James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1878

169 L AW S OF COUNTY CR ICKET . The following were established as the Laws of County qualification, at a meeting held in the Surrey County Pavilion, Kennington Oval, on June 9, 1 p xhat no cricketer, whether amateur or professional, shall play for more than one county during the same season. XI. Every cricketer born in one county and residing in another shall be t - to choose at the commencement of each season for which of those ounties he will play, and shall, during that season, play for that county III. A cricketer shall be qualified to play for any county in which he is residing, and has resided for the previous two years; or a cricketer may elect to play for the county in which his family home is, so long as it remains open to him as an occasional residence. IV. That, should any question arise as to the residential qualification, the same should be left to the decision of the Committee of the Marylebone Club. C H A P T E R V I I I . THE AVERAGES IN 1877. THE BATSMEN. I f there were no sensational averages during the season the explanation must be in the weather, which was at times most inimical to the prospect of long scores. Mr. W . G. Grace only made one innings of over two hundred ; but, though 1877 was certainly not one of his best years, he Avas still far in front ot the other batsmen when the last ball was played. Throughout, the batting was noticeable for a marked superiority on the side of the Amateurs, and, as the following table will show, only nine professionals were able to attain an average exceeding twenty runs per innings. Lockwood, the Yorkshire captain, considering the number of matches in which he played, has the best average among the Players, and Platts, Ulyett, Barlow, Jupp, Daft, all occupied prominent positions, the hitting of the left hander, Platts, being singularly successful during the season. Daft was hardly up to his best form, and Arthur Shrewsbury was a great disappointment, as, with the exception of two good innings at the Oval, he did very little. Ulyett proved himself to be a very dangerous batsman, and scored well throughout, and Jupp showed little falling off, his play being as steady, and at times as successful, as ever. Of the Amateurs, Mr. A . P. Lucas, stands only second to Mr. W . G. Grace, and his batting, though perhaps a little too steady towards the last, was one of the features of the season. Mr. F. M. Bucldand had eleven innings for an average of 45 runs, and of the other Amateurs, Mr. F. Penn, Mr. I. D. Walker, Hon. A . Lyttelton, Messrs. A . J. Webbe, W. W . Read, Hornby, Booth, W . H. Game, and J. M. Cotterill, were perhaps the most noticeable of the numerous batsmen who were entitled to high honours during the season of 1877. S c o r e r s o f 1000 R un s a n d U pw a r d s . T i m e s T o t a l M o s t in Mo s t in Inn s . no t ou t . run s . an inns . a m a t c h . Average. Grace, W. G............ 4 0 3 1474 2 6 1 261 39*3 Lockwood, E ........... 4 6 I I I 2 4 1 0 3 1 1 7 2 5 . 1 9