Cricket 1886

APRIL 22, 1886. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 77 T H E O V A L AS IT W A S . T he engraving given above will be interesting not only to the thousands who are used to fre­ quent the Surrey Ground duringthe year, butto cricketers of every kind. To those who know the Oval as it is now, the sketch, which is taken from a drawing in the possession of a member of the Surrey Club, will present many features of interest. We have the authority of a very distinguished member of the Surrey eleven in what are termed the palmy days of the County that the picture is an accurate representation of the Oval as it was even in the year 1856. It is not easy, though, to realise that the changes which have taken laceunder the shadow of Kennington Church ave been made during this brief period of three decades. To the ordinary cricketer of to day there is indeed little in the surround­ ings of the ground as shown in the illustra­ tion,^ convey an idea of the Oval as it is in the present day. There is the church,whose clock has told the time to generations of cricketers, whose handshave given the signal, not only for the commencement of the game, but for the suspension of play, whose every movement on critical occasions has been watched with almost breathless suspense. There, too, is the old dressing room with the balcony, dear to Surrey cricketers, rich with the memories of good fellowship and the best of social inter­ course and enjoyment. There also—but there wemust stop, there is really nothing else in the picture to suggest even to those well acquainted with the head centre of Surrey cricket a feature of similitude. The vicarage, once the home of that fine cricketer, the Rev. C. G. Lane, and now occupied by another, in his day, well-known cricketer and foot­ baller, the Kev. H. H. Montgomery, of Harrow and Cambridge fame, has gone up higher. Indeed, in the comparatively insignificant building, as it is represented in the sketch, it is difficult to realise the substantial, and cer­ tainly much more commodious residence of the vicar of St. Mark’s, an enthusiastic believer in our national game, as his recent contribu­ tions to the “ Parish Magazine ” on the subject of the earlydaysof cricket fully attest. It would be easy to conjure up pictures to recall the Oval of the past, and the mighty men who made, or at least maintained, their reputations on its green sward. This, though, is not within our scope at the present time, whatever may be the outcome of this attempt to illustrate in a small way the scene of so many historic contests. Our object is merely to perpetuate for the benefit of those interested in Surrey and its history, the County Ground as it was to a past generation of cricketers, the men who built up the reputation of Surrey cricket, or at least bravely upheld the name won by their predecessors, in the days when the game was quite in its infancy. A trial match, arranged by the Essex County Club, will be played on the new ground at Leyton, on Monday next (Easter Monday). The following will be the teams:—Mr. C. E. Green’sEleven:Messrs. C. I. Thornton, C. F.H. Leslie,C.D.Buxton,E. Crawley,F.H. Stevens, W. Francis, H. Fowler,G. Fowler, S. S. Schultz, J. J. Read, and C. E. Green. H. Pickett’s Eleven: J. Bastow, A. Cole, J. Jones, G. Bur­ ton, J. West, E. Freeman, E. McGahey, W. Devey, H. Boynton, G. Cashford, and H. P ickett. Y orkshire E leven v . T w enty - two C olts — The following are the teams selected to play in this match at Sheffield on May 17: Yorkshire Eleven’. T . Emmett, F. Lee, W. Bates, G. Ulyett, R. Peel, J. Hunter, I. Grimshaw, E. Peate, Hon. M. B. Hawke, L. Hall, and Preston. Yorkshire Colts : W. Blenkhorn (Northaller­ ton), H. Carlisle (Rodley, Leeds), Herbert Dawson (Windhill), Mr. H. W. Dickson (Little Ousebume), Mr. W. T. Graburn (Scar­ borough), G. Hutchinson (Highgreen), David Hunter (Scarborough), Tom Lancaster (Dalton), J. Lilley (Tinsley), R. Lindley (Maplewell), J. W, Mayhall (Raistrick), J. Marshall (Guiseley), W. Ratcliffe (Birstall), J. Redfern (Lascelles Hall), Mr. P. N. Salmond (Bradford), T . C. Shepherd ^Ackwith), E. Stapleton (Dewsbury), E . Wainwright (Tinsley), A. Waller (Calverley), G. Waller , (Sheffield), A. Ward (Rothwell), Oliver Wilson (Birstall). CITY RAMBLERS. F ixtu res for 1886. April 26. Croydon, v. Croydon May 1. Addiscombe, v. Addiscombo May 8. Finchley, v. Christ College May 15. Highbury, v. Highbury May 22. Tottenham, v. Tottenham May 29. Buckhurst Hill, v. Buckhurst Hill June 5. Croydon, v. Croydon m June 12. Alexandra Palace, v. Islington A1 ion June 14. Hornsey, v. Hornsey June 19. Dulwich, v. Lausanne June 26. Battersea Park, v. Battersea July 3. Addiscombe, v. Addiscombe July 10. Dulwich, v. Grove Park July 17. Dulwich, v. Lausanne July 24. Alexandra Palace, v. Islington Albion July 31. Bovey Tracey, v. Bovey Tracey Aug. 2, 3. Exmouth, v. Exmouth Aug. 4, 5. Exeter, v. Exeter Aug. 6, 7. Newton Abbot, v. South Devon Aug. 21. Bromley, v. Bromley Aug. 28. Lee, v. Northbrook Sept. 4, Dulwich, v. .®olians Sept. 11. Tottenham, v. Tottenham. K ildare C ricket C lub —A grand smoking concert, organised bv the members of this well- known oricket club [employes of the firm of Mr. William Whiteley, Westbourne Grove), was held on Saturday evening in the assembly room attached to the Eyre Arms Hotel, St. John’s Wood. The attendance was greatly interfered with by the absence of many mem­ bers of the house, who were taking part in a similar entertainment in St. James’s Hall, held under the auspices of the West-End Amateur Association. A sister club, the Kildare R.C., were also contesting their trial fours up the river. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, fully 300 put in an appearance. Mr. C. R. Brighten occupied the chair. Mr. C. Lawrence officiated as vice-ohairman, Mr. E. A. Grace as stage manager, and the hon. treasurer (Mr. W. F. Forman) and hon. sec. (Mr. T. Creedican) assisted in the general management of affairs. The conductor and solo pianist was Mr. Louis Lee, A.R.A.M., C.M.P. The programme, in which songs and recitations were judiciously interspersed, was carried out without a hitch. A very pleasant \ and enjovable entertainment was brought to a close about 11.30 p.m.