Cricket 1883

No. 35. VOL. 2. Registered for Transmission Abroad. THURSDAY, JULY 5, 1883. PRICE 2d. LORD H A R R IS . T he great impulse given to County Cricket of late years has been due to the personal influence of some enthusiastic amateurs who have devoted themselves unselfishly towards its advancement. The names of those good sportsmen who have worked zealously to this end are too well known to need mention, but among them a very prominent position should be given to the keen crick­ eter whose portrait we are able to present this week. George Robert Canning Harris, fourth Baron of that name, or to give him his full title, Baron of Seringapa- tam and Mysore in the East Indies, and of Belmont, County Kent, was born at Trinidad, in the West Indies, on Feb. 23,1851. His first appearance in a contest of any importance was at Lord’s, in 1868, in the great Public School match of the season. He was then iu his eighteenth year, and his debut for Eton against Harrow was fairly satisfactory, as he scored 23 in his first and 6 in his second innings. In the same match of the following year, when the late C. J. Ottaway contributed 108, and Eton won by an innings and 19 runs, he failed to score; and in 1870 was only slightly more suc­ cessful, having to be content with scores of 12 and 7. It was in this last year that he first became actively associatedwith the County cricket, and from 1870, when he was elected to serve on the Committee °f the County Club, of which his father was then President, dates his identification with Kentish cricket, of which he has been an enthusiastic supporter. His first year at Oxford (1871) saw him Jn the University Eleven, but in the Oxford and Cambridge matches during the four years *n which ha was at Oxford he was not Particularly fortunate, and while unable to play in 1873, owing to a bad hand, his other scores were only small, amounting to 48 in four | innings (one not out), with 43 as his last effort in 1874. Meanwhile, in 1870, he had played his first match for Kent (at Canterbury) v. Marylebone Club, and on the 23rd of November, 1872, the death of his father placed him in possession of the title by which he has been for years known to cricketers all over the globe. A dozen years ago Kentish cricket was not in the most flourishing condition, but during the four seasons in which he was at Oxford he did his best to assist the County, and in 1874, though he only figured m two out of five matches, in three innings he was able to claim an aggregate of 125 runs. On the retirement of Mr. W de Chair Baker, Lord Harris was induced to accept the Hon. Secretaryship of the Kent County Club, and the following year not only saw him serving on the Committee of the Marylebone Club, but acting in a triple capacity for Kent as Hon. Sec. and President of the County Club, and Captain of the County Eleven, His first appearance for the Gentlemen against the Players was at Lord’s, on July 10th, 1875, and he fully justified his selection with an excellent second innings of 39 not out. From this year he fairly took Kentish cricket in hand, and in 1875 he took part in nine matches with an excellent aggregate of 565 runs for sixteen innings, and an average of nearly 40£ runs. The headquarters of the County Club during this year were at Catford Bridge, and his two best performances were on this Ground, to wit—his 94 v. Sussex and 92 v. Hants, In 1876 he was elected for the first time to repre­ sent the Gentlemen against the Players at the Oval, and the result of his 14 innings for Kent left him with the distinction of tho highest aggregate, largest individual in­ nings and best average of the year Scores of 154 v. M.C.C., 84 not out v. Sussex, 82 v. Lancashire, and 79 v. Derby testify to his utility for Kent at this time, and in the following season of 1877, though he was second to that brilliant batsman, Mr. Frank Penn, in the averages of the year, he was none the less successful with an aggregate of 533 for 23 innings. In 1878 he played in fourteen out of fifteen matches for Kent, and though Mr. Frank Penn again enjoyed first place in the batting averages, Lord Harris had the highest aggregate with 655 as the result of 23 innings. His best show during 1878 was his 106 v. Derbyshire, but he was rarely unsuccessful, and among hi3 other noteworthy scores