Cricket 1885

168 CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. JUNE 1885. TRENT BRID3E GROUND, Nottingham. NOTTS vjNGLAND, THUR SDAY , J U N E 11, a n d T wo F ollow ing D ays . K K N N I N G T O N O V A L . JUNE 11, 12 & 13. S U R R E Y y. G L O U C E S T E R S H I R E . A dmission :—SIXPENCE. W . J . P I L E (L a te GANN & CO.) ATHLETIC OUTFITTER AND CLUB TAILOK, 171. FENCHURCH STREET. Club3 supplied with every requisite. Q u ality G ood . P b ices L ow . SH11UNK FLANNEL TEOUSEES, 10/6, 12/6, 14/6. SHEUNK FLANNEL SHIETS, 7/6 and 9/6, O U R O W N M A K E . RICHARD HUMPHREY, Member of Surrey and Australian Elevens. 16, K I N G ’ S RD ., B O Y C E ’ S A V E N U E CLIFTON, BEISTOL, Every article in connectionwith C R I C K E T And other Sports supplied, of the Best Quality and at Seasonable Prices. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. ♦1 ST. ANDREW’S HILL, LONDON, E.O. THUESDAY, JUNE 4, 1885. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time.— Hamlet. A l e t t e r -which Lord Harris has addressed to the Committee of the Lancashire County Club on the subject of unfair bowling will be found in another part of the paper. The action previously taken by the captain of the Kent eleven in this matter was, it is hardly necessary to remind cricketers, heartily endorsed by most of the principal county clubs, as the records o f the meeting of secretaries at Lord’s at the end of 1883 will fully attest. It is, therefore, very much to be regretted that the two bowlers whose delivery has been so frequently questioned during the last two or thiee years should have been again brought prominently forward to pro­ voke certain manifestations of feel­ ing, and, as a sure consequence, to create unpleasantness among cricketers, to the general detriment of the game. I h a v e , as everyone knows, strenu­ ously urged that the employment of bowlers the absolute fairness of whose delivery has been openly impugned by a very large number of the best players of the day is not only, putting on one side the ques­ tion of rules, unwise, but injurious to the reputation of English cricket. The absence of the two professionals regarded as the chief offenders from the Lancashire eleven in the later matches of last year led to the idea — the wish was, perhaps, father to the thought— that the cause of much unpleasantness to the cricket world had been removed, and that the harmony which has existed, and should always exist, in County cricket, would again be universal. I feel sure that there will be one common expression of regret among cricketers of all classes that the sore which everyone believed to be healed has been re-opened. Public opinion has been so strongly exercised on this question that very strong measures, it is to be feared, will have to be taken to suppress the evil. I t may be of interest to give an abstract of the batting of the Surrey eleven in the six matches in which they have already appeared this season. In only one match, that against Notts, at Nottingham, have they batted twice, the other five having all been won by more than an innings. So far they have scored 1,782 runs for seventy wickets, or an average of nearly 25£ runs for each wicket. On the other hand, their opponents have altogether totalled 1,194 runs for 115 wickets, or an average of less than 10£ per wicket. Surrey’s highest innings has been its 461 against Hants, its lowest 127 against Notts. The largest number of runs made in an innings against Surrey is the second score of 185 by Leicestershire, the smallest the 25 of Middlesex at the Oval. I l e a r n on the best authority that Mr. T. C. O’Brien will make his re­ appearance in the Oxford Eleven against Surrey at Oxford to-day. This is the first time the County has been seen, if I mistake not, on tho University ground, and the match for that reason alono should be interest­ ing. The Surrey team will, I believe, be the same as that which played against Notts—Messrs. J. Shuter, W. W . Eead, E . J. Diver, W . E . Roller, and C. E . Horner, with Abel, M. Read, Barratt, Wood, Lohmann, and Beaumont. The Committee of the Essex Club have decided that the return match with Surrey, to b3 decided in their County on the 15th and two follow­ ing days, shall be played on tho new ground, made under the auspices of Lord Lyttelton and called after his name, at Leyton. The enclosure is within easy reach of a populous dis­ trict, and it is fully anticipated that the fixture will be productive of great interest. The ground, which, I believe, is leased by the Insurance Club, is a good one, and as it is probable that other important matches on the Essex programme will be played there, it is earnestly to be hoped that the enter­ prise of the County Committee will meet with a substantial reward. I hear, too, that Essex will be thoroughly well represented for this match. I a m glad to be able to give a better account of Mr. A. P. Lucas, of whose recent illness every one has heard with the deepest regret. The latest news I have is that he is decidedly better, and he will have the heartiest wishes of cricketers for a speedy recovery. I l e a r n that in all probability Mr. Herbert Whitfeld owing to the exigencies of business, will not be seen at all in the Sussex eleven this season. There is just a chance that he may bo able to play in August; but it is, I believe, very doubtful. His absence, more particularly following so closely as it does on the loss of Mr. W. Blackman, will be severely felt. A double blow of this kind is, indeed, hard luck for Sussex. S om e months ago I published tho intelligence that the giant of the Australian team, G. J. Bonnor, had left Victoria, wherein he had resided for some years, to permanently settle in New South Wales, the colony of his birth. The big hitter was born at Bathurst, so that his return to New South Wales is quite within the fit-