James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1890

PUBLICS C H O O LCRICKETIN 1889. 1 9 every competitor meets every other in the course of the struggle . Simple though this arrangement mayseem, it yet leaves muchto be desired , andwebelieve that no satisfactory result will be secured , until some far more definite rules are laid d o w nforthe managementof the matches. W ewouldsuggest , with all humility , that one-daymatches are an insufficient test in so important a competition , and w ebelieve a two-daymatch ought to bemadea sine qua non in all the games of this series . It might lessen the numberof matches , but even so Scotch cricket wouldbe the gainer . In the past year, for instance , nothing could have been moreunsatisfactory than the final matchfor the Championship . Thetwo teams could alike boast anunbeaten record , and yet the place for the year had to be decided on a first innings , played moreover in vile weather. That the better side w o n, w e do not deny; but that the test was a fair one, we cannot acknowledge . But enough. W ehave madethese suggestions , not without a certain degree of trepidation , wemust allow, and we hope they will be accepted in the spirit in which they are given. Loretto claims our first attention , as the champion school of '89 . Fettes had beentoo strong for them, and for everybody, in the two previous seasons , but the loss of Jardine was so serious that the erstwhile champions could not win even the second place last season-Blair Lodge having fairly established their claim to that position . What can be said of the Loretto team ? They beat all their Scotch rivals , buthadto lower their colours , after a tremendous battle , to the Rossall eleven . If we maytake our line from the results of this annual match-the only one, so far as we know, between an English andScotch school- w eshould conclude that English boys need not fear comparison with their Scotch rivals in cricket . Infootball Scotland holds first place, but the weather across the border is not conducive to cricket , and the gameis played under unfavouring conditions . Hence, though a MacLachlan, an Asher, or a Jardine m a yappear fromtime to time, we believe the supply of high -class players will generally be limited . Cochran, nowat Oriel , wasthe best bat in the last Loretto team, but EvansandGedgehadthe knack of getting runs , and are not far behind in point of average . Cochran maybe one of the rare aves to whomwe have alluded above , butw estill pin our faith in Woodhead, as being the most likely old Lorettonian to winthe coveted " blue ." In bowling Donaldson gained great kudos , andhe wouldseem to be a thorough little cricketer , while Dun's lobs were wonderfully destructive , especially in the school matches . These two did most of the bowl- ing, though Evans occasionally met with great success . In fielding the team werenot as good as they ought to have been, though a reservation must be made in favour of Gedgeand Donaldson, whodid some very smart things in this line . In the comingseason the school ought to be to the fore again , their second team- from w h o m, we suppose , the recruits will come having been undeniable champions in their class , and it would seem that cricket at Loretto is just nowin a very flourishing condition . The Blair Lodge team play a vast numbermatches, and met with a very large measure of success last year, this being primarily due to their fast bowler, M'Laren, whose average is quite phenomenal. His admirers claim for him that he is the best fast bowler ever seen on a Scotch ground, and we hope he m a y justify their assertion when he is pitted against more formidable players than those w h o mhe has methitherto . In run-getting most of the team proved them- selves fairly proficient , but Solbé was as far in advance of the rest in this branch ofthe game, as M'Larenwasin bowling . W ehave already spoken of the un- satisfactory conditions under which the Loretto matchwas played , and the Blair Lodge eleven had some reasonable grounds for feeling disappointed with the result , seeing that in all the other school matches their victories hadbeen most decisive . F r o mwhathas been said it will have been gathered that Fettes did not put a very strong team in the field last summer, andw e fear the prospects for this year are not particularly bright . Bayley must have been far the best of the '89 team, though in batting he received material support from Thompson, who, if promise goes for anything , ought to train on into something very good.