James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1886

T H E I G H T HE N G L I S HT E A MI N A U S T R A L I A . 1 1 Scotton was in all day for 60, and Flowers and Briggs hit hard for 74 and 5 7 respectively . Parramatta was the sene of the next encounter , and the Englishmen gained an easy victory over eighteen opponents . Ulyett and Read were the chief scorers in this m a t c h. Thesame night we started by steamer for Grafton , a town situated about 300 miles north of Sydney, on the Clarence River, one of the finest in Australia . The trip , made in a very small coasting steamer , named " Helen Nicholl ," will long be remembered by the whole team. Ten men were berthed in one cabin , but luckily the passage was a smooth one. A steam launch met us at the mouth of the river , taking us up to Grafton, which is about 50 miles up the stream . Thematch was played in very hot weather , and endedin favour of the visitors , for whomUlyett and Bates were the principal scorers . Several of the twenty-two bowled exceedingly well . This was the first time any visiting team had been to the district , and, judging by the company o nthis occasion , the interest takenin the gameis of a lukewarmcharacter. The return to Sydney was markedbya comical act of Ulyett , who, when going down the river , suddenly on purpose fell overboard for sheer fun. Thosein the launch who were not in the secret were very much alarmed , and, no doubt, on again getting on board, the Yorkshireman was the coolest manof the party , the day certainly being oppressively hot. O n c emorew e hadto trust ourselves t o the tender mercyof the " Helen Nicholl ," and, but for some heavy rolling on nearing Sydney (the result of a North-West hurricane the day before , styled in Sydney a " brick -duster "), w emanagedto get along pretty comfortably . Ournext match, played at Adelaide , against Murdoch's English team, was one of the most important of the tour . The first part of the journey was by rail , and the rest by steamer , the whole distance from Grafton being little short of 1,400 miles. Several of Murdoch'steamwentfrom Melbournein the same boat , the rest being already in Adelaide hard at practice . This was the first time such a great match had been played in the capital of South Australia . The association ran all the risks of loss or gain, paying each side £450. The matchcommencedon Friday, Dec.12th, whichwasa general holiday. A charge of two shillings for entrance to the ground , however, did not prove a success , and not more than 4,000 were spectators of some splendid cricket . The Colonials w o nthe toss, andof course elected to bat on one of the most perfect wickets ever seen . Bannermanwas quickly given out leg before , and M u r d o c halso failed . W h e nM'Donnelland Blackham, however, got to- gether the English bowling was severely handled , M'Donnell , in particular , being in brilliant form. These two menmade 190 out of a total of 243 runs . M'Donnell, in his score of 124 , only gave two chances the first whenhe had made79, the other just at the close of his innings . Blackham's 66 were made inhis usual careful manner. After these two were parted wickets fell rapidly ; Bates was the destroying agent , and the last wicket fell just before six o'clock for a total of 243. O n Saturday , the charge having been reduced to a shilling , there were something like 10,000 present . The morning was very hot, with threats of a thunderstorm , which soon after noon burst over Adelaide , though, fortunately , with the exception of a few drops, missed the cricket ground. Shrewsbury and Scotton first represented the old country , and, for a wonder, the former failed to score . W h e nUlyett joined the left -hander, though , the Colonists caught it hot, and the total had reached 107 before a miss- hit sent back Ulyett for a dashing 68. O n Barnes joining Scotton the colonial bowling was completely collared , and when play ceased for the day the total was 233 for the loss of two wickets only , or within ten of their opponent's score -Scotton 71 and Barnes 86. Barnes, just before time, gave a chance to Cooper at point , and was missed by Blackham at the wicket. Scotton also had a life at the wicket , and another at short slip , but in spite of this both menplayed finely , each in his own style . About four o'clock a north -west gale suddenly sprung up, and clouds of dust were driven over the layed