Cricket 1887

“ Toge ther joined in cricket’s m an ly toil.”— Byron. Registered^w pTranSdssion Abroad. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1887. PRICE 2d. W A L T E R RO B IN SON . T h o u g h , perhaps, not in certain respects as fortunate as some other cricketers, who, hardly of a higher order of merit, have been able to get themselves more prominently before the public, few batsmen have done better service for their County than the ' burly player who can boast the proud distinction of the first plac® m the Lancashire batting averages of the year. And though an alien by birth, as are more than one of the eleven so ably commanded by Mr. Hornby, no cricketer has done more loyal service to, or more closely identified himself with a County than the professional whom, ten years ago, Yorkshire refused to honour, born at Greetland, 011 Nov. 29, 1852, Robinson learned the rudiments of the game in York­ shire, and indeed, for the earlier part of his life, was identified with its cricket, though his engagements as a professional have, 011 the other hand, been mostly, if not altogether, with Lancashire clubs. He was engaged at Haslingden in 1873 and 1874, and it was not until two years later that the Yorkshire executive gave him a chance in a match of any importance. His first appear­ ance in a fixture of any account was at Lord’s on May 7, 1870, as one of the twelve Colts represent­ ing Notts and Yorkshire, and he had the satisfaction of assisting at the decisive defeat of the Colts of England, who were beaten by 110 less than an innings and 141 runs. Though he had to be content with thirteen runs, his abilities at that time were not overlooked by the Committee of the Yorkshire Club. He was, in fact, selected to play in two matches for the County that summer, against Middlesex and Notts, both at Sheffield. The latter was a run-getting game from first to last, and Robinson contributed more than his fair share, scoring 68 in the first innings by clean and resolute hitting. For a Colt it was a perform­ ance of exceptional merit, but unfortunately for him the following season of 1877 was not, 011 the whole, favourable for batsmen, and his promise was not maintained, nine completed innings only realising an aggregate of 74runs. Engaged with the Littleberetfgh Glvtb id 1878, he disappeared from County cricket, until in a couple of years he came out again, this time, though,'for Lancashire, having, meanwhile, duly completed his residential qualification. The S'irrey match at Old Trafford, on June 7, 1880, was, unless' we are mistaken, his introduction to Lancashire cricket and he did very creditably on a far from run- getting wicket, his 23 representing the third highest score on the side. The Lancashire authorities were evidently fully impressed with his capacity as a cricketer, and, indeed, he took part in the last eleven matches 011 thj programme with marked success. His best innings was one of 51 against Gloucestershire quite at the end of the season, but he rarely ftfilOd to make a creditable scare, and his value to the County was fully proved by his attain­ ment of the third place in the batting averages of the year. This position he quite upheld in the following summer, and his aggregate of 417, which included a finely-played score of 90 in the opening match against Kent at Manchester, placed him again third in the averages. Robinson’s best scores in 1882 were, too, got against Kent and Gloucestershire, and, indeed, the principal contributions to his aggregate of 578 were 102 against Kent at Maidstone, 101 against Middlesex at Manchester, and 63 and 67 in the two fixtures against Gloucestershire. He was a little out of luck in the earlier matches, but his hitting towards the close was of the most brilliant character, and his average of over 26 fortwenty-two completed innings was a fine performance. With the exception of the one season of 1884, when he was out of form, Robinson has been a consistent run-getter for Lancashire during the last five years. Last summer he was not quite so successful as in 1883 or 1885 in the better class of fixtures, but even then he was, on the whole, of great use, though his two best scores were made in the less im­ portant fixtures, his 73 against Cheshire and 66 against Essex. The best innings he has made for Lancashire, we believe, was his 354 against Oxford University at Man­ chester in 1883, and his average for that summer for twenty completed innings was a very creditable one of over 23 runs. Still greater suc­ cess collectively awaited him in 1885, and though his highest inn­ ings was his 80 in the return match with Yorkshire at Huddersfield, he hada most satisfactory summary at the endof the season,havingmade 564 runs in twenty-three innings for a average of nearly 21 runs. This season, as already stated, Robinson enjoys the honour—and it is an honour with such bats­ men as the County can boast—of being at the head of the batting avenges. His figures, too, show that the posi­ tion lias been earned by thoroughly good cricket. His average of just under thirty-five runs for twenty completed innings in Lan- camire’s more important fixtures, is indeed coiiiiderably above the ordinary standard, an1 it is the more remarkable from the fact that in most of the matches* tie wa# generally