Cricket 1898

D eo . 22, 1898. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 475 BUSSEY’S HOCKEY. FINEST CLUB MADE IS THE 9 AS USED BY THE BEST PLAYERS , 8 / 6 . REGULATION CANE HANDLE HOCKEYS, 6/6, 5/6, 3/6. B E ST MARK- A P P L Y FO R C A TA LOGU E TO Geo. G. BUSSEY & Co., 36 & 38, Queen Victoria Street, LONDON; . OR DEALERS ALL OVER THE WORLD. MANUFACTORY— PECKHAM , LONDON, T IM B E B M IL L S— ELMSWELL , SUFFOLK. B E T W E E N T H E IN N IN G S . FIRST-CLASS CRICKETERS o f 1898. ( Continued from page. 461.) What a wonderful little man Abel is! When he “ came out” in 1881 he was probably as crude a bat as ever appeared in a county team. Ha had everything to learn. Now he has learned it—or, if not quite everything, nearly all that matters much. For four seasons in succession he has scored over 2,000 runs, and averaged over 40 per innings (but for bis complete failure at Hastings at the fag- eud of the season, his average tbis year would have been over 50); and during those four seasons he has scored no fewer than 23 three-figure innings, including 250, 231, 219, 217 and 215. It may be remembered that in 1893, owicg to an affection of the eyesight, he did very iittle, averaging only 18 per innings. Since then, he has had, each season, a higher average than he had ever had before 1893, and the five years, 1894-98, has made no fewer than 9,874 runs in 229 completed innings (average 43’11). In 1898, the season which more imme­ diately concerns us just now, he played innings of 219, 148, 148, 135, 114, 111, 104 not out, 88, 81, 75, 64 not out, 55, 54 (twice), 53 (twice), and 51 (twice); aud to get rid of himunder the half-hundred was to get rid of him very cheaply. In short, hewasAbel—as ever. He didvery little bowling, and might, perhaps, have been made use of a little morefrequently. His partner at the wickets, Brcckwell, was also in splendid form; and the bowlers often had a very long spell of work before the two were separated. Six centuries went to W. H. B’s credit, besides some nine or ten other scores of 40 and over, including a 93, a 76 not out, anda 74. A good deal of bowling fell to Brockwell’s share ; in fact, he was called upon to bowl in 44 innings during the season. His best performances were 6 for 82 v. Lancashire at Manchester, 4 for 36 v. Middlesex at the Oval, and 4 for 66 in tho secoi d innings of Notts at the Oval, when Lockwood and Richardson had a verybadtime of it. His 51 wickets were somewhat costly, however—over 24 runs each. Brcckwell was as attractive a figure as ever on ti e field, his bright style rendering him a tremendous favourite; and everyone will be pleased to see him do even better than in 1898 next year. By the way, he, like Abel, failed at Hastings; and the two great Surrey batsmen (who in 1898 scored between them nearly 4,000 runs), could only aggregate 51 runs in eight innings during the week there. Tom Richardson was under something very like a temporary eclipse in 1898. Not that he did not bowl well at times ; only Jack Hearne took more wickets than he, and I doubt if there were four better bowlers in England, judged on the whole season’s work. That there were three, I think there cannot be much dispute—Hearne, Lockwood and young Rhodes, to wit. It is because one expects sj much of Richardson that one was disappointed at his doings this last season. For some years past only Hearne has been able to dispute supremacy with him; and even when “ J. T. ” has had somewhat the better average, one has s ill been able to think the Surreyman atriflethe greaterbowler. It was impossible so to think in 1898. But it seems to me rubbish to talk of his spirit having beenbroken inAustralia. It was overwork, and not lack of bis old pluck and resolution that failed him. And yet—was it overwork ? One cannot be too sure, for quite at the end of the season, after he had sent down something like 5,000 balls, he came back to very nearly his best form, and was almost unplayable against Warwickshire, taking 15 of their wickets for only 83 runs. About the middle of the season he had 12 for 185 v. Somerset at the Oval, and 10 for 137 v. Hants at Portsmouth ; and in the first match in which he played, for Mr. Thornton against the Cantabs, he took 8 for 61. Ttiese were about his best performances, and they do not compare well with some of his wonderful deeds in 1897; but his 161 wickets for 19j each was a record suchasfewbowlers get nowadays; and we may well hope to see him take a hundred or so more next year at a much smaller cost. The other Tom, Hayward was thought by many to be scarcely at his best either. His bowling forsook him almost entirely ; and while his batting average was higher than ever before, his style was scarcely as safe and good as usual. His great innings of 315 not out, v. Lancashire, was a long way from being fautless; and it would have been of more use to his side had is been somewhere about half as big. But an innings of 300 is a great event in any man’s career; and one does not want to criticise it in a carping spirit. Against Notts at Trent Bridge he scored 126, and against Kent at Blackheath 101; he also ran up scores of 90 and 94 in successive matches, 64 and 85 (when nearly all his comrades failed—perhaps thiswas intrin­ sically his best performance of the season) in one match v. Essex at Leyton, and 67 in the return at the Oval, 66, 46, 43, 42, 41, and ten other scores of between 20 and 40; but he was five times out for a duck, and eight times for a single-figure innings. In 1897 he had but two ducks and was only five times out for single figures. He was not chosen in either match against the Gentlemen; but that is not to say that he will not play for All England in 1899. Th9 Surreycaptaindidnot makenearly so many runs as he has done in several recent seasons; but he was still not far off being the best man on the side, at a pinch. His best scores were 85 (v. York­ shire at the Oval), 60, 55 not out, and 48 not out (of a total of 160), and44 (of 218). Of the other amateurs on the side, D. L. A. Jephson was a triumphant suc­ cess, and young V. F. S. Crawford, a N E X T ISSUE, THURSDAY , J A N U A R Y 26.