James Lillywhiite's Cricketers' Annual 1874

C H A P T E RI V. T H EU N I V E R S I T I E S A N DP U B L I CS C H O O L S I N 1 8 7 3. THEgeneral verdict of the early part of the season was that Oxford could not lose . Such at least was the universal prophesy relating to the Inter -University match of 1873. And Oxford certainly did not lose , though at one time things looked by no means promising , and but for the gallant resistance of Ottaway and Nepean in their second innings , the Oxonians might have failed to realise the sanguine expectations of their friends . Few, though , will be bold enough to hazard an opinion that Cambridge were anything like equal to their oppo- nents . In fact they were , as an eleven , unreliable , and certainly not strong either in batting or bowling. There was Longman, it is true, one of the best amateur batsmen of the day, better against the better bowling , and Fryer, though the duties of the Captaincy seemed rather to have diminished his skill withthe bat. Besides , there was Tabor, who had played so well in 1872 ; but here the roll ended , as Jeffery had apparently lost much of the form he showed at Rugby, and, with the exception of Blacker and Tillard , there was none who could be trusted , as Fordwas only placed in the team just before the match, evidently at the suggestion of some shrewd judge. On the other hand, the Oxford Eleven were unquestionably strong on " public form . " Boyle had been " ripping up" wickets everywhere , and Butler had been almost irresistible . Francis hadlost none of his old form, and if these were not sufficient , there was Ridley, the best "lob " bowler of the day, and Maude, a bowler w h o m Cambridge, in their dearth of such practitioners , would have regarded quite as a god -send . This only with the ball , but with the bat they were quite as dan- gerous . If you got rid of Ottaway , itself a work of some considerable trouble , there was Garnier , usually safe for runs ; Law, busy and active ; Nepean , one of the best batsmen in the Eleven ; Game, likely to pile up runs if the bowling were at all loose ; Wallroth , especially to be feared after his magnificent innings against Middlesex ; besides Ridley , not the worst bat on the side , and Francis , Butler , Boyle, and Maude, certainly a tail more to be relied upon for runs than that of Cambridge. Oxford won only by three wickets , but they wonon their merits , and would probably have wonmore decisively had they been allowed a chance of repeating the match. Ofthe Schools , Harrow beat Eton fairly , without anything like luck , by good steady play , showing judgment too , and confidence above the average of a School Eleven. They were strong all round, without doubt, and both in bowling and batting would have always rendered a good account of them- selves . Eton had a good batting Eleven , but with the exceptioeption of Buckland , they were short of bowlers , and hence, to some extent, their discomfiture . They defeated Winchester by five wickets , but the Wykehamists appear to have been a little deficient in the way of bowling too , so that the better bats- menwon. Rugby defeated Marlborough , but the latter were by no means as