Cricket 1893

442 CRICKET A WEEKLY BEOOBD OB' THE GAME, OCT. 26, 1893 REMINISCENCES OF CRICKET' B y KICHABD DAFT. 11 E x tr a c ts from a n old S crap - bo ok .’’ Turning once again to m y scrap-book, I com e to an account of a m atch played betw een tfce Counties o f Sussex and N ottingham , played at K n igh t’s G round, B righton, in 1853, “ and from the w ell- know n celebrity o f the players, excited considerable interest, and a very large assembly o f spectators attended. The ground w as got into prim e order,” the newspaper continues, “ and w e certainly expected that a ‘ three days’ m atch ’ w ould be the result. The usual accomm odation was on the ground, and every inform a­ tion could be obtained at L illyw h ite’s printing tent. The betting was five and six to four on N ottingham . George B row n was prevented giving his assist­ ance, ow ing to, w e regret to say, the death o f his m other. Jam es L illyw h ite was also a lost m an to his county, being at present under an engagem ent at D u blin .” Sussex w on the toss, and sent in to bat M r. J. H ale and J. D eat. W hen the score had reached 15, the latter “ played badly at a very sim ple ball from Clarke, for w hich he had to retire.” Mr. H ale scored 22 before he was caught by Jem m y G rundy at m id-off from CJarke's bow ling ; “ his score o f 22,” says the report, “ w ill not easily be forgotten by the lovers o f cricket in Sussex ; his field­ ing also deserves praise, and we have no doubt he w ill be an acquisition to the coun ty.” T he score now stood at 31. “ F rom this time the adm irable b ow l­ ing o f B ickley could not be m astered, and the straight and ‘ tempting ’ ones of Clarke m anaged to take effect, w h ich on such w ickets appeared somewhat strange.” W isden was next m an in, and carried out his bat for 19, the innings closing for 68, Mr. G . .Kirwan being the only other double figure, scoring 11. The innings term inated at 3.45, w h ich shows the scoring to have been very slow , considering the game began shortly after 12 o ’clock. The betting was now , w e are told, tw o to one on N ottingham . G rundy and S. Parr opened the in n in g s; the litte r was bow led by W isden for 6, and ihe form er by Insted, who is described in inverted comm as as •*the new Sussex bow ler,” and w h o, w e are inform ed, “ bow led rem arkably w ell, and from the appearance of W isden ’s bow ling, who had a very strong w in d to contend against, it gave the backers o f Sussex som e little hopes of success ; tw o wickets had now been disposed o f for 11 runs, Butler, Parr, and ‘ George the G reat,’ and so rem ained until 73 had been secured. B utler’s innings brought forth some good cricket, but had B ox been ‘ sharp enough,’ h9 would have been dism issed m uch sooner ; he has a style o f getting o ff his ground when a ball is directed to his legs, w ith the intention o f either ‘ pushing ’ it to the ‘ leg,’ or ‘ on drive,’ w h ich he m any times d id.” George Parr m ade 46, in w h ich were m any brilliant leg hits ; his nam esake's score of 18 was the next highest on the side ; the N otts innings was concluded at one o'clock on the second day for 136. In their second venture, the hom e coun ty w ere all disposed o f for the small score of 60, leaving Notts the winners by an innings and 8 runs. M r. H ale w as again top scorer, m aking, strangely enough, ex ­ actly his score of the first innings, 22. T om B ox w as next w ith 21, no other double figures were obtained. B ickley took six wickets, F . T inley one, and G rundy the rem aining three. The report o f the match concludes by stating that the return m atch “ w ill be comm enced at N ottingham on M onday, and the betting is six to four on the present winners. I f Sussex take their strength, a w ell-contested m atch m ay be looked forw ard to.” In all the accounts of these old m atches, N ottingham shire is always spoken of as “ N ottingham .” N ext to the account o f the m atch just related, com es the averages for the year 1853. The season, w e are told, can scarcely be called a “ cricket on e,” ow ing to the great quantity o f rain w hich fell during the season. “ W e must give (he preference,” says the old newspaper, “ from what we have witnessed w ith our ow n eye to John L illyw hite (21 and 8 over), G. Parr (20 and 11 over), Caffyn (18 and 19 over), and J; Caesar (18 and 10 over). Csesar’s 101 and L illyw h ite’s 95 w ere the two best innings against good bow lin g during the season.” Side by side w ith the averages is placed an account of a m atch played in ’53 betw een tbe M .C.C. and A ll E ngland, at L ord ’s. Unfortunately there is only the report o f the last day’s play given in m y old book, although the score is there in fall. M .C.C. scored 119 and 58, and their opponents 43 and 64, this leaving M arylebone the victors b y 70 runs. F o r the winners, M r. A . H aygarth the com p iler o f “ Scores and B io ­ graphies,” ) was top scorer with 39 in the first innings, and Chatterton in the second w ith 26 (not out). In the first innings of E ngland, Sherm an m ade 21 (top score), w hich was the only double figure. In the second, Parr and W isden made 14 each, and Caffyn 13. W e next com e to a brief account o f a m atch betw een the com bined counties o f Kent and Sussex and A ll E ngland, played on the C omm on at Tunbridge W ells in 1853. “ A n imm ense assemblage o f spectators was present each day, but the onlookers were doom ed to disappointment as to a definite and satisfactory result, in consequence o f tbe wet weather on Friday w hen n o play took place. In the end the m atch was drawn at 8 o ’clock on Saturday evening, the general score bearing the follow ing appearance.” Then com es the score. F or Kent and Sussex, Bushby was the highest scorer with 41, and Mr. A lfred M ynn next w ith 20. The latter also scored 18 not out in the second innings. F or A ll E ngland Sam Parr totalled 53, T inley 23 not out, and Caffyn 22. After the score com es the follow ing sentence. “ A nd here, it- being Saturday night, the m atch was drawn.” N ext we have the m atch G entlem en v. Players at L ord ’s in 1852. There is no account given o f this m atch, on ly the score. The Players were victorious by 5 w ickets, the G em lem en making 122 and 187, and their opponents 220 and 90 for five wickets. F or the Gentla- m en, the H on . S. P onson by made 32 in the first innings. Mr. N icholson 21, and Messrs. F elix and A . M ynn 15 each. In their second innings, M r. Joh n W alker (the eldest o f the fam ous M iddlesex fam ily) was top scorer w ith 58, M r. H . V ernon next w ith 30, M r. N icholson next with 28, and Mr. G. Y onge next w ith 22 not out. In the first innings o f the Players, G rundy m ade 69 not out, G uy 36, B ox 39, and Martingell 20. In their second innings, George Parr obtained 46 out of the total (for five wickets) o f 90. Next follow s a brief account o f a m atch played in July, 1853, E ngland v. Sussex (with Parr). E ngland scored 128 and 227, and Sussex only 80 and 78, H illyer and G rundy taking m ost o f their wickets in both innings. F or England, Caesar scored 35 and 43, Anderson 24 and 35, A dam s 20 and 43, Caffyn 19 and 41. T om L ockyer 1 an d 31. D ean and W isden took m ost o f the England wickets in the first innings, and D ean and James L illyw hite the whole o f them in the second. In the first innings of Sussex, there are only three double figures, John L illyw hite 22, G. Parr 24, and Mr. C. G. W yn ch 10, In the second, only tw o batsmen obtained doubles, John L illy- white m aking 23, and Mr. C. G . T aylor 17. W e now have a little account o f the perform ances of the wicket-keepers for the season o f 1853. “ A lthough,” says the newspaper, “ but few are really entitled to m ore credit than is really given them . The ‘ bow ler,’ when a catch is m ade off him , has it attached to h is . name, and we are o f opinion that the ‘ w icket-keeper ’ is so entitled to have a 1run out ’ (when it is done by him ] attached to his name, for without such skill it could not possibly be effected. W e have som e recollection o f this suggestion before, and we trust ia justice to this im portant 1position ’ that the one w ho fills it w ill have such credit given h im .” Then com es the follow in g table of figures :— Name Matches Caught Btumped Total T. Box ........... 13 ... 12 ... 3 ... 38 C. Brown ... 4 ... 8 ... 2 ... 1<J . G. Moiton ... 5 ... 4 ... 11 ... 15 , Mr.W Nichol­ son ........... 8 ... 8 ... 8 ... 16 G. Chatterton 6 ... 6 ... 4 ... 10 ., T, Lockyer ... 5 ... 7 ... 7 ... 11 Wenraan ... 3 ... 2 ... 0 ... 2 . Mr. C. Bowen ("Rugby School) 10 ... 9 ... 9 ... 18 . Mr. Bu lock (Rugby School) ti ... 6 ... 8 ... 9 . Aver. .. 1.5 .. 2.2 .. 3 2 .. 1.4 .. 2.4 . . 0.2 . . 1.8 .. 1.3 The next extract in m y scrap-book has no reference to cricket, but it is so amusing t'lat I will give it here. “ In — — ------ it says, “ ten thousand m en go to bed drunk every Saturday night, are drunk all Sunday, and remain drunk the greater part o f M onday (!) ” A summary of the m atches played by the A ll-E ngland team in 1855 comes next. The E leven in that year, it appears, played tw enty-three m atch es— won 13, lost 5, and drew 5, three o f which were in their favour, “ one not sufficiently progressed to ju dge of, and one at L eicester against them .” The record o f * Here a well-known large town ia Grt at Britain :s mentioned.