James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1892

PUBLIC SCHOOL CRICKET IN 1891. 1 7 leading performers of the year were Latham, H. K. Foster , and Mitchell . Latham ade214 against Rossall , 116 against M.C.C. , and scored freely against other teams, and as he is a first rate field , we see no reason whyhe should not w i nhis blue. If successful , he will , webelieve , be the first Malvernian whohas earned the distinction . Foster is nowcaptain , so we shall have further oppor- tunities of forming a judgment on his play, but there is no doubt he is a really goodbat, andan admirable field at short slip . Mitchell's bowling earns hima place amongthe leading trio , and on his day he was one of the best school bowlers of the year. Ransomestood fourth in point of merit , and did well in the holidays whenplaying for Wilts , while the younger Foster played good cricket in some of the Worcestershire matches, but at present is not as sound a bat as the three already mentioned . The team ought to be surprisingly good this year, as Latham, Mitchell , and Pike are the only old colours who are not n o wavailable. "H o wfew really good cricketers come from Marlborough " is a remark that w echanced to hear last summer, and we fear there is a good deal of truth in it . W edonot for one momentforget that weowe to Marlborough one of the finest cricketers of the day, but the really great cricketers , menof the calibre of A. G. Steel , are born, not made, and are bound to come to the front wherever they m a ybe. Apart from Steel , E. H. Buckland, and perhaps wemayadd E. Peake andA. P. Wickham, are the only old Marlburians who,if our memorydoes not playus false , have earned distinction in county cricket during the last twelve years or so. This is rather a sorry list , so far as numbers are concerned , for such a school to produce, and we feel that there must be " a something " which has told against the cricket of the place . It maybe that we shall hear of great general improvement nowthat the younger boys, thanks to Druce's energy , will havegood wickets on which to practise . About last year's team there is very little to say. Druce had a difficult task before him, as eight newmembershadto be chosen , and, though he did his best ,his efforts were not crowned with success . Personally he was followed by the most persistent ill -luck throughout , and his teamcould only win one match. The failure was not due to any slackness on his part, nor to the absence of individual merit , but to a general want of life and interest , which was only too apparent in several members of the eleven . A slong as indifference exists fielding is sure to be slovenly and unsafe , and matches cannot be won. Whatever failings maybe the lot of Marley's team, w e hopethey will be entirely free from slackness of any kind. If only they are keenandunited they are almost sure to do well , for there is no lack of promising boys, and if the fielding is smart they are certain to give a good account of themselves at Lord's next July. So far as w ecangatherthere w a sn o one of the class of Bathurstin the Radley eleven last year, though Orlebar made such vast strides in batting and bowling that he maydevelop into a more than useful cricketer . Palmer was the most consistent scorer of the year, and did well to keep his longest innings for the Bradfield match, but in all -round merit he must be ranked below Webb, who, if report speaks truly , is a very promising boy. Oxenden, for a first year, didwell in the bowling line , and fielded capitally , but thus far has madeno sign inbatting . Takenas a whole the team were probably about up to the average of Radley elevens , and by winning seven of their matches , including the one against Bradfield , mayfairly be said to have earned a full measure of success . Thegreat blot on the Repton record was the loss of the Malvern match, and, thanks to the weather, the eleven had no chance of regaining their lost laurels at Uppingham. Onthe whole term's doings they mustbe rated as a very fair side , a fact which is sufficiently proved by their victories in six of the eight completed matches . The best performances of the year were the victories over M.C.C. , Burton, and a very strong lot brought over by the old Derbyshire cricketer , J. Smith . The first two were chiefly due to the extraordinary bowling of Sinclair , whilein the last-mentionedmatchF r yandGloverm a d esuch a mess of the opposition bowling, and scored at such a tremendous rate that a sensational victory was the result . The loss of the Malvern matchwas of course a great 3