Cricket 1884

“ Together joined in cricket’s manly toil.”— B y ro n . No. 72. VOL .III. Registered (or Transmission Abroad. THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 1884. PRIOE 2d W A L T ER HUMPHREYS. A mong the chief contributors to the marked im­ provement in Sussex cricket, during the present season, a prominent place should be assigned to the professional whose portrait we give this week. Though not born within the limits of the Cdunty his connection with it dates to a very early period, and, since his removal into Sussex when he was a few months old, no other shire has had any claim on him. Walter Alexander Humphreys first saw the light at Southsea, on October 28, 1819, so that he is now close on the completion of his thirty-fifth year. He was not long in showing great promise as a cricketer, and in his first match of importance for the Brighton Club, against a local eleven, on the College Ground, he made his mark de­ cisively with an exceptionally well- played score of 176 not out. For several years he was a prominent member of the Queen’s Park Club, at Brighton, and it was the form he showed in local' matches which led to his trial in the County Eleven. Humphreys made his debut for Sussex in the same year as James Phillips, and his first appearance for the County, in June, 1871, at Brighton, against Kent, was a marked success. On this occasion ho scoi'ed 44 runs by capital cricket, and the two Colts, Humphreys and Phillip?, did a very creditable performance, realising 63 before the first wicket fell. His average of 25.2, for eight completed innings, was unusually good for a first year, and though the following season of 1872 found him slightly less success ful, his cricket was, on the whole, ex­ cellent. His very well-got 53 not out, in the Second innings against Surrey, at the Oval, contributed greatly to the easy victory of his side, in the mem­ orable match in which Henry Phillips, at the sticks, actually settled eleven of the twenty Sur­ rey wickets. In 1873 he was altogether out of form, but his play the next year showed an im­ provement, and in 1875 he was again seen to advantage, his best scores being 52 against Surrey and 51 against Kent. .Thirty-three not out, against Kent; was his only noteworthy performance in ten innings during 1876, and fer the three following years he figured rarely in Sussex matches. The end of the summer of 1880, though, found him again regularly estab­ lished in the County Eleven, and, if we mistake not, his re-instatement was in the Surrey match, at Brighton. Two excellent scores of 17 not out and 35 marked his reappearance, but his bowling was quite as effective, and in Surrey’s first innings he got five wickets for 74 runs, clean bowling Messrs. W. W. Bead, J. Shuter, C. W. Burls, and B. Humphrey and Poolfy The success of his “ lobs” in this match was so marked that they had another good trial later in the season, when Sussex met the Australians at Brighton. Here even greater luck attended him, and he did a splendid perform­ ance in taking the wickets of Murdoch, McDonntll, Groube, Bonnor and Black­ ham, for 32 runs, the three last with successive balls. In 1881 he again did little, but in 1882 he was fairly success­ ful, with a batting average of 16.9 for fifteen completed innings, besides taking 24 wickets. Last season he was in capital form with both bat and ball. He was the highest aggregate scorer for the County, but his bowling, too, was of the greatest service, and the memorable victory of Sussex over York­ shire, at Sheffield, by only three runs, was in a great measure due to the suc­ cess of his lobs at the finish. During the present season he has been of immense use to his County. On several occasions he has scored well, but his bowling has been even more effective, and it was this which Becured him a place in the Players’ Eleven against the Australians at the Oval. In the first match between Sussex and the Australians, at Brighton, he was credi­ ted with eleven wickets, and, singularly for the second time against an Austra­ lian team, he accomplished the hat trick, getting McDonnell, Giffen. and Scott, in the second innings, with fol­ lowing balls. Last week, against York­ shire, his bowling was quite as notice­ able, and when he went on for the second time, in Yorkshire’s first in­ nings, he puzzled the batsmen alto­ gether, taking the last seven wickets for 35 runs. His batting average for the County, this year up to date, is neatly twenty-one runs per inning«, and his bowling shows 57 wickets for an average of a trifle over 16 runs. For several seasons he has been top average both with bat and ball for the Brighton Brunswick, one of the strongest clubs in the South of England, and his batting average last year for his club, and also for Lord