Cricket 1885

DEO. 24 1885. CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 469 A CR ICKET INC IDENT OF SIXTY YEARS SINCE. By G. T. L. It may not be uninteresting (says “ One of the Hampshire Eleven,” writing to the Hampshire Chronicle) to read of some crioket reminiscences connected with Hampshire, the nursery of the game, in the olden time. They occurred in the days of the famous Mr. William Ward,, the most renowned cricketer of his day. It was reported of him that in a single wicket match he kept his wicket for one day and a half. His average of runs in his last year was 70. He was a tall, large, heavy man, over 6ft. in height, and big and muscular all over. An immense reach of arm gave him great command over the ball. The incident in question was this :—At the end of a club game at Lord’s Ground Mr. Ward got up a scratch match of Hampshire against All England, with three professionals on either side. The match lasted one day and a half, the Hampshire side winning, entirely through the fine play of Mr. Ward. The match being over, and the second day being only half spent, Mr. Ward proposed that the six professionals should play a single wicket match of one innings—the three Hampshire men against the three of All England—- for a purse to be made up on the ground at once. This was arranged, and £15 were soon collected. The profess­ ionals entered heartily into it with such a prize in view. The three England men were Cobbett, the best bowler of his day ; James Broadbridge, a famous bat; and Lillywliile, the celebrated slow bowler—a short thick­ set man. It was said of Broadbridge that he was so fond of his bat that when not play­ ing “ he took it out walking,” grasping it by the butt and using it as a walking-stick. The throe Hampshire men were Bentley, a first- rate bat ; Howard, a fair bowler ; and Brown —the famous Brown 1 This man was over 6ft. in height, with large limbs and bulky in person. He was the swiftest bowler ever known. So tremendous was the pace that some men were afraid to stand up against it. Various accidents had occurred, men had been severely hurt, on one occasion a man’s arm broken, so after much grumbling, as men refused to play against him, he was for­ bidden to bowl in matches. But on this occasion of the single wicket match of the professionals, the Hampshire men claimed that Brown should bowl, as they said there was money on it. and without this help there would be no chance of their winning it. The England men agreed. The ground was full, and all those who had come for the larger match Btayed for the lesser one. There was money on it, and beside this all wanted to see the bowling of the notorious and terrible Brown. The Hampshire men won the toss, and went in. Cobbett made rather short work with them, and bowled them all down for 11 runs, Bentley making the best score. Then England went in, and Brown took the ball, It was a grand sight. No one stood any­ where near the wicket. There were six men placed at different distances in a line behind, the last one not far from the boundary piling. When play was called Brown raised tho ball high above his head, took a long run, swung himself along increasing his pace till the moment of delivery, and thenwith a rush he hurled tbe ball at the wicket with alightning speed--a straignt underhand ball of terrific force. It was a fearful thing to look at, and there were men standing about who declared it ought not to be allowed. Of the six men behind the wioket sometimes one man and then another would stop the ball, but often it beat the whole six, and went with a bang against the paling. When this happened men cheered it as a proof of power. How- ,ever, Cobbett and Broadbridge, though they stood up to it manfully, each got only 1 run off it, and their stumps were severally 'smashed up by the terrific ripper. The game was gone. People had counted on Broadbridge. Now only Lillywhite—little Lillywhite, as his friends affectionately called him—not a very good bat, was left, and down by the tavern near the entrauce-gate men were offering 10 to 1 against England. Hampshire was in high spirits. Brown, elated by his success, was more furious than ever, and it seemed a cruel sport to watch this huge overhearing man rushing along aud hurling his ball like a cannon shot at that small victim alone at the wicket. But the small man stood his ground. He met the balls with a quiet courage, and without the least flurry. At first he cpnten ed him­ self with merely trying to siop the balls or get rid of them. He made no attempt to hit. Ball after ball was stopped, and the ground cheered heartily the sturdy little man. Presently in stopping one of the furious balls his bat broke off short at the bottom of the handle, and this elicited a round of delighted cheering. Half-a-dozen bats were offered him from the Pavilion for choice, amidst rounds of applause. Then he went on again, and though he made no runs he still stayed in. But by degrees he gained more confidence, hit Brown away, and got a run here and a run there, and at last hit him away for 2. This made the ground wild with delight. It nettled Brown and put him off his best. It was observed that he began to bowl irregularly, and sometimes the pace dropped slightly, though still it was terrific. More than once the bat was knocked out of Lillywhite’s hands, and a second bat was broken. But still the little man stood there, and steadily got a run here and there until he had scored 7. This made the England score 9 against the 11 of Hampshire, The men at the tavern who had been offering their 10 to 1on Hamp shire were silent now, and there were friends of Lillywhite, enthusiasts for the small hero, who were hinting at even money. Steadily he held on, made the other 2 runs, and the scorers stood up to announce a tie, amidst bursts of applause. Brown lost his head ; he was thoroughly beaten. He tried to make up for want of skill by the height of violence. But it was of no use ; Lillywhite was full of conrage, and he stepped out at a wild ball and hit it away, win ing the match in grand style. And now a novel sight was seen. Men rushed from all quarters over the ground, and a body of his own friends—Lillywhite was a bricklayer by trade out of the cricket season—surrounded the little man, and, taking him up in their arms, carried him in triumph to the Pavilion, amidst general enthusiasm. Mr. Ward and other gentlemen came down from the Pavilion to meet him and to compliment him on his indomitable pluck and his steady play, and to give him the purse. Then Lillywhite showed his hands, and when he said, “ I had a job to get a hold of my bat,” it did seem a wonder that he could havj held it to stop those fearful balls, his hands were so disfigured by cuts and bruises, and swollen out of all shape. It was in the days of underhand bowling, and before the time of pads and gloves. So ended amatch which created a great deal of talk in the cricket world of the day. The defence of Lillywhite was considered a re­ markable instance of cool courage and steady nerve in the face of what quite cowed some players. He was but a moderate bat, and rarely made a good score, though he would sometimes keep his wicket up by dogged :defence. On the present occasion he was :nearly two hours in making the 10 runs, but his dogged resolution carried him through all the troubles of broken bats and cuts and swollen hands. To have stood up against Brown for that time and made so many runs after the better men had succumbed made the little bricklayer quite a hero. When he reached the Pavilion and received the purse and showed his hands he was looked on as a man who had been in a battle, where he had risked his life and come out of it a victor with honourable wounds. In classic days he would have been crowned with a laurel crown, but probably he preferred his share of the £15 to any laurel crown. BAENES CLUB. The above club have played 22 matches, of whioh 8 were won, 9 lost, and 5 drawn. Below will be found the results of matches. EESTJLT3 OF MATCHES. May 2—at Waudsv. orth Common, v. Spencer. Drawn. Barnes, 17* ; Spencer, 91. * Three wickets down. May 9—at Barnes, v.Norwood Park. 'Won by 95 runs. Barnes, 61; Norwood Park, 29. Hay 16—atBrentford, v, Boston Park Drawn. Barnes, l'.O; Boston Park, 60*. * Nine wickets down. May 23—at Barnes, v. South Wimbledon. Lost by 77 runs. Barnes, 25 and 38* ; South Wim­ bledon, 10 : 2 . * Four wiokets down. May 25—at Barnes, v. Manor Park. Won by 31 runs. Barnes, 76; Manor Park, 45. May 30—at Barnes, y. Nassau House. 'Won by 7 runs. Barnes, 86 and 33•; Nassau House, 29 and41. * One wicket down. June 13—at Finsbury, v. Hon, Artiilery Co. Drawn, Barnes,£0* ; H.A.C., 85. * Three wickets down. June 20—at Barnes, v. South Wimbledon. Lost by 8 runs. Barnes, 38 and 24*; South Wim­ bledon, 46. * Three wickets down. June27—at Fulwell, v. Fulwell. Won by 2 wickets and 88 runs. Barnes, 140* ; Fulwe'l, 52. * Eight wickets down. July 4—at 'Wandsworth Common, v. Stormont. Lost by 26 runs. Barnes, 62 ; Stormont, 88 . July 8 —at Barnes, v. South Wimbledon. Won by 134 runs. Barnes,193; South Wimbleden, 69 and 19*. * One wicket down. July 18—atWandsworth Common, v. Spencer. Lost by 3 wickets and 46 runs. Bai ncs, 85; Spencer, 1;-1*. * Seven wickets down. July 25—at Ham, v. Ham. Lost by 29 runs. Barues, 65; Ham, 95. Aug. 1—atBrentford, v. Boston Park. Won by 31 runs. Barnes, 140; Boston Park, 109. Aug. 3—at Acton, v. PallinKswick. Lost by 81 runs. Barnes, 165 ; Pallingswick, 1B6 and 172*. * Four wickets down. Aug. 8 —at Finsbury,v. Hon. Artillery Co. 'Wen by 10runs. Barnes, G2 ; H.A.C., £2. Aug. 15—at Barnes, v. Teddington. Drawn, Barnes, 160; Teddington, 22*. * Eight wickets down. Aug. 22—at Barnes, v. Norwood Park. Lost by E4 runs. Barnes, 62 ; Ni rwood Park, 96. Aug. 29—at Barnes, -v. Fclwell. "Wou by 7 runs. Barnes, 46 and 31* ; Fulwell, 39. * One wicket down. Sept. 5—at Brixton, v. Brixton Wanderers. Lost by 4 wickcts and 9 run?. Barnes, 75; Brixton Wanderer!*, 84*. * Six wickets down Sept. 9—at Brixton, v Brixton Wan '1 erers. Los,t by 40 ruus. Birnes, 87 and 52*; Bruton Wanderere, 127. * Seven wickets down. Sept. 12—at Barne-1, v. Ham. Drawn. Patnes, 83; I an, 60*. * Two wickets down. Next Issue January 28-