Cricket 1890

AUG. 14, 1890, CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 829 B ending delegates, would to the ordinary mind appear to be absurd. Even now, there is a very large number of cricketers who hold to the belief that classification is not by any means of actual impor­ tance, not a few who think it altogether unnecessary. As it is, too, the Council themselves seem to have dealt with the question as if they felt that any change was certainly not at all urgent. As a matter of fact, according to their de­ cision no county can obtain promotion the result of last Monday's deliberations. The following were the resolutions passed:— 1. That for the season 1891 the counties be divided into three classes, n am ely:— F irst C lass . Notts Middlesex Lancashire Gloucestershire Surrey Yorkshire Kent Sussex S econd C lass . W arwickshire Hampshire Derbyshire Essex Leicestershire Staffordshire Somersetshire Cheshire same m ethod as that by whioh the Champion­ ship of the first-class counties is at present decided, viz., b y subtracting losses from wins and not oounting drawn games. 4. That in 1892 the lowest county in the first-olass and the highest in the second-class play each other hom e and hom e matches, these matches constituting a series which shall be termed the “ qualifying series.” The same arrangement to apply to the lowest of the second-class and the highest o f tbe third-class. 5. That if a county be by these means reduced in class it shall for the following season be F O U R G R E A T B O W L E R S . W . A tte w e ll (Notts). G. A . L ohmann (Surrey). J. B eigos (Lancashire). B. P e e l (Yorkshire). From a photograph by Hawlcins & Co., of 108, King's Hoad, Brighton .] until the season of 1893. Opinions seem to differ so much on the advisability ot reform of any kind, that it is just possible the matter may be postponed to the Greek kalends. In any case I am dis­ posed to think that the eight principal counties might have been trusted to evolve a scheme that would have been infinitely more simple, and one that could have been brought into immediate operation. It will be well, though, to give briefly T hird C lass . Hertfordshire Northumberland Northamptonshire Devonshire N orfolk Durham Lincolnshire Glamorganshire 2. That each first-class county play two matches with at least sixother first-olass coun­ ties, these to include tw o matches w ith the cham pion county of the previous year. As regards the second-class counties, instead of playing five matches, three were considered sufficient. 3. That in each of tbe three classes an order of m erit be drawn up from the results of the season’s play of 1891 and future years, and that this order be determined by the considered the highest in the olass to which it has descended, and shall follow the course of procedure set forth in (4). That, on the other hand, if a county, after playing in a quali­ fying series as one of the two highest of an inferior class, shall have to remain in the same elass, it shall not be considered as one of the two highest for the next season unless it shall obtain such a position by virtue of its performances in that season. Mb. C b o w h u e st , of the Philadelphia Enquirer, it may interest cricketers to know, ia over here with a view to the visit of a crioket team representing All