James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1888

P U B L I CS C H O O LCRICKETIN 1887. 1 7 that there will be intense enthusiasm for cricket in all parts of the school . There is nowa grand opportunity , a sufficient number of " old colours " are at handto form a strong backbone for the school eleven , and we believe that if every one of them determines to do his best to be energetic himself , and to rouse energy in others , weshall soon hear of some good cricket at Wellington . A few words about the individuals : Wilkinson and Berkely were at the head of the bowling and batting averages , and wehear that E. C. Mordaunt, a younger brother of the late Eton captain , shows distinct promise both with bat and ball . It must have been a great disappointment to the manypartisans of West- minster to find them utterly beaten by Charterhouse . They were thought to be a good batting lot , but in this match Barwell wasthe only one whodid himself justice . The result was a disastrous defeat by ten wickets , and yet everything wasin their favour : two of the best of the Carthusians were unable to play, and the wicket was an excellent one, and they ought to have mademore runs . W e fancy that the match was lost and wonbefore the first Carthusian wicket fell , as the stand madeby Lemanand Gatehouse seemed to take all the power out of their opponents ' batting . To say that the result was disappointing is a mere truism ,but it was the more disappointing because the Westminster boys failed in the very point in which they were thought to excel . As a rule , the team were exceptionally strong in batting , for though Sandilands failed to keep up his reputation , there were two really good menin Barwell and Harrison , the former of w h o mhad the happy knack of " coming off " just whenruns were wanted, though in style and power Harrison was little , if at all , his inferior . Therest of theeleven could all get runs , and they have the proud distinction of not having a boy in the team whose average was less than 10. The bowling was un- doubtedly poor, Balfour being probably the best of a bad lot , but he was quite harmless on the good fast wickets of last season ; only three old choices are now available , but as Barwell and Harrison are amongthe number, the prospect in thecoming struggle must be considered fairly favourable . The Winchester eleven was, we gather , quite up to the average , and their defeat by the Eton boys was in no waydiscreditable to them, for , as we have already said , the Eton team wasan extremely good one. The performances against the M.C.C. and I Zingari were distinctly good-the latter especially so ; andw e think that Winchester wouldhave madea bold bid for victory against anyschool eleven , excepting Eton and Cheltenham. In batting , Thesiger stood out far above the rest , andis sure to makehis markin the future ; he was moreover an excellent captain , and at times a useful bowler . In bowling however Clegg was "facile princeps ; " hehad twice as muchworkto do as any of the others , and under the circumstances his average is more than creditable . Thoughthey hardly trained on as had been hoped, the two Leeses proved most useful members of the eleven , and w ehope they will go on improving . Asto the prospects for this year we can say little . W eknowthere is plenty of enthusiasm at Winchester , and w e feel confident that no efforts will be spared to score a victory over Eton. W e heartily wish them success . OurScotch correspondent , one of the best fellows on the face of the earth , has been morethan ever good to us this year, and has supplied us with the fullest particulars of the cricket across the Border. W eare afraid however that space prevents us from entering very fully into the subject , muchthough we should like to do so, as we are convinced that there were some very good boy cricketers in Scotland last year. Thechampionship fell to the lot of Fettes , and their team fairly earned the proud title of champion, having wonevery school match of the season , Loretto and Merchiston being bracketed for second place . TheFettes eleven was undoubtedly a good one; almost all the teamhad the power of making runs , and in Carruthers and Fleming they had two good steady bowlers . The hero of the team was undoubtedly M. R. Jardine . In '86 Jardine showed really good form, but last season he entirely eclipsed all his previous efforts , and his average of 56 is nothing short of wonderful , whenw e rememberthat the Scotch climate is not conducive to large scoring . W eassert with all confidence that he was one of the best public school batsmen of the 3