Cricket 1898

n o . 4 9 2 . vox., xvii. THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 1 8 9 8 . p r i c e aa. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD. Mr. W . M. BRADLEY . A t aboutthetime when Mr. Bradley made his first appearance in the Kent Eleven the county was very badly indeed in want of a fast bowler, for Walter Hearno, who had given great promise of being the mainstay of the side, had met with an acci­ dent, and the outlook was hopeless. When things were at their worst, a bowler from a club which was quite unknown to most L on ­ don cricketers was un­ earthed, and in a very short time it was seen that the long despaired of fast bowler had been found. This bowler wa s Mr. Bradley, who had never played in a good match until a few days before his debut in county cricket— it is hardly too much to say that he had never bowled against a first- class b its man. Under such circumstances it was not surprising that he did not meet with success in his first match, for although he has never known what it is to be nervous, he found that county cricket was of an en­ tirely different kind from that to which he had become accus­ tomed, and that it was necessary to do some­ thing more than bowl straight, if any im­ pression was to be made on fust-class batsmen. But the county had not to wait very long for some sign of genius on the part of the new choice. In the second match in which he played—it was against Warwickshire in 1895—he showed that whatever his past record may have been he was extremely likely to make himself known in first-class cricket, for in the first innings he took four wickets for 35, and in the second five for 51. As he followed up this performance by taking five wickets against Yorkshire for 92, his place in the team was assured, and he played in all the rest of the matches during the season. On his first appearance at the Oval he gained the approval of the critics, for although the Surrey men batted on a first-class wicket, and knocked all the bowlers about, it was quite clear that the new comer was something far above the average. Mr. Bradley finished up the season with a bow l­ ing average of 27 09, taking 32 wickets. In batting he was never a success, and in his first eight innings he only made three runs by scores of 0 and 0, 0 not out, 0 and 1, 0, 1,1. In the Sussexmatch, how ­ ever, he made 20 out of a total of 21 while he was at the wickets. His average for the season was 2 91. When he goes to the wickets the spectators always take a great interest in the proceedings, for if he happens to survive a few balls, it is almost certain that he will make a few very hard hits of a more or less orthodox kind. There is not the slightest doubt that if Mr. Bradley could play right through the sea­ son he would be even more useful to his county than he is at present, but unfortu­ nately the pressure of business prevents him from getting away for the earlier matches. At times he bowls very much faster thanotherr, according to the mood in which he happens to be. Unlike many fast bowlers, he can find a footing on even the wettest and softest of wickets. Despite his great pace, it is very MR. W . M. BRADLEY. From a Photo by Hawkins <£• Co., Brighton.