James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1876

25 long, W . Beldham in particular reaching ninety-eight years old, at which age I saw and spoke to him) vividly represented by Nyren, whose sketches of Tom Walker, David Harris, and others, have seldom been equalled in so few words. Nyren must have been a man of great observation and humour, as well as a good practical cricketer. He was the son of Bicliard Nyren, the captain, or “ general,” as he was called, of the celebrated Hambledon Club, the mainstay of cricket in the last century, and was also the last surviving member of the eleven of Hampshire farmers and tradesmen who were a match for all England, mail for man. His book is so far rare that I have tried in vain to buy a copy for more than twenty years, but it is to be found in the British Museum Library, and in private hands here and there. In all probability only a few copies were issued. With Nyren’s book we come to an end of the old cricket literature, that which deals with underhand bowling and the earlier heroes of the game. His anecdotes begin with the year 1778, and carry us forward to the period of Fuller, Pilch, and Lillywhite. The later books, Denison’ s Sketches of the Players, 1816, Bolland’ s Cricket Notes, 1851, and so on, have been altogether absorbed by Lilly white’s Cricket Scores, published in 1862, and containing a complete record of the game from its origin up to 1855, compiled with the utmost skill and care by Mr. Arthur Haygarth, well- known a few years back as a defensive batsman of nearly the highest class. Mr. Haygarth has materials in hand for carrying his work further forward, and for the last two seasons there has been in the pavilion at Lord ’ s a list of the names of such subscribers as are willing to further this project, but the cost will be heavy, and they are but few in number at present. Still it is a thing that ought to he done, and the Marylebone Club is very rich. It can hardly spend its superfluous means better than by adding some more volumes to the archives of the grand old game. W ykehamist . %