Cricket 1888

Registered fOT^rransmlssion^broad. THURSDAY, JULY 5, 1888. P R IC E 2 d . “ Together joined in cricket’s man ly toil.”— Byron. M R . JO H N A U G E R D IX O N . O f amateur cricketers who have come to the front during the last two or three years Mr. J. A. Dixon of Notts is one of the most con­ spicuous instances. Born at Grantham on May 27, 1861, his parents removed to Notting­ ham when he was about thirteen years old, since which time he has been strictly identified with the great cricketing shire of Notts. Sent to the Grantham Grammar School in 1872, his taste for cricket soon began to take a J >ractioal shape, and his third and ast year found him one of the School eleven, Removal to Not­ tingham caused his transfer to the High School in that town, and, as was only to be expected, he at once took a leading part in its cricket, forming one of the team from 1874 to 1876, and ending his school life at Nottingham as Captain of the High School Eleven. Another move, in 1876, to tho Grammar School of Chigwell, in Essex, gave him his first introduction to Southern cricket, and in the two summers (1877 and 1878) in which he was at Ohigwell he showed to advantage as an all-round cricketer, securing in both years the prize for highest batting average, as well as that for the best bowling average in 1878. Returning to Nottingham on the completion of his school career he was careful to turn the opportu­ nities allowed to him from the cares of business to the most profitable account as a cricketer, steadily de­ veloping the undoubted promise he had shown as a boy. Since the summer of 1880 he has, indeed, played a very conspicuous part in local cricket, although it has not been until a recent date that he has had the necessary opportunities t >do himself justice in important matches. As long since as the season of 1880 he had proved his ability as a batsman of no mean order, and in that year he was credited with an aggregate of 697 runs for thirty-five completed innings, giving an average of just under twenty runs. His highest score was one of 93 for Notts Amateurs, and in the following summer he scored even more heavily for that club, making 105 not out first against Grantham, 114 against the Revellers, in addition to another century, 105 not out for the Nottingham Forest Amateurs against Leicester Temperance. His consistent run-getting in local matches in 1881, as well as in 1882, during which season he was also very successful as a bowler, naturally attracted the attention of the executive of the Notts County Club. At that time Notts was in the foremost position in county cricket, and it was a high compliment to Mr. Dixon’s all-round excellence that he should have been deemed worthy of a place in the Nottinghamshire eleven. His introduction to County Cricket was, however, not one of his most pleasing reminiscences. His first match was on the Trent Bridge Ground against Middlesex, on Aug. 17, 1882, and he was singularly un­ fortunate, as he got two “ duoks,” and bowled nine overs for 81 runs without taking a wicket. This was his one appearance for Notts in 1882, and, indeed, though he played in three or four matches during the three following summers, it was not till last season that he really became an active member of the Notts eleven. In 1886 he did n )t play in a county match at all, but he had, meanwhile, been far from idle in local games. His highest aggregate during the five years following 1882 was 1,217 for 42 completed innings in 1883, and his best in­ dividual score in 18S4, for the Gentlemen of Notts against the Gentlemen of Rutland, on which occasion he made 189 not out. As a bowler, too, he had been more than ordinarily suc­ cessful during the six years named. In 1382 he obtained as many as 102 wickets, but three summers later his record was even a better one, and in 1885 he was responsible for the dismissal of as many as 114 batsmen. Some of his performances with the ball, too, were againstgood sides, and in one case, in 1884, for the Notts Amateurs against M.C.C. and Gionnd, he took con wickets in the two innings of M.C.C. at a cost of forty-eight runs. T.ast summer Mr. Dixon took part in seven of the fifteen matches in which the Not­ tinghamshire eleven took part. His highest score in Inter - County matches was his 46 against Surrey in the historic contest begun on the August Bank Holiday at the Oval, but this was not his best contribu­ tion for Notts. His 89 against M.C.C. and Ground at Lord’s, in June, was a very fine display, and it was no doubt owing to the excellent batting he showed in that match against the bowling of Wootton, Pough?r, Chatterton, liylott and George Hearne, that he owed his instalment as a regular member of •the County eleven. On occasions, too, his bow ling was of no small use, and one of his performances in particular will not soon ba forgotten in the chronicles of Notts cricket. In the match against Lancashire, on June 30, in the latter’s second innings he accomplished the “ hat trick,” dismissing Kobin^on, Yates and Briggs with successive balls, and for this achievement, a rare event in first, class matches, he was presented by the rest of the team with the ball, suitably inscribed on a silver mount. This year Mr. Dixon has been consistently successful with the bat, and his average in first-class cricket so far is an excellent one, just under 30 runs for nine completed innings. I3isbrilliant performance for Notts against the Australians, on which