Related article: enough. One good thing the
authorities at Lord's have at last
accomplished. The absurd net
which at the beginning of the
year they had placed round the
ground, and so spoilt a good
many matches, was at the end of
iune at length removed, and we
ope with the net there has also
gone any further idea of such
a futile plan as the one which
so signally failed as an experi^
ment.
There is at present existing in
the laws of cricket a rather
strange anomaly. It will be re-
membered that the Committee
of the Marylebone Club at
the beginning of the present
season, recommended to the
general meeting that, in order to
save time, the over should be in-
creased from five balls to six
balls in all matches, three days
or otherwise, so that in a three-
day match or a two-day match
there is no option but to have six
balls in the over. Oddly enough,
however, in the laws relating to a
one day's match in the Maryle-
bone laws of cricket, the following
has been allowed to remain : —
*' 3. — Prior to the commencement
of a match it may be agreed that
the over consists of five or six
balls." This alternative would
appear to date from the days ot
when the over consisted in thre^
day cricket and two-day cricket
of but four balls, and was, we
presume, originally intended for
the economy of time when a one-
day's match was to be decided.
It is somewhat illogical that such
a law should continue to hold
good in the Marylebone code,
since the only effect it could have
upon the game could be to cause
ii8
BAILY S MAGAZINE.
[AUGUSX
some waste of time. It might be
no bad plan, now that the laws of
cricket have been so slashed
about and altered, that they
should be entirely revised and
re-adjusted by some competent
authority, not only upon cricket,
but upon draughtsmanship and
modern English.
In a year when this country is
not honoured by a visit of an Aus-
tralian cricket team the meeting
of Gentlemen v. Players at Lord's
is usually regarded as the match
of the season, and we think that
we may safely refer to the Gentle-
men V, Players of 1900 as the
match of the season. Mr. S. M . J .
Woods had a splendid team of
amateurs entrusted to his charge,
the only notable absentees being
Ranjitsinhji and Mr. Maclaren;
whilst the eleven players captained
by Abel were a fine combination,
although they had not so much
bowling as usual, there being no
regular fast bowler when Lock-
wood, who was originally selected,
was unable to play. The wicket
at the start of the match had ap-
parently not quite recovered from
a good dose of water it had re-
ceived on the previous Saturday,
and so the Gentlemen, in batting
first, did not gain any great ad-
vantage, and for their score of
297 they had mainly Buy Isosorbide to thank Mr.
R. E. Foster, who played a mag-
nificent not-out innings of 102,
and Mr. C. B. Fry, who scored
98. The Players, on going in to
face the fast bowling of the
Gentlemen, failed signally, and
were all out on the second morn-
ing of the match for a poor score
of 136, leaving the Gentlemen
with an advantage of 161 runs on
the first innings. Mr. Foster
again played magnificently, and
scored a second century in the
match, this being the first time
such an exploit has been per-
formed in this match, whilst it is
the third occasion upon which
Mr. Foster has accomplished the
feat. Mr. Fry played steadily for
72, and it was obvious towards
the close of this long partnership
that Mr. Foster was hitting at
everything with a view to putting
on runs as rapidly as possible with
a view to putting the Players in
again. With his score at 136,
Mr. Foster was finely caught in
the country by Jack Brown, who
caught in the match Generic Isosorbide three fine
catches in front of the Pavilion.
Mr. Jessop followed in out of his
proper order, and made 18 runs
before the eighth ball he received
bowled him. It was now appa-
rent that the Gentlemen, being
nearly 500 runs to the good, were
bent upon getting out and giving
the Players an hour*s batting that
night, and as batsman after bats-
man came in to bit at everything,
the cricket was most exhilarating ; Cheap Isosorbide
and when the last wicket fell the
Players were left with 502 runs to
get to win the match, and a whole
day and an hour in which to get
them.
The close of play on Tuesday
night found the Players' score at
44 for the loss of Albert Ward's
wicket, and the Gentlemen must
have began their work on Wed-
nesday morning with every hope
of success; at two minutes after
the time appointed for drawing
stumps that night the Players had
won the match by two wickets,
actually succeeding in making 502
runs in the fourth innings for the
loss of but eight wickets. To
Jack Brown (173), Hay ward (m),
and Abel (98), belong the chief
honours of this triumph ; whilst to
the Gentlemen, although they ac-
tually lost the match, every credit
must be given for the great and
sportsmanlike efforts they made
for victory.
i9oa]
119
Otter-Hunting.
Otter-hunting is a sport which
should appeal specially to casual
visitors who can only follow it
incidentally. It costs them ab-
solutely nothing except a little
fatigue, and, perhaps, wet feet;
and in exchange it provides an
exciting chase and healthy exer-
cise under conditions the most
exhilarating, amongst scenery the
most deligh^ul. Chance strangers
among the field are always wel-
come, if they "mean business;"
but why do so many pose as
authorities on the sport, when
they seem to be at pains to make
it obvious that they know little or
nothing of the otter and its habits ?
On the other hand, why should
otter - hunting, the master, his
huntsman and whip, escape the
common lot ? We have all learnt
recently, from people who know
nothing of military matters, that
most of our senior officers are
incompetent ; I have heard it
affirmed that W. G. Grace and
Harry Trott were unfit to captain
their respective teams ; I have
even known individuals, who
never have in their lives made a
fifty break without a fiuke, assert
that John Roberts, junior, was
playing the wrong game. Where-