James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1878

C H A P T E R I 1 I. THE COUNTIES IN 1877. Asin 1876, Gloucestershire was far and away the best county of 1877. An eleven that can play eight matcheswithout adefeat must be formidable, and strongasthc Westerners were in 1876, last year saw them considerably strengthened by the addition of the Melbourne professional Midwinter, a Gloucestershire man by birth, who proved himself all round to be of great service. Perhaps the feature of county cricket in 1877 was the revival of Surrey, whose eleven only lost three out of the twelve matches, and were only beaten by Gloucestershire and Notts once. Derbyshire had an excellent show of eight matches, with only two losses, and there was little to choose between Kent and Lancashire, although the former beat the Lancastrians twice. Yorkshire and Notts showed great deterioration, and the Nottingham eleven, though they were severely crippled by the loss of Allred Shaw’s bowling, towards the end of the season went completely to pieces. Middlesex, with all its batting strength, could not win a match, although time alone robbed the eleven of a decisive victory over Notts in the last match of the season. Sussex played eight matches without a win, and with a draw altogether in its favour, and the four engagements of Hampshire all resulted in crushing defeats, so that three counties went through the campaign without a success to cheer them. DERBYSHIRE. O fficers for 1877.— President, Hon. W. Jervis. Vice-Presidents, Messrs. E. M. Wass andW . H. Rhodes. Messrs. W. G. Curgenven, W . J. Humble, S. Richardson, U. Sowter, J. Smith, T. H. Smith, P. Wallis, and G. Williamson. Hon. Sec., Walter Boden, Gower Street, Derby. The season of 1877 was as successful for Derbyshire as that of 1876 had been unfortunate, as out of eight matches, five were won, one drawn, and only two lost. Good judgment marked the selection of the Derbyshire teams, and the eleven of the year, if not polished, was made of good stout stuff that will always take a lot of beating. Platt’s hitting and the bowling of Mycroft and Hickton stood the county in good stead, and with a little more batting Derby­ shire would cope successfully with the best county teams. Results of Matches. Matches Played, 8 ; Won, 5 ; , I ; Lost, 2. Opponents. Matches Won (5). 1 Lancashire....... 2 Hampshire . . . . 4 Kent ............. 6 Kent ............. 7 Hampshire....... Matches Drawn. 8 Y orkshire......... Matches Lost. 3 Lancashire . . . . 5 Yorkshire . , . . Where played. When played. Clu ISt Inn. ib. | 2nd Inn. Opponents 1st 2nd Inn. Inn. Derby May 21-22 I l l 5 1 84 443 Sothmpton My 242526 US 242 105 631 Derby Jn. 18 19 20 127 *189! 191 1241 Tunb. Wls. Jly.1617 18 IIO *1 19 l 149 783 Derby July 23-24 3*9 ,r “ 120 861 Derby Ag. 202122 [Jn. 1-2 74 220 278 H Manchester May 31, IIO 114 215 *10 1 Sheffield Jly. 9-10-11 108 1891 210| *88|c Won ly Lost by