James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1879

43 one by Notts, and the unexpected defeat of a weak teani of the countyv by Sussex, at Brighton. Tlie committee wisely determined to make Kentish cricket the key note of the Canterbury -\veek, instead of allowing the first fixture to be one of no or only partlyf local interest, and the result was a grand success. It was peculiarly within the fitness of things that the chief honours shouldhave fallen to a Kentish player, and the extraordinary success of young Geor—ge Hearne would alone have made the Canterbury week of 1878 memor- able. A ridiculously weakEleven represented LheCnunty at Town Malling in the opening match of the season with Notts, and it was merely want of time tnat prevented another very' easy defeat by the same shire in the closing engage. ment of the year. Tlre return match with Surrey at the Oval was not with. out its humorous side in the method adopted by the Kentish batsmen of getting out in the hope of turning a probable draw into a certaiii victory, but unfortunately when the scheme had almost reached fruition J'upp and Southerton spoiled the affair, and Surrey were saved the ignominy ofa second defeat. Mr. Alfred Penn’s slow left round arm bowling was most useful, and another very useful bowler was introduced in Mr. C. F. Tufnell, of the Royal Indian Engineering College. Indeed, with these two amateurs, and Messrs. Cunlifl'e, Foord-lieleey and Hearne, Kent had plenty of what is rare in Southern sh' es—ehange of bowling; and with Lord Harris, Hon. Iva Bligh (who bids fair to be one of the very best amateur batsmen next year), Messrs. F. Penn, Absolom, Mackinnon, Foord-Keleey, Tufnell, Cunliffe, and Hearne, the Eleven eoultl always be relied on for a long score with the bat. LANCASHIRE was able to place a very formidable Eleven into the field, but it was on very fe\\’ occasions that it was able to send its full strength to represent it. Mr. WV. 5. Patterson, the Cambridge University captain of 1877, only played in three innings, but his second score of fifty against Gloucestershire at Clifton at Manchester proved that. his batting had not deteriorated, although his bowling is said to have lost much of its old sting. Mr. A. G. Steel, Barlow, who has come out lately as a slow left hand round arm bowler, and Watson were most successful in the bowling department, and with Mr. Appleby and lVilliam McIntyre in reserve, Lancashire could not be accused orwant of change. Mr. Hornby was again first in the batting averages, and Barlow’s defence was as useful as ever, though the latter’s average was inferior to that of Mr. Vernon Royle, who has improved greatlyi in his batting since he left Oxford. lVith plenty of bowling, some very dangerous batsmen, and a fielding side superior to» any county team of the year, Laneasliire was entitled to a fore- most position amongst the shires of 1878. Out often fixtures five were won, includirig both out and home matches with Kent, and three lost, to wit the out matches with Notts, Derbyshire, and Gloucestershire. SURREY suffered much from the absence of Mr. G. Straehan, one of the most able as well as popular of Captains, and it was unfortunate that on only one occasion) during the year was the County represented by its full Styéngtl]. The season at the Oval was opened auspiciously enough witha hard earned victory over Gloucestershirc, but of the eleven other Futons only two, those with Sussex, ended favourably for the Eleven, and in all out ofa dozen engagements only three were won against six lost, Jupp at first seemed to have lost all his oltl form, but towards the close he came out again in his true colours, finishing up with a very fine not out score of sixty against Gloucestershire, whose bowling has usually! beeir most fatal to him. Mr. "w, H. Game playcdafine innings of fifty-two against Gloucestcrshire at the commencement of the season, but he appeared very rarely afterwards, and Mr. A. P. Lucas’s illness prevented him playing quite so much as he would other- wise have done. Mr. Read was not in his batting form of 1877, but in Mr.