Cricket 1886

Register* Abroad. THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1886. PR ICE 2 d “ Together joined in cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. MR ANDREWERNEST STODDART T he consistently brilliant batting of the Mid­ dlesex eleven in their recent matches has been one of the most noteworthy features of the first half of the present County season. With the one exception of the first engagement against Surrey at the Oval, in which want of jn-actice proved very prejudicial to their chances, their record has been acontinuous course of highly creditable run-getting against every kind of bowling. And cer­ tainly by no means the least worthy member of an excep­ tionally strong batting side is the excellentall-roundcricketerwhose portrait we are able to 'present this week. The County of Dur­ ham has furnished so few repre­ sentative cricketers that it will be satisfactory to the sportsmen of the shire to learn that at least one prominent player of the pre­ sent day first saw the light within its boundaries. Born at South Shields, on March 11, 1864, Mr. Stoddart, like Barratt and Mr. A. J. Wilkinson, the only instances that occur to us at the moment, both of whom by-the-way were born, if we mistake not, in the City of Durham, is a native of the County of that name. Sin­ gularly enough, in direct contra­ diction of the theory that a cricketer can only acquire a pro­ minent position after long and continuous practice, it is only of quite recent date that Mr. Stod­ dart took to the game with any great amount of interest. He did not ,indeed, first follow it actively till last year, and his cricket career can only be said to have practically commenced when he first became identified with the Hampstead Club early in the summer of 1885. Though up to this time he had been only known as a footballer of exceptional pro­ mise, he was very quick in making his mark as a cricketer in addition. C ricket can claim to itsel ia certain amount of credit in introdtt < i ( 1 :tt to the notice of the Middlesex authorities. During the month of Jnly and early part of August no less than m e innings o three figures were registered to his credit for the Hampstead Club, one of them against M.C.C. and Ground, and in opposition to the bowling of Burton and Parnham. In commenting on his exceptional scoring, the writer of “ Pavilion Gossip ” last August recommended him to the notice of the execu­ tive of the Middlesex County Club as well worthy of a.trial, not only for his batting, but on the additional merits of his useful change bowling and brilliant fielding. The following week saw him duly installed in the Middlesex eleven as one o the team to oppose Yorkshire at Sheffield on August 17. Though only moderately successful with the bat ne scored 3 and 21 — his introduction to the county was made at a fortunate time, and, indeed, the victory of Middlesex was one of their two successes o the year. A few dates later he proved his ability as a batsman un­ mistakably on the Trent Bridge Ground. Going in first for Middlesex against Notts, Mr. E. H. Buckland and he put on 102 runs before the first wicket fell in an hour and thirty-five minutes, a capital performance against such a variety of good bowling as was then at the disposal of the Notting­ hamshire captain. Two scores of 79 and 15 against such a combination were quite enough to establish his reputa­ tion as a batsman-of no small promise, and though compara­ tively unsuccessful in the two remaining fixtures, against Glou­ cestershire at Clifton, and Kent at Maidstone, his average fo r the season was a very respectable one of 18.5 for eight innings. He com­ menced this season badly against Surrey at the Oval, but the majority of the Middlesex Eleven also failed conspicuously on tho same occasion, and he was not alone in his ill-luck. Since that time, though not scoring very largely, he has shown consistently good cricket. Against Notts at Lord’s he was credited with two innings of 35 and 39, and Mr. A. J. Webbe and he had scored 77 in three quarters of an hour in the first innings against Surrey on the same ground, when he was dismissed by a good catch at the wicket. Mr. Stoddart has proved himself adecidedacquisition to the Middlesex Eleven. A keen sports­ man, he always plays the game, and is above the average as an all-round cricketer. Of great strength, he plays very hard and when set scores fast, being ablo to hit well all-round; In' addition he is a fair change bowler, and not out of place anywhere in the field, being very quick and besides a safe catch. In the football field he has gainedthe highest honours. Behind the scrummage he has indeed no superiors at the present time among Rugby Union players. This is high praise but thoroughly welldeserved. The “ Football Annual” describes him as the “ prettiest and most graceful three- quarter-back of the day.” In this particular position he has no rival at the present time. Since Mr. A. N. Hornby gave up football no one has combined proficiency at the summer and winter games in such a remarkable degree as the subject of this sketch.