CRICKET,

Otago Witness, Issue 1968, 8 August 1889, Page 26

CRICKET,

NOTES BY SLIP. The departure from Dunedin of Mr R. C. Niven will be a severe loss to cricket in Otago, Changes in the Government Insurance department have resulted in his being transferred to Wellington. Mr Niven was one of the band of young cricketers with whose assistance Mr Ful< ton formed the Carisbrook Club. He soon became an expert wicket-keeper and an enthusiast! at the game. When he was transferred to InvercargiU. he revived interest in the game. On his return to Dunedin he cast in his lot with tbe Phcenix Club, and hers his loss will be very keenly felt. He was in every respeot a true cricketer, and his cheerfulness and courtesy made him a favourite with all. He had the interests of the game at heart, and has freely given time and trouble to promote it. He carries with him the good wishes of all Otago cricketers. Boniior, the giant cricketer, unexpectedly returned to Australia by the Arawa, arriving In Melbourne on the 30th alt. A Queensland aboriginal is reported to have thrown the cricket ball (in India) a distance of 140 yds. This ties the record, which is now generally accepted, that was made in 1873 in Australia by the aboriginal Billy. Nearly every member of the Lancashire County Eleven that played Dublin University in tbe middle of June got into double figures. The University men could only total 185 in two efforts, and the county scored 427 in a Bingle innings (Ward 89, Barlow 81). Derbyshire made a huge score in their second innings against Essex. They^ went in with an advantage of 13 runs and piled up 384 for five wickets. Chatterton (168) and Davidson (129) added no lesa than 292 for the fourth wicket. Neither made the slightest mistake. Derbyshire applied the closure, but too late to enable them to win, the match being drawn. A. P. Lucas, who is now fairly established in Essex, showed fair form for 36 and 22. The Athletic News says : — '• Blackham, the Australian wicket-keeper, tells a prettj good story about coming across an umpire who told him on the line was not out. Blackham appealed for a case of stumping. • Not out,' says the umpire. ' But his toe is on the line,' said Blackham. ' That's nothing,' says the umpire, 1 1 knew the rules before you were born ; he is not out. Why, here's a mallet I got for standing umpire.' Blackham, could say no more; the mallet floored him." Apropos the new rule of cricket providing for an innings being declared to be closed at any point, the following remarks by a writer in an English contemporary are worthy of consideration :—": — " If the new rule had been in force in 1886 should we now have on record the brilliant feat by Mr A. E. Stoddart, who scored 485 tubs in one innings, for the Hampstead Club ? Should we have had the leviathan total of 400 by Dr Grace, and the 323 in a county match by Mr B. Lacey? Or should we have such a record as 920 in one innings by the Orleans Club, or the 698 in a county match by Surrey, if the rule in question had been in existence? The probability' is that some of tbe foregoine records would never have been established, and will any one say that the particular matches in which they were made would have been remembered so fang as they have been, or have been handed down from annual to annual ? I rather think that they would have faded from our memory ere this, and have been left out of the book of records. Cricket history .will be robbed of one of its moat charming embellishments, if extraordinary batting feats are left unperformed, through no other cause than an innings being declared at an end before the proper number of wickets are down. I am not writing particularly against tbe new rule, bttt against it being put in force in a cas,e where a man bas made a great number of runs, and who is likely to make a score that will figure amongst the notable performances of the year."