Cricket 1887

1 Together joined in cricket’s man ly toil.”— B y ro n . Registered for Transm ission Abroad. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1887. p r i c e 2d. ARTHUR DICK POUGHER. T iib most notable instances of rapid promotion on the cricket-field of recent date have been furnished by Lohmann,Quaife, and the young Leicestershire cricketer whose portrait we give this week. Though his introduction to County cricket goes back no further than the commencement of 1885, the three seasons in which he has partici- E ated in matches of any importance ave been quite sufficient to bring Pougher to the forefront of profes­ sional players. And Leicester has no small reason to be proud of the position he even now occupies among cricketers, for the reason that he is not only a native of that busy town, but that all his early cricket was learned within its boundaries. Born on the 19th of April, 1865, Pougher has not long completed his twenty-second year. Remarkably fond of the game, he lost no opportunity of improving himself as a cricketer, and the natural consequence was a speedy confirmation of his early promise. His success in local cricket was not likely to be overlooked by those who had the management of the Leicestershire Club, and, indeed, they lost no time in testing his powers. Hi« first appearance under their auspices was in the early part of 1884, for the Town against the Country Colts, and though not for­ tunate in batting, for which singu­ larly enough he was tried, as a bowler he was a distinct success, the nineteen overs he delivered re­ sulting in the downfall of nine wickets at a cost of only twelve runs. Though it was not deemed advisable to include him in the County Eleven that year, the Colts match of 1885 so fully confirmed the form he had,'already shown as to convince the authorities of his undoubted ability as a bowler at least. On that occasion he was one of tho Fourteen Colts who opposed the County team, and the latter had reason to speak well of his bowling, six of the side fall­ ing to his arm for an average of just over two runs. Pougher’s first appearance in County c.’icket was at the Oval on May 18,1885, and though his four wickets cost 84 runs, it was by no means a bad performance, considering that three of the four were Abel, Diver, and Maurice Read, among the most dangerous batsmen on the Surrey side. Although on the whole he was only moderately successful, the Leicestershire Committee, impressed, no doubt, with the excellence of the all-round cricket he was showing for the Leicester Ivanhoe Club, for which he was engaged that summer, acted wisely in retaining him as a regular member of the County Eleven, and on more than one occasion he did good service. His best record of the year was against Cheshire, when he got eight wickets for 60 runs, but he also acquitted himself creditably against a strong side of the Harrow Wanderers, and in the latter match he delivered 65 overs for 101 runs and six wickets. His perform­ ances last summer, too, fully proved how wel founded'was the high opinion expressed by Leicestershire cricketers of his ability. Ho began the season auspiciously at Leicester on the last day of May against Cheshire, and his analysis in that match (57 over3 for 48 runs and eight wickets) was only one of many ex­ cellent records with the ball in 1886. In the following fixture against Warwickshire a*; Leicester he was even more successful, and in the two contests with Warwick­ shire his figures were remarkable, showing twenty-three wickets at an average cost of under five runs. His best feat of the year, though, was against Surrey at Leicester, and it was, in fact, his extra­ ordinary success in this match which, in a great measure, made his reputation as a fast bowler. The utter collapse of a strongish side of Surrey was one of the most sensa­ tional incidents of the season, and the decisive victory of the Leicester­ shire eleven was the topic of general conversation among cricketers in all parts for months afterwards. It was Pougher’s bowling, too, which won that same match. Altogether he was creditedwith thirteenwickets at an expense of 54 runs, and as will be seen from the figures which follow in the first innings he only bowled eleven overs— O. M. R . W . 1st inns...........11 6 10 6 2nd inns............. 85 18 44 7 The ground on that occasion helped him materially, and, indeed, his bowling was almost unplayable. Still he proved in the return that it was not amere fluke, and on a capital wicket at the Oval he took seven wickets for 116 runs. His bowling for Leicestershire was one of the best features of last season’s cricket, and in all he was credited with 66 wickets at an average cos. of under eight runs and a naif, t singularly creditable record fork fast bowler. His consistent success for the County led to his selection as one of the England Eleven to oppose the Australians at Bradford last September, and the choice of the manage­ ment was fully j ustified. Though in the first innings he had to be content with three wickets for 44 runs, in the second he did all the execution, and six of the seven batsmen out fell to his bowling at an expense of 60 runs. During the winter overtures were made to him to identify himself with one of the