Cricket 1882

“ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. No. 10. VOL. I. Registered for Transmission Abroad. THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1882. PRICE 2d. SU SSEX C R ICK E T , PA S T AND P R E ­ SENT . B y a s O ld S ussex C eioketee . (Published by permission, o f the Author.) Cricket is not an ancient game. I cannot pretend for it a more venerable parentage than one of 200 years. It was not born till 1662 (good Bishop Ken, ■who left Winchester in 1665-6, used to wield a cricket bat), and had not taken root in our country till 1750. Nor of historic cricket generally need I say much. Turn we for it to the pages of Mr. Bol- land, Mr. Pycroft, and Frederick Lillywhite. Mr. Box, too, of the Field Office, has lately published an exhaustive treatise of it, fit for a New Tear’s or birth-day present f rom any to any cricketer. The first rules, as settled by the White Conduit Club, in 1779, under the auspices of Lord Winchel- sea, Sir P. Burrell, Lord Strathern, and Sir Horace Mann, have ever since proved the groundwork of the game, although the only part of it which probably has remained wholly unchanged is the distance between the wickets of 22 yards, a circum­ stance which, when we consider the iluctations in the style and pace of bowlers, appears to me a very remarkable one. Originally, as is well known, the wickets were only two in number, one foot high and two feet asunder, with one bail; and a ball passing between them did not make the batsman “ out ” ; while the block hole was not, as now, in front of the wickets, but midway between them, into which the batsman had to “ ground” his bat before the bowler “ popped” (unde “ popping crease ” ) the ball into it. This, however, led, as was to be expected, to such frequent collisions between the bat of the grounder and the unfortunate wicket-keeper, that the modern “ crease’’ wa3 adopted. The old bat was curved somewhat like a butter-knife, and made to the height of the elbow. Defensive batting was unknown. The best bats­ men were all hard hitters, and had therefore generally a short and merry life of i t ; while the early bowlers were very swift, all along or near the ground, and of course under-hand. I have called the old cricketers “ heroes.” One Love, a comedian, or at least a comic writer, of the last century, composed, in 1747, some verses, which he republished in 1770, and dedicated to the cricketers of Richillond, Surrey, in mock-heroic verse, in which, in true Homeric style, he cele­ brates a match—probably the earliest one recorded —played in 1746 between Dartford and England, and passes the principal performers in it in review before one, as Homer did the Argives. His so- called poem is not worth extracting from ; I only refer to it here for its antiquity, and to account for my adoption of so solemn a word. From about 1790 to 1815, there was a very strong club at Oakendene, near Cowfold. Three brothers, named Wood, Marchant, of Hurst, Borrer, of Ditchling, Voice, of Hand Cross, were the chief players. William Wood, though he never played in great matches, was reckoned the best bowler in Sussex. He used to carry a ball as he walked about his farm, and trained a dog to pick it up and bring it back. He was always bowl­ ing at some object. Borrer and Marchant were great batsmen and hard hitters. Vallance, of Brighton, also "belonged to this club. He and Borrow won a great match at Lord’s, in 1792, for Brighton against Marylebone, the former making 68 and the latter 60 in the second innings, both not out. The betting was heavy against Sussex when they began the second innings, as they had 131 to get, and the spectators actually staked their watches and rings at last, but Brighton won by nine wickets. Gregory, who played in this match, and got 24, told this to Mr. King, the present indefa­ tigable secretary of the Sussex County Cricket Club, to whom I am largely indebted for materials for this paper. He was a great long- stop. Jutten also played ; he was a sort of tramp, but a very fast bowler, who always bowled at his man, when he could not get a wicket, and so frightened many batsmen “ out” ! No scores of this famous club can be heard of anywhere, and the papers they were noted on probably lighted the pipes of the players. No matches appear to have been played by Sussex as a county from 1721 to 1813, but there were good clubs at Storrington, Brighton, and Highdwon Hill, near Worthing ; and though there were very few matches in Sussex recorded till 1826, yet there was a good deal of cricket going on in the couutey in the early paft of the century. Brighton had' peculiar advantages for “ coming to the fore” at this time time. Not only was Lord Barrymore, who resided there a good deal, a great patron of the game, but it was the only club which has ever boasted, we believe, of a Royal player since Frederick Prince of Wales, the father of George III., died from a blow from a cricket ball. George IV., when Prince of Wales, caused a large piece of a field to the north of the town, near St. Peter’s Church, to be levelled, turfted, and enclosed. This field afterwards became kdown as Ireland’s Gardens ; and here, under the successive managements of Ireland, Pierpoint, George Brown, Harvey, and Box, many of the finest contests of the day took place, until 1848, when it was broken up for building purposes. The public played upon a piece of ground called" The Level,” “ now surrounded by trees, aud nearly denuded of turf by the many foot-paths made across it, and the incessant gambols of boys and men.” * Many country matches took place before thison the side of the Race Course Hill, about half-way between the town and the course. The scene was then removed to the Brunswick ground at Hove, which was closed seon after the lamented decease of Mr. Stent, the secretary, in 1870, but the turf was brought to the present ground in the same immediate neighbourhood, for which the county is indebted to the liberality of Mr. F. B. Stanford and the Stanford Estate Trustees. But of all the county grouuds for real enjoyment of play and scenery, to my mind none equals Broad­ water Green; and here, too, many celebrated matches have been lost and won. Situate in the very centre of the county, and easy of access on any side—with the Elizabethan seat and ancestral trees of Offington at one extremity, and the village, with its well-known beautiful Norman church, of Broad­ water, at the other—with the South Downs, a mile to the north, and a first-class railway station and the sea-side, a mile to the south—with high roads abutting on each side of its large triangle and easily affording, therefore, a view to every one— with a natural expanse of many acres, and a perfect greensward of the finest velvet, “ true as a die ”— it is fit not only to be compared to any ground, but to be adopted as the scene for all our county con­ tests. A little later on, one of the prettiest cricket grounds in Sussex was that laid down at Petworth some five-and -thirty years ago—now again under the plough. It had in front the lovely slope of the Downs, Lavington, Duncton, Sutton, and Chancton- bury in the distance. On this some goodmatches wtre played against Marylebone and other lirst-rate clubs. There Box kept wicket and “ Lilly ” bowled against Mynn and Felix, and I think Pilch; and William Humphreys, of Donnington, astounded the natives with his tremendous “ swipes.” The Chichester and Lewes Priory Parks ground may also be mentioned—the former rather too small, but a very beautiful piece of turf, laid down over chalk, and as level as a billiard table. But towns, populations, and buildings will prevail, and our “ London-by-the-Sea,” the “ Queen of Watering Places,” will continue, doubtless, to hold her own in these popular gatherings. Besides the clubs already mentioned, there were very good ones at Duncton, Midhurst, and Northchapel, as well as a good deal of play at Henfield, Alfriston, Lindfield, Hurst, Twineham (where dwelt the Woods), and many other places, as Hadlow and East Grinstead. But unluckily there was no regular County Club to put the best men together, so that probably many a promising cricketer ' “ Wastedhis sweetness onthedesert air.” * “ The English Game ol Cricket,” by Charles Box, 1877, p. 2X5.