CRICKET.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 21 June 1924, Page 10

CRICKET.

SOUTH AFRICA v. ENGLAND

The test match between England and South Africa has furnished enough sensations to last for the 'season. The score of 30 by the South Africans is the lowest recorded in the whole series of tests between England, Australia, and South Africa. The next lowest is 38, made by the Australians at- Edgbaston in 1902, immediately following their score of 23 against Yorkshire at Leeds. The lowest score of all the touring teams was the 18 made by Australia, against M.C'.C. at Lords in 1896. It was in this match that Dick Pcugher, the great • Leicester bowler, did his wonderful bowling feat of five wickets for 0 runs. Other small totals in the tests have been: 42, by Australia, Sydney, 1887-8; 44, by Australia, Oval, 1896; 45, by England, Sydney, 1886-7. In 1896 the Australians made only 53 at Lords against England, but in the second innings of the same match Syd. Gregory and Harry Trott put on 221 for the fourth wicket. The South Africans, by their play in the second innings, have proved their ability to fight lan uphill battle, and it would seem that the bowling of the Mother Country is not perhaps as strong as the authorities would like. Certainly there, will have to. be a tightening up in view of the matches against Australia in 1925. There is a. new race of batsmen arising in Australia, which, if not so. attractive as that of the Tfumper-Duff era. will take some digging out. The South African bowling' caused some .comment when the team was picked. There is no bowler of any pace, and most of the bowling would be done by Tyler, Blanckenberg and Nupen, who are all somewhat similar in style. Of course there is always more than a little uncertainty as regards the South Africans. Their matches are always played on matting, and the change on to turf must cause an upsetting of players for a time. One name telegraphed as a bowler has caused some searching without any result-. The player referred to is Parker. He was not among the sixteen originally selected, and his name did not appear among those reported as hlaving 'arrived in England at the beginning of the season.

GREAT BOWLERS. Gilligan and Tate, who did so much damage to the South Africans in the first innings, both play for Sussex. Tire former has been looked upon as the future leader of England, and he is certainly making good as a test cricketer. Since taking over tile Sussex captaincy he has completely transformed the side from one of mediocrity into the most interesting side in England. He is the fastest bowler in England, the host mid-off of the day, and is a very dashing batsman. Tate is a son of Fred Tate, who did such gieat work for Sussex as a medium placed bowler during the nineties and early years of this century. Tate, senr.. will be remembered as the unfortunate last wicket batsman who had to face Jac-k_ Saunders in the greatest match at Manchester in 1902, when Australia won by three runs. The younger Tate i,s ta. bowler of medium nar-e with the knack of making the ball hurry along occasionally like a. fast howler. He is young, and seems destined to -follow in the footstep* of the great medium paced bowlers of the type of Hearne, Lohmann, Attewel! and Co.

, THE SEASON IN ENGLAND. The weather in England so far this summer hms been terribly wet, and the averages cabled out show the bowlers a,s having had the upper hand. It is a great many years since the leading men were shown as getting wickets at a less cost than 10 runs per wicket One has to go back to the eighties to see such bowling averages. A PECULIAR FACT. A rather singular coincidence is noted regarding Notts’ wicket-keepers. Tom Oates has kept for the county for over twenty-five years, and this year a new keeper named Wheat was signed on with a. view to succeeding Gates when the latter retired.

A FAMOUS WICKET-KEEPER. The- recent death of Jack Board, the famous Gloucestershire and All England wiekei>keoper, brings to mind the story of his introduction to fir.st-clas.s cricket. One day early in 1891 he received a telegram asking him to call on Mrs. W. G. Grace. When he got to the house, she said : “Here’s two pounds. W.G. has wired me to send you up to Lords on Monday morning.” Board did not know where Lords was. and Mrs. Grace wrote out all instructions on a piece of paper. He was to take a ticket to Paddington, then a cab to Lords, and not to pay the cabman more than eiglrteennence. At Lords he was to ask for W.G. When Board got there he was told by W.G. that he was to keep wicket for the South against Noi th in Rylott’s benefit match. After introductions in the professionals’ room. Grace said, “Look after him, boys.” When the match was over—and Board had to stand up to Lohmarm, Ferris, and “Nutty” Mart-in— W.G. took him in at the amateurs’ gate and saw that he was paid. The authorities wanted to deduct a sovereign as contribution to the benefit, but Grace said “No, he is onlv a youngster, ten shillings wiii do: he'ha-s never plaved first-class cricket before.” Then. "W.G. took the youngster back to Paddington with him in his own cab, and on arrival in Bristol drove Board to his own home. W.G. was W.G. in those days, so one can imagine the pride of the young man. A week later he played his first-'county match, and continued as wicket-keeper for Gloucestershire till T 914.

ARTHUR SHREWSBURY. A GREAT BATSMAN. Modelling himself as a bov on the classic style of Richard Daft, Arthur Shrewsbury from his first appearance at Lords in 1373, at the age of 17, left no room for doubt a§ to his class. Two years later he won a regular place in the Notts eleven, and never afterwards looked back. He was not blessed with a robust constitution, and would make great sacrifices so as to sleep in his own home, away from which he rarely got a full night’s rest. A winter in Australia in 1881-2 did great tilings for him and built him up physically, and on his return he continued to succeed until, in 1887, with an aggregate of 1652 runs and an average of 78, his supremacy defied comparison. A great player on all wickets, it was on difficult pitches that he was seen at his best; his mastery of the back strokes, which he played with a great deal of wrist action rather than the dead bat method of to-day, his capaoitv for .watching the ball right on to the bat, his inexhaustible patiance, these all combined to make him the greatest batsman on sticky wickets that has ever lived

Indeed, some of the best contemporary judges are agreed that some of his innings played under these conditions could have been played by no other batsman, not even by W. G. Grace himself. Of these the most notable were his 164 in the second test match of 1886, and his 106 and 81 in the first test match in 1893. These were all played at Lords, where he was always at his best, and all thi-ee under the greatest possible difficulties. The first of these innings has been described by Lords Harris and Barlow as positively the finest they ever saw. It lasted seven hours, was played on a wicket which was fiery, slow, and sticky by turns—-and against Spofforth at his very best. The great double in 1893 was made against “The Terror,” C. T. B. Turner, on a wicket that gave this bowler considerable help. In the whole of his career Shrewsbury made 59 scores of over a. century, and of these ten passed the 200 mark. In, 1892 he was engaged to coach the Warwickshire players, and used to place a half-sovereign on the stumps; during the month lie was there he never lost his money.

A.good many years later he met the great Sydney Barnes on a desperately difficult wicket, and carried his bat. through the innings, playing as confidently as if the wicket was good and e£sy.

Mr. H D. G. Leveson-Gower had a conversation with “W.G.” one night during the opening months of the war. The champaion had been asked to name the greatest batsman with whom he had been associated in the fifty years of his unique cricketing life. With n stroke of his silver beard and a twinkle of those bright eyes from under their bushy brows, he agreed that he himself should be considered “hors concours” ; but as regards, the “proximo accessit” his answer canny quick and decided. “Give me Arthur!” No more convincing evidence can be imagined.