Cricket 1885

“ T o g e t h e r j o i n e d in c r i c k e t ’s m a n l y t o il.”— Byron. B 6 ^,te«a 0 t'o}T®'n 8 I i ° t i i THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 6 , 1 8 8 5 . p r i c e 2 d. MR. OSWALD PH IL IP LANCASH IRE Lancash ire cricket has had no more zealous supporter of late years than the amateur whoso hind name is, oddly enough, the same as that of the County where he was born and bred. In fact, the gentleman whose portrait we give with this number may fairly claim to be Lancashire in every sense. A member of a family long connected with the Palatinate, he was born at Newton Heath, near Manchester, on Dec. 10, 1857. Sent to Lancing Col­ lege at an early age, he soon secured a placein the School Eleven there. Hewas, indeed, not yet sixteen when hebeoame a member of the Lancing team, a connection which lasted for an ex­ ceptionally long period of five years. Gaining his colours in 1873, Mr. Lan­ cashire figured in all the Lancing elevens till 1877, occupying the post of Captain diyring the last three summers of his stay there. The close of his School life was attended with remark­ able success on the cricket-field. His scoring in 1877 was consistently good, and his unusually high batting average of over forty runs placed him in a prominent position among the Public School players of the year. As a con­ sequence, when he went into residence at Jesus College, Cambridge, in the autumn,he came immediately before the notice of the cricket authorities there, aud with favourable credentials. His debut in University cricket, too, was a very successful one. The Cambridge Eleven of 1878 was, as many will re­ member, exceptionallystrong all round, and the chances of any new candidate, with only a very limited number of vacancies, were proportionately small. This will in a great measure explain the reason why,despite his excellent showin the Freshmen’s match, Mr. Lancashire had so few opportunities of proving his the University eleven of that year. His pearancc at Cambridge wns for Mr. A. P. Lucas’ side against the Hon. E. Lyttelton’s side in the annual trial of the Freshmen. Opening the bat­ ting with Mr. E. Cotton, from Chatham House, of capital oricket, and he added considerably to his reputation among the shrewd judges of cricket in Lancashire by two excellent innings against the First Australian Team later in the season. The following summer of 1879 was not at all a fortunate one for him. Five innings for Cambridge only realised an aggre­ gate of fifteen runs, and it is not sur- rising that such figures were not eemed good enough to ensure for him a place in the Inter-University match. He began the season well for Lanca­ shire with two useful innings of 31 and 27 against M.C.C. and Ground, at Lord’s, but absence from England pre­ vented his participation in the later fixtures, and, indeed, he only took part in one Inter-County contest. The Seniors’ match of 1880 enabled him to open the season auspiciously, and he did good service for Cambridge through­ out. Though only fairly successful at Lord’s, where he was credited with thirty-four runs in his two innings against Oxford bowling, on more than one occasion he was of great use with the bat. His highest score was one of sixty against the Gentlemen of Eng­ land, but in point of merit this was hardly so good as his performance against Yorkshire, when he carried out his bat for a highly creditable score of forty-two not out. Only moderate suc­ cess attended his batting in the trial matches of 1881, his last year at the University, at Cambridge, and again he was not one of the favoured ones chosen to oppose Oxford at Lord’s. For his county, though, he did good service throughout the season, particu­ larly against Notts and Yorkshire, and in both matches against the former he acquitted himself right well, contrib­ uting thirty-six at Old Trafiord and forty-seven not out at Trent Bridge. Though he took part in fourteen out of twenty matches played by Lancashire he was generally out of luck, and his average was under seven runs. After a year’s absence from county cricket he reappeared in the Lancashire eleven last year, and with the most favourable results. His innings of 119 against Cheshire at Man- Eamsgate, the pair put on 165 before they were parted, and Mr. Lancashire’s share amounted to only two runs short cf three figures before he had to retire. Despite this promising per­ formance, though, he only figured once in the Cambridge Eleven of 1878, against Surrey, at the Oval, and then only as a substitute. His connectioi. with Lancashire cricket dates from the same vear, and, if we mistake not, his first match fc. ‘ he County was against Notts, at Nottingham, in the early part of the summer, His second soore of twenty-one was the result Neit Issue December 24-