Cricket 1882

i58 CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J u ly 20 , 1 m. 9 SU S S E X C R IC K E T — P A S T AND P R E S E N T . B y an O ld S ussex C ricketek . Published by perm ission o f the Author. N oah M a n n was born in 1756, and came from Northchapel, where he kept an inn. He was a fine field and bat, and a hard hitter, a swift runner, and a good ‘ 1change ” bowler. He used to come 20 miles every Tuesday to practice with the Hamble- don. >Perhaps from the identity of their surnames —certainly not of their stations in life—that great patron of cricket, Sir Horace Mann, stood sponsor to his second son, who died at 18, and called him after his own Christian name. With the appearance of David Harris, the two Walkers, and Beldham (four great lights in the famous Hambledon Club), cricket may be said to have entered on its “ new style; ” and whilst they were still in then' zenith (1790-1795) there appeared in Sussex two players of uncommon merit—Colonel Lennox, afterwards Duke of Richmond and Gover­ nor of Canada (where he died in 1819, of hydro­ phobia from the bite of a fox), and J o h n H a m m o n d . The latter was as far above the duke in cricket, as he was below him in rank, having been one of the greatest and most successful players ever known. He was for many years the best wicket-keeper of his day, and was famous, besides, both for batting and bowling. As a proof of this, no other Sussex name but his appears in the great matches about 1800. A left-handed batsman and tremendous hit­ ter, he introduced the habit of “ running ou t” to slow bowling, and was remarkably good in “ going in ” at “ length” balls. He was extremely quiet, courteous, and pleasant in manner, and a first-rate “ general; ” so that he was a great favourite with all the gentlemen players, and his services were in constant requisition. The following analysis, taken from Bentley’s book, will show the first-rate excel­ lence of this splendid performer. Commencing his career in 1791, and terminating it in 1813, when he was forty-six years old, he played in 145 matches, nearly all first class, and averaged 17J runs an in­ nings, and took 4 wickets a match. One of his greatest performances was in Middlesex v Brighton —a four days’ match, played at Brighton in 1791, and probably the earliest recorded Sussex one—in which, in the first innings of Middlesex, he bowled five and caught one; in the second, bowled five and caught two, and got 50 runs himself in his own second innings. In all these matches there were only six in which he got no wickets, and from the loose way in which scores were then kept, he pro­ bably took more than he was credited with. He was born at Pulborough, then resided in Kent, was a plumber by trade, and finally took up his abode in our beautiful village of Storrington, where he died in 1805, and in the churchyard of which a stone and inscription now commemorate him. In 1816, James, the more celebrated of the two brothers Broadbridge—who were exactly the same weight (12 stone)—made his first appearance in any match of note; and a pretty good one, too, it was, for he made 57 runs. For several seasons he was accounted the best “ all-round” player in England; and no first-class match was perfectly mado tip without him. He was particularly clever at one hit. When a ball was bowled rather owiside his legs, he would swing his bat between the wicket and himself, and make a square-leg hit, or a sort of half “ on ” drive. He usually stood with his bat well over his shoulder, and, one occasion, it is said, kept in for a day and a half. He was also very art­ ful as a bowler. He soon “ reckoned up ” his op­ ponent, and proceeded to attack his weak po.nts. He had great command of pitch and pace, and some of his more enthusiastic admirers used to say, “ he could do anything with a ball except make it speak.” He was by vocation a farmer, and was bom at Duncton, where he died in 1843, at the age of 47, without having been married. His keenness for the game, as well as his activity, may be judged of by the fact that he used to walk from Duncton to Brighton—a distance of 25 miles—in order only to “ practice ” with the superior players. With Lillywhite and Mr. Knight he must be considered to have been the joint originator of the round-hand bowling, of which we shall presently speak. It is said the two Broadbridges challenged any two in England to play them, and won their match at Brighton by two wickets. The characteristic features of F r e d e r i c k W i l l i a m L i l l y w h i t e are so familiar even to Sussex non­ cricketers—the stedfast look, thick-set build, and determined air of the little man—who did not stand above about five feet four inches—his unfailing black broad-brimmed hat, which he never exchanged for any cooler fabric even in the hottest day—his brusque, short manner, and tight-braced trousers— that I will only add a few particulars respecting this Prince of Cricketers, which, from having so fre­ quently fallen in with him in early life, may be more known to me. How one remembers the gusto which his humble cricket gave to one’s summer holidays as a school-boy at Brighton! It seemed the one re­ deeming feature of the place. It was on the top of the hill, now studded with villas and known as Montpelier Crescent—a small field laid down with turf of exquisite texture, which a few Southdowns were continually nibbling, and a few deer reducing to still greater fineness. The modest subscription of five shillings admitted one to the privilege of having one’s middle stump continually lowered by the first bowler of the day. Who could fail to learn and love something of the game under such advantages ? And who was our long-stop—for luxu­ rious netting had not yet been heard of—but “ Little W i s d e n ”—rightly 30 called, for he weighed only 7 stone when he began his cricketing career—himself afterwards destined to become one of the very best of England’s bowlers—not as now, radiant with watch anl chain of gold, the well-to-do courteous proprietor of a West End cricket emporium—but a hungry-looking lad, glad (he will not mind my say­ ing it) of one’s sixpence for his trouble. It is inte­ resting, in after years, to reflect how he was taking measure of all that was passing, and acquiring him­ self by degrees that proficiency which he afterwards displayed in the same line, second only to his chief. He hardly comes within our definition, and, like his sworn ally J a m e s D e a n , almost as great a bowler as himself, falls outside the boundary-line of archseology; but as an inseparable adjunct of old Lillywhite, he may here claim notice. I am in­ clined to think that, considering the comparative shortness of his career, no more successful bowler ever stood behind a wicket. His style is so well known that it is unnecessary to describe it. Suffice it to say, that of him alone and two others—Mr. Kirwan and B. Ringwood-—it had been handed down that, in one innings or the other, the whole ten wickets were bowled by them in an eleven a-side match. His greatest praise may be summed up in the general opinion of the day, that about 1850 he would have been the champion in any single wicket match; for he was as good with the bat as with the ball, very steady, and a hard hitter. Many still re­ member his favourite “ draw ” and square-leg hits. At short slip—which I suppose suits bowler’s quick eyes, as so many excel there—he was “ undeniable.” He was born in 1826. It was not, however, on his own ground alone that I knew William Lillywhite. At the annual matches of the Gentlemen of Sussex v. Gentlemen of Hants we met at Southampton or Brighton. In those days (1837-1841), the Royal Day Mail spanked along the line of coast now usurped by the L. B. & S. C. Railway, and transported us cricketers to and fro. About half way, in the neat village of West Hampnett, under the sheltering wing of Goodwood, stood the paternal cottage in which William Lillywhite was born, where his brother still lives at the age of 77, and of which I am able to give the Society a faithful engraving from a beautiful draw­ ing recently made for me on the spot, by the kind­ ness of my friend, John Round, Esq., of Brighton. There we took him up—when on a visit to his parents—and greeted him with a right hearty cheer of welcome as he took his seat among us, to be car­ ried on to Brighton or Southampton, as the case might be, and do battle for us as a “ given” man for Hants. His first recorded appearance in a match is on July 11, 1822, between Goodwood, Boxgrove, and Hampnett v. Midhurst ; but, though then 30 years old, he had not begun his famous bowling. No wicket appears to his credit till 1823. He was played originally for his batting; but when he became a bowler, that was of course thrown into the shade, although he continued a good serviceable hitter, always full of nerve and coolness, so that he often got runs at a pinch when thsy were wanted. In a single wicket match, in 1828, after three of the best bats in England had been bowled by Brown, without a run, he went in fourth, received 278.balls, got 14 runs, and carried out his bat. His command of the ball, however, was the extraordinary thing about him. It was so great that he could pitch it nearly to a hair’s breadth; and, always bowling well within his strength, he was always able to put on a little extra steam whenever he chose, and never tire. Consequently the pace of his ball was the most difficult thing possible to judge, because, with the same apparent velocity in the air. the rate at which it got up would vary in the most extraor­ dinary way. He was very fond of getting his hand “ up,” if he thought he could venture i t ; and in country matches, where umpires did not dare to find fault with so great a man, he would often raise it well over his shoulder. His accuracy of pitch he learned by practice in a barn or shed, where he would bowl away at a stump with a wooden ball at the top, and he never considered it a good ball unless he hit the wooden one, for his great aim was to make his ball 1 ‘ get up ” well, in order to increase the chances of the batsman being caught. In addition to his mechanical precision, which is the first requisite in a bowler, he had the advantage of “ bowling with his head,” as the say­ ing is—a phrase which will sorely puzzle our fair readers, we fear, but which (to them, we will say) does not mean that he made a ball of his head, or sacrificed the region of thought, and the best part of man, to be knocked about by a piece of wood; but that his mind was so much master of his hand, that he not only thought of the exact spot where the ball ought to pitch, but made it pitch there! It was of no use to flatter yourself that he would not find out the flaw in you, if you had one. He “ took stock ” of his man almost instinctively, found out directly whether he played forward or back, what was the hit he v'as looking out to make ; and woe betide him, if he had a weak point “ in his harness,” for “ Lilly’s ” eye picked it out in a moment, and thick and fast came his shafts upon it. Per­ haps the greatest bowling feat performed by him or any other man, when we consider the consummate batsman he was facing, was when he bowled Fuller Pilch sixty balls without a run, and with the sixty- first got his wicket! Though I always thought and found him very free of conceit, he must have been conscious of his great powers ; and one need not be surprised at the seemingly boastful oft-repeated declarations attributed to him, “ When I ‘ bouls,’ and Fuller bats, then you’ll see cricket;” and again, “ I 1bouls ’ the best ball in England, and Mr. Harenc the next.” In 1827, the powers of himself and J. Broadbridge were severely tested in three great matches, which Sussex now found herself strong enough to under­ take against England,^ played at Sheffield, Lord’s, and Brighton. The first two were easily won by Sussex; the first by seven, the second by three wickets. The third also would, in all probability, have been decided the same way, had it not been for a foolish act on the part of Broadbridge, who threw his bat at a wide ball, which was caught at point by Mr. Ward. This lost Sussex the game by 24, though the odds had been large in its favour. Immense sums were betted on the match, and £300 were taken in sixpences alone at the gate, besides a good sum in other silver coin and gold. To Sus­ sex is due the praise of having first introduced through England, by Lillywhite and J. Broadbridge, that style of round-hand bowling which has of late years effected such a revolution in the game. That Lillywhite should have readily acquired this art is not wonderful, when we remember that in very