CRICKET NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5067, 28 September 1894, Page 3

CRICKET NOTES.

[BY SCOEING BOABD IN " CANTERBURY TIMBB."] Last Saturday afternoon, being in the dead season, between the close of football and the beginning of the time for cricket, was taken advantage of by a large number of cricketers for practice on the cocoanut matting wickets. At Saundeie's pitches, in Glouceßter Street, aboub thirty players went through Borne preparation, arid at DicktDSin'a pitchea, at St Albans, there was also a good mußter. ' : I am glad to congratulate Addington upon its determination not to disband, and upon a very satisfactory report and i. balance-Bheet. I noticed Prankish bowling on Saunders's pitches the other evening. He seeniß i to have developed a lot more pace than of ' OW» ■ 3-3 1. ill '' Do Maus i 3 already in splendid batting form, and will start this season in an un- . usually prepared state. . .. • ; The raport read at the annual meeting ; of the Melbourne Cricket Club Bhowed ■ that there were 2669 members on thfl roll. i The net revenue from all sources v&e .£6123 The general debt had been reI duced'during the year by £1480, and no^w ► etands at £5377. The chairman. Mr F. 1 Grey Smith, aaid that since its formation, '- thirty-five years ago, the club hud spent i .£63,900 upon permanent improvements.

t j The receipts of the Victorian Crieketen , j Association for the past year have beei , ; £2672 7s 7d, the chief items being:— Pro i ; ceeds of intercolonial match against Nev i South Wales, played at Melbourne, De ! cember 1893, £1283 4a; and the proceed* j of the intercolonial match against South Australia, played at Melbourne, January 1894, £1002 18 a. The proceeds of Pennant matches only amounted to £64 9s Bd. After paying the clubs a dividend of .£27 10a per delegate, which amounted to the sum of £797 10?, a balance of £85 16s 2d was carried forward to next year. The greatest number of people that ever paid for admission at a cricket match in England was 63,763 at the Surrey v. Notts match played at the Oval in August, 1892. There were 30,760 spectators present on the first day, 29,370 on the second, and 3633 on the third. The [London Star, has the following:— "It is interesting to note the way in which Dr G/ace first made his mark in cricket. Mr Billy Burrup was at Lord's one day, when E. M. Grace came up to him and said, 'Billy, I've ayonn? brother at home who can lick my head off.' ' Have you?' Baid Billy. 'Then I'll have him. Bring him up, and he shall play in the next match for Gentlemen against Players/ Young Grace, then but sixteen, made hia appearance, played in the match, and commenced his career as a cricket champion by making 46 runs." This year (remarks a writer in a London paper) will probably be remembered as a year in which the fast bowlers carried off the honours. Richardson, Mold, and J. T. Hearne, all fast bowler?, are the only men who have taken considerably over a hundred wickets, though Briggs has the satisfaction of recording just one hundred wickete. Mould's seven wickets for 10 runs for Lancashire v. Somerset is decidedly the performance of the eeason, though it is by no means a record in firstclass cricket, nor even approaching one. The most marvellous bowling feat which I can recall at present is that of the evergreen W. G. Grace, who once took seven Nottingham wickets in seventeen balls for no runs. Peate once captured eight Surrey wicketa for 5 rune, while Morley so paralysed the Surrey batemen on one occasion that his analyeis read seven wickets for 9 runs. I wonder, by the way, whether Peel will ever eclipse his most wonderful bowling achievement, which waa against Notts six years ago, when he took eight wickets for 12 runß. A good deal (says an English contemporary) has been said for and against the decision of the Marylebone Cricket Olubtoraiae the "follow on" limit from eighty to one hundred and twenty. The alteration was scarcely required, and these casual and so-called improvements in the lavs of cricket savour veiy much of the tinker. The Marylebone CJnb might easily devote its energies to more profitable reform. It iB quite time, for instance, that on a toss of a coin the result oE a match should not depend. At present at least half the county matches, are won by the sides successful in the; 'toss. A fairer and far more sensible plan' than this would be for the home side-to have choice of innings. Another improvement tadly needed is that a batsman who prevents a ball from hitting his wickets by the agency of hts legs, no matter where the ball pitches, should be given out in all cases. As matters are now, round-the-wicket bowlera with big breaks are placed at a trtinendous disadvantage as compared with men who bowl over the wicket. It U their business to pitch the ball out of the straight and then break back, and many batsmen, aware of this, deliberately place their legs in front of the stumps, well knowing that nine umpires out of. ten upon an appeal will reply in the negative. Amateurs are great sinners in this respect. I am enabled this week to give my readeis the digeßt of English cricket up to August 9, that was held over from last week. Leicestershire beat Surrey on July 19, 20 and 21 by 34 runs, and that, too, after having all; the worst of the play for some time. Leicestershire, 95 and 174; Surrey, 200 and 35. Holland not out 46 and 9 and Tomlin 9 and 57, were chief scorers for the winners, and Lockwood 39 and 4, Key 80 and 2 and Hay ward 38 and 4 for Surrey. Hillyard's bawling in Surrey's second innings was very deadly, he taking five wickets for 18 runs, and Poiuher in the match captured eleven Surrey wickets for 57 runs. After being beaten in a Bingle day by Lancashire on July 17, the Somerset Eleven journeyed to Huddersfield and met Yorkshire there on July 19. Oddly enough the result was jußt the same, and for the second time in succession the Somersetshire men found themselves beaten in a single day. Yorkshire scored 173 to 74 and 94. Notts just beat Kent on July 19, 20 and 21 by 13 runs. Notts 47 and 128 (Gunn 11 and 49) ; Kent 110 and 52 (Perkins 45 and 3). Lancashire beat Gloucestershire on the Banie dates by 244 rues. Lancashire 168 and 280 (Ward 23 and 109, M'Laren 20 and" 68, Sugg 0 and 50, Briggs 37 and 7, and Baiter 26 and 8); Gloucestershire 113 and 92 (W. G. Grace 49 and 5, and Ferris 0 and 30). Kent thrashed Surrey on July 23 and following days, winning by 57 runs. Kent 113 and 112 ; Surrey 77 and 91. Wilson 38 and 42 scored best for the hop county ; and Abel 30 and 18 (or the losers. Walter Hearne'a bowling was very effective against the Surrey batsmen, as he took thirteen wickets for 93 runs. The return between Somersetshire and Lancashire ended in a draw, owing to rain. The latter had scored 260 with two wickets down when the innings was cloeed, and Somerset went in, but Briggs and Mold dismissed the whole team for 168 runs, of which Fowler and Evans each scored 37. Out of Lancashire's total, F. Sugg scored a brilliant 157 not out, hit up in two hours and three-quarters on a slow ground. He made 20 off one over of Tyler's, and completed his hundred in an hour and fifty minutes. Sussex and Notts met at Brighton on July 23, 24 and 25, for Jeste Hide's benefit, and Sussex won their first championship match of the season. Sussex, 163 and innings closed at 183 for loss of eight wickets 9 Notts, 102 and 119. Marlow 54 and 0, Newham 43 and 45, and Butt 0 and 58 were the winner's moßt successful bat6meo, and Gunn 2 and 56 and Howitt 28 and 2 did best for Notts. Alfred Shaw bowled well, against his old county, taking in all seven wickets for 50 rune. Yorkshire finished an interesting match agaiuet Gloucestershire, on July 25, winning by 26 runs. Yorkshire, 140 &nd 61 ; Gloucester, 108 and 67. W. G. Grace 41 and 11, and Ferris 40 and 14 were the only pair on either. Bide who rose above mediocrity with the bat. Nottj beat Gloucestershire on July 26, 27 and 28 by an innings and 44 rues, Ecoring 306 to Gloucester's 171 and 91. Flowers with 102, Robinson with 43, and Baguley with 37 not otit, contributed most of the winners* runs, whilst W. G. Grace 61 and 5, and Luaid 8 and 47 not out', were ahead for Gloucester. Sussex easily beat Kent on the same .dates by nine wickets. The former scored 116 and 41 for one wicket against 35 'and 121. Bean 31 and 32, and Mario w3O and 8 not out batted beßt for SußseXi and Wilson 33 and Perkins 24 for Kent. Parrte bowled well for the winners, taking ten wicketi for 58 runs. .. Lancashire scored a decisive victory over Gloucestershire on July 30, 31 and August 1. Lancashire 351 (A. Ward 131, and Baker 61) ; Gloucestershire 99 and 154 (Painter 34 not out and 54, and E. M. Grace 0 and 31). Mold was very destructive with the ball, taking thirteen Gloucestershire wicketa for 123 runs. Leicestershire secured a highly creditable win from Notts on the same datsa, winning by 106 runs. Scores—Leicestershire 122 and 263 ; Notts 139 and 140. , Surrey on the same dates amply avenged their previous defeat at . the hands of Warwickshire by scoring 384 against 15} and 228. Lockwood, who seems to , be coming rapidly to the front as a batsman, made 127.f0r Surrey. . '•.■*■•■ Somersetshire- pulled . a match . against Kent out of the fire in' fine style pn the same dateßi after being a long, way behind. Somerset 110 and 230, Kent 220 and 83.