James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1887

2 0 LILLYWHITE'SCRICKETERS' A N N U A L. Whetherit would not have been better for his reputation here hadhis visit not been deferred until he had lost a good deal of the vigour of his youth must be, of course , a matter of opinion . Much has been written against the policy of Mr. Scott , the captain , in giving him such scanty trial as a bowler , and con- sidering the unanimitynity with which Australian critics have been wont to expa- tiate on his remarkable powers of bowling , there were apparently good grounds for such a contention . The climate here, though, did not seem to agree with him, andin the earlier matches he was so lame as to have little or no chance of doing himself justice as a bowler. Still it does seem strange that he was not more tried , especially during the manylong outings the Australian team had to undergo, and though it is possible that Mr. Scott mayhave had good reasons for refraining from utilising his services as a bowler, it is difficult for a critic , looking at the matter from a practical point of view , to find a satisfactory ex- planation . Thoughstraight and of good length , there did not seem to be very muchdevil in his bowling, and, with one exception , no high score was attached to his name. H ehas always borne an excellent character for smartness in the field , and he did good work throughout the tour at point , being very safe , with- out anyunnecessary show. Onpaper it certainly looks as if he did not have a fair chance of proving his abilities as an all -round cricketer . O n the other h a n d, it mustnot be forgotten that he h a dpassed the meridianof a cricketer before hemadehis bow to the English public . It is no easy task for a player , even though acknowledged as the foremost all -round exponent of the game in the Colonies , to maintain such a reputation at so late a period of his career ; and if Mr. Evans did not come up to expectations it must not be forgotten that he wasin his thirty -eighth year whenhe camehere to invite criticism on his p o w e r s. T h e Ihave said that those who were responsible for the managementof the last Australian team were unlucky in the comparatively poor show madeby the new members from whom, on public form, they were justified in expecting great assistance . Ill -luck , indeed , stuck to them, andin more ways than one. importance of the accident which occurred to Mr. Spofforth cannot, of course , be overestimated . Those who know what a conspicuous part that bowler playedin the successes of previous tours do not need to be told whata material influence his breakdown would have , practically as well as morally , on the all- round cricket of a team, not, to judge by their general form, in such thorough accord as they should have been. It is not too muchto say that the chief factor in the triumphs of the earlier Australian teams was the fear inspired by Mr. Spofforth's remarkable ability as a bowler, and whenthis was lost the back- bone of the hopes of last year's trip was gone. Whetherhe would have been quite as dangerous as of old it is difficult to say. Hehad been successful , very muchso on certain occasions , anterior to that of his accident ; but, evenif on the whole hardly as deadly , it must be remembered that , as a rule , he requires a good deal of practice before he thoroughly settles downinto form . Though he was able , after a time, to bowl, the injury to his hand-his bowling hand-was of such a kind as to prevent him getting a real grip of the ball , and, in fact , he was through the remainder of the tour comparatively innocuous as a bowler. His injury , it m a yfairly be argued , was one of the main reasons for the non-success o f t h et e a m. Another accident which militated very considerably against the success of the trip was the injury to Bonnor's foot , which practically incapacitated him during August and September . His extraordinary powers of hitting might at anytime change the whole aspect of the game, and the loss of his services was a serious blow, more especially under the circumstances of the tour with a team lacking in confidence and not in the best of luck. In the earlier matches it is true he was not apparently in his best form , and, indeed , he seemed to have changed his batting ting to take up a defensive style , which was certainly not at all suited to his special powers as a batsman . Still , in all likelihood , a certain amountof ill -success in his newrôle would havehad the sure effect of causing him to play his own proper game, and the presence of a resolute hitter of his