Cricket 1894

14 CRICKET: A WEEKLY EECOED OP THE GAME; JAN. 25, 1893 Felix, took his leave of the match in unlucky fashion, with “ a pair of them.” The Universities were strongly repre­ sented in the Gentlemen’s team at the Oval in 1800, the Oxford and Cambridge elevens of ten days before each having three players in the team. Tom Hay­ ward, Carpenter’s great comrade, made his first appearance, and scored 32 for once out. Carpenter himself played a grand innings of 119, the first century in the match since Saunders’ 100 in 1827. Lillywhite and Caesar both topped forty, and the Players’ fcore of 328 enabled them to win by eight wickets, in spite of Mr. T. E. Bagge's 02 and 60 (perhaps the best first appearance ever made in the match), and plucky batting by Messrs. W. H. Benthall, F. P. Miller, and Joseph Makinson. Richard Daft made his first appearance for the Players. The Players were in still greater form at Lord’s. Carpenter found his big score at the Oval beaten by 13 by his comrade, Hayward; Richard Daft, going in first, batted in excellent form for 39 ; and Lilly- white (66) and Willsher (73) made a long stand late in the innings, the total reach ing 394. Mr. A. Rowley (with 37 and 23) did best for the Gentlemen, who batted so feebly against Willsher and Jackson that the pros, won by an innings and 181 runs. The Lord’s match came first in 1861; and in it the Hon. C. G. Lyttelton, the eldest of a family of brothers of whom the Hon. and Rev. E. Lyttelton is the seventh and the Hon. A. Lyttelton the eighth, made his first appearance for the Gentle­ men, at the age of eighteen. Jackson and Willsher again wrought execution ; and the Players (for whom Daft made 65 and Carpenter 51) won in an innings. The match at the Oval was very similar, though the scoring was bigger. The Players again had first innings. They ran up 358, the chief credit of the score belonging to the two great Cam­ bridgeshire batsmen,who made a very long stand for the third wicket, Carpenter scoring 106 and Hayward 83. Mr. John AValker (58 and 22) did best for the Gentlemen. Willsher and Jackson were less destructive than usual, but Caffyn, Parr, and Griffith gave them very efficient help ; and the Players won by an innings and 68 runs. The long list of defeats for the Gentle­ men was now (at the Oval in 1862) broken by a draw. The Gentlemen, batting first, ran up 276, their highest since 1825, Mr. John Walker having the hard luck to get out when only two off the century. Their second innings realised 211, the Hon. C. G. Lyttelton heading the score with 57. Mr. F. P. Miller (55 and 38) batted well in both innings. No fewer than four of that year’s Cambridge eleven found places in the team—one of them the famous fast bowler, Mr. R. Lang, who had taken five Oxford wickets for four runs in the first innings of the University match. He was not so suc­ cessful against the Players, for whom Hayward scored 77 and 31, and Carpenter a second innings of 43. When time came the Players, with one wicket to fall and two fine batsmen in George Anderson and H. H. Stephenson well set, wanted 33 to win. The match at Lord’s that year was of rather a novel kind, no one being in­ cluded over thirty years of age. Two great amateur batsmen in the persons of Messrs. R. A. H . Mitchell and E. M. Grace appeared for the first time ; and Roger Iddison (with 11 and 62) and James Lillywhite, junior (who had eight wickets in the second innings), had suc­ cessful first shows for the Players. Tarrant’s all round play was a feature of the match; he scored 27 and 39, and took nine wickets. The batting of the Gentlemen was poor; and the Players won by 157 runs. There were no fewer than seven mem­ bers of that year’s University teams play­ ing at Lord's in 1863, four Oxonians and three Cantabs. The Players won easily by eight wickets, Tom Hayward scoring 112 not out, while the next highest score in the match was V. E. Walker’s 30. Messrs. R. D. Walker (40 and 37), R. A. H . Mitchell (70 and 6), E. M. Grace (13 and 31), and A. W. T. Daniel (0 and 51), batted well for the Gentlemen at the Oval; but Willsher scored 77, Lockyer 70 not out, Mortlock 70. Iddison 49, and Tom Hearne 30 for the opposition; and the Players won by nine Wickets. The 1804 match at the Oval was the first one in the whole series to realise over one thousand runs. Though the Players won by a heavy margin at the finish, the Gentlemen played up pluckily, and were not beaten without a struggle. The Players won the toss, and ran up 244, towards which the largest con­ tributions wereRichard Daft’s 01, and Tom Hearne’s 45, not out. The Gentlemen’s score of 201 in reply included a fine 04, not out, from that grand batsman, Mr. Joseph Makinson, who unfortunately dropped out of first-class cricket all too early, and 39 from Mr. F. Burbidge. The second innings of the pros, reached the big proportions of 371. Surrey Stephenson waB top scorer with a splendid 117 ; Mortlock, also a Surrey man, made 78 ; Rowbotham, of Yorkshire, 57 ; and five others’ scores ranging from 10 to 24. The Gentlemen had the hopeless task of getting over 400 to win; and their 209 was, under such circumstances, very good. The Hon. C. G. Lyttelton batted very finely for 81; and Mr. V. E. Walker and Mr. W . F. Maitland made a good stand later on, the former scoring 47, not out. The pros, thus won by 205 runs. The match at Lord's was a very different affair. In the two innings of the Gentlemen only two double figure Ecores were made; and Mortloc-k’s 71 was, by 51 runs, the highest score of the match, which the Players won by an innings and 68. Tarrant and Willsher had ten wickets each at very slight cost. The year of grace 1865 is the most notable one in the annals of these matches ; for in it a new star arose, and W .G ., the wonderful, the peerless, the unapproachable, played his first match for the Gentlemen. He was now a lad of seventeen, but a man in stature and appearance, over six feet in height, weighing eleven stone, and possessed of very flourishing whiskers. Little wonder can one feel that all have united in his praise, that page after page has been covered with it, and that his name is a household word wherever cricket is played, when one thinks of the great things that he has done. Hail, W.G. 1 greatest of the cricketers of all time, I who, in all humility, love the great game of which .you are still the master, lay my tribute at your feet. Five other cricketers, all of them de­ serving of much more than passing notice, played first in that game at the Oval in which W.G. made his debut. The least known of them, Mr. C. F. Buller, was, in Richard Daft’s opinion, the most elegant batsman of his time, resembling Mr. W . L. Murdoch in his style. The other four were Mr. I. D. Walker, Harry Jupp, Tom Humphrey, and Alfred Shaw. Never before or since has such a galaxy of talent appeared for the first time in any great match. Humphrey and Jupp were sent in first, and made a splendid start, Tom scoring 64 and Harry 43. Later on in the innings Mortlock made 38 and Griffith 35, tho total reaching 231. (The Northern cracks were absent from the Players’ side). The Gentlemen only made 163—R. A. H. Mitchell 53, W.G. 23, A. W . T. Daniel 21. Jupp again came off in the Players’ second innings, scoring 58, and thus making 101 runs at his first appearance. Tom Hearne scored 77 ; and the total was 284. The amateurs played up well at their second attempt, Mr. B. D. Walker’s 92 being a grand effort; but though seven others, including W.G., scored doubles, the total at the end was 118 behind that of the Players. Of the last twenty matches the Players had won nineteen, the other being trawn. There now came a welcome turn in the tide; and the Gentlemen won at Lord’s by eight wickets. Though Tom Humphrey and John Smith of Cam­ bridgeshire (38 and 33 respectively) made a good start, the pros.’ total only reached 132, E. M. Grace bowling very success­ fully. The Gentlemen replied with 198— B. B. Cooper (his first appearance) 70, R. A. H . Mitchell 44, not out. E.M. agaiu caused a commotion among the Players in their second innings, whichonly reached 140. George Parr, making his last appear­ ance in these matches, scored no fewer than 60 of these. E.M . (30) and W.G. (34), sent in first for the Gentlemen, as in the first innings, very nearly hit off the runs wanted before being parted; and the Amateurs won by eight wicketa. The match at Lord’s in 1866 was re­ markable for Tom Hearne’s fine 122, not out, in the second innings of the'Players, and the steady play of Harry Jupp (31 and 54) in both innings. These two were the only big scorers in the match; but, with one exception, every member of the Gentlemen’s team got double figures in one innings or the other, and the pros, only won by 38 runs. The brothers Grace on one side, and George Benmtt, of Kent, on the other, bowled well. At the Oval the Gentlemen fought an uphill game with the greatest pluck, and won in the end by close upon a hundred