Cricket 1884

98 CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. m a y 8, is m . eleven chosen to represent England against Gloucestershire, at the Oval in 1877, and in this match, too, he was successful, taking, in the first innings of the County, four wickets for 33 runs. By this time Barratt had fairly secured his place in the Surrey Eleven, and in 1878 he was of very great service to the County. Throughout the season he was generally successful, and in all he secured 100 wickets. At Nottingham he obtained six wickets of Notts, in the first innings, for thirty-four runs, but of his many good feats in 1878 his best was for the Players against the Australians at the end of the summer. In this match, in the first innings, he secured all the ten wickets of the Australians, not one of them bowled, and in recognition of this exploit he received ,'a five-pound note and the ball, with a suitable inscription, from the Aus­ tralian manager, J. Conway. During the next three seasins his bowling was not attended with so much success, and it was not until 1882 that he really became the recognised bowler of the Surrey team. Thirteen wickets for 73 runs formed the result of his bowling against Oxford, at the Oval in 1882, but he was generally effective, and in all he delivered 998 overs for 1,439 runs and 93 wickets. His performances last year for Surrey will be well remembered, and indeed his great success with the ball proved an important factor in the improved posi­ tion of the Surrey Eleven in 1883. As a bowler Barratt, on his day, has cer­ tainly few superiors. He bowls slow left hand round-arm, and when in form and with a good field is sure to be very effective on any wickets, proving very successful when the ground is fast. He gets an immense amount of break on from leg, and when at his best is very difficult to play, particularly for batsmen to whom his delivery is un­ known. At times he is expensive, but when he does not try to do too much with the ball is very dangerous. Though he has done very little with the bat of late he can play very good cricket, as he showed when he first en­ tered the Surrey eleven. He is also a fair field. ST. MARK’S, CLAPTON. May 10, at Cheshunt, v. Cheshunt May 15, at St. Mark’s Ground, Pond Lane, v. Tufnell Park United May 17, at St. Mark’s Ground, Pond Lane, v. Totten­ ham House May 24, at Edmonton, v. Collego House May 81, at Highbury, v. St. James’ June 2, at St. Mark’s Ground, v. Evering June 7, at St. Mark’s Ground, v. St. John’s, Holborn June 14, at St. Mark’s Ground, v. Auburne June 19, at Colveston Ground, Pond Lane, v. Colveston June 21, at St. Mark’s Ground, v. Collego House June 28, at St. Mark's Ground, v. St. Jude’s July 2, at Headquarters, Finsbury, v. Hon. Artillery Company * July 5, at St. Mark’s Ground, v. Phoenix July 12, at St. Mark’s Ground, v. St. James' July 19, at St. Marks’ Ground, v. Barnes United July 26, at Willesden* v. Tottenham House Aug. 2, at St. Mark’s Ground, v. Cassland Aug. 4, at Walthamstow, Youngman’s Farm,v Evering Aug. 9, at Brixton, v. St. John’s, Holborn Aug. 16, at Cheshunt, v, Cheshunt Aug. 23, at Lower Clapton Ground, Pond Lane, v. Lower Clapton Aug. 28, at Colveston Ground, Pond Lane, v. Colveston Aug. 80, at Edmonton, v. St. Jude’s Sept. 8 , at Mount Pleasant Lane, v. Phcenix Sept. 13, at Barnes, v. Barnes United Sept. 18, at Tufnell Park, Holloway, v. Tufnell Park United Sept. 20, St. Mark's Ground, v. Lower Clapton Sept. 27, at St. Mark’s Ground, v. Cassland B o y le & S c o t t ’s A u s t r a lia n G u id e for 1882-83, just published. Can be had of W. R. Wright, at the office of C b ic k e t , price 2s. 6d. TH IS Y E A R ’ S C R ICK E T . From Baily's Magazine. I n our anticipatory article on the season of 1883, twelve months ago, we ventured to assert that really good cricket was never more popular than it has been of late years. The experience of that summer certainly did not tend in any way to cause an altera­ tion, or even a modification of that opinion. There is, indeed, nothing more gratifying to those who take interest in the best of cricket, that which promotes the develop­ ment of inter-county matches, than the still-growing tendency towards the popular­ ization of this, the highest branch of the sport. Last year we commented hopefully on the encouragement given to the game by the establishment of new county clubs, and it is satisfactory to have to record that cricket is generally profiting by the consoli­ dation which is sure to follow systematic organization, inseparable to the foundation of a county club under proper and energetic management. Though the summer of1883was solely andwholly confined to our own cricket, born of the soil, it will generally be admitted that the season was generally a most successful and satisfactory one. It is true that one particular blot on the game was still too plainly visible, and that in spite of a certain amount of energy shown by the authorities, in the hope of its removal. It is to be regretted that there was any neces­ sity for the unmistakeable expression of public opinion, more than once last season, on the subject of the doubtful deliveries which of late years have grown so popular among a certain section of bowlers ; but at the same time, in all probability, it tended to fortify those who have taken a prominent position in denouncing it. The slight un­ pleasantness caused by the unpopularity of a few bowlers, whose action was not con­ sidered by the general public to be within the law, was indeed the only cloud which overshadowed, and still to a certain extent darkens, tha sky of county cricket. Other­ wise there was overy reason for the greatest gratification at its present position, at the prospect of its increasing popularity, and on the eve of another and perhaps the most eventful season the cricketers of to-day will have been able to record, it is satisfactory to have to report that the outlook in this direc­ tion, the extension of inter-county cricket, is even more promising than it was twelve months ago. At that time we remarked that there was little evidence to show that the superiority so long enjoyed by the North was in any danger during last summer. Then there seemed but very slight hopes of any reaction or revival among the older shires in the South. The prospects of the year for Surrey, Sussex, and Kent, were indeed anything but bright, and in respect of one of these (Kent) there was certainly no very great promise or any sign of a great improvement in the near future. Surrey and Sussex both, though, showed a decided advance in the quality of their cricket, and indeed the bounds with which the former, rather unexpectedly, it must be owned, jumped into a prominent position, formed one of the most remarkable features of last year. Generally there seems to be great hope that the improvement shown by both Surrey and Sussex in 1883 will be fully sustained in the season just opening. This year will be a more severe test for the authorities at the Oval than last, for more will be expected of the eleven, and the strain to uphold the reputation they won then so deservedly will be the greater. Yet there seems no reason why the promise afforded by those successes should not be maintained. The benefits of constant and systematic work in concert were never more clearly shown than in the sudden restoration of the Surrey eleven, and it is to the collec­ tion of a team that will be able to play generally together that the Committee of the County Club are sure, we should think, to be directing their attention. As far as we can learn, the Surrey captain will be able to claim much, if not entirely, the same force as he had in the later matches of 1883. In one respect the eleven may probably be considerably strengthened by the re-appearance of Jones, who was unable to play, owing to illness, during the whole of last summer. Two years ago he was beyond a doubt one of the best bowlers in the South, and his bowling in the early part of 1882, before he broke down, gave good grounds for the belief that he would be very near the best professional bowler of his pace. It lemains to be seen, of course, how far his inactivity will have affected his cricket, and also whether he will be able to stand the work of Surrey’s heavy programme. There is every hope, though, that he will be of permanent use, and his return to the form he showed when he left the County eleven would be to add very materially to its strength. We were a little doubtful twelve months ago of the ability of the executive to carry out successfully aprogramme increased so considerably by the addition of so many fixtures of comparatively minor importance. The policy of so sudden and large extension of the match list gave rise to considerable discussion, and as a result, much difference of opinion. It must fairly be owned, though, that the experiment, hazardous as it seemed to some, including ourselves, thoroughly justified its inception,and it would have been surprising if we had not this spring had to record its continuance. As a matter of fact the Surrey programme for 1884 includes as many as twenty-two County matches, con­ sisting of home and home meetings with Yorkshire, Notts, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Sussex, Kent, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, and one fixture with Essex and Norfolk at home. In addi­ tion, there is the annual contest with Cam­ brige University, and the revival of the match with Oxford University—both of these latter for decision at the Oval—in­ creases the number of fixtures to be played snder the auspices of the Surrey Club to twenty-four. With such a liberal supporter of the game as the Earl of Sheffield, it would be a sur- E rise if the condition of cricket in Sussex ad not shown an improvement of late years. The interest he takes in, and the encour­ agement he gives to, young players, has already taken effect, as was shown in the steady impiovement in the play of the Sussex eleven during last summer. With a President whose enthusiasm for the game literally knows no bounds, it will indeed be awonder if the status of Sussex does not still improve, and if the hopes created by many of the performances of the eleven in 1883 are not fully realised. The composition of the team will, we should fanoy, be much the same as last year ; and as Alfred Shaw has been already hard at work in the tuition of any likely youngsters, it is evident that the authorities are not letting the grass grow under their feet. The programme for the coming season 13 the same as last year, with one exception, and that an im­ portant one—tho addition of the old match with Gloucestershire, which used a few