The First Day of the Garrison Match.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 47, 24 February 1906, Page 10

The First Day of the Garrison Match.

♦ ■— Ibs nob a bit of good for Georgo Speddings or me to say that wo woro what you may call "selected" to go down and play in that match ab Aldorshot. I havo had nearly a whole season for the Blinkton Wodnesday Juniors with hhn, nnd I know now that he'» nearly ns much of a rabblb as I am. And that's the truth. Prom what he told me, he had been talking cricket to a man ho met, and saying that he'd a week left over of his flumrrier holiday, nnd he only wished he could get another game or two, Now I expecb that Georgo had told him thnb \ ho was a very good player. Anyhow, th la man said t— , "If you can get someone else as well, you and your friend can play for tho frorenslcs in place of mo nna my brother to-morrow and Thursday,* agnlnst Aldershob Garrison. They pub you up, and you'll havo a flno tlmo," So Georgo acoepted for himself and me, and »aid that ib was ft point of honour for me to go, now thnb he had promised for mo. And he, also onid i— "We shall dine ab mon to-morrow night, co I'm off to buy a white tie and a rod handkerchief. I'll try, too, to borrow an opera hat, Incase we have to walk any dl,stnnoe from where wo drees to the meis room. If thero'o anything in that }lne that yo.» want, too, you'd better look to it." We didn't «se any cricketers going down next day by tno ten o'olock trnin from Waterloo, and we found oub afterwards that they'd all travelled by motorpar. So we met the rosb of out* side on the ground for the flrsb time. Mr. Spßddlngs wonb up to the captain, whon he had bqen tojd whioh ho wns, and said! — f 'l ftm Mr, Speddlngs, nnd one of your gentlemen .whom t met yesterday asked mo If I nnd my frlehd would play hero to-day in plaoo of him and his brother." t , Then the captain of the side did eurpriso ii/f, I own. He seemed for tho moment to forget our presence, and, turning, to a big man standing by, snidi-- - - "Jimmy, this is a blbithlcik. Those" —ho used a etrong word— •"Wollnstons have chucked again. " Bub I will nay bhab he remembered himself again ab once, for he said quickly :—» "Flense oxcuse mo j Wolldstons aro a llttlo erratlo, you know, about oriokob matches. Bub it's extremely good of you both to come down ftiut play for us. What aro your fortos? Do either of>you bowlfr" "My friend is, nqt a very good cricketer," said George, I admitted that thab was so; and when tho captain eaid to me, "And Spoddinga?" I replied that we were much of a muchness. I did 'nob like the idea of, cracking ourselves upj bob Georgo was lidt qulto pleased, I could ■ »cc, for he said, very dignlfledi— ' , "I am accustomed to' go In/ flrsb for the Bllnkton Wednesday Juniors.", \ "Then will you tto in, flrsb for us? I've won tho,to«», said our captain, who certainly seemed a very affable gentleman, Then he said to mei*^ > • "And where do you go In usually?" - Well, I had to ndmib that I. went in last, and directly T oald tfo, he said, smiling nnd quite pleaantiti'— "I suppose wo may lake 1 that with a grain of enlt?" ,• . I wna fairly flummoxed,, I own, Of course" I knew a. good many cricket exjiressjons which swell* use,,,bi}t./I ,hftd liovor heard of this one. , " ' Well, about twenty 'minute* later George went In flrsb with thii captain, and had to take first ball j ' bub' he gob into regular troublo-wlth .the* umpire at, once. "Lefb hand round, sir," ortes'the urnplro to Gcorgo, "Shall I give you guard over the wicket or 'not; sOT 1 I wns pretty glad thab George had gone in first,, I can lolkyou, and nob me. He junfc held his bat up and said nothing. ' „'*•.,! "I call see half tho middle— a shade; from you to oover both, sir." Poor George looked worse fhan over. Ho jusb went on holding up his bat and wenb on saying nothing. ' '♦ V "What Is Ib you want, sir?" says' tho umpire nb last. • * ' "I want block," say« Georgoy and then everyone laughed. So I suppose that he had made a joltd as well, only we oouldn't hear Ib in the pavilion, 1 Tho captain thon whispers something to the umpire, and the umpire then says to George s— , i "Quite so, sir. You've gob ib nil right." , And/ then ho stands kind. of sideways and nays "Playi" The flrsb ball hit George on bho leg, nnd went behind the wicket. The captain- <eallod him to run, nnd they had to run quick too, The captain' ssomed very anxious to «6b to the , other end. Then ho took bjook and had ■ quite h littlo talk with the .umpire. Ib warn iumiy talk, but each seemed to understand , what the other' was saying, - Thon the captain had a ball, and he did bib Ib hard, The bowler couldn't qulto reach It, nnd I expecb ho was glad thab ho couldn't. "Nicely, sir," eWes George, "Como along, sir.' 1 And why anyone laughed I can't toll, Tho oaptnln'only says to Gaorgei "Lob me onll those when I* hit 'em post midoff, please." 1 And Gsorgo ho - answers, "Yours to oblige." - .v , Bub Georgo ' gob out noxt bull, Ib was a real fnsb one, nnd- was dead' on the wlokob all tho way. Ib certainly made a) mess of the stumps, -bub the cnptnln > said kindly, ns George wont out i— > s ■ f "Hard luck/Spßddingsl" And when he talks of that mntoh now George reminds 1 us of tlmti nnd ho mp that tile eaptnln had playfed for bis county, too, and 1 knew wlinb ho was talking abbut, ' ' ■ How our gentlemen did hit for tho r?«t of the 'day I Only two moro got' out, and we scored just oVer four hundred runs I A gentleman who rods out on a hnrso in tho evening to see the anmo said to our captain i— ' , "Hallo, Dicky I Having hnothfer holiday with tho 'poor soldiers?" <■ And our captain saldi — "Yes, the earno .old thing."— 'Major Philip Trevor, In St. James's Budget,