James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1887

PUBLICS C H O O LCRICKETIN 1886. 9 month, when cricket grounds were no better than swamps, and satisfactory practice wasout of the question . W emayhowever safely assert that most of the disasters which befell schoolboys in their games during M a yand early June weredueto this cause . A n dm a yw e not believe that the want of nerve and dash, which unfortunately characterized the doings of so manyof the teams, wasengendered by the same cause ? Seldom has a season been so unfavourable to schoolboy cricket . Some schools suffered more than others ; those whose grounds dry quickly scored an immense advantage over their less favoured rivals , who, day after day, and weekafter week, had little better to do than sit in their studies and lament over the unkindness of the elements . Enoughhow- ever of grumbling ; but, if it is ever lawful for a school " coach " to mopeand lose his temper , we are sure he had a right to do so in 1886. Disappointment wasthe keynote of almost all our cricket correspondents -a good team expected - amoderate one turned out-promise excellent -performance disheartening . B u tw h ygo on? If anyone of our readers will take the trouble to verify our statement , he will find that, exclusive of inter -school matches , our public school elevens of last year could only win one matchin three . This fact in itself proves that difficulties of no ordinary kind did present themselves to the various men- tors during last season , for, as a rule , their esprit de corps enables schoolboys to cope successfully with the scratch teams which are brought against them. Last year it was not so, and we are compelled , reluctantly we admit, to come to the conclusion that the school elevens werenot as goodas usual. Tried only by the standard of their performances against men, the best teams of the year were those of Rugby, Cheltenham, and Brighton . This test is how- ever anutterly fallacious one , so varying is the quality of the elevens that play against the various schools ; and it is unwise---indeed it is absurd-to attempt to d r a wanycomparisonbetweenschools of a different grade. Eton, H a r r o w, and Winchester; Rugby, Marlborough , Cheltenham, andClifton ; Uppingham, Hailey- bury, and Repton ;Charterhouse , Westminster , and Wellington ; Brighton , Ton- bridge , and Dulwich ; form , as it were, so many groups , and offer us respectively safe grounds for comparison ; but to attempt to gauge the relative strength , say, of Eton and Brighton , is impolitic , and would only prove misleading . "Whichis the best school team of the year ? " is a question that is asked over and over again, but it is a question to which no sensible manwould give a reply , and certainly none will be attempted here. "o f f W ecling to the belief that Eton were little , if at all , better than either of their old rivals , though they wonboth the matches-" for the first time for ten years ! " It is no partiality that leads us to say that the Harrowboys were colour " at Lord's ; their fielding was excellent , it is true, but the bowlers were strangely off the spot , and wedo not think that the result afforded a fair criterion ofthemeritsof thet w ot e a m s. Inthe other school match, the Wykehamists, after making a capital start , unaccountably fell to pieces directly the Eton innings began . Catches , some of them absurdly easy ones , were dropped , and the result was that their opponents madea long score . Worsehowever was to follow-so complete was the de- moralization of the team that they could only put together 59 in their second attempt, andEtonknockedoff the runs for the loss of twowickets. H o wcan we account for this collapse ? Well, we knowby bitter experience that even representative English elevens have from time to time utterly broken downwhenpitted against our Australian cousins , and, if this be possible when the very best men are concerned , how much more likely is it to occur among schoolboys , whose nerve , at all events in their first year, is seldom of the best ? Everyyear sees someof these collapses -1886 s a wmorethanits share ; w ehope w eshall not havea repetition of the dose this season. It used to be a recognized thing for Rugbyto win their annual matchagainst the Marlborough boys , however strong the latter might be. Times have changed, and for five years the Rugbyteamhave not been able to score a win. Last year they were victorious in a match which was interesting from first to last , the issue hanging in the balance up to the very finish . Some very good cricket was