James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1885

C R I C K E TI N 1 8 8 4. 7 The lengthy programine of first -class matches arranged on behalf of the Fourth Australian Teamhad a prejudicial effect on some of the principal engagements of the English season . The eleven which represented the Gentlemen against the Players at the Oval was in no way representative , and, consequently , the value of the latter's victory was considerably dis- counted . A t Lord's , though , the teams were nearly , if not quite , arrayed in their full strength , and the Gentlemen fully asserted their superiority after three days of as good all -round cricket as was witnessed during the year. The Inter -University match , on public form, was regarded as a moral for Oxford, and so it proved. The Oxford eleven , indeed , were muchbetter at every point , and the one redeeming feature on the Cambridge side was the very plucky play of Mr. C. W. Rock, an Australian by the way, who, with better support . might have succeeded in making the game interesting . Eton, though its eleven beat Winchester , had the worst of the matchwith Harrow, although the rain utterly spoiled the play in the latter match, at Lord's . Rugbycricket has during the last few years deteriorated con- siderably , and Marlborough hada comparatively easy winin the annual match at Lord's . On the whole , public school cricket of the year did not lead to the belief that there was a bright particular star in any of the elevens , although the average as far as canbe judged was fairly good. Thegrounds , as before remarked, were generally more in avour of the batsmenthan the bowlers , and there is little ground for surprise at some of the high scoring which took place . Mention has already been made of the long total of the Hampshireeleven at Southampton, against Somersetshire , and on three or four other occasions scores were recorded of over six hundredruns. Until last season three scores of a hundred runs had never been made bybats- m e nin the same innings of an important match in England, and only once in Australia . The performance of Messrs . W.G. Grace, A. G. Steel . and Barnes for M.C.C. and Ground , against the Australians at Lord's , though , broke the spell , and strange enough, Bates , Hall, and Grimshaw, within the week accom- plished the same feat for Yorkshire v. Cambridge University , at Cambridge. Thesensation of the season , however, was the extraordinary achievement of the Australian team against England, at the Oval on August 11, and on that dayanother record was established , Murdoch, McDonnell, andScott each getting ahundred-an occurrence never previously recorded on the same dayin one innings of an important match. Inless important cricket , a memorableinstance of high scoring occurred in a match at Bexley between the Bexley and Emeriti Clubs, on June14, whenMessrs . J. Shuter, the captain of the Surrey eleven , and T. Ashdownscored 402 runs for Bexley without the loss of a wicket . Turning to the doings of individual players , the season of 1884 wasnot productive of any great surprise . Mr. W. G. Grace, whohad not been quite so successful in 1883, showed himself again in his very best form as a batsman. His brilliant play on several occasions , and notably against the Australians , showed that he has still , whatever maybe urged in favour of some younger rivals , no superior in batting . His successes , too, were the more remarkable as hewasduring a great part of the season not able to bat under the most favour- able conditions , owing to an injured hand, and subsequently a severe strain of the muscles of his right leg , which latter handicapped him for a time very heavily . After Mr. Grace , the first place belongs to Mr. A. G. Steel , and, indeed , his figures are the best of any cricketer , amateur or professional , of 1.884 , though he did not play so much as the Captain of the Gloucestershire eleven. Still , his wonderfully fine innings against the Australians at Lord's , for the Marylebone Club and England, were really masterly displays of batting , and those two scores will rank among the very best feats of an unusually eventfulseason. Generally , as was only to be expected , the batsmen showed to advantage . Barnesbegantheseasonin rare fashion; butillness interfered with his prospects later on, and Shrewsbury and Scotton headed himin the averages of the Notts Countyeleven . The latter showed a very great improvement as a batsman,