James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1882

2 0 L I L L Y W H I T E ' SC R I C K E T E R S ' A N N U A L . the best players could be foundto stay for the last match, so that the Saturdayfor oncew a s a dies non. T i m ewasw h e nthe first matchof the Canterbury week was regarded as sacred by the County Clubs , but of late , Yorkshire , Derbyshire , Surrey , Sussex and others have all taken to making fixtures for the Bank Holiday. Hence has arisen the necessity for some change in the arrangement of the Canterbury programme, and we are glad to learn that in addition to a matchbetweenthe Australians and Kentto open the week, the last three days will be devoted to a contest between Middlesex and Kent-a pleasing relief after the hybrid entertainments whichhaveekedout recent years. Turning from Clubs to individuals , an analysis of the doings of the principal amateurs as well as professionals during the past season will showsatisfactory results . Of three distinguished amateurs , all belonging to one county ,K e n t - LordHarris , the Hon. Ivo Bligh and Mr. FrankPenn-the public unfortunately saw little , and for very different reasons . After a certain period , Alfred Shaw, whohad, at the commencement of the season , opened quite a new vein for batting , was almost altogether lost to cricket . A n accident , singularly enough the second of a similar kind on the same ground , settled Allan Hill whenhe was bowling better than he had ever bowled before , but beyond these few drawbacks there was little to complain of, muchto congratulate oneself on in the cricket of last year. The extreme heat for a fortnight in July led to some extraordinary scoring , and within a week of each other two innings of over 700 runs were recorded . For thirteen years , Mr. Tylecote's innings of 404not out, madein 1868, for the Classicals against the Moderns at Clifton College hadremainedthe best performance of a batsman; but on July 12, even this feat was surpassed , and Mr. W. N. Roe then gained the distinction of the highest recorded score , with his 415 not out at Cambridge for Caius against EmmanuelLong Vacation Club. Numerous other instances of high scoring might be given , but we have only noticed Mr. Roe's , as it is without a parallel . Thebatting in goodmatcheswas,if anything, morepowerful than ever . For once, Mr. W .G. Grace hadto surrender the place he has held for so manyyears at the head of the averages , but he could nothave been supplanted by a worthier rival than Mr. Hornby, andthe old Harrovian was never seen to such advantage. In M a y, whenhe had not got into practice , his play was reckless , buthis hitting , whenhe did get into form, far surpassed even his previous displays . Nothingcameamiss to him, no matter whatthe bowling he treated it all with the same disdain , and his season's figures only serve to show what can be accomplished by a batsmanwho makesup his mindto punish every ball that gives the smallest scope for hitting . Three times he got over 100 runs for Lancashire , and his 188 against Derbyshire was the highest score in a County match. Ulyett, another of the school of hitters , although he was checked by a strain which stopped him for a time from playing . showed , if anything, more vigour than ever , though he was occasionally much favoured with luck . EphraimLockwood's style was a marked contrast to that of Ulyett, but his batting was really sounder, and his defence had lost none of its stubbornness . Barnes, owing to ill health , did not shape in any- thing like the form which placed him at the head of the list in 1880, but he wasstill one of the foremost amongprofessionals . Bates ' hitting was at times very effective , and Emmett's pleasant habit of getting runs whenno one else could stop the bowling , had not forsaken him. Barlowand Robinson for Lan- cashire ; Selby , of Notts ; Read , of Surrey ; Charlwood , of Sussex ; Foster , of