Cricket 1895

4 6 6 CR ICKET : A W E E K L Y RECORD OF THE GAME. D e c . 26, 1895. and District, inclu d in g several m en then p layin g for N orfolk. N orw ich g o t 214; after lunch I bow led six w ickets fo r nine run s; w e lost one w icket early, then S. S. Oolman, 120 (n ot out), and m y ­ self, 187 (n ot out), played out time. This was n ot fo r B urton b y the w ay. Then at Burton, v. The Tridents, whose team included tw o D afts, Shuker, Schwann, etc., I g o t 190. In 1883, at C oventry, 120, and n ext d ay at R u gby, D avid Buchanan bow lin g w ell, 112. A t Burton, v. N otts Castle, w e lost our six first w ickets fo r 60, bu t the last fou r took the score to over 300, o f w h ich I g o t 164.” “ T w o-d a y m atch at B u xton in 1883, v. M r. Strauss’ E leven, which included old D aft and his tw o sons, H . B . and R r P . D aft, M ee, o f N otts C ounty, M cR obie, o f Leicestershire, and other g ood men. N o play first day as it rained the w hole time. Second day they w on the toss, and on a difficult w icket w e g o t them out fo r 39. I w ent in first w icket, and till the eighth w icket could get no one to stay w ith me or make double figures. T h e eighth w icket p u t on 125 runs, and eventually w e made 334, o f which I made 227 (n ot out). A t B u xton , in 1893, P orter and I m ade 112 in thirty-seven m inutes, of w h ich I g o t 84, chiefly boundary hits, as P orter is n ot a fast runner.” “ O f course, y ou were at the beginn ing o f you r career invited to p lay fo r D erb y ­ shire ? ” “ I was first asked to p la y fo r the cou n ty after the visit o f the Canadians to E nglan d in 1879. I played fo r the D erby ­ shire Gentlemen against that team and made 87, W alter W righ t, o f K entish fame, b ow lin g in that m atch for the Canadians. A fter that time up to 1889 I was regularly asked to play for D erbyshire, and did p la y a match or tw o in 1880, bu t never was able to take m y place systematically. Thus little g o o d to m y cou n ty and no justice to m yself came o f this desultory cricket. A bou t the best thing done in these years was m y 54 against Sussex in 1884.” “ W hen did y ou make up your m ind to g o in th orou gh ly for C ounty cricket p” “ In 1889. D u rin g the previous five years I had devoted m yself im partially to club cricket, lawn-tennis, and row ing. B u t in 1889 M r. Spofforth, in whose absence I had occasionally captained the team, left D erby, and the captaincy was offered to me. I had made up m y m ind to p lay county cricket regularly or not at all, and thus an opportunity offered itself fo r an immediate decision. In ac­ cepting the post it becam e m y am bition to retain it until D erbyshire regained her place am ongst the first-class counties. This aim has n ow been realised.” “ In great part ow in g to you r m anage­ m ent o f the team and you r guidance during difficult times, Mr. Evershed ? ” “ I f that is indeed so, there is an ample rew ard in the position w h ich w e took am ongst first-class counties last season. B u t iu speaking o f the position and prospects of D erbyshire cricket one cannot too h igh ly estimate the help the county has received from m any quarters, but especially from Messrs. Joh n Smith, A rthur W ilson, and W alter B oden. The last-nam ed as our president, in particular, deserves and has the hearty gratitude of all D erbyshire men. H is firmness of purpose and kindly thoughtfulness for all alike, together w ith the time and trouble he has devoted to the affairs o f the County Club, have done a very great deal to prom ote its general w elfare.” “ Y o u have, yourself, captained the team since 1889.” “ Y es, bu t last year an accident kept me out o f cricket. M y averages for the fou r years play, in which I have completed tw elve innings, have been, in 1889, 19 6 ; in 1891, 2 0 ; in 1892, 16-1; in 1895, 26. I cannot say m uch about special personal performances, bu t m igh t m ention tw o or three. A gainst Leicestershire, I think in 1890, w e had to follow on in a m inority o f 120 runs. D avidson and I got together and altered the gam e entirely, settling them 150 to get to win, but they m ade on ly 99. Davidson m ade 106 and m yself 119. A gainst Cheshire, at Birken­ head, in 1 8 92,1 made 72 out o f 83, and this year when w e m et Y orkshire, B ag­ shaw made 127 n ot out and m yself 112. Y e t w e lost the m atch .” “ I need h ardly ask if you are still of opinion after a year’ s trial o f the M .C .C . scheme that the increased number o f first class counties is an advantage to cricket ? ” .*•I think the present classification is of great advantage to the prom oted counties; taking D erbyshire as an example, a con­ siderable num ber come regularly to see the matches n ow , where form erly w e had none. A nd this year w e pay our w ay for the first time in m y recollection. The so-called second-class counties for the last six years have been quite capable of h old in g their ow n w ith m any o f the first- class counties. I believe the general interest in the gam e throughout England has been distinctly greater since the first- class list o f counties was enlarged.” “ A n d you agree w ith the num ber of matches necessarily played under the scheme b y com petitors for the County Championship ? ” “ I th ick eight hom e-and-hom e matches should be played to compete in so-called championship, bu t inability to get on eight matches, should not prevent the cou n ty bein g ranked as first-class, and their wins and losses *sooring against another cou n ty.” I hardly felt sufficiently b o ld here to rem ind the captain o f a first-class county, that under the M .C .C . scheme, there is no question o f eight out and home matches being requisite for qualification as a first-class county, bu t sim ply that so m any matches must be arranged if the cou n ty’s claims are to be considered by the M .C .C . for the championship. Until the comm ittee o f the M .C .C . remove, say, E ssex or Leicestershire from the list of first-class counties, those counties are first-class and matches played against them b y the other first-class counties will under the rules oount in the com petition. There has been much m isunderstanding on this subject, bu t the contention that the scheme breaks do ira for all counties because one or tw o fail to arrange right out and hom e fixtures could not be seriously supported by anyone w ho has studied the circular o f O ctober 1894. So I asked M r. Evershed’s opinion as to the prospects o f his coun ty in 1896. H e was very hopeful. “ W e have about the same team avail­ able, and I never knew club cricket in Derbyshire stronger than it is at the present time, ou r batting im proves, our fielding is g ood , and if our last season’s bowlers retain their form , I think we should have a g o od season.” This was m y last question, bu t M r. Evershed prom ised to obtain a m ore com plete record o f his perform ances fo r the county, and as this has now reached me from D erby it follow s imm ediately b e lo w :— M r. S. H . Evershed’s name figures in the D erbyshire eleven as lo n g ago as 1881, bu t although he accom plished several creditable perform ances, it was not until 1889 that he played regularly for his county. In 1889, M r. Evershed played 13 innings for 234 runs, 79 bein g his biggest score, and his average 19'6. In 1890, M r. Evershed shared w ith Mr. F . R . Spofforth the duties o f captain. H e played 19 innings, scored 289 runs, 57 being his highest t o ta l; average 15-4. In 1891, M r. E vershed played 11 innings, scored 220 runs, m ost in an innings 51 ; average 20. In 1892, M r. Evershed played 21 innings, scored 337 runs, including a brilliant 119 against Leicestershire at D e rb y ; average 16'1. In 1893, M r. Evershed played 24 innings fo r 589 runs, his highest score being 84, and his average 24-13. It should be m entioned that up to this period, D erbyshire ranked as second- class, and in consequence D erbyshire players were n ot given the credit they deserved. F or instance, in this very season of 1893, M r. Evershed was respon­ sible for some fine perform ances against first-class teams, including 37 and 62 against Lancashire at D erby, and 72 against Y orkshire at D erby. In 1894, the first season o f D erbyshire’s re-instatem ent to first-class rank, M r. Evershed was unable to assist his coun ty as m uch as usual, in consequence o f a serious trap accident which laid him aside fo r the best part o f the season. H is record was, therefore, on ly a moderate one, and fo r eight matches, his average was only 14. H is absence from the field was of serious consequence to Derbyshire, whose success was by n o means p ro­ nounced. B ut in 1895, M r. Evershed, alon g w ith other members o f the cou n ty eleven, eclipsed all his previous efforts, and the past season proved altogether his best so far as county cricket is concerned. H e played in 17 matches, scored 442 runs, his highest score bein g a 112 against Yorkshire at D erby, which fo r clean and brisk hittin g it w ou ld be difficult to exceL H e also came out w ith the satisfactory average o f 26. For the past fou r years M r. Evershed has captained the D erbyshire team, and n o man ever obtained greater respect and m ore im plicit obedience from those whom it was his d uty to comm and. NEXT ISSUE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 30th.