The Rise of Colonial Cricket.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13367, 17 August 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

The Rise of Colonial Cricket.

(By P. F. Warner.)

When it is remembered that the first beginnings of South African cricket date from the tour of Major Wharton's team in the winter of 1888-89, it wiil be admitted that the rise of South Africa in the world of cricket has been extraordinarily rapid; but though the rivalry between English and South African cricketers can look back to a starting point of less than twenty yearc, from my own experience I should "be the last person to say that the South African cricketer of to-day was over ambitious in throwing down the gauntlet to the full strength of England. It was in the year 1888 —as I have said —that Major Wharton organised the lirst English team of cricketers which visited South Africa, and it was but six yearn later before the r-eeds then sown had sufficiently matured to allow tha South Arricans to fed full confidence in their poweis to return the compliment, and to try conclusions with the English players on their own ground's. But the South African of 1894 did little to arouse any largo amount of attention. E. A. Halliwell was a first-class wicketkeeper, C. O. H. Sewell a young batsman of the highest promise, and G. Rower, qapitali slow, left-handed bowler. The great majority ' of matches were against second-class teams, and, on the whole, the tour felt rather flat. Between 1888 and 1894 another English eleven, under the captaincy of the late W. W. Read, visited the Gape, and returned unbeaten. This was a very strong side, and included W. L. Murdoch, G. TSrann, J. J. Ferris, J. T. Hearne. Ale: Hearac, Martin. Rougher, and Chatterton. A CAPTTAL RECORD. In 1895 and 1898, Lord H.-uvle. C;.-Mied ihroughont South Africa, and it was plain io all that tin. standard of cricket was imploring year by year, and no one was surprised wlvwi it was announced in 1901 that the South- Africans felt themselves strong enough to again fiend an eleven to England. In spite of a bad start they did capitally, and their complete record was thirteen victories, nine defeats, and two drawn games. They were, indeed, a very good body of players. -Hat-horn. Risset, and Tancred were i-ho best Intsm-'n, and Sinclair, Kctze. Rowe, and Graham did the bowling. Following their tour in England in ISC2. the Australian. 1 : went home Ivy the Cape, and played six mntchoi in South Africa-. Threa tst r.r.itibei weie played, the Ihsi of which was. left- drawn, and the- other two were won by the An tralictus, but in tli? first- two matches the South Africans made a splendid fight. Then came (he highly .successful l tour in this country in 1904, when, out of twentysix matches, thirteen were won, nine drawn, and three lost, tho remaining fixture with Middl-ws': at. Lord's, ending in a 'tie. Beyond all cp'er-tinn this was a really good team, and I lie way ihey beat a strong eleven of England at- Lord's rather opened our cv'vs. - TURF V. MATTING WICKETS. The tour of the M.C.C. in t)i-.- winter of 1905-06 only went further to show the rapid improvement in {ho Smith African cricket, for out of fivo tent, matches the South Africans won four—three of vhsm by overwhelming margins, and so fine was their form at every point thai on their own grounds it. would be. necessary to put practically the b:e<;, eleven in England into the field in order to wefvaii them. For their batting was consistently good down to the last man : their bowling was high in excellence and varie 1 in style, and the fielding war: b;>th dashing and safe. Such, Ih'.n, is a brief sketch of the story of South African cricket, and it cannot be denied thai, much has been evolved in a period c.f e.'ghton years. But, ifhen, as the " Sprinp-bnkr." and some of the Rhnries scholars have shown us. the South African is a born athlete, and the sports and gainer, of the Old Country com: easy to him in smh a good climate, where men grow to great strength and activity. As everyone knows, you never by any fliance ee< a grasj wicket in South Africa, watting being used everywhere. Cricket, on matting is not half such a good game

as cricket on turf, but as there is no turf worthy of the name in South Africa, South Africans have no other alternative but to play on matting. English cricket <e-'.;ns in South Africa, invaiiably piay below their true, form, and this fact may be set down chiefly io the matting, for which 1 have never heard an English batsman < xpi\ssing a liking. Tho great difficulty is in the movement nt the feat, and iila different, pace ami height at which the- ball comes olf tho matting, as compared with a turf wickot. Then, again, the- bright light is very tiying, and the long railway journeys are apt to be detrimental to the energy and eih'eieney of a. irawliing team. I mention th.-s;> points not by way of excuse for tho severe defeats inflicted on the M.C.C team, but by way of explanation of tho indifferent performances of a .side which, on paper, at any late, was by no me.inra weak. Our opponents were a bett.r side than we wei\ —that was th:i sols reason of their defeating us. The oft' breaking Teg break of the Bosanquet, s'.hool has exercised a great influence ! over South African cricket. R. 0. Schwarr was his first disciple, and a still better imitator is G. A. Faulkner. Mori' accurate in his length than Bosanquc/—I am thinking of the Bosanon t of tho Australian tour, 1903-04, the period when he was at his best—and faster in pa.ee, Faulkner, indeed, is a bowler of remarkabl? ability, one. who, on his day, is capable of dismissing a strong batting side for a small score on a good wick t, quickly did hn break the boll' from leg on tho matting wicket at Johannesburg, tlui 1 - he r.early always had two slips, while hi: i rnimand of length was so gr at that he had only two men "out," r, long on. and a. deep squaro leg. ROWLING WITH BRATNS. Something of the headwork a.nd strategy of the best Australian bowlers in to bo found in the South Africans' work': in this respect, and ab the present moment they are. di'tinctly superior to the Australians in thtir power at attack. A mod".rate bowle:—by that I mean the mechanical, spinlcss bowler—is easy enough to play on a matting wicket, but finger spin bowlers are much more difficult than on grass; for the ball turns more quickly and to a greater extent on matting than cm grass, and also riser, higher. And .to th'> South African found that to succeed as a bowler it was necessary to develop exceptional powers of break, ispin, or deception ; and tho wonderful success achieved, on occasions, by Bosanqueit led thoughtful observers to study.the method hi had adopted, with the result that the M.C.C. found it was very hard to get inns. But on a good turf wicket bowlers of this type will certainly not. b? so difficult to meet as on matting ; and as tho ba«t eleven in England to-day will be strongly armed in every respect we can await the issue, of the struggle with this our newest competitor from among the younger nations with, confidence. But, at the same time, it would be sh:er folly to underrate the South Africans, for nothing short of our very best will bo required to defeat them. The Australians have written their name in such large lettem in the history of English cricket," that, there, is no need to lefer to their exploits at this time of day. But it may be remarked that they sprang thfir cricket powers on us even more suddenly than tho South Africans, for when the first Australian team came to this country in 1878, a good many people thought that, thev were black, men.' IN THE DARK AGES. But,, these, were the dark ages, when few people took any. interest in the Colonies, and fewer still knew where Australia was. Tha starting point of Australian cricket was on that May Day, many years since now, when a powerful M.C.C. team was dismissed for 33 and 19. Since that startingly dramatic match Australia, has scarcely ever looked back. T'hsro may have been an occasional lean year, but these have b°en lost in the memory of the onany superb eleven" which Englishmen have encountered both here and' on the lovely grounds of Sydney, Melbourn?, and Adelaide. But over and above their actual skill, Australian ciickcters have always been renowned for their fearless and dogged resistance to. adverse circumstances, and for a supremo power of "fighting with •their backs to the. wall," a quality which is. shared in a'mcet as great a degree by the foulh Afi icons. When ore recollsets t.hp.t- twenty-five y-,ar ago the prospect of any eler. n "being nb'e to hold its own agai:r-v our men was looked upon as an impni.ribilitv, the_ rise of Australia, and. now. South Africa, to an eminence which tho past has proved fully justifies in challenging " Englnivl," j; a, rotable proof of the, spreid rf :he notional game amongst our kinsmen across the seas.