EARLY CRICKET

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 63, 16 March 1933, Page 13

EARLY CRICKET

FIRST ENGLISH TEAM

TO VISIT NEW ZEALAND

SOME FAMOUS KIMES

It is nearly 70 years since the first English team visited Now Zealand, for it was in February, 15(34, that George Parr's All England Eleven, interrupted its Australian tour to pay a short visit ti these shores. The members of the team were George Parr (captain), K. C. Tinley, A Clarke, and John Jackson (Nottinghamshire);' W." Caffyn, Julius Caesar, and T. Lockyer (Surrey); T. Hay ward, G. Tarrant, and E. Carpenter (Cambridgeshire); G. Anderson (Yorkshire); and E. M. Grace (Gloucestershire), the only amateur in the team. Between ISoO and IS6O George Parr, the captain of the team, was .regarded as the most dangerous bat in England. Thoroughly sound in his methods, ho was also, a vigorous attacking player, using his feet in going out to drive more than any player had ever done before him. He cut hard and well, but his specialty was leg-hitting. There may have been finer leg-hitters than him, but no one more effective. Beaching out with'1 the left leg straight down the wicket, and bending the knee, he would make connection with unfailing accuracy and sweep the ball round in a half-circle behind the wicket. A good captain, ho would allow no slackness 'on the part of his men, and did not hesitate to teH them what he thought of them. At the same timo ho was able to appreciate a point made against himself. "If you'd bring what . little brains you Ye got to the wicket with you, you'd perhaps get a few runs!" he said once to one of his players who had got out to a wild stroke. "I had 'em all there' yesterday, George, but what about yours?" was the reply, at which Parr laughed heartily, for on the previous day the player without tho brains had made a good many more runs than his captain. Verbal passages at arms were not uncommon in those days, and on one oe-1 ca6ion Parr, bowling lobs, had a wellknown batsman caught at point off a feeble shot. "That's d— d fine bowling to get anybody out with, and no mistake!" the batsman remarked ashe passed Parr on his way to the pavilion. "And d —d fine hitting too!" was Parr's reply. . Chris Tinloy was an all-rounder, a hard hitter, a tricky lob-bowler (having -changed from fast round-ann), and a brilliant field at point. Fielding, in that position, in a match between the All-England Eleven and a Birmingham twenty-two he once caught twelve, men out. Alfred Clarke was a son of William Clarke, founder of the All-Eng-land Eleven which, travelling round the country, furnished most of the cricket in those early days. Although not up to the standard of Iris, famous father Clarke was nevertheless a useful man, an excellent bat and a good' outfield. TWO I" AST BOWLERS.

Jackson and Tarrant were two of the fastest bowlers that ever lived. Jackson was born in Suffolk, but was brought up near Newark, ia Notts, where he was well known as a boy .through running barefoot after the hounds in the hunting season, and through his mischievous habit of throwing stones at all the milestones and guide-posts on the road. He went by the' name of "Jim Crow" in those days, but later he was known as "The S?Oghorn," i froni his habit: of blowing his nose whenever' he got- a wicket. Over 6 feet in height and 15 stone in weight, he took a fairly long run. and bowling with an easy round-arm delivery sent the ball down at a tremen,dous- pace. A' favourite' ball of his seemed to keep level with the .top of the stumps all the way, until it at last

landed on the brass or the bails, and

very few batsmen of his time were able • to play it. He was a fine punishing bat, and made-some good scores against first-class bowling. TaTrant was an excitable character, known to his team-mates as "Tear 'cm." Short and slightly built, he was nevertheless as fast as Jackson, though he did not get up so much. He bowled either at the stumps or the batsman's legs, and got mnny a wicket through the ball going off the batsman's pads on .to the stumps. Following some dissatisfaction in the ranks of Clarke's All-England Eleven, some 'Of the players considering that Clarke was not making a fair distribution of the profits, the malcontents started a rival organisation called the United Eleven. One of the leading United players was Carpenter, who, for the United against, All-England, in his first appearance at Lord's, with Jackson bowling against him, scored a faultless 45—a.tidy score in those days. He was a tremendously strong back player\ although, being quick on his feet, he was not afraid to run out to drive. Fielding at point, with Hayward at cover, it was a favourite trick of his to purposely miss a ball in order to let the batsman attempt a run, leaving it to Hayward to complete the victim's undoing. Hayward, an uncle of Tom Hayward, the Surrey and England player of later years, was one of the great batsmen of his day, and probably the most graceful. He was very strong on the on side, his finest stroke being between mid-on and square, leg. 'He was a medium-pace bowler and a good field at cover.

THE SURREY TRIO.

Julius Caesar (that was his real name and he anil eleven others of his family once played another team) was an old-time Dempster. Fire feet seven inches in height, ho tras brilliant in the extreme_ and the secret of his success lay in his perfect timing. Lockyer was a great wicketkeeper, nearly six. feet high, with a long reach, ana he was tho first wicketkeeper to attempt to take the ball on the leg side. A strong and powerful- hitter, ho could also, when necessity arose, take a turn 'with the ball.

Caffyn was an all-rounder_ who in later, times spent ten years .in Australia, coaching first in. Melbourne and then in Sydney, and being responsible in no small measure for starting Australia on her way to cricket greatness. George Anderson, the only Yorkshireman in the team, has been described by no less an. authority than Richard Daft as one of the finest men Yorkshire has ever produced. A great hitter, he had an excellent defence as well, and he wa3 particularly good on a sticky wicket, when his fearless methods over and over again proved successful.

"THE COEONEB."

Dr. E. M. Grace, the elder brother of "W.G., never attained the heights ■which his brother reached, but in his way he was quite as famous. Born in 1841 and dying in 1911, he played in matches from his tenth year to his sixty-eighth, scoring 76,760 runs and taking 12.07S wickets, ana on thirtyone occasions taking-all ten wickets. He ivas not a model for a young batsman to follow, for he stood perfectly upright, held his bat at an angle of 45 degrees between the stumps, and the ground, and then, with an entire disregard of orthodoxy, proceeded to clout the ball to-whatever corner of the ground he thought fit. Many stories are told about- him, and perhaps a place may ,be found for one of them. On one occasion, thinking he had been bowled, he left the wicket, but when

he got to the pavilion it was pointed out to him that the ball had rebounded from tho wicketkeeper's pads. Ho knew that if ho were to walk straight out on to tho field to explain matters the wicket would be put down before he could reach it. He therefore, so tho story goes, left tho pavilion by the back door, crawled round the ground behind tho spectators until ho had made good his ground,s and then triumphantly strode to tho wickets, convinced the fieldsmen that he had not really been bowled, and stayed in till ho had m:ulo another 150 or so.

Ho was a coroner for the county of Gloucester, and was frequently known by that title.

WITH THE MAORIS,

After playing five matches in Victoria, the-team, left for New Zealand in a small steamer named the Alhambra, and some members of the team, particularly Anderson,, had a rather unhappy timo on the way over. Landing at Port Chalmers', they were taken to inspect a Maori settlement. The chief took a great fancy to.Parr, who had been presented to him as the Englishmen's king, and followed him wherever he went. "Don't leave me, for goodness sake!" said Parr, in a low voice, to the members of his team. "I don't half like the look of this fellow! " He'was presented 'with a Maori mat, and in turn presented the chief with his travelling rug. Ho then had to go through the ceremony of kissing the women, and was very glad when it,was over, thinking, so he snid afterwards, -"that the Native gentlemen might turn awkward about it.'' He was very pleased to get back to the boat. Next day they landed again and were driven to Dunedin in a coach and six, driven by "Cabbage-Tree-Ned" and accompanied by a large number of carriages and horsemen.

ALL-ROUND SPORTS.

Two matches were played on tho Oval in Dunedin, which had just been turfed and was not in good order. An Otago XXII were defeated by nine Wickets, making 71' and 83 to the visitors' 99 and 5S for one. Hay ward took 24 wickets for 70, Jackson 11 for 42 Caffyn 1 for 14, and Tinley 4 for 20.' A match against a combined Canteri bury and Otago XXII was drawn, the locals making 91 and 6C and tho Englishmen 73. ." . "

IN CANTERBURY.

The team then went by steamer to Lyttelton, and drove over the hills to Christchurch where, playing on Hagley Park,- they defeated a Canterbury ,XXII by an innings and two runs. Returning to Dunedin, the tourists beat an Otago XXII by an innings and 51 Tuns, and after the match Grace and Tarrant played a single-wicket match against a local eleven. The two ■Englishmen niade""B and 16 in their two innings, and the local men, in their one innings, made 7, Tarrant bowling them all out. Some more of the day still remained to fill in,.so some sports were arranged in which the Englishmen took part. . Th© programme was as follows-. Jackson v. Tinley,' 100 yards, Jackson won; Caffyn v. Caesar, 100 yards, Caesar won; Grace v. Holmes (Otago), J mile, Holmes won; Hay ward v. Wills (Canterbury), 100 yards, - Hayward won; Grace v. Tarrant, 600 yards, TarranL won; Anderson v. Jones (Otago), 100 yards, two dead-heats; English Eleven Handicap, 120 yards, Caffyn (9 yds) won; Caffyn v. Jackson, 100 yards, Caffyn won; hurdle race,. 600 yards, Tarrant 'won". Evidently they were groat sports, those old-timers. On the New Zealand tour Grace had a batting average of 25.5 for four completed innings, Hayward 19.6 for three, Tarrant 17.2 for four, and Jackson 15.5 for four. Hayward took 28 wickets for 3.2 each, Jnckson 39 for 3.4, Tinley 75 for 3.6, and Lockyer 1 for 4.