Cricket 1884

“ Together joined in cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. No. 73. VO L .III. Registered (or Transmission Abroad. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1884. PRICE 2d W IL L IA M GUNN . T h e brilliant record of the Nottinghamshire eleven, during the present season, is almost without a record in the annals of County cricket. It is rare, indeed, that a team is able to boast fo many members above the average at all points cf the game. Among the profes­ sionals who have contributed to the suc­ cessful summary of the Notts Club in 1884, one of the most useful has been the subject of this present sketch. William Gann was torn in Nottingham, on Dec. 4, 1858, so that he is now ap­ proaching his twenty-sixth birthday. He made his debut in County cricket later than many of his comrades in the Nottingham team, aud he was nearly twenty-one before his name ap­ pears in the records of Notts cricket. His opening match was in 1880, the year which saw Attewell’s introduction, and he was singularly successful in at once making his mark. He was one of the Twenty-two Colts of England who inflicted such a decisive defeat on the eleven representing M.C.C. and Ground, at Lord’s, in the early part of May, and he carried out his bat, in his one in­ nings, for 32, the highest contribution on the side. That this promising per­ formance was no fluke was fully proved a week later by a finely played first score of seventy for the Notts Colts against the Yorkshire Colts. His double success in these two trials secured him a place immediately in the County team. Hij first appearance as one of the Not­ tinghamshire eleven was at Notting­ ham, on Dune 3, 1880, against Surrey, and he showed very fair cricket, con­ tributing thirteen not out and nine. He was not able to score in either in­ nings against Yorkshire, at Sheffield, l>ub his batting on the whole was full of promise, and his score of twenty-nine Dot out against Surrey, at the Oval, in the mem­ orable match when the Surrey eleven were dis­ missed for sixteen, was an excellent display of cricket. The strike of the leading batting pro­ fessionals brought Gunn more prominently be­ fore the notice of the authorities in 1881, and he played some very fine innings for the County, notably his 91 against Sussex, at Brighton ; 74 against the same shire, at Nottingham ; and 68 against Surrey, also at Nottingham. The excel­ lent cricket he had shown in the Colts’ Match, at Lord’s, in 1880, had meanwhile secured him the offer of a place as one of the ground bowlers attached to the Marylebone Club. This he accepted, and in 1881, his first year, he was credited with two scores of three figures for M.C.C., 109 against Mote Park, at Maidstone, and 105 against Notts and District, at Burton- on-Trent. In the following season of 1882 he was credited with more than one good innings for Marylebone, though for the County he was hardly so fortunate. His score of 188 for M.C.C. and Ground against Somersetshire af the end of the season was a brilliant display ot hitting, but for the County he was not by any means so successful as in 1881, and his best innings was his thirty-nine against Yorkshire at Sheffield. The season of 1883 was a much more favour­ able one for him, and on several occa­ sions he showed very good cricket for the County. In the second fixture against Sussex at Brighton he played two fine in­ nings of 52 and 68, and in the high scoring match against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham he was also seen to great advantage wtth two useful contri­ butions of 46 and 77. In three innings against Middlesex he obtained 223 runs, but perhaps his best performance of all was against Yorkshire at Sheffield. On this occasion he contributed 42 not out to Notts’ first total of 87, and consider­ ing that his runs were got against Yorkshire bowling and on a wicket altogether against the batsman liis play must have been exceptionally good. For eighteen oompleted innings during 1883 he had an average of over 25 runs, and in addition his bowling was of some use, showing ten wickets for an aggregate of 197 runs. At the com­ mencement of the present season he seemed to be a little out of form, and indeed, just at one time, there was a slight doubt about his retention of his place in the County Eleven. A well- played score against Surrey at Notting­ ham gave him a renewal of confidence, and since that time he has rarely failed to make a creditable show. In the second of the Australian matches his batting toward the close of the innings contributed greatly to the favourable position Notts occupied at the finish. By far his best score, though, was his 138 against Mid­ dlesex in the final fixture of the season, and in this long innings he did not give a chance. Gunn is six feet 2J inches in height, and his great reach is, of course, of considerable advan-