Cricket 1886

MABCH 25,1886. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 41 The only strangers to English soil are Bruce, Evans, Mcllwraith, and Trumble. As particular interest will naturally be attached to the quartette of new players the following remarks by “ Felix ” on their capabilities will well repay perusal, written as they are by one who knows English cricket and cricket-grounds well. If they show anything like their true Aus­ tralian form the verdict of the connoisseurs in England will be that they are a really first- class quartette. Evans' name is a household word in Australia, and in England everybody will be delighted to see him, and to know him not only as a cricketer but as a man. It is well known that all previous Australian teams tried hard, but unsuccessfully, to secure the ser­ vices of the famous New SouthWelshman, and the M.C.C. may therefore be regarded as being especially fortunate in getting him to take the trip. The Hon. Ivo Bligh states that Evans will be a greater attraction than any Aus­ tralian cricketerwho has ever visited England. His precision and accuracy as a bowler will be just the thing for sticky wickets in England, and on fast wickets no bowler can surpass him in keeping down runs. In batting, too, he will make his mark, or I am much mis­ taken. With ample practice his old form will return, and I for one would not be in the least surprised to see him take a forward position in the batting averages. As a fields­ man he will be the point of the team, and I am certain the English public will fully appre­ ciate and admire his skill and dexterity. Bruce and Trumble should render capital service with both bat and ball, and in the field Bruce cannot well be excelled. Trumble also is a very good fieldsman, but it would be well if he could be placed close in, for from the deep field his return is rather slow. M'Uwraith is looked upon as the dashing batsman of the team, and if he retains his resent fine form his record will be excellent, have never seen him perform on sticky wickets, and, therefore, cannot say how he will shape if the English summer be wet. A m a te u r cricket has just lost a very promising exponent by the sad accident on the Cam last Saturday. Mr. Lewis Oswald Meyrick, of Trinity College, was canoeing on the river with a friend that afternoon, and had proceeded as far as Newnham Mill Pit. Here, from some cause or other, the canoe overturned and its occupant at once sank. Several attempts were made to rescue him but without success, and his body was not recovered until two hours after the accident. The deceased, who had only matricu­ lated in October, had already made him­ self very popular at Cambridge, and it was confidently expected that he would confirm his school reputation by the attainment of high honours on the cricket field. There seemed every reason, in­ deed, to believe that he would be a great acquisition to the University. His record at Marlborough was a remarkable one. Even in his first year (1883) he was able to claim the average bat with an average of. 24.2, and the Bugby match found him principal scorer with two useful innings of 39 and 22 not out. Though his average in 1884 was reduced to 16, he again did well in the great contest of the season, and for the second time proved very troublesome to the Bugby bowlers, scoring 45 and 6 not out at Lord’s. The season of 1885 found him once more well at the top of the batting tables. His average of 36.4 was an exceptionally good one, and in addition he proved him­ self a most efficient captain. His brilliant score of 92 not out in the Bugby match of 1885 will not soon be forgotten. On that occasion he went in first and carried his bat through a long innings of 299. He also scored 51 against Cheltenham College, in fact, he had a peculiar aptitude for coming off in the most important fix­ tures. He was an excellent bat with fine defence, but a poor field. His average for the three matches in which he played against Bugby works out as 102, a per­ formance which speaks for itself. The loss of so promising a player has, it is unnecessary to add, cast a deep gloom over Cambridge cricket. T h e East Melbourne Club had, accord­ ing to the Australian papers which reached London on Tuesday, just received a useful addition to its ranks in the person of an amateur well-known in the cricket circles of Lancashire. Mr. B. Wood, of the Birkenhead Park Club, who did good service for Lancashire on more than one important occasion, was in the thick of Victorian cricket in the middle of last month. He had thrown in his lot with the East Melbourne Club, and was down to play for it on February 13 against Bichmond. The Melbourne critics have not forgotten that Mr. Wood, who, by- the-way, is an old Carthusian, played a by no means unimportant part for the Eleven of Liverpool and District against the Australian team in 1884. On that occasion in the second innings of the Australians he took three wickets for nineteen runs, and his bowling very nearly changed the result of that match, which was won after a most exciting finish by the Australians with only one wicket to spare. E n g lis h Cricketers will be glad to hear that their old friend, the veteran of past Australian teams, H.F.Boyle towit,haslost little or nothing of the wonderful precision which stood him in such good stead over here in many an important contest. Boyle’s English reputation was established by his extraordinary performance in that memorable match the first ever played by an Australian team in London, in May 1878, and though in the last tour hardly so successful Ins bowling was often of great service when a separation was wanted. In a match played in the early part of last month in Melbourne, bowling for the East Melbourne Club, Boyle took three Bichmond wickets for one run. All the three batsmen out fell to Boyle and their dismissal only occupied four overs. A p e c u lia r occurrence is recorded in a match between the second elevens of the Carlton and East Melbourne Clubs, played at Melbourne at the end of January. Bruce, an East Melbourne man, fielding at mid-on close up, was hit on the back of the head by a hard stroke from Deeley, one of the Carlton batsmen. The ball went with such force that it cannoned from Bruce’s head to short-leg, where it was safely caught by Mr. Boucicault. Young Bruce states that in future he will be careful to stand somewhat deeper when placed in the position of mid-on. The Earl of Chichester, whose death was recorded in the Times a few days since, played in a few minor matches with the Marylebone Club in 1827. He was a member of the M.C.C. for some time, and his name is to be found in 1833 in the printed list of that Club. More than one of his sons has figured promi­ nently on the cricket-field. The Hon. F. G. Pelham, now Bector of Lambeth, was in the Eton Eleven of 1864, and subsequently did good service for Cambridge Univer­ sity, where he acted as Captain in 1866-67. His younger brother, the Hon. T. H. W. Pelham, also a fair footballer, represented Eton in 1866. Another|brother, A. L.,like F. G., a conspicuous [athlete, has been for the last few years one of the Vice- Presidents of the Sussex County Club. M r . W alter W illiam B ead , the well- known Surrey cricketer, it will interest most C ricket readers to know, is now a City man. He has just been admitted a partner in the old-established business of Mr. Frederick Wells, Auctioneer, Sur­ veyor and Valuer, o f No. 1, Queen-street, Cheapside, which will for the future be carried on under the style of Frederick Wells and Bead. Mr. Bead is so de­ servedly popular on the crieket-field, that every one will heartily wish him success in this more important sphere of life. It must not be understood from what I have said that Surrey will lose the services of its great support. On the contrary, Mr. Bead will continue to knock ’em down at the Oval as I earnestly trust he will be able to do frequently in the City. H e has a way o f hitting “ blooming hard and blooming often ” which may be of use. “ Two well-known Schoolmen,” I quote from The Publisher's Circular, “ will shortly issue new books. Mr. E. E. Bowen, of Harrow, has prepared ‘ Harrow Songs, and other Verses,’ which will be published by Messrs. Longmans, while Mr. H. H. Almond, of Loretto School, has ready a volume entitled ‘ Sermons by a Lay Head Master,’ the publishers being Messrs. Blackwood.” The two authors require no introduction to C r ic k e t readers, for few men engaged in scholastic work have done more for or shown more hearty sympathy with physical exercise of every kind. Both as a cricketer and a footballer Mr. Bowen, during his mastership at the School, has been actively asso­ ciated with generation after generation of Harrow boys. His Harrow Songs, more­ over, have a universal reputation, and one of the best, “ Willow the King,” will be well remembered by regular readers I of this paper. Loretto School owes most Next Issue April 15•