James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1888

PUBLICS C H O O LCRICKETIN 1887. 1 3 strong of late years , and weare sure that if once , as in the case of Marlborough andRugby, the tables were turned , we should see manyclose fights between the representatives of the two schools , and victory wouldincline to one side or the other in nearly equal proportions . Thoughunsuccessful , Haileybury possessed three really good cricketers . W ehave spoken before of Hamilton's prowess and promise ; he has not belied our words, and we honestly believe that if he has the chance, he will prove himself a really first -class man. In the Uppingham atch hedid his best to save his side from defeat , and we can state on good authority that his performances in the matches during the two past seasons have been as good as anyboy could show. Batty's bowling has again proved consistently good, and in the present dearth of amateur bowlers he ought surely to be heard of again . Morgan, the third of the old choices , wasof the greatest service to his school , and he and Hoaremanagedto score a record for the Haileybury ground, each of them securing the coveted " century " in the Old Boys' match. TheHarroweleven in manywayswasvery similar to that of '86 , and, as in that year, rather below than above the average . In reality they were somewhat bettert h a na n examinationf the results of h o m em a t c h e sw o u l dleado n eto suppose , as the teams against which they had to contend were for the most part stronger than usual . Undoubtedly they met in Eton an older , stronger , and more experienced eleven , but thanks to the very fine batting of A. C. McLaren, as- sisted by the steady play of some of his comrades , were able to make a good fight of it . Bowling was again the weakpoint of the eleven . Jackson , Ramsay, and J. A. McLaren, all fast -medium bowlers , kept well on the spot, more especially the first -named; but in the present state of grounds a fast school bowler mustbe something out of the ordinary to win success for his side . Slow bowling , backed up by really good fielding , is what is required to win school matches , and Fair, the captain and slow bowler of the eleven , though he improved on his last year's form, cannot be classed as the equal of a long succession of slow bowlers w h o mHarrowhas turned out in previous years . Fair took the same pains as his predecessor in working up the fielding of the team, and a very creditable display at Lord's rewarded himfor his efforts , Ashworth being most conspicuous among manywhodeserve a word of praise . It should in fairness be stated that Torrens , the wicket -keeper , met with an accident in June, which greatly interfered with himin that department of the game, as well as in batting . Harrownowpossesses two good natural cricketers in A. C. McLarenand Jackson , and, with six mem- bers remaining of the old team, maylook forward to a more prosperous season i n1888. Theveteran coach , " Tiny" Wells, has been located at Lancing , and as a result the eleven has showndistinct advance in form, manyof them playing for- wardin capital style . The team did not however prove very consistent per- formers ; sometimes they were good enough to beat really powerful sides , such as the Stoics , Ardingly , and Brighton Club ; at others they fell to pieces andwere beaten byquite moderate elevens . A tfirst the fielding was most promising , but w eare sorry to say the smartness was not maintained as the term advanced. O fthe bowlers , Hingston wasby far the most useful , but the bowling as a whole was neither very reliable nor very deadly. Gresson , Meale, and Richards were the best of the bats , and all obtained averages of over twenty. If Wells remains at Lancing , weshall look forward to still further improvement in the cricket of the school , for though he is nowa veteran , he is still one of the best " coaches " in England. T h o u g hno great measure of success fell to the lot of the Malvernboys during the past year, there can be no doubt that cricket flourished there in aw a y that it has not done for some years past . Energytook the place of listlessness , and the result was, that the team went on improving as the season advanced, and in the end became a very fair side . In one respect there was the same weakness that w e have noticed in previous years : there were two or three respectable bowlers , but there was no variety ; so, on anygood wicket , a long score was sure to be piled up against them. The batting was far in advance of that of the previous season-Hansard, Bartholomé , and Woodbeing all up to