James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1887

2 2 LILLYWHITE'SCRICKETERS' ANNUAL. and Scott . The first -named was consistently successful , and, indeed , his all- round cricket was the great feature of the tour. Hewas essentially the hero of the Fifth Australian Team, and no one, I should think , would venture to challenge his right to be considered the best cricketer in Australia . Mr. Jones played good cricket throughout , and some of his innings , notably against the Gentlemen at the Oval, and against Lord Londesborough's Eleven at Scar- borough, were particularly good displays . On the whole, he fully maintained his reputation as one of the very best , if not the best , batsmen in the Colonies . Mr. Scott at times showed that he was as sound and reliable a bat as ever , but no doubt the cares of the captaincy weighed too heavily on him for his batting to be seen to full advantage . Mr. Blackham, if hardly as successful , proved his ability to play an uphill game on more than one occasion , of which mention need not be made here . Mr. Palmer, on the other hand, showed a decided improvement as a batsman, and in some of the later matches played really fine cricket . Mr. Jarvis , though he at times hit in brilliant style , was not to be relied on; a n dMr. Garrett w a sseen to the best advantageat the Oval against theGentlemen, whenhe carried his bat out for a very useful score of forty -nine. In all thirty -nine matches were played bythe team, and of these nine were w o n, eight lost , and as manyas twenty-two drawn. The drawn games were altogether out of proportion , and it maysafely be asserted that a definite result mighteasily have been arrived at in manyinstances had any real effort been madewith such an object . In the first of the three matches with England the finish wasvery exciting , and a little luck might easily have turned the tables in favour of the Australians , wholost by a bare margin of four wickets . Both at Lord's , as well as the Oval, the English eleven were able to claim a very decisive majority , though on the Surrey ground, in justice to the Australians , it must be ownedthat the heavy rain on the first night effectually settled any chances they wouldotherwise have had of averting a defeat . AndnowI have done. Though the object of this article is to criticise the play of the Australian team, I shall be excused , perhaps , in saying , by wayof a conclusion , that English cricketers have reason to be gratified at the success which attended their representatives during 1 8 8 6. T h em e m b e r sof thet e a mw e r eas follows:- H E N R YJAMES HERBERT SCOTT (Captain ), Victoria . Born at Toorak, near Melbourne, December6, 1858 . FREDERICK ROBERT SPOFFORTH , Victoria . Born at Balmain , near Sydney , September 9, 1855. GEORGE JOHN BONNOR, Victoria . Born at Bathurst , NewSouth Wales , February25, 1855. JOHN MCCARTHYBLACKHAM, Victoria . Born at Fitzroy , near Melbourne , M a y11, 1855. GEORGEEUGENEPALMER, Victoria . Born at Albury, N e wSouth Wales, February22, 1860. GEORGE GIFFEN , South Australia . Born at Adelaide , March 27, 1852 . THOMASWILLIAMGARRETT, N e wSouth Wales. Born at Wollongong, near Sydney, July 26, 1858 . SAMUELPERCYJONES, N e wSouth Wales. Born at Sydney, August1, 1861 . ARTHUR HARWOOD JARVIS , South Australia . Born at Hindmarsh , near Adelaide , October 18, 1860 . EDWARDEVANS, N e wSouth Wales. Born at E m uPlains , near Penrith , N e wSouth Wales, March6, 1849 . 1 8 6 3. 1 8 6 4. JOHN WILLIAM TRUMBLE, Victoria . Born at Melbourne , September 16 , WILLIAM BRUCE, Victoria . Born at South Yarra , near Melbourne , May22 , JOHN MCILWRAITH, Victoria . Born at Melbourne in 1857 . WARDILL, BENJAMIN JOHNSON (Manager), Victoria . Born at Everton (Liverpool ), October , 1842 .