James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1891

T H ES E V E N T HA U S T R A L I A NT E A M. 2 3 should not be forgotten , though, that six of the team were quite new to the altered conditions under which the national gameis played in the old country ; whilst more than one of the older hands did not succeed in playing themselves intof o r m. Thebrilliancy that has stamped Mr. Lyons as one of the finest batsmenin the Colonies , but which did not showto very great advantage whenhe came as amemberof McDonnell's team to England in 1888, proved of the utmost service at times . Indeed, his play against England at Lord's (whenwe sawhimscore 55 out of 66 in forty -five minutes ), against Gloucestershire at Bristol , and in the return with the M.C.C. ( whenhe actually made99 out of 117 while in), was a treat to witness . If not, however, to be relied on for consistent scoring , he on several occasions cameoff with the ball. O nthe whole, Mr. Lyonswasoneof themostuseful members. Mr. Trott's inclusion wasalso matterfor congratula- tion . Thoughout of luck at first (a fact that caused the hypercritical to vote himone of the " failures " of the team), heplayed manyexcellent innings in July andAugust, and he was always ready to take occasion by the handwhenan effort was required . Trott was the only memberbesides his captain to score three figures -a feat that they both performed twice during the tour-and his aggregate andaverage alike speak for themselves . In short ,hepractically repeated his per- formance of 1888. At point , he was always brilliant , and his leg -breaks often provedeffective . Theill -health of Mr. Jones , with the succession of failures consequent upon such a state , could not but act prejudicially on the batting of his fellows . His fine performances in Australia during the season 1889-90 hadcaused the executive to congratulate themselves on his acquisition , so that his indisposition was doubly regrettable . Mr. Blackhamshowed himself still , for accuracy and nerve , to bewithout a compeer behind the stumps . Indeed, his continued proficiency in this trying position is matter for surprise amongst cricketers , and the only regret is that the Seventh Australian Teamdid not include a competent changewicket -keeper to relieve him of a little of the heavy work. Mr. Blackham is still the keen sportsman that he was when he burst upon the British public twelve years ago . His plucky hitting proved the turning -point in the first match withSurrey; it saved the follow on in the South of Englandmatch, and onmore thanone other occasion it camein the nick of time. Mr. Boyle, whois by this time so well knownon English cricket grounds , came over avowedly as manager, a n donlydonnedthe flannels once throughoutthe tour. I na formerissue , the editor of this A N N U A Lwroteof Mr. Turnerthat h e was " entitled to all the credit of a favourable comparison with the greatest bowler of this or any other age." If these words were true of himthen, they are perhaps even more so now; for great as his reputation was at the close of 1888, it has been considerably enhanced by his splendid performances during this his second visit to the mother country . His record for the tour, of 215 wickets at an average cost of 12 runs each , tells its owntale . These figures , fine as they are , would probably read better if Mr. Turner had had less workto get through ; indeed , the wayin which he always kept up his end was astonishing . Withthe bat he was rather inclined to be " off colour ," though he took care to give the British public a taste of his quality in that department too . Mr. Ferris ran his confrère very close , taking , strangely enough , exactly the same number of wickets and at almost the samecost ; the left-hander's powers of hitting were also frequently seen to great advantage at the close of an innings . Thusthis splendid pair, of w h o mAustralia maywell be proud, were responsible for 430 wickets , at anaverage cost comparing favourably with the best English bowlers during the corresponding period . In Messrs . Trott , Lyons , Trumble , and Charlton were four change bowlers , whohad achieved a considerable measure of success in the Colonies ; James Lillywhite had said of the latter that he was muchmistaken " if he hasn'ta big future before him as a bowler . He is fully six feet high and comeswell over, bowling several paces with a knack of getting a rather fast ball at times to slip across with the arm. " Mr. Charlton's height would, it was believed , help to establish him as an all -round cricketer of mark. In fact , he