James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1892

P A R T I. C H A P T E R I. T H EM I D D L E S E XE L E V E NO F 1891. H Ewant of a first -class bowler has for manyyears been the only obstacle to the attainment by Middlesex of a place in the fore- front of County Cricket . Andnowthe presence of a really promising young bowler , in the person of J. T. Hearne, is having its natural effect in remedying the one defect which the executive of the Middlesex Club have been for sometime trying earnestly to rectify- a weakness in the out cricket . Last year as a consequence , in a great measure, of a general improvement in the bowling , Middlesex madea distinct advance . Whereas in 1890 , out of twelve Inter -County matches entered into by Middlesex , only three were wonand eight lost , in 1891 eight wins were recorded as against five losses . Several of these victories , too , were most creditable performances . Lancashire was twice beaten , and the single innings defeat of the Surrey Teamat Lord's , though in some measure the result of luck , was a feat of which any Eleven might well be proud. The chief factor in their success in 1891 was the excellent bowling of J. T. Hearne and Rawlin, and the uniformly fine batting of Messrs . O'Brien and Stoddart . The two bowlers secured no fewer than 183 wickets between them, and the record of the first -namedwas one of the very best of the season . The great value of Messrs . Stoddart and O'Brien to their side as bats- men, too , will be best gauged whenit is stated that between themthey scored fourteen hundred runs , that the former's great innings of 215 (not out) against Lancashire , at Manchester , was the best performance of the year, and that the latter scored three figures twice during the season . The noteworthy improvement in Middlesex cricket in 1891 was, in a very great measure, the work of the quartette whose names w ehave mentioned. 2