James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1890

8 LILLYWHITE'SCRICKETERS' A N N U A L. The exhaustive article by the Rev. A. F. E. Formanon the various Public School elevens renders it quite unnecessary to traverse the same ground here. The enjoyment of the Eton and Harrowmatch has not unfrequently of late years beenmarred by rain , and the experience of last year was far from satis- factory . In winning the toss Harrow, who were looked upon as the better combination , gained a considerable advantage , and though, on the principle of being thankful for small mercies , Eton had some consolation in the know- ledge that the wicket might have been very muchworse on the second dayafter the rain of the previous afternoon they had none the less to play an up-hill gameunder very unpromising conditions . Thatthey did makea good fight against time wasvery muchto their credit , and though Harrowwonwith eight wickets to spare , the losers had no cause to be dissatisfied with the show they madeunder great disadvantages . Harrowwere the more level team, and the cricket all round was above the average . One of the most interesting features of the game was the sportsmanlike conduct of the Eton captain . Those who witnessed the finish well remember with satisfaction the evident desire of the Etonians to play the gameout, and their refusal to take advantage of any of the opportunities which are frequently utilized to avert a defeat . In his eagerness to prove that he was above such questionable tactics , the Eton captain set an example which not only reflected credit on himself , but upheld the good nameof Public School cricket as it ought to be religiously and jealously upheld . Eton, too , had to undergo another defeat at the hands of Winchester, and the Wykehamistsdeserve all the credit of a thoroughly well -earned success . The match between Rugbyand Marl- borough resulted in a fairly interesting game, but the Marlburians , whohad altogether a successful season , were on the dayundoubtedly the better side , and theyw o nwithhalf their wickets in hand. The frequent rainfalls during M a yand later in August prevented any very high level of run-getting , and there was an absence of the sensational scoring w h i c hm a r k e ds o m erecentseasons. A sfar as w eare a w a r etherew e r eindeed only two innings of over six hundred in matches of any kind on English grounds ; and Surrey , who were able to claim the same honour as in 1888, had the dis- tinction of the best score in important fixtures in its 614 against Oxford University at the Oval. Mr. K. J. Key, 176 not out, in the previous meeting betweenthe same elevens was the highest individual contribution in a first -class contest, thoughhe w a srunclose b y Mr. F. Marchant, w h ow a sout for the same numberplaying for Kent v. Sussex at Gravesend. Just in the middle of the summerthere was some remarkable scoring , both at the Oval and Lord's ; andit is worthy of remarkthat the aggregate of 1295 runs recorded in the match between Middlesex and Yorkshire at the latter ground is the largest ever recorded in animportant fixture . Only five batsmen were able to score more than a thousand runs in what are termed first -class matches. Notts furnished two of them, Gunnand Barnes ; Surrey another couple ,Abel and Mr. Key; while Mr. W.G. Grace had the best aggregate of all . The three first places in the batting averages were all heldbyNottingham players , though Shrewsbury, whowasnominally second , took part in less than half the numberof matches in whichGunnandBarnes figured . Gunn's batting was consistently brilliant during the summer, and he was clearly entitled to the first place . His easy and commanding style makes him very popular with the public , and his success was generally appreciated . I t was even moregratifying to the general body of cricketers though to knowthat Mr. W .G. Grace was well in the front rank. His batting showed no lack of the accurate judgment which has kept him easily first for a quarter of a century , and his attainment of the highest aggregate shows that he has even n o wno superior as a batsman. Thechief honours in bowling were , it goes without saying , monopolized by the professionals . Lohmann, Attewell ,Briggs , Peel , Wright, Martin , and Moldeach took over ahundred wickets , and the first namedhad the distinction of being the only one able to take more than double that number, Attewell , Briggs , and