General Gossip.

NZ Truth, Issue 123, 26 October 1907, Page 3

General Gossip.

The^, performance put up by one of the umpires m the P'hoenix-Petone match was rather puzzling. He was apparently a bit at sea as to the code of signals, and a boundary hit was anything from a leg bye to a wide, and at times the whole gamut was rung on at once. I don't know how the scorers fared. He is new to the position, I fancy, as I haven't noticed him before, and should be given charge of a junior match until such time as the Umpires' Examining Committee has put him through his facings. It is a bit of a trial taking on the thankless job, and as well up m the rules as a man may be, the charge»of a senior game, with its perplexing boundaries, "try on" appeals, and necessary quick, and correct decisions would possibly disturb the equanimity, of Sirjoe Ward himself. Ranjitsinjhi, who has been suffering from enteric fever, is going to England to recuperate. , On several occasions a batsman has been dismissed first ball m each innings of a first-class match. In successive matches m K-ennington Oval m 1868, W. Oscroft and F. Coward were so dismissed. George Gunn, the most successful, of Notts batsmen of to-day, who is visiting Australia privately with the English team, has been offered a retaining fee, which,, if he accepts, will render him liable to be called upon at any time to play with the M.C.C. team. It is said that J. N. Crawford may settle m Australia at the conclusion of the M.C.C. team's tour of Australia. It was decided at the last annual meeting of the Poverty Bay Cricket Association that affiliation should be effected with the Cricket Council of New Zealand. The M.C.C. English team Will commence the first match of the Australian tour against West Australia, on the Association Ground, Perth. The cricketing position m West Australia differs from that of any State m the east, inasmuch as there is a W.A. Council and a W.A. Association, the former controlling representative matches and the latter controlling cricket and the ground at Perth, The association is charging 20 per cent, for the use of the ground. A suggestion has been made m England that at HamWedo.n, the

cradle of 'cricket, there should be erected a memorial m the shape of a home for old professional cricketi ers. Lord Hawke, who was unable "to visit us with the team that Warner captained, owing to an accident received m the hunting-field, still takes a kindly interest m New Zealand cricket, and m a letter to an Auckland enthusiast, referring to a suggestion that a series, say five, matches should 'be played m New ZealI and between Australia and England, as a means of educating cricketers and public alike and stimulating interest m the game, says that he I would much like to hear of such I matches being played m New Zealand, but while Australia guaranteed £1000 for expenses, was afraid it could not come this tour. Something certainly might be done m the next trip. The Yorkshire captain added that they were sending out a rather young side, but he did not think they would be any the worse for that, and they were ied by an energetic captain, who would set them a good ! example m the field. The South Africans, like the Australians, could not win a test toss. They were a good bowling and fielding side, but lacked a Trumper, Noble, and Duff. However, for their first attack on England, they had done ( very well. Playing for Riccarton against East Christchurch, on' Saturday, Fryer was m great hitting vein, and gave one of the most vigorous displays that has been seen m Christchurch for some years. Included m his 149 were six 6's, one 5, and sixteen 4' s. Caygill, who made 74 by free cricket, was overshadowed by the virility of his partner. This " Jessopean" style of batting would be appreciated by local followers. We get so very little of it nowadays. Dave Gallaher and George Gillett of All Black Rugby fame are no mean exponents with bat and ball. . The pair will strengthen the Ponsonby senior ranks jthis season. Concerning the West Indians' enthusiasm for the game, it is interest:ing to know that whenever a foreign match is m progress m their town, they climb the trees around the game and keep up a running comment on the game, and it is somewhat disconcerting to a batsman to hear a yell of "Bowl him out !" as the bowler begins his run. When Lord Hawke was Governor out there the. niggers almost deified him. On going out to bat he was generally greeted, with shouts of 'Welcome, my lord,' followed by an exhortation to the fopwler to "give the lord a duck." Once, , indeed, at St. Vincent, the bowler did not disappoint the crowd] for Lord Hawke retired first ball, whereupon the scene which followed was unique. The bowler turned a series of somersaults on the pitch, and the crowd threw their hats m the air, - danced about m front of the ring, shook hands with one another, beat the ground with their sticks, "and altogether evinced a most unholy delight. Sixteen runs were once scored for one stroke. The ball was hit into a creek, and could not be fielded, until a swimmer jumped m after it and brought it ashore. F. C. Holland, the English cricketer, who plays with Surrey, and who had a benefit this year, possesses a fine baritone voice. For a long time he sang gratuitously at cricket concerts, but last winter he accepted an engagement at a music hall, and at is his intention to return there this winter. J. R. Mackay is reported to be m excellent trim physically, considering the severity of Ms accident m South Africa, and expects to work into his best form with the bat at an early date. Sunny Jim will be battling for "Victoria against the Light Blues this season. Only one member of the 1878 'Australian team which went to England under the captainship of Dave Gregory is dead, a fact which testifies to the physical hardihood of the men who made up that combination. Jack Conway, the organiser of the team, is m Victoria, and so are Blackham, Boyle, Allan, and Horan. i SpoSorth and Murdoch are m England, Bailey m Tasmania, Charles and A. C. Bannerman, Dave Gregory and Garrett m Sydney. By all accounts the Fijians are practising hard for their coming Australian tour. They take their cricket very seriously. Curious how colored races become fascinated by the game. The niggers m the West Indies are balmy on the game. New, bowlers likely to be given a chance m the coming tests, Australia v. England, are A. Wright and J. A. COonwor, of South Australia. C. G. Macartney and F. Johnson (New South Wales) and Hazlitt (Victoria). They are all strangers to the Englishmen. ' Australian cricket . trips to England have been overdone m the past, and the fiat of the M.C.C. that 1908 is not an opportune time for the visit of another combination will meet with general endorsement. These trips have occurred every two years from 1878 to 1890, and every three year« since. The best interests of casket would be served were the visits made every four years. In "The History of Kent County Cricket," Lord Harris spins some delightful anecdotes anent Tom Eromett—perhaps the most popular English professional the game has ever known. The first time Lord Harris met Tom, he was playing for eightr een of Christ Church, Oxford, against an English team. The wicket was bumpy, and one of Allan Hall s fastest balls whizzed by his lord- ! ship's nose before he had time to play at it or draw back. Tom, as be passed the patrician cricketer at the end of the over, - remarked, with a grin, "A reckon you smelt er ! W G. Grace, writing m the "Morning" Post," says :—"The team selected by the M.C.C. to go to Australia is by no means our best possible, but we could not expect it would be, as there are and always will be reasons why some of our best cricketers cannot go. The team will, no doubt, do better than many people anticipate. The Australian team may not be so formidable as they have been, as many of the old tried players have retired, and to fill their places with as good men will be very difficult- I .should like .to see Hal] am included m the team, as his bpwling would fre just the thing for Australian wickets. A bowler is wanted 'who will keep pegging away with a good length; they always pay m Austra- ' lia and every wliere else, AiieYfcll I

met with great success m Australia from the fact that he kept an: accurate length and was difficult to play. Fielder is a much better bowler than he was when he visited Australia before, and should get a lot of wickets." F. S. Ashley Cooper, on the English team :— "The decision of Haywood, Tyldesley, Lilley and Hirst not to undertake the journey makes it an assured fact that,- whatever the constitution of the side which goes out, it will be one far from representative of the full strength of England. In the circumstances, a series of heavy defeats m the test matched would neither bring discredit upon English cricket, nor add to the laurels of the Australians.. On the other hand, m the event of the tourists winning the rubber— not an improbable occurrence when the performances of the last team which went out are remembered—it would be little less than a humiliation for Australian cricket. ... It certainly appears [ that m the absence of Jackson, R. E. Foster, Hayward, Tyldesley, Lilley, Hirst, C. B. Fry, and R. H. Spooner, we shall be represented by a makeI shift side atj btest, and not one worthy to meet the full strength of Australia on their own ground. I fear that the M..C.C. are fully committed, ! or it would be better to abandon the. i tour for the time, especially as the Australians have notified iheir willingness to come over next season if agreeable to the English authorities. If efforts to send out a team at all costs are persevered m, the Melbourne Club (?) may find themselves out of pocket m having guaranteed £10,000 for the tour, for Australians can hardly be expected to flock m their thousands to see a very non-representative team perform." The real" reason why the professional cricketing stars m England declined to become members of the M.C.C. team now on its way to Australia has so far not been made public, but a distinctly interesting contribution to the subject has been made b>y the London correspondent of the ''Liverpool Daily Post." He says :— "The real truth about the M.C.C. team to Australia is that the withdrawal of Lord Hawke for family reasons has upset the apple-cart. AmI ateurs and professionals who would , have gone with him now look more coldly at the proffered terms. The fact is £300 and such pickings as might 'be extracted from the very tight treasury held by Mairo. Trevor is not good enough for Hayward, Tyldesley or Hirst. They would have rallied round' Lord Hawke. The real team may be m print before this letter. It miust be only a make-shift one, and the gaps m it are a unique tribute to the personal influence of that great sportsman. Lord Hawke." The above was written g before the team was finally selected. Vine and Cox, the Sussex cricketers, have been engaged by Ranjitsinhji to coach his team m the State of Nawanagar during the coming season m India. They were to have left England about the middle of this* month. Owing to the backward state of the grounds, Dunedin cricketers have been unable to obtain much practice so far this season. Grade matches are to commence this afternoon. Since Sid Orchard's palmy days there has been great need of a "jrentle tapper" m the Canterbury eleven, and Fryer is expected to suppi- the deficiency. I notice that a Christchurch writer records Patrick's return to Christohurch from Wellington, and that he (intends playing for Sydenham. Barton, perhaps the finest batsman that has ever represented Auckland, and who. twenty years ago, was a source of much anxiety to -bowlers m j other parts of the Dominion, is now manager of the Bank of New Zealand at Rangiora.