James Lillywhte's Cricketers' Annual 1884

P A R T I . C H A P T E R I. G N T H ES U R R E YL E V E NO F1 8 8 3. O cricket of the seasonof 1883w a sof m o r ereal interest than that shownby the Surrey Eleven in their later matches. There was a freshness , in the first place, which had been conspicuous by its absence for manyyears . Again , there was really something of an agreeable surprise , particularly after the unpromising commencement, in the consistently good andsoundcricket shownby the Eleven throughout during the latter part of the summer. Theexcellent performances of the Surrey Eleven in July and August could hardly have been foreseen . Three consecutive defeats in their opening matchesled to the belief of a more than usually disastrous season, and their later successes were, consequently , the more gratifying . Their cricket was interesting , if only from the fact that there was really little tail to their team. Until Barratt-the last m a n-came, every member of the Eleven was calculated to give serious trouble . Not on one occasion only , but frequently and against good bowling, the Surrey Eleven showed themselves to be possessed of the pluck which used to be identified with County cricket in the palmydays some twenty years ago. They were handicapped in their out -play by the absence of their best bowler , Jones , and, indeed , it only needed a little more strength in their bowling to make them one of the very best CountyElevens of the year. The improvement in Surrey cricket last year was due, in a great measure, to the fact that the Eleven--with more opportunities for practice -worked better together , and that most of the team, certainly the new members, were young and full of energy . In one respect their record was unique . They were the only County Eleven unbeaten on their own ground in a County match during the year. The Photograph, which was taken by the LondonStereoscopic Company, is of the Eleven whichdefeated Lancashire at the Oval. B