Our London Letter

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIII, Issue XIX, 4 November 1899, Page 816

Our London Letter

The time has now come to say good-bye to crieket. We have had a wonderful season, and yet in a sense a disappointing one, the proportion of drawn games having been so excessively large. This is due not to any deterioration of the bowling generally, but to the abnormal spell of dry weather. The year has been eminently a batsman's, and new records have been created all along the line. Nothing has been so remarkable during the present season as the wonderful advance of C. L. Townsend as a batsman. His entry into county crieket some four years ago was marked by his great success as a slow bowler, but though overwork and dry wickets have rendered him less deadly in that direction the old Cliftonian has more than compensated for his decline as a bowler by the brilliance of his batting. In the last match of the season he completed his 100 wickets and 2.000 runs, thereby equalling the performance of the great “W.G.” in 1876. K. S. Ranjitsinhji is the first player to score over 3.000 runs in a season, and has beaten the record held by Grace with 3.159 runs, or an average of 63.18. In justice to the Grand Old Man of the greensward, however, it must be remembered that twenty-three years ago. when he made elose on 1.800 runs

with an average of 78,. matches were not so numerous, or wickets anything like as perfect as to-day. Major Poore has galvanised Hampshire into something approaching life with a startling average of 91.23 for seventeen completed innings, and easily heads the list, and C. B. Fry, who has played brilliant if somewhat erratic crieket, claims the honour of compiling the highest total—l Bl—against our Antipodean visitors. As everybody knows by now rhe County Championship ended in a win for Surrey, who were at the top in 1895. but only fourth in 1898. None will grudge them the honour. though many sympathise with Yorkshire. True, the Oval team has played an unusual number of draws —

14 out of 26 matches—but apart from this Surrey has on the whole shown distinct sujieriority to its rival. K. J. Key has once more piloted the team to success, but the laurels are divided between Abel, Hayward, and Lockwood. Both the first-named have accomplisheil the feat of making over 2.000 runs, and so far at. least as Oval wicket*, are concerned Abel still ranks as a wonderful batsman. Hayward, too, played in great brilliancy in the test matches, and Lockwood, back in his best form again, rendered yeomen service to his county both with bat and ball. F. S. Jackson, too, has had a capital season, and, though starting somewhat indifferently, wound up in fine form with an average of 45 for 44 innings. Hard wickets have naturally told against the bcsr.T, kv. Albert Trott created

a new world's record with over 200 wickets and a thousand runs. Considering the billiard table pitches that have been the rule, the slows of Rhodes and Paish have met with astonishing success, the Yorkshireman claiming 179 victims at 17 apiece, being second only by a fraction to Albert Trott. In Rhodes the broadacred shire hare found a worthy successor to Peate and Peel. With their victory over the South of England at Hastings, the Australian cricket team concluded their 1899 tour. Throughout they have been abnormally successful. for in 35 matches. 16 have been drawn, 16 won, and only 3 lost, thus eclipsing the record of Murdoch's team of all the talents which visited the Old Country in 1882. In the test matches the “rubber” is on their side with the one outright victory, though it must be confessed they had some considerable luck in the later fixtures. Curiously enough the three home counties, Essex, Surrey, and Kent, were the only teams to lower the colours of the Kangaroo. The Australian skipper beads the average of the team with the capital figures of 1.914 for 46 completed innings, an average of 41. Noble, too. has batted well and consistently, while to Victor Trumper, the youngest member of the combination, goes the honour of

having compiled an innings of 300 not out —a record score for an Australian on English soil. Trumble has shown considerable improvement in his batting since his last visit, and with Howell, Noble, and Jones, the Broken Hill fast bowler, has shared the arduous labours of the attack. ® ® © Thanks to-the prolonged spell'of fine weather, cricket diet! unusually hard this year, but with the County Championship decided, and the Australian tour at an end. even the brightest sunshine and the best of wickets could not avail to keep alive public interest in the summer sport, especially as with the advent of September the innumerable football clubs throughout the country settled down to serious business in their own line.

Captain of the Kaffir Football Team now on a Visit to England.

The football season will very soon be in full swing, and it promises to be of exceptional interest. Not the least interesting feature of it will be the visit of the Kaffir team—all fullblooded natives—who have come from the Orange Free State, where the sport is enthus.asticallv followed, tc try their luck against English play« rs at Home, and no doubt also with the object of picking up all they enn of the science of the game from such exponents as are only to be found in this country. The team is captained by Mr Joseph Twaji, who is a footballer of five years’ experience. He is twenty-five years of age, and on his native heath plays centre-forward for the Oriental, one of the strongest teams in the Free State. Twaji is also a cricketer, and in athletics generally is well known in that p.t.t of South Africa from which he huis.

Commandant Cronje is the best fighter the Boers possess. General Joubert is now sixty-eight-, and is scarred by nanny a wound from Eng-

lish bullet and native assegai. He led the Boers at Majuba Hill, where 280 English gave up their lives, General Joubert losing but five men. He beat the English at Laing’s Nek. commanded the forces at Aronkohorst and Spruit, and finally caught J a ues-3 n through quick mobilisation of troops and superior marksmanship. He fought in the native wars when President Kruger was commander, and these two became bosom friends. They ami one other Boer were selected to conduct the affairs of the Transvaal when it was in rebellion against England in 1881, and Joubert has several times come within a few votes of beating Oom Paul for the presidency. He will probably be the next to assume that position, as he holds different views from Kruger. He believes that if the ITitlanders were given the franchise, in a reasonable time they wculd become good citizens, and that this is the way to solve the problem. At the same time he will not sanction revolt, and when the Jameson raiders were in Pretoria gaol he was one who favoured shooting them for their offences.

THE MAN FOR RHODESIA.

Colonel Baden-Powell, who is now at Buluwayo, looking after British interests in llhodesia, has had a large South

African experience. lie has atr iljt marvellous bump of locality. AfteW once traversing a coontrv, however wild, be is always i.ole to retrace his steps, and he can discern instinctively the best route for a regiment on the march. He is always on the alert, and the natives have christened him “The watchman who never sleeps.”

An officer of experience is Colonel Edward Willis Duncan Ward, C. 8., who for the past six years has act d as Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General on the Home District Staff. He has just left England for Natal, where at Port Elizabeth he will assume the duties of disembarkation officer, and be

concerned in the establishment of bases of supplies and communications in the event of hostilities. He joined the Commissary-General's Department of the army in 1874. and for his services in the Soudan campaign of 1885 was promotea Assistant-Commis-sary General and mentioned in despatches. On the formation of the Army Service Corps he was transferred to it. He has had a deal of staff experience in Great Britain and Ireland, and was in the last expedition to Kuinasi. and organised the supply column. His services were acknowledged in despatches, and he was made a C.B. and promoted colonel shortly afterwards. When the army authorities took over the management of the Royal Military Tournament, Colonel Ward became treasurer, and for the last three" years he has been secretary. He is undoubtedly one of the most able officers in his corps, and probably the most popular staff officer the Home District has known for a lengthened period.