FOREIGN CRICKET
By P. F. WARNER
In this and the following chapters I shall endeavour to give some
account of the many cricket tours in which I have been fortunate enough
to take part, in the West Indies, the United States, Canada, Portugal,
South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.
The days have long gone by since England was the only country in which
the game flourished; for cricket is played, and played well, too, in
the most remote corners of the British Empire.
It has been my good luck to play cricket from Trinidad to Auckland,
and from Buluwayo to Vancouver, so I hope there may be some interest
in a record of the game under conditions widely different from those
of Lord’s or Old Trafford—upon grounds that are within easy distances
of volcanoes, and in towns that have since undergone siege and
bombardment. In the course of my wanderings with bat and ball, I have
covered nearly 80,000 miles by land and sea, and I have enjoyed every
mile of my long journeyings, for the memories that one carries away
from such tours as these are innumerable. May not one hope, too, that
these touring teams are not altogether without value from the political
side, for they must assuredly lead to a closer understanding and better
appreciation of our kinsmen in Greater Britain.
One hears nowadays so many remarks—as a rule far from
complimentary—as to the status of amateur cricketers, that I take
this opportunity of enlightening those whom it may concern as to the
arrangements made with regard to the financial part of the six tours
which are dealt with in this chapter.
On the first tour to the West Indies we paid our own steamship tickets,
and our wine and washing bills, cabs, etc., throughout the tour; all
other expenses were paid by the clubs in the various islands. The
trip to Oporto was a purely private affair, into which no question of
expenses entered one way or the other. On my two visits to America, and
the South African and New Zealand tours, all our expenses, excepting
again our wine, washing, cabs, etc., were paid for us. Not one penny
passes through the hands of either the captain or any other member of
the team, and we have no interest whatever in the gate—that is the
affair of the club which has invited the team out. The expenses of the
tour are paid out of these gates, and the profits—and there is nearly
always a profit—go to the body which has undertaken the risk of the
tour. We are, in fact, the guests of the various places we visit.
As captain of two teams in America, no money whatsoever passed through
my hands. Our tickets were invariably taken for us, and we just stepped
on to boat or railway, as the case might be. The hotel bills, with the
exception of our bill for wine, washing, and smaller items, were sent
in to the Associated Clubs of Philadelphia.
Lord Hawke’s South African and New Zealand teams contained
professionals, who, over and above their ordinary expenses of
travelling and hotel bills, were guaranteed a lump sum of money, which
was paid them by instalments. The amateur receives his expenses only;
the professional his expenses _plus a lump sum_. There has been so much
misunderstanding on this subject, that I shall, I hope, be excused for
having dwelt upon it at some length.
THE WEST INDIES
Before the visit of R. S. Lucas’s team in the early part of 1895, the
West Indies were quite unknown to the majority of English cricketers.
That tour, however, showed that there was plenty of cricket scattered
over the islands, which only needed encouragement to develop into a
good class; and such delightful accounts did Lucas and his team bring
back of the West Indies, that Lord Hawke had little difficulty in
getting together an amateur side to go out a couple of years later.
We sailed from Southampton in January 1897, and after a pleasant
fortnight’s voyage arrived at Port of Spain, Trinidad. Here we opened
with a big score against the Queen’s Park Cricket Club, but came to
grief when opposing the island team, chiefly owing to some excellent
bowling by two black men, Woods and Cumberbatch, on not a very easy
wicket of the kind where one ball bumped and the next shot. But
admitting that they received considerable assistance from the wicket,
Woods and Cumberbatch bowled excellently, and took thirty-nine out of
the forty wickets that fell in the two matches. As it happened, these
two defeats were the only ones we experienced in the fourteen matches
which we played, and though I do not by any means wish to make excuses,
Trinidad certainly caught us at a disadvantage, as we had not become
acclimatised to the great heat, and, moreover, had not had sufficient
opportunities to get into form. But the Trinidad side were a good one,
their strength lying in their bowling. The batting was, with one or two
exceptions, rather rough, but the fielding was excellent, and this,
coupled with the bowling of Woods and Cumberbatch, proved too much for
us.
Cricket is, or was at the time I was there, established on a firmer
basis in Trinidad than in any other of the West Indian islands, and the
game was well supported by all classes.
From Trinidad we went to Grenada and St. Vincent, where our opponents
were no match for us, though the St. Vincent eleven ran us close for a
couple of days. The match was played on a matting wicket, which played
fast and true, though every now and again the ball turned very quickly.
At Barbados we had two splendid games, one of which we won after a
most exciting finish, and the other ending in an even draw. Barbados
and Trinidad were certainly the strongest teams in the West Indies
five years ago, and there was little to choose between the two sides,
Trinidad having perhaps the stronger bowling, and Barbados the better
batting.
Antigua, St. Kitts, and St. Lucia were weak, but Demerara were a very
fair side, though they did not show their true form against us. In the
smaller islands, such as Grenada, St. Vincent, Antigua, St. Kitts,
and St. Lucia, we invariably met black men in the opposing teams,
but in estimating the respective merits of Trinidad, Barbados, and
Demerara, it must not be forgotten that Trinidad played their black
professional bowlers against us, while Demerara and Barbados did not.
In the Intercolonial Cup, which is played for every other year between
the above-mentioned colonies, the custom was to exclude the black
professionals, but I am glad to say that this has been altered since I
was in the West Indies, and they are now allowed to take part in the
Cup competition. The admittance of black professionals into the best
games cannot but do good, as they add considerably to the strength of a
side, and their inclusion must instil a universal enthusiasm for the
game amongst all colours and classes of the population.
Jamaica we did not visit, but I was told by more than one of the team
which went out to the West Indies in the early months of 1901 that the
cricket there does not attain to any high excellence.
The wickets are not as a rule good, but there are exceptions, and the
grounds at Barbados, Demerara, and Antigua provide excellent wickets
in fine weather. It is hard enough to make runs on a sticky wicket in
England, but it is easy in comparison with a West Indian wicket after
rain, for under the influence of a powerful tropical sun, the ball
not only takes any amount of break, but gets up perfectly straight as
well. The Trinidad ground is the largest, and has the best pavilion and
seating accommodation, while of the many grounds I have seen in various
parts of the world, none surpasses it from a picturesque point of view;
but the wicket is a very bad one, and I really think the authorities
would be wise to lay down matting.
The West Indian team which came to England in the summer of 1900 played
seventeen games, won five, drew four, and lost eight, and when one
considers that the team had never played together before, that they
were quite unaccustomed to our climate, and to the strain of three
days’ cricket, and that they lost the toss twelve times out of the
seventeen matches the tour comprised, I do not think their record was
at all bad. At the start the side were quite at sea, but they improved
immensely as time went on, and towards the end of the tour showed some
uncommonly good cricket. The result, too, of the visit of the last
English team—by far the strongest of the three sides that have visited
the West Indies—gave evidence that the cricket had improved in the
islands, for out of the three test matches played, the West Indians won
two, while Demerara twice defeated the Englishmen, and Barbados once.
[Illustration: _A PARLIAMENTARY MATCH._
_The Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Lord John Russell, and
others._]
At the same time, it was generally felt that West Indian cricket had
not altogether made the progress expected. There are several good
bowlers, notably Burton, the best bowler in the West Indies, and Woods
of Demerara, Lane of Barbados, and Smith of Trinidad; but though the
fielding is excellent, the batting is weak, and of real knowledge of
the game, especially in the art of placing the field, there is little,
while the idea is far too prevalent that they have nothing more to
learn about cricket. This comes, I fancy, from their having on three
or four occasions beaten the English elevens which have played in the
West Indies, quite forgetting that these sides are never more than
fairly strong amateur combinations, with no pretensions to being called
first-class.
From every point of view, there can be nothing more enjoyable than
a cricket tour in the West Indies. The climate is, at the time of
year we were in the West Indies, quite delightful, and although the
sun is undoubtedly very hot, it is by no means harmful, if ordinary
precautions are taken. Abler pens than mine have painted the exquisite
charm and beauty of the islands, and the hospitality of the people
is beyond measure, the visit of an English team being an event which
is eagerly looked forward to. The black portion of the population is
especially enthusiastic. They climb the trees round the ground, and
keep up a running comment on the game, and it is somewhat disconcerting
to hear a huge shout of “Bowl him out, Clif,” go up as the bowler runs
up; but this was what happened in Barbados when I was batting, “Clif”
being Clifford Goodman, the great Barbados bowler. Lord Hawke was a
source of joy to the native mind. On going out to bat he was generally
greeted with shouts of “Welcome, my lord,” followed by an exhortation
to the bowler to “give the lord a duck.” Once, indeed, at St. Vincent
the bowler did not disappoint the crowd, for Lord Hawke retired first
ball, whereupon the scene which followed was, I venture to think,
unique. First of all the bowler turned a somersault on the pitch, a
way of evincing delight at the dismissal of an opponent one does not
usually see at Lord’s or the Oval; but after he had gone through his
acrobatic performances, it was even more interesting to watch the
crowd, who threw their hats in the air, danced about in front of the
ring, shook hands with one another, chattering and shouting the while.
It was the most extraordinary scene I have ever witnessed on a cricket
ground; but the West Indian negro goes quite mad about cricket, and
when A. E. Stoddart was in Barbados, hundreds of them used to gather
round his hotel on a chance of getting a glimpse of the great man.
With more coaching from English professionals, and with a readier
desire to assimilate the lessons taught, there is no reason whatever
why cricket in the West Indies should not attain a high standard, for
the West Indian seems to take quite naturally to the game, and the
climate is admirably suited to the bringing of cricket to perfection.
One or two of the grounds, notably that of Georgetown, Demerara, are
well cared for, but, speaking generally, there is much ignorance
displayed in the preparation of wickets, and it would be almost worth
while to have some man out from England to put the various grounds in
order, and impart instruction to the native groundsmen. The Trinidad
ground is infested with mole crickets, and the wicket is so impossible
that, unless matting is put down, cricket will languish, for no young
cricketer can be taught to bat really well on such a wicket, and a
bowler may be in danger of thinking himself a good one, when in fact he
is only just beginning to bowl.
My second tour was to America in the autumn of 1897, when I captained a
fairly strong team, which included, amongst others, G. L. Jessop and F.
G. Bull, the latter about that time the best slow bowler in England.
In discussing the strength of American cricket, it is as well to bear
in mind that American cricket means Philadelphian cricket, for nowhere
else in the United States does the game really flourish, though a few
enthusiastic supporters do their utmost to keep it going in New York
and Baltimore.
In Philadelphia, base-ball is quite a secondary consideration, and
there is a genuine enthusiasm for our great national game. The grounds
themselves are superb, but the wickets are not good, though English
cricketers are scarcely, perhaps, in a position to pass judgment on
them, seeing that teams from this country never play in Philadelphia
before the middle or end of September, when, owing to the abundance
of what is termed “fall grass,” it is no easy matter to obtain a good
wicket.
The Philadelphian eleven, as I saw them on the occasion of my first
visit, were a distinctly good side. They had quite a lot of batting, a
brilliant wicket-keeper in Scattergood, and, in J. B. King and P. H.
Clark, two bowlers distinctly above the average of amateur cricketers.
King, indeed, on his day is a remarkably good bowler, while Clark has
been almost invariably successful against English elevens. My eleven
played two matches against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. The first we
lost by four wickets, and the second we won by seven wickets, though it
is only right to say that in this game the Philadelphians were without
J. A. Lester, the best batsman in the States.
On the second tour to America, in September and October 1898, I had
not, perhaps, quite such a strong team as in the previous year, but
as the side included F. Mitchell, C. O. H. Sewell, C. J. Burnup, V.
T. Hill, B. J. T. Bosanquet, and J. L. Answorth, it was not weak. On
this, my last visit to America, the cricket in Philadelphia seemed to
have fallen off. J. B. King and P. H. Clark were as good as ever,
Scattergood was the same brilliant wicket-keeper, and the fielding
was absolutely A1, but the batting had gone off deplorably. Our first
match was fought out on a sticky, difficult pitch, when we won very
easily by eight wickets, hardly any of our opponents having any idea
of playing on such a wicket. The return match was played on a good
wicket, certainly by far the best I have seen in America, and again we
won, but this time only after a desperate battle. When the sixth wicket
went down, we wanted 30 runs to win, and as the side possessed a most
distinct tail, the result was decidedly open to doubt. However, some
fine hitting by Hill enabled us to pull through by four wickets.
K. S. Ranjitsinhji and B. J. T. Bosanquet have both taken teams to
Philadelphia since I was last there, but Ranjitsinhji’s eleven was
absurdly strong, and won anyhow, though the Philadelphians had the
worst of the luck in having to bat on slow wickets, on which they do
not shine. B. J. T. Bosanquet’s eleven won one and lost one match with
the Philadelphians, the Americans being seen to great advantage in the
game they won, and quite outplaying the Englishmen, who lost by no less
than 229 runs. Bosanquet had, too, a very fair team, including E. M.
Dowson, E. R. Wilson, R. E. More, F. Mitchell, and V. F. S. Crawford,
but the Englishmen admittedly played very much below their true form.
There seems to be more good cricket played in and around Philadelphia
to-day than was the case some two or three years ago, and, generally
speaking, the game seems on the up-grade, so that I shall be surprised
if the team which is to visit England this summer does not prove to be
the best that the Philadelphians have ever sent us.
I have already mentioned that Philadelphia is the only place in America
where the game has taken a firm hold, but New York has in M. R. Cobb a
distinctly good cricketer. He is a very fair bat, and an excellent slow
to medium right-hand bowler, of the type that one would wish to see
more of in America, American bowlers being as a rule of the tearaway,
erratic type. Cobb’s record against English teams is a very good one,
and he was, next to J. B. King, the best cricketer I saw in the States
in 1897 and 1898.
On my first American tour, except for a visit to Niagara, we did not go
to Canada at all, but matches were arranged at Montreal and Toronto for
the second trip.
At Montreal we played against XIV. of Eastern Canada, and won by 88
runs; but the ground, which is used as a skating-rink for six months
in the year, is appalling. There was a certain amount of keenness for
the game, but to enable cricket to flourish, a cricket ground must be
obtained.
The ground at Toronto is a very fair one, and the Canadian eleven
was certainly the best side we met, next to the Philadelphians, but
little enthusiasm was shown, and cricket is not, I fear, in a very
satisfactory condition.
[Illustration: _A MATCH AT IGLOOLIE, BETWEEN H.M. SHIPS “FURY” AND
“HECLA”._]
Outside Philadelphia there is, as I have pointed out, little or no
cricket in America, but in Philadelphia itself the game flourishes, and
our matches were followed with the greatest enthusiasm. The ordinary
writer on cricket in America knows little about the game, but his
headlines and comments are exceedingly amusing. We were invariably
referred to as “British Lions,” and we were assured that the American
girl had “just a little liking for sure-enough Englishmen.” Again, when
the Philadelphians defeated us, one of the Philadelphia papers came out
with a long leading article entitled, “Waterloo for Englishmen,” in
which the fact that we had been beaten at our own game was duly rubbed
into us.
Cricket has many difficulties to contend with throughout the United
States. In the first place, the Americans are a busy nation, and have
no leisure to devote themselves as energetically as we do to cricket,
while, except in Philadelphia, base-ball always has been, and always
will be, the national game. But in Philadelphia the future of cricket
is assured, for I have met there some of the keenest and most ardent
followers of the noble game.
A great many people would, I imagine, scarcely believe that cricket is
played in Portugal; but wherever two or three Englishmen are gathered
together, there will wickets be pitched and creases marked out, and
as the English colony in Oporto numbers a few thousands, it is not
surprising to find the game in full swing in the beautiful town on the
banks of the Douro.
It was as a member of T. Westray’s eleven that I had the pleasure of
playing cricket in Oporto in the spring of 1898. Our captain, a former
leader of the Uppingham team, had got together a very fair side, which,
with L. C. U. Bathurst and H. R. Bromley Davenport to bowl, and R. N.
Douglas and S. A. P. Kitcat as the principal batsmen, proved far too
good for our opponents. We won the first match against an Oporto eleven
by an innings and 103 runs, Douglas making 106, and our two crack
bowlers, with the assistance of A. C. Taylor, dismissing Oporto for 33
and 118. Our total was 254, but had the Oporto eleven possessed even
a moderately good fast or medium-paced bowler, we should not have got
100, for the wicket was almost dangerous. I have a vivid recollection
of being hit on the forehead by a slow half-volley which jumped
straight up. The Oporto fielding was good, but the bowling very poor
indeed, half-volleys on the leg stump and long hops being frequent.
Our next opponents were Portugal, three Englishmen coming over from
Lisbon to take part in the match; but here again we won almost as
easily by an innings and 75 runs, though the cricket of our rivals
showed some improvement, the bowling being of a better length, and
the fielding decidedly surer. But cricket in Oporto is confined to
twenty or thirty enthusiasts, so that the game cannot be taken at all
seriously. Something will have to be done to the wicket, which at
present is deplorable, for the soil itself is very sandy, and plantains
seem to take root again as fast as they are cut out. The best plan
would be to lay down cocoanut matting, but the cricketers in the _leal
e invicta citade_ (the loyal and unconquered city) are rather proud of
the fact that theirs is the only ground in Spain or Portugal in which a
grass wicket is obtainable.
None of the Portuguese took even the slightest interest in our visit,
beyond a paragraph in the local paper stating that the “afamados
loquedores de cricket” had arrived, and that the enthusiasm for cricket
in England was even greater than that shown for bull-fighting in Spain,
and that the names of Grace, Abel, Ranjitsinhji, and Maclaren were in
England as well known as the names of Guerita, Marrantini, Perate, and
Carajello, the famous bull-fighters, were in Spain.
[Illustration]