Cricket 1892

No. 29 2 VO L . X I. Registered fo r Transmission A broad. THURSDAY, MARCH 21 , 1892. G E O R G E D A V ID S O N . H o w e v e r much may have been said or written by way of reflection on the management of Derbyshire cricket, no one can gainsay the pluck the executive has shown in the face of a long and disheartening succession of ill- luck. Nor is this its only claim to the good word of all real well-wishers of the game. In another and by no means unim­ portant matter Derbyshire has set a far from unworthy example. In their encouragement of native talent the managers of the Derby­ shire Club have, at least, deserved well of all who wish the develop­ ment of the inborn capacities of county cricket. In the possession of likely raw material Derbyshire has, it may be, been more fortunate than many of its rivals of greater size and pretensions. Some of its villages have been, perhaps, excep­ tionally prolific in the supply of really good cricket stock. I3rim- ington alone has rarely, if ever, been without a representative in the Derbyshire eleven. William and Thomas Mycroft, then the two Croppers, and now George David­ son, *who have all in their turn done good service for their county, were all of them born there. It was at Brimington Common that Davidson first saw the light on June 27thx 1866. In his per­ son, too, he furnished another illustration of the theory of here­ dity. His father was, at least, a cricketer of high account in his generation. A member of the Derbyshire team in its early days, he was also by no means one of the least useful all-round cricketers in George Parr’ s All England Eleven. Under his tuition the boy naturally not only soon developed a fancy for but also a marked proficiency at the game. His first engagement, with the Keighley Club when he was only eighteen years of age, furnished convincing proof of his ability as an all-round cricketer. At all events his form was con­ sidered quite good enough to warrant his trial in the opening match of the Derbyshire season of 1886 against M.C.C. and Ground at Lord’s. His second appearance was against the Australians, and here he fully justified the confidence of his friends by a really well- played second score of 33 not out. The best performances of his first year, though, were as a bowler. In the one match of the season with Gloucestershire he was particularly suc­ cessful. In the second innings he took nine of the ten wickets at a cost of only 42 runs, and he had the additional satisfaction of dis­ missing Mr. W. G. Grace both times. The following summer of 1887 proved Davidson to be the best all-round cricketer in the Derby­ shire eleven. Though engaged at the Oval for the season his engagement did not interfere in any way with his county cricket. This time his chief successes were as a batsman. His highest score was 75 against Yorkshire at Derby, but this was only one of several useful innings, among which may be men­ tioned 56 against Lancashire, at Manchester, and 52 against Essex, at Leyton, at the end of the season. Altogether out of form with bat as well as ball, the summer of 1888 was one of PR ICE 2d. continuous ill-luck for Davidson in county cricket. At the same time, his want of success for Derbyshire was the more remarkable considering that in other matches he w* s seen at his best. At least an innings of 16 l for Brimington against Pilsey Works, and an extraordinary piece of bowling against Hands- worth Woodhouse, on which occasion he took seven wickets for thirteen runs, would seem to be presumptive evidence in his favour. Nor was his all-round cricket of at all a lower quality in 1889. On the contrary, both as a batsman and a bowler he came even more prominently to the front. His sensational achievement with Chat­ terton against Essex, at Leyton, will be well remembered. Com­ mencing with the score at 82 for three wickets, the two professionals established a record by the addition of no less than 292 runs during their partnership. Davidson’s share of the total was 129, and his per­ formance with Chatterton was the more remarkable in that neither gave a chance during their k-ngthy stay at the wickets. As a bowler, too, his precision was fully proved at Derby against Yorkshire, on which occasion he sent down four­ teen consecutive maiden overs to Louis Hall. His batting in 1890 was so consistently good that he was able to secure an average of 22 runs for the season. Of several useful scores the best was 58 against Yorkshire, at Derby. Just about the time of this match he was, indeed, in a run-getting vein, for he followed up his success against Yorkshire with a capital innings of 50 against Leicestershire, and two useful scores of 53 not out and 43 against M.C.C. & Ground, at Lord’s. Much of the credit of Derbyshire’s good show last year was due to the effective bowling of Davidson, Porter, and Hulme. Their victory over the Surrey eleven at the Oval represented Surrey’ s first defeat of the year. I i this memorable triumph Davidson played a very important part, and his bowling (32 overs for 41 runs and six wickets) in Surrey’s first innings had very much to do in determining the result. Most of the hard work in bowling, indeed, was done by David­ son, as can be judged when it is stated that he delivered 688 overs for 1,021 runs and 65 wickets. During the last four seasons he has been.engaged at Lord’s, with the best results, as a glance at the records of M.C.C. will