricketer appears in a cap with the gorgeous colours of the I Zingari — black, red, and gold — is a little later photographed in a sailor-straw, amd finally turns out to field in a sombrero Panama, no one would find any difficulty in telling you it ia Mr F S. Jackson, of Yorkshire. Mr Jackson can do everything at cricket

A Wellington citizen, who hails from the came parish in Wiltshire- as Lord Methuen, wrote Home to the General, congratulating him upon his return, and expressing the hope that he was recovering satisfactorily from the injuries of the campaign. In a reply by this week's mail Lord Methuon states that the wound in his log which ho received during tho engagement "which resulted in his cap tin o by the Boers ~\ge.tfritt2 aa, Tfiiy welU

h * beautiful action, lso. He can bat like Jessop or Quaife, and field as well as anyone in England ; but if there is one thing he does better than anything else, it is wearing caps. Some people say the gieat factor in his success aa a cricketer is the way he plays with his head. Whether they refer to the number of head-dresses he assumes, we~ don't know. Others have it that Mr Jackson has a seoardt* bag to hold hie numerous "creations," and thai, they are all iiade in Paris ; but we do not vouch for these statements. When the sun affords him a reasonable excuse Mr Jackson wears a ailk handkerchief -ound hi§ neck. Mr S. M. J. Woods, of Somersetshire, on the contrary, nerer wears a cap at all. The hottest day in Jun« cannot persuade Mr Woods to put on a cap. He takes risks of sunstroke with aa little fear as he does risks- of g*iting out when batting. You can gcnerJulv gath*r how the game is going or a glance at Simmy's head. When Somersetshire ars doisg *->adly, which,, sad to relate, ia . but too «,ftea. Sammy's haii is aa the waves of a itoruiy sea. It all Stands on end, and hi* aspect, whether slashing boundaries or bowling, is most alarming. His hail is alwaj-« riJHed when he plays against Surrey. Surrey ■jricketers, doubtless, would like to Gee him take them more calmly, for he has a inept disagreeable iiabit of spoiling thei^ records. If Sammy is smooth he looks a "perfectly peaceful person." His first lieutenant is Mr L. C. H. Palairet, wBo does everything gracefully, from making a century against Yorkshire to strolling across ' the wickets between the overs. He, however, does nothing better than he wears his Oxford - Harlequin cap. He looks as though he was born in it. Mr P. F. Warner is also known by his Harlequin cap. He has a size that is much too big for him — at least, so it appears — and pushes it right down on to his head ai far as it will go. His ear£ are the only things that save him from extinction. The Middlesex man .ikes that Harlequin cap, and when he sees it coming into the field he rejoices exceedingly. He knows it means runs both saved' and obtained for his side. The great- Mr O. B. . Fry usually allows his wears no cap. This is looks to wave in the "Sammy, smooth, wind. Sometimes he and also ruffledadopts a sun-hat, but, like '-Sammy," he is ordinarily bareheaded. Mr Fry's hair is, however, mever smooth. A figure which will be on our grounds one© more this year,- but has not been seen for some time, is Mr J. Darling's. His cap " - - - - • us t ra ii a j n front. When hia side is doing well it is pushed back like * schoolboy who has broken up for the holidays, and his grim features almost relax into a emile. If things are going in favour of his opponents, Mr Darling's cap ig pressed down over his eyes, and, what with moustache and cap, there is little face to be seen. (To be continued.)