Cricket 1885

“ Together joined in cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. n o . 87 . v o l . xv. THURSDAY MAY 14 1 8 8 5 . pacoa 2 d Registered (or Transmission Abroad. J MR. H E R B E R T W H IT F E L D . T h e eleven which represents Sussex at the present time, is much superior in its all-round cricket to that which did duty for the County a few years ago. Nor is it difficult to trace the causes which have conduced to this general improvement. The liberality of the Earl of Sheffield, as everyone knows, a munificent supporter of the sport, has acted as a great incentive to cricketers of all classes, and tended to infuse more interest in the game throughout the County. The presence of several amateurs considerably above the average, tco, has had a very bene­ ficial effect on the play of the team. Conspicuous among them may be men­ tioned Mr. Herbert Whitfeld, who has Captained the eleven with much ability and no small amount of success. No one, perhaps, just now. could be found more fitted to direct the Sussex eleven. A member of a family long and promi­ nently connected with Lewes, he is by every association identified with the County. He, himself, was born at Lewes, on Nov. 25, 1858. Edu­ cated under the shadow of Henry’s stately pile, he succeeded in getting into the Eton eleven at a very early age. He was, indeed, not yet seventeen when he made his first appearance in the great fixture of the School season of 1875, the Eton and Harrow match, played at Lord’s, on July 9 and 10. As he went in tenth it is to be inferred that he was not selected by reason of his batting alone, and though unsuccessful in getting a wicket, his bowling was very fair, showing twenty overs delivered at a cost of only seven­ teen runs. The Eton eleven of 1876 included four players, well-known subsequently in University cricket, Hon. lvo Bligh, Messrs. J.E . K. Studd, L. Bury, and C. W. Foley to wit. Mr. W. F. Forbes was also in the eleven that year, as the Harrovians found to their cost, for he made 113 out of 150 runs while he was in. The summer of 1877 saw Mr. Whitfeld captainfof the Eton eleven, and both in the Harrow and Winchester men of England was quite satisfactory, and his position in the Cambridge eleven was from that time secured. Curiously enough Mr. Whitfeld has rarely failed to make a good score on the Surrey ground, and on his first appearance there for Cambridge he carried out his bat for a very well played eighty-one. The same year witnessed his debut in the Sussex eleven. His first innings for the county was against Kent at Tunbridge Wella, and here he failed to get a run. For the second time, though, he proved himself to be quite at home with the Surrey bowling, and on the Bank Holiday of 1878 at the Oval another good innings of 64 out of a total of 185 was recorded to his credit. His highest score for Cambridge in 1879 was 31 against Ox­ ford, and again his best? contribution for the County was in the Surrey match, this time at Brighton, where he carried out his bat for 38 out of 89 for four wickets. Though he was in capital form in 1880 Mr. Whitfeld only played in five innings for the county, and his best achievements wereJin connection with his University. In twelve com­ pleted innings he secured an aggregate of 257 runs, although he'was mainly in­ debted to one match for his high figures. His most noteworthy show with the bat that ;year_ was in thejrun-getting match between"the University and the Gentlemen of.JEngland at Cambridge. On that occasion, as some C r ic k e t readers are aware, every one ofj the twelve Gentlemen went|on to'bowl, and Mr. Whitfeld -was able to contribute 116 to the University’s long score of 593. In minor matches he was very successful during that season, and among his many good performances may be mentioned one for Horsham against Uppingham Rovers, when Mr. Sharp and he made 190 runs without the loss of a wicket.P He did; not play at all fc Sussex in 1881, and his last year at Cambridge, from lack of practice perhaps, was not a favourable one, the best score of seven completed innings being 29. During the last three seasons he has identified himself actively with Sussex cricket and with the most satisfao- matches he was very successful with the bat. Though against Winchester he made 65 out of a total of 390 his play at Lord’s was even of greater value to the Etonians. He went in first wicket down with the total at 51 and was not out at the finish of the innings, having contri­ buted 63 out of 112 while he was in without the shadow of a mistake. Having duly entered at Cambridge he obtained a place in the Univer­ sity eleven in the second fixture of the season of 1878, against Yorkshire. Though he failed to score then his next display against the Gentle-