James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1876

5 practical know ledge o f the subject, wh ich cannot be gained elsewhere than in the field itself. One o f the very best cricketers o f tlio day gives it as his op in ion that “ on a wet day Shaw is unplayable, and on a dry day one ought to p lay very carefully and try and tire h im out with singles, waiting for a hit till the loose ball com es , though such luxiu ies are few and far betw een .” I do not know that a h igher comp lim ent cou ld be paid to any bow ler, and with this I shall take leave o f A lfred Shaw and his bow ling. As a fieldsman ho is at times brilliant, and always sure and reliable. A wonderfu lly safe catch , too , he is, perhaps, the best short slip o f the day, and his return o f the hall is as quick as lightning, having an additional advantage in his being a dead shot at the wicket. As a batsman he has not “ com e o f f ” o f late, though he is a very resolute and hard hitter, and has pulled m any a match out o f the fire when apparently all hope has gone . As a judge o f the game he has no equal, and ho plays thorough cricket from the first ball o f a match to the last. In direct refutation o f the hackneyed proverb that a prophet is never believed in his own County, Shaw ’ s popu larity in his own district is unm istake able, and in testim ony it will be enough to recal the presentation that was made to h im at Trent Bridge, in August, o f a handsom e silver tea ­ pot in recogn ition o f his wonderfu l bow ling during the season. A sterling cricketer, an unassum ing and honest man , and a faithful, earnest, and loya l servant as he has proved in his connection w ith his County and the Marylebone Club. Such is A lfred Shaw.