CRICKET.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 21, 18 November 1908, Page 12

CRICKET.

The weather was fine in Auckland on Saturday for the third round of the championship fixtures. The ground was hard and the wicket fast. Grafton, against University, put up the notable score of 349 runs. Reeve and Sloman were in excellent form, and punished the. bowling severely before being respectively caught, the former having 70 to his credit, and the latter 79. Mason, as usual, played “pretty cricket” in compiling his 60 runs. D. Hill just managed to overtop the 50 mark, and was then caught, this fate overtaking seven out of the eleven batsmen. The * Varsity had but a brief period at the wickets before time, and scored 7 for no wickets. In the City K A” v. Eden “A,” the firstnamed team were dismissed for 169, of which Stevenson made 33 by very vigorous hitting. He opened by getting four tourers in succession, and also added a sixer, (himmings and Elliott opened for Eden “A,” and are not out for a total score of 56. Ponsonby played Parnell, being dismissed for 157, of which Hemus and J. Gavin contributed 41 apiece. Parnell lost six wickets for 124. Sale is not out with 24 to his credit, and Marcroft secured 41. THANKS CRICKET. I The cup matches were continued on Saturday, when H aura hi met Tararu, anil Tarua played United. Against Tararu II auraki scored 49 (K itching 14), Tararu being dismissed for 36 (Coote 18). Bowling for Hauraki, Stevenson took 7 wickets for 13 runs. Tuma beat United by 35 to 26. PAEKDA V. KARANGAHAKE. The Paeroa and Karangahake Cricket Clubs played a match at Paeroa on Saturday, Karangahake winning by 19 runs. The cliief scorers for the winners were Venable, Lewis, and Claves, and for the losers Rickett, Le Comte, and Shaw. WELLINGTON RESULTS. There was fine weather for the cricket matches on Saturday. Old Boys commenced a senior match against Newtown, and made 309 runs (Tucker 101, C. P. Blacklock 50. (Monaghan 45). Wellington opened against Gas Company and were disposed of for 264 (Mahony 117, S,. Hickson 46). _ CHRISTCHURCH MATCHES. Fine weal her was experienced for the commencement of the third round of the district competitions on Saturday, and high B cores were the order of the day. Playing for Linwood A. E. Ridley made 217 not out. 'lTie team’s total was 402, which places them in a substantial position. The scores were: Linwood. 402 (A. E. Ridley 217, not out), v. Riccarton, .‘59 for one wicket. St. ‘Alba ns. 93 and 17 for no wickets, v. West Christchurch. 205 (E. J. Norman 90). East Christchurch, 197 (R. B. Ward 73), v. Sydenham. 54 for five wickets. DUNEDIN FIXTURES. The cricket matches wore continued on Saturday in splendid weather. Carisbrook •B, playing against Albion, declared their first innings closed with 326 for four wickets (Austin 171 not out, Sivdeberg 79). (Albion lost three wickets for 78 (Williams 55 not out). Dunedin made 140 against Carisbrook A (Wilson 5O», and Carisbrook lost seven wickets for 65. Grange made 63 against Opoho. the latter responding with 165 for eight wickets (Kllgour 45. not out).

English Cricket Captains. HOME MEN FAMOUS IN THE GAME. Although th? captain of an English county cricket team is not possessed of autocratic powers lik/- the president of a ’Varsity ls>at club, he is, nevertheless, a most important person in the world of sport, and county committees, if they are wise, which, unfortunately, is not always the case, allow him to have a voice in th? nelectiaa of a team, anti never on any account intcrefere with his management of the eleven on the field of play, OLDEST COUNTY C APTAIN. The oldest county captain in England bsth in regard to years ami length of nervioe, is Lord Hawke, who has led Yorkshire for twenty-five years; the youngest is Mr. T. K. Manning, of Northamptonshire—the Labi's of the competition—who only took Over the reins last season. Criefcel, perhaps, owes more to Txird Hawke than any other player of tbe

present generation, and there is no more popular captain in England to-day. Like all great leaders, Lord Hawke is of course a strict disciplinarian on the field, but off it he is the friend as well as the leader of his men. It is said that this will be the last year of Lord Hawke’s captaincy, and it will certainly be a fitting wind-up to his career if Yorkshire win the championship again. As captain of Yorkshire, Lord Hawke takes his cricket very seriously indeed. It is the game and nothing else. HIS SPECIAL SONG. It is a different thing, however, when he is a member of a touring side or a holiday team. On these occasions he is in great request as a vocalist. He has one special song, beginning with the

words “I hear that the old home is haunted,” with which he can bring tears to the eyes of his audience. Only one man has ever had the temerity to criticise Lord Hawke's singing, and that is Yorkshire's other captain, the Hon. F. 8. Jackson; but then Mr. Jackson criticises most things. The next best-kno-tvn captain to L;rd Hawke is undoubtedly Mr. P. F. Waiiior, of Middlesex, or “Plum,” as he is cai'en by ever visitor to Lord’s. His harlequin cap is the most familial- headgear in the cricket field, and very few people have seen him without it.

There are few keener cricketers thai “l*lum,” and certainly none with a greater knowledge of cricket history and statistics. He has played cricket in every quarters of the globe, and has ivriltn er ough books on cricket in strange lands to fill a small library. It is said fielding is his weak point; but he seldom drops a catch, and his only iailing is that he is a trifle slow on his feet. When in the field he has a quite unconscious habit of hitching up his trousers after the delivery of every b*t*. Mr. H. D. G. Leveson-Gower, the latest captain of Surrey—to deal with the peculiarities of all of them would fill a small votiinv- —is another old Oxonian, whose diminutive stature and general perky appearance have earned for him the nickname of “Shrimp.” He is, perhaps, the most restless cricketer alive, never being still even for a second. His characteristics are grit and determination; he never knows when he is beaten, and, what is better still, he imbues his team with the same spirit. He is also the sworn foe to all averagemongers and playing for a draw. In his opinion matches are made to lie won —• or lost —and so he never countenances anything like waste of time, even when a little judicious loitering might save his side from defeat. A real sporting captain, his succession to the Surrey leadership has done much to brighten cricket- at the Oval. Mr. Gilbert L. Jessop, the captain of Gloucestershire, is as good a judge of a run as he is of a limerick, and that is saying a great deal. There is no keener player between wickets, and although that swift return of his from extra midoff has been the cause of many men’s dismissal, it is very seldom indeed that any fieldsman is found smart enough to get rid of him in similar fashion. FAME AS A GOLFER. •He is rapidly acquiring fame as a golfer, a game which he is said to prefer to cricket. His wonderful hitting abilities and the curious attitude he adopts at the wicket, which causes him to be known as “The Croucher,” are also noteworthy characteristics,

Mr. A. O. Jones, of Notts, has been described as the beet fieldsman in England, and the praise is scarcely an exaggeration. Despite the misfortunes of his team in Australia, which were in a great measure due to his own illness, Mr. Jones is one of tne best captains in England, being a particularly clever manager of bowling. His clever working of Hallam and Wass had a great neal to do with Notts winning the championship last season with only two bowlers. In his younger days he used to be a great Rugby football player, a<nd there is nothing he enjoys more nowadays than refereeing in one of the big matches. The South African footballers considered him to be the finest Rugby referee in England, and many people are of the same opinion.

Perhaps, with the exception of Lord Hawke, t-here is no county captain who lias a greater hold upon the affections Of his team than Mr. E. M. Sprot, of Hampshire. It has been said that he does not pla.r with a straight bat, but he getjs plenty of runs, and his professionals idolise him. What more can a countycaptain desire? His great ..obby in private life is billiards, a game at which he is certainly extraordinarily skilful. Mr. H. K. Foster, of Worcestershire, is the second of the most famous brotherhood of athletes that this country has produced of recent years, worthy to rank with the Lytteltons, the Stiulds, the Lucases, and the Walkers of the past. Like his brothers, “W. L.,” “R. E.,” and the rest of them, the Worcester, captain is a marvellous all-round athlete, his quick eye and flexible wrist enabling ■him to excel at any ball game. He is, perhaps, the soundest batsman of all the brothers, and his courage, is not his discretion, is proved by the fact .that he has been known to field silly point to Mr. Jessop. For many years he held the championship at racquets, and there is one particularly effective stroke which he has brought from the court to the cricket field. Mr. C. H. B. Marsham, of Kent, is a much finer cricketer than his modesty would have us believe. During the last few years he has been somewhat overshadowed by the brilliance of his colleagues, but with so many of them failing this year, his opportunity has come at last, and he has taken to making hundreds himself. THE YOUNGEST COUNTY CAPTAIN. There are plenty of other county and club, including his Highness the Jam Sahib. “W. G.,” and C. B. Fry, but their little peculiarities are too well known to need -recapitulation here. There is one, however, who deserves a paragraph all to himself, and that is Mr. T. E. Manning, of Northamptonshire, the youngest and merriest of all the county captains. There is nothing he appears to enjoy more than fielding out all day under a hot sun, while the missing of catches by members of his own side seems to afford hi-m unbounded gratification. He is also tne only man who has ever been known to smile and thank the umpire when given out “lbw” from a ball which takes the bark off his left elbow. Despite his idiosyncrasies, however, he is a keen captain, a good cricketer, and a thorough sportsman. —F.T.P., in the “Daily Mail.”