Cricket 1893

“ T o g e th e r jo in ed in cr ick e t ’s m a n ly to il.5’— Byron • Regiat^'ed^or^TraTamfasi^nAbroad. T H U R S D A Y , A U G U S T 1 7 , 1 8 9 3 I-R IO E 2d CRICKET NOTCHES. B y the R ev . R . S. H olmes . It se e m e d p a th e tica lly stran g e to m e la st w eek d o w n at th e Oval to fin d m y se lf sea ted b 9tw een tw o m e n w h o w ill a lw a ys b e asso- “ Horns” in 1841, there has grown a great national institution second only in importance to Lord’ s and its Club. One could not help thinking of the amazing hold crioket takes on its votaries; fancy a man like “ Mr. John,” now almost 75 years old, who has sesn nearly all the Oval cricket during the entire period between 1844 and 1893, and is still as keen as ever. And how like old times, later on won’t be fagged by his long yarn, at least you won’t unless you have an equally good story you are bursting to tell him. When Ross returned from his North Pole expedition, he called on Jeffery, fancying he would be most eager to learn of his adventures. So he was, but Ross’ s tale knew no limits, and as Jeffery was just about to take his constitutional on horseback and R dss was not disposed to let THE WORLD’S RECORD IN A F1RST-CLAS3 MATCH. T h e A ustralians’ 813 v. O xford and C am bridge P ast and P resent, U nited S ervices’ G round, P o rtsm o u th — July 31, A ug. 1 and 2,1893. [From a photograph by A. F. Wilson, 48, King's Road, Southsea. ciated with my earliest visit to the famous ground, now more than 30 years since. Memory went a-truanting as one sat by the side of friend Daft and Mr. John Burrup up in the sanctum of Surrey’ s ever-busy, ever- kindly secretary. It’ s nigh upon 50 years since “ Mr. John ” helped to start the S.C.C.C. with the help of the old “ Montpelier ” ; yet out of that small, but select, meeting in the when having a crack with the “ Old Buffer,” the meeting with whom was (may I say it?) mutually delightful, to hear him exclaim, “ Why, there’ s Teddy Dowson, we must get him near us.” If you have not yet button­ holed “ F. G.,” let me advise you not to un­ less you are prepared to let him do all the scoring, for he has no intention at present of letting anybody else have a turn. But you him off, Jeffery, to his friend’s horror and pain, at last broke in, “ Oh, ----- the North Pole.” It was Sydney Smith, you remember, who endeavoured to sooth Ross’ s perturbation of spirit by saying, “ Never mind, I myself have known him to be equally disrespectful to the Equator.” The Oval of to-day is wholly different from tbe Oval of the fifties; vide piotures. Every