Cricket 1888

ft Together joined in cricket’s man ly toil.”— Byron. Registered ^or TraJamtodoI^'broad. THURSDAY, AUGUST 2 , 1 8 8 6 . P R I C E 2 d . MR. HARRY THOMPSON ARNALL - THOMPSON . S ince Leicestershire woke to find itself in* vested with a certain amount of fame by the good cricket it showed ten summers since against the First Australian team, the doings oF the county eleven have always attracted public attention. During the last six years, too, they have at times fairly startled the cricket world by per­ formances of exceptional merit. Their record during this period considering that they have had no particular advantages of position, and are not by any means so favoured as some of their dear neighbours of the north is, indeed, a most honourable one. No less than three times has success crownedtheireffortsagainst Surrey, and now to emphasise their already brilliant achievements on their own ground is to be added the latest and perhaps best of their many notable feats, their victory over the Austra­ lian team at the commencement of last month, a highlv meritorious win from every point of view. If for nothing else than the double triumph over the Australian team and Surrey the season of 1888 will be a memorable one in the history of Leicestershire cricket, and one which Mr. Arnall-Thompson, who has managed the eleven throughout, will in particular be likely to re­ member with justifiable pride. The Leicestershire captain, it is gratify­ ing to the cricketers of the county to know, is one of themselves thew and sinew. Born at Belgrave near Leicester on April 7, 1864, he has been closely associated with the head-quarters of Leicestershire cricket all his life. His earliest public appearance was during his stay at Mill House School,Leicester, and with another well-known Lei­ cestershire cricketer, Mr. J. A. Turner, he bore the^ brunt of the bowling for the School eleven during 1876 and foUowing year. The month of September, 1877, saw him under the care of the JEtev. C. Elsee at Rugby, and in the two succeeding seasons he formed one of the Eleven which represented that House. Up to that time he had been a strictly fast bowler, but owing to a sprained knee which prevented him running late in 1878, he took to slow bowling, and with such success that Mr. C. F. H. Leslie, then captain of the Rugby Eleven, advised him to adopt the slower delivery regularly. Mr. Leslie’s Judgment proved, too, correct, for Mr. Arnall-Thompson notonly waschosen as aslowbowlerforthe first match, but played throughout the season and finished up with a capital performance in the last fixture, at Lord’s against Marlborough* eight of whose wickets he took at a cost of forty-two runs. Though hardly so successful in 1881 he still did the most of the bowling for the Rugby eleven, and the record of the year will show that the greatest number of wickets fell to his share. The following summer was not a very foitunate one for Rugby, and the ill-luck which followed the School was the more annoying for him, as it was not only his last year but the School team was also under his captaincy. Still Mr. Arnall-Thompson’s personal record was in every way a distinguished one. He had, in­ deed, the distinction of the batting as well as the bowling average, and he finished up his Sehool oaieer in a way thoroughly worthy of his reputation. In the Marlborough match at Lord’s he was credited with nine wickets, and on the following day against the Mary­ lebone Club did a really good performance, securing eight of the ten wickets in the second innings of M.C.C. for only 55 runs. Entering Brasenose College in January, 1883, he was tried in the Freshmen’s match, and with creditableresults, taking sevcn wickets in the second innings. Though generally successful in College matches, however, his cricket career at Oxford was hardly so successful as might have (been anticipated. During his four years’ residenoe at the University he had the opportunity of proving his ability in the usual trial matches, but, as la rule, luck was altogether against<him, and with the excep­ tion of one matoh against the Gen­ tlemen of England in 1885, he did not figure in the University eleven until 1886, his last year. His first appearance of that season was against the Australians, and though Messrs. Cochrane and Whitby were too successful with the ball to give him much of a chanoe in this line, the match was not without some slight satisfaction for him, his score of eleven being the highest in the University’s fiist innings. Against Lancashire he took seven wickets for 67 runs, and in the Inter- University match, too, he was of some smalluse,bowlingseventy-nine overs, of which fifty-five were maidens, for fifty-two runs and four wickets. Since 1883 Mr. Arnall- Thompson has been actively asso­ ciated with Leicestershire oricket, and greatly to the advantage of the county. One of his earliest per­ formances of note as a bowler for Leicestershire was against the Yorkshire eleven on June 22,1883, and on that occasion he did the hat trick, getting three wickets with successive balls. Seven wicktts for nineteen runs against War­ wickshire was his best record in 1884, and in a local match the same year he did a remark­ able piece of bowling, taking all ten wickets in the innings, six of them in seven balls, and five with consecutive balls. He was not seen much in County cricket in 1885, and though