CRICKET IN ENGLAND.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 5729, 26 October 1905, Page 3

CRICKET IN ENGLAND.

MR DARLING INTERVIEWED. TILE AUSTRALIAN CAPTAIN’S VIEWS ON THE TOUR. (From Our Special Correspondent,) LONDON, September 10. U {Japtain ” Darling is very partial to {ifpssmon, providing they are content to accept him in the role cf an appreciative listener. At times, however, Darling can talk, and the pressman who catches him on these rare oeoHf=i° ns ac ‘ counts nirnsolf Jucky. A 11 BpOl’tsman” scribe ''caught tho Australian skipper m .apparently quire a communicative mind at Hastings the other day, and succeeded in making a generous column and a quarter of “ copy ” out Of the cricketing ■ Client One.”

’|‘fic interviewer’s first question naturally hinged on Darling’s opinion of tho results of tho tour. Disappointment at tho oucorne of tho test matches was, of course, frankly confessed, for Darling iiafl made no secret of the fact that IllijSO Wore tho matches on winning which, Hhovo all others, they had set their iiOirrtß. They had been fairly beaten, and yet be really thought, with a bettor distribution of luck, they might have placed a very different complexion on matters. Trumpor’s mishaps at Nottingham was, for instance, an extremely unfortunate occurrence, and seemed to exorcise a disheartening influence on several members of the team. Later on camo the injuries to Hopkins at Derby and Gregory in Scotland. On tho tonr as a whole, Darling was however, able to speak tvith greater satisfaction. Tho colonial skipper pointed with natural pleasure to the results attained outside tho tost matches. They had drawn more games than in 1902, hut had. as then, only lost one fixture, that against Essex at Leyton. ■ But, without wishing to make excuse, ho omnlmaked the fact that the players were fatigued after their journey from Dublin, whilst Trumper, Armstrong, and Kelly were staying behind in Ireland. Still, Essex had’ generally given them a tough game. Darling preserved, so far as remarks for publication were concerned, a “golden silence” regarding the persona) triumphs and failures of tho tour. Tbp team’s bowling, he admitted, bad not been so powerful as it might have been, though Cotter had. he thought, in tho last few weeks, done enough to enhance his fame. A smile shot over his face at the reference to the manner in which Armstrong had proved master of tho situation in tho majority of cases. Gchre had not been as successful as expected at the outset of tho tour, though on the faster pitches ho had shaped very well at times, and more recently had shown that he could keep wickets—in fact, ho tiad done really well with the gloves. Gregory had roally badly injured himself at Edinburgh, an accident caused bytwisting his leg in a “ grave ” made by a Scottish bowler.

Concerning Laver’s value to the team, Darling said;—“The experiences of 1902 were such as to convince mo of the necessity for the manager to he a cricketer, for, through the illness due to the bad weather, we were in sore straits at the beginning of June It certainly taught, us a lesson, and on the way home I strongly advocated a change. . . . Why, even this time wo have, with fifteen men, been hardpushed, and with Armstrong and Gregory hors de combat and Duff and Newland ’ seedy,’ we only completed our side at Cheltenham by including Kelly, whoso hand was really not fit for him to have played. A tour of nearly forty matches is no light undertaking, even for a party of fifteen, and there is little margin 'for mishap. This time too the programme has not fitted in so well as usual, and there has been a great deal more rushing from one part of tile country to another. ... As a manager, ‘ Frank ’ has been admirable ... ho is one of tho best.” On the financial results of the tour Darling was discreetly reticent. All he would say was, “Wo have no reasons to feel dissatisfied, though in a few instances the receipts were small.” Asked whether ho still held to his opinion as to the Test games being played out, he remarked: “Yes; and I feel more strongly than ever on the point. It is not a fair Tost if it is not started with the knowledge that it is to bo played through, the same as the games are when your players visit us. I am sure matters could ho very easily arranged.” Would you play three or five? asked the interviewer. “I do not see why there should not bo the five, and I should think four days should be sufficient. County games need not. begin until tho Friday —tho three days might be enough—or other arrangements could be made where their players are engaged. A Test match should be a real test, as it is in our country. I don’t think the stylo of play would bo adversely affected. As it is, what is the prospect before a side in a three-day match that lias lost tho and has had a big score made against it? Defeat- or a draw; for the chance of victory in the time at disposal is then almost nil. Naturally, wo go for the draw, hoping, as wo did at Leeds, for better luck in the toss next time; and then we get blamed by some, though I cannot see that it is deserved.” And what about the toss ?

“Well, I could do nothing right against Jackson. Tho question of tossing for choice of innings in tho first and last matches only, and having tho option alternately, was never officially brought before us. Possibly tho rejection of the alteration by the M.C.C. may have been the. cause. Of course, it would bo introducing a great change, but I should be disposed to give the idea careful consideration.”

Asked what ho thought about the next English team for Australia, Darling replied;—“Well, that is rather a difficult matter to talk about, for next season —assuming tho side visits us in your winter of Ilfo6-7—might bring many changes in form. Wo should all like to see Jackson as skipper. He is a grand cricketer, a gcod sportsman, and would, I feel sure, make a lot of runs out there—though this might not ho to our advantage. Spooner has greatly impressed us. and he seems to bo able to score well on all kinds . of pitches; ho is not one of those who can only get runs under certain conditions. Several of your old hands will doubtless still be worth inclusion, whilst as left-handers wo have a great opinion of Blythe and Hargreavo—the former being perhaps tho best in the country. Wo could have done with a left-hander ourselves. Somehow our players never seem to shape too well against them.” Finally, Darling, who returns to Australia with Howell, Kelly, and Sid Gregory by the China, was tackled on a very personal matter. Was he likely to bo seen in England again at tho head of another combination? Darling smiled broadly at this query, for it raised memories of his negative assertions when bidding us farewell throe years ago. “I will not say,” he replied, “and if I did, you possibly wouldn’t believe rao.

Yet I can assure you that only last Docember I had no idea of forming one of the present team.” He added: “lint I do not sec why, provided a man tat-es caro of himself, lie should not have plenty of cricket loft in him after his thirty-fifth year.” So'far as wo have been able to judge, the time for writing J. J. Darling down among the Australian cricketing “has boons” has certainly not yet arrived, and wo shall not be in tho least surprised to find him leading yet another Australian team of ash-hunters.