Cricket 1895

“ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. Regbte^to^nS'o^Ateoad. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1895. PR ICE 2d. A 'CR ICKET ING FAM ILY . Away over in picturesque Surrey there are few prettier spots than the little village of Coulsdon. A rapid run through the fifteen miles separating London from this quiet little place, with its population of 4450, transports the jaded metropolitan from smoke and grime to a scene of delicious freshness and sweet smell. Especially'is’ this the case on an early grandfather with his store of remin­ iscences of the days of top hats to the youngest daughter of eight summers, “ who hits like a horse kicking,” I was informed by her father. Indeed, good hard batting of the brilliant order is evidently the motto of the house, and those who have had the misfortune to bowl to the Eev. J. C. Crawford himself |will testify to this statement. There is I on record a certain match with the ford also scored 51 not out and 103 not out against the same team it is to be presumed the Crystal Palace had had enough of this kiud of thing, for they were “ full up ” when the following season’s matches with Cane Hill Asylum were to have been arranged. As we made our way out of the Asylum, I was shown the magnificent chapel “ capable of holding 800 and a small boy,” and then we wended our way to Spring morning, when the walk from the lifeless station through the narrow path leading to Cane Hill Asylum instils a feeling of joy into the pedestrian whose nostrils greedily inhale the stimulatiug perfume from the flowers around. On the top of the hill stands the immense building in which some 2,000 demented creatures exist, and adjacent to the Asylum dwells the Eev. J. C. Crawford with his family. A cricketing family it is, from the Crystal Palace C.C., which shows this characteristic at its best. There were three overs to go and 27 runs to get before the drawing of stumps, when the last man joined Mr. Crawford, who was not out 30. A left arm slow trundler was on, and off his first over the big man scored 14, while after the other batsman had blocked his five balls, the remaining 13 came in three hits, one huge drive sending the ball rattling against the red bricks of the homestead. As Mr. Craw- the cricket field/ “ Here you see one of the oldest natural grass lands in existence,” said the Eev. Crawford, as we went along the newly- laid path round the ground. “ It is 500 years old, and is mentioned in the Surrey Doomsday Book. As for the pitch, you couldn’t wish for grander wickets than are prepared here.” If not particularly level, the Cane Hill Ground is undoubtedly a beautiful stretch of turf, and it is easy to picture Mr.