James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1893

P U B L I CS C H O O LCRICKETIN 1892. 1 9 porters , and the first -namedis a boy of great promise . Quinton ought to have been a tower of strength , but though an energetic and capable leader , and a dangerous bat , his failure in the bowling line was at once disappointing and disastrous . Stratton was of service both with bat andball , and was one of the most useful membersof the team. As a side they fielded well, and, with Lister showing up very creditably behind the wickets , they only wanted more variety of bowling to make them a very fair cleven . What this year will show depends largely on the discovery of an able successor to Lister , for Quinton, Stratton , andthe younger Champainmakea good backbone, and some of the other old colourswillalso b e ath a n d. Repton has fallen from the high place which it has occupied for manyyears past, and the last eleven , though they wona couple of matches, could not lay claim to anyindividual or general excellence , and were weaker than any team that has represented the school for the last twelve years . The prospects for the coming campaign are far from hopeless , as the pick of the old lot are still at school , and there are plenty of youngsters of distinct promise . It was certainly a piece of bad luck to find such powerful sides at Uppinghamand Malvern just w h e nthe Reptonboys were below par ; but with Busby, Davenport, Beazley , andShepstoneat c o m m a n dtheyought to be able to m a k ea better fight this year. Busbywas at the head of the batting averages , and was the best cricketer in the school -a fair bat and bowler, and an undeniably good field . H ewas handicapped last summerby a damaged foot, and it is more than likely that , withcare and patience , he will train on into a really useful man. T h edoings of the rest must be gleaned from other columns , and we will conclude with the hopethat the present captain will equal his predecessor in keenness , and surpass himinknowledge of the game. Wellington would have fared badly had Mordaunt been prevented from playing. His value to the team maybe gathered from a glance at the averages , fromwhich it appears that he scored nearly three times as manyruns as the best of his colleagues . Not only so, but his experience as captain -an experience derived from a three years ' tenancy of the post-must often have stood his side in good stead . H ehas done a great deal for the cricket of the school , and his place will be hard to fill . It could not be expected that the eleven of last year woulddo as well as their immediate predecessors , and it is pleasant to find the three old choices at the top of the batting list . Theresults of the school matches were as disastrous in 1892 as they were gratifying in 1891 , and Forbes will have to unearth some morebowling talent if he meansto lead his team to victory this summer. Thebowlers of last year were terribly expensive , and, with Mordaunt, Raphael, and Wilson gone, muchof the scoring ability has been lost . Westminster opened the season with four " Pinks ," all of whomhad shown promise , but, though they did more than their fellows , it cannot be said of any one of themthat his promise was fulfilled . I nthe bowling lay the chief strength of the team, and it wasto this , more than to their scoring powers, that their four victories were due. Shearme and Berens were the pair whodid the work, and the latter , though less successful on the bumpywickets in Vincent's Square , wasprobably the better of the two. H eis nowat Christ Church, and, though hem a ynot be up to 'Varsity form, we shall be surprised if he does not moreor less cometo the front . Themention of bumpywickets reminds us that the eleven of last year deserve no little commiseration , for circumstances were dead against them. Theground was rough, the ground-m a nill , and for three weeks, at the most critical time of the year , they got no cricket at all , owing to the school being broken up. With such disadvantages success at Godalming could hardly havebeen anticipated ; but, though they finally suffered anoverwhelming defeat , the Charterhouse match gave themthe chance of showing that, under favour- able conditions , they were not deficient in run-getting ability . Sherring , this year's captain , knocked up 83 in first -rate style ,and Shearme , More, and Alder- son all did well . Sherring will have to put his shoulder to the wheel with a vengeance if the Carthusians are to be beaten this year , for the loss of both successful bowlers must be severely felt .