James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1887

PUBLICS C H O O LCRICKETIN 1886. 1 7 passed away, and enthusiasm has taken the place of listless indifference . These remarks maybe thought inappropriate by those who judge only by results , for theywill read that the Westminster colours were only once in the ascendant , while they were lowered five times ; but that they are not out of place any one wouldsay whohas carefully watched the Londonboys' cricket for the last few years. It cannot be said that Harrison shows a very favourable record , but we are told that he did his utmost as captain , and that under his guidance the keen- ness for the dear old gamehas been fostered , which will soon bring Westminster to the front . Thesolitary victory was over the M.C.C. , and wasdue mainly to the prowess of the captain , and his unfortunate absence from the Incogniti matchjust turned the scale against the boys. There were six drawn games, someof which were certainly in the school's favour , and they must have had some rare good wickets in Vincent Square to put together the huge totals , which so often stood to their credit in the newspapers . The two disasters of the year were the Zingari and Charterhouse matches. I n the first Har- greaves' lobs were altogether too much for the boys, while in their second innings at Godalming a " rot " set in, and they retired for the paltry total of 71. There were four good bats in the team, but not one good bowler. Balfour wasthe best , the others could not be depended on, and all were expensive . If the good bowler can be found, the eleven will be strong this year, and will , we hope, fulfil our prediction by scoring a long series of victories . Thehigh expectations that were formed of the Winchester boys were not realized ; they promised very well , but turned out only a moderate team. With a large numberof very fair bats , they never scored heavily , the 233 against Eton being considerably their biggest performance . Their fielding wasthought to be up to Winchester form (andhowwell O.Ws.do field !), but some of the mistakes in the Eton match were lamentable , while their bowlers , though straight , were not very deadly as a rule . Thesiger must however be excepted , as he makesthe ball " do a lot " whenhe is fresh , and his average reads well. He is captain this year, and will , wesincerely trust , meet with success , for the spirits of Winchester's supporters are very low just now. The disappointment caused by last season's failures is keenly felt , and the all -round breakdown in the later stages of the Etonmatch is beyond explanation . The disappointment was all the more in- tense , because against M.C.C. , just before the big match, the Wykehamistsdid really well . Greeson is said to have been the best manin the team, but Joy and Thesiger also played some capital innings , in strangely dissimilar style ,bythe way, Joy being as steady as Thesiger was brilliant . The captain was always likely to get runs, if the bowling was at all broken, and the two Leeses were sound bats, andare likely to improve. This article , like Penelope's garment, seems destined to have no end, but w e crave the indulgence of our readers , and venture to add a few words about public school cricket in Scotland . Loretto wonthe championship last season , but werenot more than a fair team. However, they hadin Woodheada first- class bat, and since he is to be at school for another year at least , great things are naturally looked for from him. The great school match of the year , the Eton andHarrowof Scotch cricket , resulted in a fairly even draw, though we think that Fettes would probably have w o n. The cricket shownin the match was good, Jardine and Fleming played excellently , while Woodhead's batting for Loretto was especially praiseworthy . Rose's bowling during the season did not comeup to expectations , but on this occasion he met with wonderful success , taking thirteen wickets for sixty runs . The struggle between Merchiston and Loretto wasone of the most exciting that has ever been seen on a cricket -field , and in the end Loretto pulled through by two runs . Thevictory was due to a dashing innings of Morrison's , and the bowling of Mowbray, whowent on when things looked as bad as possible , and took the last four wickets for twelve runs . On the Merchiston side Gray bowled capitally , as he did throughout the year , and he was probably the most reliable bowler in Scotland . Jones did not " come off " against Loretto , but he was the best bat in the team , his success being largely due to excellent nerve .