If American parents will take the time to read what the Reverend James Pycroft says in ChapterVI of his Cricket Field, which we have taken the liberty of quoting in full, it may give them food for thought. It was the good fortune of the writer to read this delightful book early in life, and he has quoted from it whenever he found it possible, and begs to acknowledge numerous obligations, for it has had much bearing upon his own conclusions. “CHAP. VI. A DARK CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF CRICKET. The lovers of cricket may congratulate themselves at the present day that matches are made at cricket, as at chess, rather for love and the honor of victory than for money. It is now many years since Lord’s was frequented by men with book and pencil, betting as openly and professionally as in the ring at Epsom, and ready to deal in the odds with any and every person of speculative propensities. Far less satisfactory was the state of things with which Lord F.Beauclerk and Mr.Ward had to contend, to say nothing of the earlier days of the Earl of Winchelsea and Sir Horace Mann. As to the latter period, ‘Old Nyren’ bewails its evil doings. He speaks of one who had ‘the trouble of proving himself a rogue,’ and also of ‘the legs at Marylebone,’ who tried, for once in vain, to corrupt some primitive specimens of Hambledon innocence. He says, also, the grand matches of his day were always made for 500l. a side. Add to this the fact that the bets were in proportion, that Jim and Joe Bland, of turf notoriety, Dick Whitlom, of Covent Garden, Simpson, a gaming house keeper, and Toll, of Isher, as regularly attended at a match as Crockford and Gully at Epson and Ascot; and the idea that all the Surrey and Hampshire rustics should either want or resist strong temptations to sell is not to be entertained for a moment. The constant habit of betting will take the honesty out of any man. A half-crown sweepstakes, or betting such odds as lady’s long kids to gentleman’s short ditto, is all very fair sport; but if a man after years of high betting can still preserve the fine edge and tone of honest feeling, he is indeed a wonder. To bet on a certainty must be very bad moral practice. ‘If gentlemen wanted to bet,’ said Beldham, ‘just under the pavileon sat men ready with money down to give and take the current odds, and by far the best men to bet with, because if they lost it was all in the way of business: they paid their money and did not grumble.’ Still they had all sorts of tricks to make their betting safe. ‘One artifice,’ said Mr. Ward, ‘was to keep a player out of the way by a false report that his wife was dead.’ Then these men would come down to the Green Man and Still, and drink with us, and always said that those who backed us, or ‘the nobs,’ as they called them, sold the matches: and so, sir, as you are going the round beating up the quarters of the old players, you will find some to persuade you this is true. But don’t believe it. That any gentleman, in my day, ever put himself into the power of these blacklegs by selling matches, I can’t credit. Still, one day I thought I would try how far these tales were true. So, going down into Kent with ‘one of high degree,’ he said to me, ‘Will if this match is won, I lose a hundred pounds.’ ‘Well,’ said I, ‘my Lord, you and I could order that.’ He smiled as if nothing were meant, and talked of something else; and, as luck would have it, he and I were in together, and brought up the score between us, though every run seemed to me like ‘a guinea out of his Lordship’s pocket.’ In those days foot races were very common. Lord Frederick and Mr.Budd were first-rate runners, and bets were freely laid. So, one day, old Fennex laid a trap for the gentlemen: he brought up to act the part of some silly conceited youngster, with his pockets full of money, a first-rate runner out of Hartfordshire. This soft young gentleman ran a match or two with some known third-rate men, and seemed to win by a neck, and no space to spare. Then he calls out, ‘I’ll run any man on the ground for 25l., money down.’ A match was quickly made, and money laid on pretty thick on Fennex’s account. Some said, ‘Too bad to win of such a green young fellow;’ others said, ‘He’s old enough—serve him right.’ So the laugh was finely against those who were taken in; ‘the green one’ ran away like a hare! No. 2—PREPARED TO DRIVE “OFF.” It is the unexpected which occurs in life as well as in cricket, therefore do not anticipate the movements of your antagonist but let your actions be governed by developments. ‘You see, sir,’ said one fine old man, with brilliant eye and quickness of movement, that showed his right hand had not yet forgot its cunning, ‘matches were bought, and matches were sold, and gentlemen who meant honestly lost large sums of money, till the rogues beat themselves at last. They overdid it; they spoilt their own trade; and, as I told one of them, a knave and a fool makes a bad partnership: so you and yourself will never prosper. Well, surely there was robery enough; and not a few of the great players earned money to their own disgrace; but, if you’ll believe me, there was not half the selling there was said to be. Yes I can guess, sir, much as you have been talking to all the old players over this good stuff (pointing to the brandy and water I had provided), no doubt you have heard that B—— sold as bad as the rest. I’ll tell the truth; one match up the country I did sell,—a match made by Mr.Osbaldestone at Nottingham. I had been sold out of a match just before, and lost 10l., and happening to hear it I joined two others of our eleven to sell, and get back my money. I won 10l. exactly, and of this roguery no one ever suspected me; but many was the time I have been blamed for selling when as innocent as a babe. In those days when so much money was on the matches, every man who lost his money would blame some one. From other information received, I could tell this veteran that, even in his much-repented Nottingham match, his was not the only side that had men resolved to lose. The match was sold for Nottingham too, and that with less success, for Nottingham won: an event the less difficult to accomplish, as Lord Frederick Beauclerk broke a finger in an attempt to stop a designed and wilful overthrow! and played the second innings with one hand. It is true, Clarke, who played in the match, thought all was fair; still, he admits, he heard one Nottingham man accused on the field, by his own side, of foul play. This confirms the evidence of the Rev.C.W., no slight authority in Nottingham matches, who said he was cautioned before the match that all would not be fair. ‘This practice of selling matches,’ said Beldham, ‘produced strange things sometimes. Once, I remember, England was playing Surrey, and, in my judgment, Surrey had the best side; still I found the Legs were betting seven to four against Surrey! This time they were done; for they betted on the belief that some Surrey men had sold the match, but Surrey played to win. ‘Crockford used to be seen about Lord’s, and Mr. Gully also occasionally, but only for society of sporting men; they did not understand the game, and I never saw them bet. Mr. Gully was often talking to me about the game for one season; but I never could put any sense into him! He knew plenty about fighting, and afterwards of horse-racing; but a man cannot learn the odds of cricket unless he is something of a player.’” No. 3—THE FORWARD BLOCK. If a suggestion is made as to your style or method, (however well meant) do not adopt it in a match, until you have tried it in practice and found it a satisfactory improvement. |