James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1893

PUBLICS C H O O LCRICKETIN 1892. 1 5 possibly find it no easy task to succeed a captain who has held office for three successive years , but, with ordinary luck , he ought to be able to put an eleven in the field capable of holding its ownagainst the rival schools . Theseason at Marlborough opened none too auspiciously , the batting was indifferent and the fielding poor , but as time went on matters improved , thanks tothe unremitting exertions of the captain and the pros ., and at the end of the term the Marlburians might fairly claim a high place amongthe school teams of 1892. Granted that they madevery great advance in the course of the summer, we cannot but think that the Lord's match gave them rather an exaggerated position in the eyes of the public . That the better side wonthere can be no doubt, but the Rugbybowling was very poor, and the wicket -keeping even worse, andit wasto this more than to the intrinsic merits of the batsmenthat the hugescore was due. Withoutwishing to detract one jot from the grand hitting of Creed and the more correct play of Mortimer, weare boundto confess to a slight feeling of annoyance that the record making in this time -honoured match should have fallen to the lot of a boy who, up to that time, had shown only moderate form. Before this match Creed's average cannot have been much above 10, and, though we give him every credit for his astounding performance , w eshall be surprised if, at all events for some time to come, he again rises to this high standard . Fromall accounts Mortimer's innings was practically free from blemish , and, though at times nervous and uncomfortable , he played really well throughout . In speaking of the Lord's match it would be manifestly unfair to omitanymention of the bowling , for it was in this rather than in the batting line that the Wilts boys showed their vast superiority . Jowitt and Beloe both did well, but in this match, as well as others , the captain was the best performer , indeed his record of wickets is nearly as large as that of all the other bowlers put together . B ytheir success against Cheltenham, a success for which Knightwaslargely responsible , the Marlburians nowclaim a majority of wins in the thirty -seven matches played . W ecannot close our account of Marlborough without some reference to the great efforts that have been madeto improve the general cricket of the school . With good practice wickets , and abundance of professional help , it only needs the spread of the keenness ,for which Marley was justly famed , to bring the cricket to a very high standard . The Clifton eleven maybe set down as a very useful lot ; there were five or six batsmen who were likely to run up a good score , and of these Cornes , nowat Oxford, wasundoubtedly the most successful . H e is a batsman of the rough- and-ready order , and in the course of the season made extraordinary advance. Curtis also did well , and very probably will develop into a fine player . But, without question , the youngTownsendwas the pick of the basket . He is a son of the old Gloucestershire man, and, though only just sixteen , has fairly earned aplace amongthe swells of the year . H o wgood he is wecannot tell , but if half ofwhatw ehave heard is true he must be something of a marvel. Hehas the happy knack of getting out batsmen , be they good , bad, or indifferent , and more- overm a ybe trusted to keep up his wicket and score fairly , if somewhatslowly , against any class of bowlers . Grace and he practically did all the bowling last summer, andunder these circumstances , and bearing in mindthe nature of the college ground, their averages are more than respectable . It is quite possible that they were as good a pair of bowlers as were to be found at any school last year , for Grace , though rather simple , is straight and always keeps a good length . Grace, Townsend, and Curtis are still at school , and it will indeed be strange if the Clifton boys are not formidable opponents this season . W ehave already spoken of the two Fosters and Ransome, but the success of the Malvern team wasnot due to these three only . Hignell , for instance , played a very fine innings of 105 against Repton, and Rhodes,Romneyand others often m a d eruns . Rhodeskept wicket pluckily andwell , andwas of immense service to the side . In attack the eleven was undeniably strong , as is evidenced by the fact that on their run-getting ground only one individual 50 was knocked up against them. Until he was overworked Nevile bowled capitally , and Lowe w a sat times very destructive , while in Burnupwas discovered a youngster of