James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1883

2 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 . but could thoroughly respect the manliness and honesty of his disposition ; none but those who had the opportunity of testing it could do justice to his unvarying amiability and good humour, or fail to appreciate the sincerity of his friendship . His house was free to cricketers at all times , as his hand was ready to help and encourage them. H ehad the welfare of the game thoroughly and conscientiously at heart-his passion for it was undying . Unworthy as the words we have written , it will be a fitting memoir of the founder of this book, for the thousands who will read these lines , to k n o wthat his interest in the w o r kw a s that of an enthusiastic a n d earnest friend of sport . Those, whoselabour it will still be to managethe Annual, will wantno greater incentive than the knowledgethat , in continuing to minister to the amusement of cricketers to the very best of their power, they will be carrying out the highest aim of its founder . In perpetuating his name, too, they are conscious that they will be acting thoroughly in consonance , not only with his wishes , but with the commonfeeling of those of w h o m, for twelve years , he was proud to regard as tried friends . C H A P T E R I I. C R I C K E T I N 1 8 8 2. B YI N C O G. ANOTICE of last season , without mention of the Australians , would be, to use a hackneyed simile , much like the play of Hamletwithout the Prince of Denmark. Thepublic interest centred in them: in fact they monopolised our cricket , if in some waysto its advantage , generally , perhaps , to the detriment ofthe ordinary matches on the English programme. It is m yintention though here, in this article , to deal solely with native cricket ; the doings of the Third Australian Teamin England will meet with full justice elsewhere . English cricket , then , and English Cricket alone , will be mysubject Friends , countrymen , and brothers , lend me your ears . Lancashire and Notts were fairly equal in the race for the highest honours of CountyCricket . O nthe formof their twomatches, there w a slittle to choose betweenthe two elevens ; and the season's summaryof each shewed the same result in one respect-only one defeat . Inthe first engagement between the Counties , Notts, with a little the best of the luck , won by thirty -seven runs ; but in the return , the drawngamepresented no great preponderance to either side , the slightest possible advantage perhaps to Lancashire . Notts only played twelve matches against fourteen of Lancashire ; but the former's card was, on the whole, of a muchbetter quality than that of Lancashire , which included two fixtures with Somersetshire , the result of which could never have been in doubt. The Lancashire eleven began the season in anything but a promising style . In their opening match, at Lord's , they were easily beaten bywhat could in no w a ybe called a strong eleven of M.C.C. and Ground. Cambridge Univer- sity and the Australians both proved succesful , though each by a very trifling majority . Singularly enough, everyone of Lancashire's extraneous matches resulted disastrously ; but there , with one exception , their failures