Cricket 1888

J i l i i i j - ' i 3 <— j — - C fgggF<£' 2 fp. V/ ^ i-Vj'A - 5 § ! - e = JeO f l f - m A S S f / P fC G / ?/ _) 8 « 6 c 3 3 9 w 0 — <- } 0 < S I S . * j M j [ I /R A il m C , “ Together jo ined in cricket’s m a n ly to il.”— Byron. No. 196- VOL. V II. egistered lor Transmission Abroad. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1888. P R IC E 2 d . M R . C H A R L E S J O H N M C D O N A L D F O X . G e n er a lly depressing, and with certainly little of any kind to cheer or inspirit in its surroundings, the cricket year just ending with the farewell match of the Australian team has not, as we had occasion to remark recently, been instrumental in establishing many new reputations among the hundreds who have an opportunity of participating in the principal fixtures of the season. Among the few, very few cricketers who have made a distinct advance in public estimation during the year, one of the most conspicuous, if not the most conspicuous, is the amateur whose batting proved of such material value to the Kent County Eleven this summer, Mr. C. J. M. Fox, whose portrait forms the frontispiece of the last of the weekly summer numbers of C r ic k e t for 1888. We have cited Mr. Fox as a cricketer who has advanced his reputation rather than as one who has just made his name, because, though practically new to what is termed first-class cricket, for the last two or three years he has proved himself to be one of the most reliable run-getters in the South of England in matches for the Crystal Palace and other clubs, in opposition, in the majority of cases, it must be added, to bowling quite up to the standard of amateurs. It will be news, too, to many to learn that his connection with County cricket dates back as far as i the summer of 1876. At that time * Mr. Fox, who was born at Dum < Dum, near Calcutta, on the fifth of December, 1858, was in the Westminster eleven, having been removed to that school on the com­ pletion of his first course of educa­ tional training at Dufton College, in Calcutta. His exceptional all­ round promise had secured its fitting recognition at the hands of the managers of Westminster cricket, and at an unusually early age he was able to claim a place in the School eleven. The first year, though, in which he came into any great degree of prominence was during the summer of 1874. A thoroughly well- played score of 87 out of a total of 220 against Charterhouse would alone have been sufficient to prove his capabilities as a batsman, but profiting by the watchful instructions of the late Tom Mantle, he was even then one of the surest run-getters at Vincent Square, as his average, the best of the year, will show. Rarely unsuccessful with the bat, this was however by no means his only claim to dis­ tinction among his fellow Westminsters. The Charterhouse match of 1875 proved him, in­ deed, as useful with the ball as with the bat, and while he was credited with more than appearance in the Surrey eleven during the early part of the season of 1876. The Gloucestershire match at the Oval, on June 8 and two following days, formed his introduc­ tion to County cricket, and though he only claimed four runs as the result of his two innings, he did good service in the field, being as a boy very safe, and covering a lot of ground m the country. A return to India restricted his connection with Surrey to this one fixture, and it was not until 1885 that he re-ap­ peared in any prominence in English cricket. Meanwhile, he had only played twice in India, though one of these occasions, when he made 154 not out for Visitors against Gowhaii, was sufficient to prove that his hand had not lost its ancient cunning. Though during the last four years he has played for other clubs, his principal per­ formances have been for the Crystal Palace. These have been so much above the average that it will be of interest if we give the results of his batting and bowling since 1885. BATTING. M o s t T im es j in an not Inns. Runs. inns. out. Avrge. 18«5 33 1321 146 5 47.8 1888 87 1198 107* • 4 31.10 1887 48 20GI 261* 8 51-21 1838 31 1282 177 9 58.6 B o w lin g . Balls. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Aver. 1885 ... 1975 ... 365 .... 862 ... 53 ... 16.14 188G... 3164 ... 283 .... 952 ... 76 ... 12.40 1887 ... 3014 ... 233 ...1216 ... 82 ... 15.16 one-half of the total (28 out of 53) made against the Charterhouse eleven in West­ minster’s one innings, he had the additional satisfaction of securing no less than six of the ten Charterhouse wickets that fell. His con­ sistent success as an all-round cricketer had before this attracted the attention of the executive of the Surrey County Club, and, qualified by residence ^ tbp time, he made his During the last three seasons Mr. Ford’s success for the Palace has been most remarkable. His prin­ cipal records have been duly chronicled in C rick et , but it wiil be well to recall his greatest achieve­ ment as a run-getter, fully recorded in “ Pavilion Gossip ” in C ricket of July 7, 1887. In four completed innin ,28 he made no less than 643 runs, and in one week for two inn­ ings his aggregate was 542. Having duly qualified by residence for Kent, he was naturally invited to join the eleven on the first opportunity, which was against Surrey at the Oval on June 11 last. The scoring in that match was low all round, and though he made only eleven in each innings, Mr. Fox proved to be the most successful run-getter on the side. Throughout the summer he proved invaluable to the Kent eleven, showing himself, indeed, to be one of the most reliable bt^rnen in County