cricket.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 150, 25 June 1904, Page 14

cricket.

[By Tiik Mid.) The death of 13. Piekrn, announced at tlic Litter end of last week, proved a. ijlioek to tho fiMteiuily. The Johnsonvillc Club lms lost a bowler of sterling merit, and a player who was universally liked by fijend and foe. The Johnsonvillo Club foiwaided an innnortelle wreath, in •which van found a cricket ball attached by the club's colours. Tho Now town Club has lost an ardent supporter by the death of tho late Air. Andrew Little. Two &ou& of the deceased arc activo membeis of tho Newtown Club. The Secretory of the Wellington Crkkct Association will bo pleaded to leceivo a reply from tho City Council to tho effect that no objection Is taken by the Corporation to tho proposed improvement to tho Ihusin K cuervo as outlined by tho Association's expert, Mr. T. Ward. Councillor C. 11. lziird endeavoured to lot in somo ligrht on this htibject at last week's meeting of tho Council. Under tho heading of "Tho Girl ami tho Cricketer," tho Daily Illustrated Mirror has tho following:— A very interesting liltlo episode marked tho perfoimuncc of tho "Karl and tho Girl" at tho Adelphi TheuUo. In tho second act Miss Pounds and chorus sing "Sammy, oh, Sammy." They were observed to bo singing it with miukud emphasis to one of the boxes on tho loft of tho stage. A close Bcrutiuy revealed tho fact that Mr. 3. is\. J. Woods, the iamoua cricketer and Somerset's captain, was one of the occupanta When tho lino "Rummy when you eomo wooing, v there's something doing arouud my heart," was literally hurled at him, tho delight of the audience knew no bounds. Tho song 1 was encored four times, and "Sammy" Woods, nftor rising and bowing repeatedly, finally leant over tho edgo of tl*j I -ox and gallantly ki?«ed his hand to tho .sweet .singer amid a scene of great onthusiasin. 10 is so seldom that a bntsmnn weura spectacles in first-class cricket that thonppeimuico in them of Abol at tho Crystirt rnlaco i« M'orthy of note. Other men who have worn them in'iecent yonis tiro 11. Gray, tho Cnmlridga University fa.st bowler, and Killick, tho Wukhox professional. At the dinner give in his honour, Knight, tho Leic<Mtcri<hiro professional, mado a. speech, in the cour.-r of which ho (mid: — "If cricketers saw llnnjilaiuhji bat they came to the conclusion thnt thero was somo process of juggling about it ; they did not quite Know how it was done. But Tmmper always seemed to havo plenty of lime- to ititike l\\n strokes : hti nlwaya did the thing in a thoroughly Kuglish way. They miv how it \\ns done. At tho saino tima they knew they could not compete with him." In tho Dajly Guonicle A. C. Maclaren writes about tho Miggvstion which ha« boon niado to renew tho mutches CJcntltmen of England v. Austtaliaiw and Players of Kngland v. Australians when tho n<*xt tenm visits us. Ho snyn : "With such an opinion I ho.irtily conc\ir, for not only nro our supporters robbed of finer cricket tlmn is seen when counties moot, but wo aro missing a good opportunity of nccnstoininff promising players to a rnviier more trying ordenl, a tost match, to say nothing of finding uut how v man acquits lmm.elf M'htn playing outside his own county team. Wo ought to loso no opportunity, however slight, of doing am* inmost for the good of our Knglivnd sido, and if wo avo to expect bigger crowds than formerly wo must d<_sist from sorving up that one dish, 'county cricket,' with no variation, and set to work to give more matches in which our star performers can tako place together, even if counties find a dillicuhy in arranging tho games so as nut to claKh with this better cUins cricket." Writing to (he Daily Chronicle, D. L. Jtsphson, tho old Surrey c&ptnin, foresees trouble in connection with "limelimit" matches. Ho pnyrs : — Having at no period of my chequered existence been conversant with tho higher mat hematics, for tho time being 1 nm unable to express an intelligent opinion of those new suggestions. But it strikes mo that, in addition to the ordinary umpire, tho game should inclm?b another official, a professional time-keopcr, with iv thorough knowledge of arithmetic and a htop-watcli, for the adding or Mibstracfing, say, of three hours, forty-nine, minulos and thx-ee-fifths of n. second to or from similar amounts during the three days' play, is no siuocurc for tho average umpire. I nm not eulogising mulches without a termination, but let nio ask you this: Which is the morn interesting, more full of the exciting incidents that, when wo go for a day's spectatoring, we delight to see — to see ono side make 100 on a bit. of msphnlt, and then to watch the rain and tho uaking sun play havoo with the wicki't and the other bido scrambling on mud to the tuno of 90 and 80— or at 6 o'clock on tho Saturday to watch tho last man, who has probably but a meagre knowledge of batting, bravely keeping up his end? Minuto after minute goes slowly by, ball after ball beats him, but ho is v,till thore — it is hiilf-past 6, and ho lias saved the malchl No doubt, from tho statistician's point of view, tho game would have- been far moro luscious if it had endrd at half-past 1. Think of jt_ n nother glorious point scored in competition 1"