Cricket 1886

“ Together joined in cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. R0gJ V I L 8Srbroaa. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1886. p r i c e a*. cricketerto’makehis debut before so criticaland practical an assemblage as is generally to be found in the pavilion at St. John’s Wood in matches of this kind, and Mr. Docker was unfortunate enough to fail in his primary attempt with the bat, being dismissed without a notch. In his first actual Inter-County match, though, he was more successful, and a very creditable soore of 35 against Sussex fined to his own County ground, for after making 52 and 80 against Sussex at Brighton he finished up the season in brilliant style at Maidstone, punishing the Kent bowling in his first innings severely to the extent of 107 runs. Few cricketers have been able to show such an excellent record for a first season in County cricket. His average for thirteen innings was over 36* runs, while for the Smethwick Club he was even in better form, being credited during the summer with big scores of 191,131 notout, 129, 112 and 107. Though not able to play quite so much for the County in 1882 as in the previous year, he took part in nine innings with very satisfac­ tory results. His aggregate for the season was 224, but the very largo majority of these runswasfrom Sussex bowling, and three innings against that county were accountable for 165, made up of 66 at Derby, and 60 and 39 at Brighton, of this total. Mr. Docker also formed one of Mr. C. I. Thorn­ ton’s England Eleven, which opposed the Australians at Derby in 1882, but he was not very successful against the Third Australian team, only realising thirty-four in the four inn­ ings he had on the County ground. Though he opened the summer of 1883 in promising style at Derby against Surrey, his second score of 52 on that occasion proved to be the best he could claim in the fifteen innings he had for Derbyshire that year. He was Captain of the England Eleven, which played Lancashire and York­ shire at Derby in 1883, on the occasion of William Mycroft’s benefit, and though his own contribution to the total of 224 was only five, he had the satisfaction of feeling that his side had an unexpectedly easy victory by an innings and 19 runs. The execu­ tive of the Derbyshire Club paid him the high compliment of electing him to the captaincy of the County eleven for the season of 1884. Ill-luck, though, causedjhis tenure of this important MR. LUDFORD C H A R L E S DOCKER. T hough their suooesses have unfortunately during the last few seasons been only few and far between, the oricketers of Derbyshire have at least one element of satisfaction in the knowledge that a majority of the players who have worked so hard uncler circumstances of a singularly discouraging character to uphold the reputation of the county have been of native growth. Mr. Docker, one of the keenest of all those who have worked in the cause of Derbyshire cricket, although mostly and chiefly identified with the game in the Bir­ minghamDistrict, was born in Derby­ shire. The capital of the county was, indeed, his birthplace, and the 26th of November next will witness the completion of his twenty-sixth year. Educated atthe KingEdward’sSohool, Birmingham, he learned his cricket in that neighbourhood, being chiefly in­ debted to the Smethwick Club, the premier club of the Birmingham Dis­ trict, for his early training in the ame. The Smethwick eleven have een the holders of the Challenge Cup given by the Birmingham and District Association, for the last five years, and much of its success during that period has been due to the excellent all-round play shown by the subject of the present sketch. Mr. Docker was not long in displaying exceptional promise as a cricketer, and, even in 1877, when he was only sixteen years of age, had already made a name for himself by reason of some heavy run-getting. During this summer his scoring was, in fact, much above the average of young players, though his best achievement was his 116 not out, in a School match, the first innings of three figures, it may be added, to his credit. The executive of the Derby­ shire Club, not unmindful of his qualification, were not slowto identify him with his native county, and the Colts’ match played at Derby, in the Easter Week of 1879, witnessed his introduction to Derbyshire cricket. Two years elapsed,though, before he was able to take his place in the County eleven. His first appearance was at Lord’s, in the opening match of 1881, against a strongish eleven of Marylebone Club and Ground. It is richer a, severe ordeal for ayoung at Derby, a little later, was sufficient to|satisfy any doubt as to his capacity as a batsman. He proved himself in fact to be unmistake- ably one of the best young cricketers of the year. An innings of 60 against Kent, at Derby, was followed by a remarkably fine score of 68 against Yorkshire in the same enclosure. His successes, too, were by no means con­ position to be anything but enjoyable, and it was, indeed, the hardest of lines that he was not able to win the toss once during the whole season. Singularly, too, his score of 58 against Surrey, at Derby, in his opening match, proved to be his highest contributionjthat summer, which in the matter of average was almost a repetition of the pre­ vious year. Mr. Docker’s first score of 1885 was one of 37, the highest on the side, against Surrey, at Derby, and this, with the exception