CRICKET. NOTES BY SLIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 1788, 27 February 1886, Page 21

CRICKET. NOTES BY SLIP.

A team of Lancaster Park colts left Christchurch at the beginning of the week to play matches against three of our local clubs, viz., the Grange, Phoenix, and Carisbrook. Digby (captain), Calcutt, J. Dunlop, Forsyth, Hay, Jones, Lafferty, Lawrence, M'Dowall, Mountfort, Raphael, Row, and Waller, will comprise the team. The match Phoenix v. Wanderers, which was commenced on Saturday attracted a good deal of attention. The home team appeared first at the wickets, and kept their opponents leatherhunting the entire afternoon, scoring 206 for eight wickets, to which F. S. Clayton contributed 50 in good form, closely followed by Montgomery, who hit hard for 49 ; while H. Musgrove (whose play was a treat to witness) came third with a faultless 40. W. Wyinks was I' all there " with a capital 28 (not out), which included one fine drive for 5 ; and everyone was pleased to see the veteran J. P. Spring come to the fore with a well-earned 21. For the Wanderers T. Smith bowled extremely well, capturing six wickets for 54 runs. Score : — Musgrove, who played for the Phoenix, is a well-known East Melbourne batsman. A, correspondent writing of his play says: — "Those who had the good fortune to visit the Caledonian ground on Saturday saw something worth witnessing in the batting of Mr Musgrove, the East Melbourne crack. His superb wristplay was a treat to look at, while his hitting was excellently timed. Our young players would do well to take a leaf out of his book when putting the timber on the ball. It is to be regretted that such a player's stay in our midst is of short duration. On the 25th inst. he will play for the Phoenix in the match a»ainst Lancaster Park, on the Caledonian ground. The following Grange players" have been selected to meet the Lancaster Park team : — Grieve, W. Carson, J. Carson, Coxhead, Alfred Turnbull, P. Turnbull, A. Turnbull, Walker, Harraway, Doudle, Larnach; emergency— Davie. The Lancaster Park v. United match was to have been finished on Wednesday afternoon. The result of last Saturday's play left the Park men 51 runs to get to win, and there were only three wickets to fall. In the second innings of the United R. W. Harman made 63. For the Park Crawshaw was not out with 55 to his credit, so there was a chance of the requisite number of runs being obtained on Wednesday. The following telegram under date February 21 appeared in the Lyttelton Times: — The Senidr Cup cricket match, Auckland v. Gordon, was concluded yesterday, before a large attendance. In consequence of the heavy rains during the week, and up to noon yesterday, the wicket was much against the batsmen of the Auckland Club, who had 15 runs for no wickets when they resumed their innings, which closed for 99 runs, or 52 runs behind Gordon, who had scored 151 on the previous Saturday, on a capital wicket. Yesterday's play was good, but the Meldrums and Gould had the pull of the batsmen with the ball. O'Brien 20, Coxon 16, and Dewes 14, made the best stand, but the other men seemed too anxious to score, and paid the penalty. This win, on the result of the first innings, makes it almost certain that Gordon will carry off the Senior Cup, although they'have to meet Newton and Westend yet. These Cup contests have given great impetus to cricket this season. The Daily Times correspondent telegraphed on Sunday as follows: — In a cricket match on • Saturday between elevens from the Temuka and Timaru Clubs some extraordinary scoring took place. Temuka went to the wickets first and were all put out for 86. Timaru then went in, and when time was called had lost four wickets for 350, F. W. Fish' being credited with the first century of the season, he being not out with the splendid score of 132 to his credit. From the Timaru Herald I learn that Fish's score included two s's, eight 4's, nine 3's, seventeen 2's, and twenty-nine singles. This is the highest individual score made on the Timaru ground this season, and the young player deserves every credit for his innings, which was a fine display of cricket, his hitting being hard and clean. At the conclusion of the game he was carried shoulder high to the pavilion and heartily cheeted by the spectators and the winning and losing teams. Cricketers in this Colony will doubtless be gratified to learn that Mr W. E. Barton, of the Auckland Cricket Club, was proposed by Mr J. A. Blackham to be a member of the Australian Eleven about to visit England. On the Melbourne Cricket Club (under whose auspices the team go) considering Mr Barton's nomination, it was resolved that he could not be included, as the team could only consist of Australians. It may be taken as a high compliment to Mr Barton's skill as a batsman and all-round cricketer that he should be the first nominated from this Colony. Mr R. Wood, late of the Lancashire County Eleven and Birkenhead Park Club, has recently arrived in Melbourne, and has thrown in his lot with, the East Melbourne Club. He bears the reputation of being a first-class left-handed batsman, and a good left hand bowlpr, with a delivery not unlike that of the jovial Yorkshireman, Tom Emmett. Mr Wood varies his pace with a deceptive action. He played against the Australian team of 1884 at Liverpool, and rendered good service to his side. It is believed that he will prove a decided acquisition to the first eleven of the Jolimonters, for whom he will play against Richmond. The following account of early methods of cricketing is from the Clipper :— Like everything else in this world, the scientific and elaborate game of cricket had but humble and imperfect beginnings. Among its progenitors was the merry old game of stool-ball, in which the lads and lasses used to join in the good old times upon the village green ; it seems to have been an especial game for women, and frequent reference is made to it in the old poets, Herrick and Tom D'Urfey among the number. The modus operandi of the game was to set a stool upon the ground ; one of the players took his place before it, while his antagonist, (standing at a distance, tossed a ball with the intention of striking the stool, and this it was the task of the former to prevent by beating it away with the hand, reckoning one to the game for every stroke of the ball. If, on the contrary, it should be missed and touch the stool, the players changed places. By-and-bye the stools were changed to two boards about a foot square, fixed on short poles from three to four feet hi"l>' according to the age of the players, and thirteen yards asunder. There were bowling, and runs, and catches, just as in cricket. The players usually numbered from eight to eleven a side, and the fields were placed as near as possible as they are at cricket. From the height of the wicket boards, balls had necessarily to be bowled full pitch, and the striker was out if the board yas hit or the ball caught. This game was played very much in Sussex, and chiefly by

'women, A curious -match at stool-play was played at Horsham Park, England, in October 1878, between two clubs of young ladies— the Foresters and the Horsham Park Eleven. The Foresters made 109 in their first iunings and 136 in their second, while their fielding and bowling were so exceedingly good that their opponents were put out for 60 runs in their first and 16 in their second innings. The bats used were small wooden instruments like a battledore or racket, only with shorter handles; while the balls, which had to be bowled underhand with full pitch, were a fullsized tennis. The two elevens were dressed in uniforms of light blue and pink. Another early form of cricket was called *cat and dog," and this was a very favourite sport in Scotland at the beginning of the last century. 1 It was played.in this manner: — Three or more players were furuished with clubs; they cut two holes in the ground, each about a foot in diameter, seven inches deep, and twenty : six feet apart. A man guarded each hole with' llis club; the clubs were called dogs.' A piece of wood, about four inches long and one in diaTmeter, called a cat, was pitched by a third party from one hole towards the .player at the other, vrho had to prevent the cat from getting into the hole. If it pitched into the hole,, the bowler who threw it took his turn with the club. If the cat were struck, the club-bearers changed places, and each change of place counted one to the score of the two who held the clubs and who were partners. Cricket hail some trouble at first to gain a firm footing and general favour among us. The word cricket or " krickett " is said to have first occurred in our language in 1550, -when it was described as "inhonestus htdus" a" game played by people of the' "meaner sort"; ifc is now played by everybody who is anybody. Somebody has said that Charles 11. introduced cricket from Holland; but, however that may be, it is asserted by somebody else that it had been taken up before Charles 11. came to the throne by the public Bchools — at any rate, by Winchester as early as 1650 ; that " good Bishop Ken " s.ang •• Willow, willow," and wielded the cricket l bat to some purpose ; that the first score recorded was taken in 1746 ; that the game was decided to be" not illegal" in 1748. Tbe first mention of a cricketfield occurs in a History of Guildford, undor date 1593, .on the occasion, of a lawsuit which arose out of the enclosing of the same. Early in the last century it was regarded as a gambling game ; heavy sunns were laid upbu' the players, and books were made upon the odds as in horstracing. In 1743 a writer in the Gentlemau's Magazine was much disgusted that lords, gentlemen, clergymen, and lawyers should associate themselves with butchers and cobblers in pursuit of the sport ; also ; at the crying evils of matches being played ; fdr large stakes, anil farmed ' by innkeepers who advertised their adventures, and were suspected of all sorts of trickeries to make their betting safe.

Mr J. Jeffery, Epsom College Preparatory School, has invented a hand-guard which is to supersede the cumbersome batting-glove now in use. The idea is to place the protection not upon the hand but upon the bat handle. Two pieces of indiarubber, one for each hand, are provided with large indiarubber rings, one at either end. These rings slip over the bat handle, and the guard' then assumes an appearance very similar to that of a cutlass guard. The hand is slipped inside, Upon the outside of the indiarubber the usual tubing is fixed for protection from the ball.