James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1894

CRICKET IN 1893. 7 it was generally thought , would seriously affect the position Surrey had held as the best all round side , and with reason , as events proved . To replace a player of his remarkable gifts at a moment's notice was obviously impossible , andhis absence was severely felt even outside the limits of the county eleven , for which hehaddone such splendid service for several years . Still Surrey's loss was the opportunity of others . The general impression that with Surrey weakened the competition would be very open was fully verified . In the early part of the season it seemed as if Yorkshire would have a very dangerous opponent in Middlesex , who commenced in a manner that suggested a very successful campaign . Towards the last , too, there was good reason for the belief that in Lancashire Yorkshire had a rival to be seriously reckoned with . A sit w a sthe failure of the Lancashire eleven in the return matchwith Middlesex madeYorkshire's success certain . They won the first position , too, with plenty inh a n dat the finish , andin a w a ywhich shewedthemto be without a doubtthe best side of the year in first -class county cricket . A striking illustration of the uncertainty of cricket was furnished in the markeddifference in the records of the Yorkshire elevens of 1892 and1893. The composition of the two teams was very muchthe same, which madethe marked change in the summaries of the two years apparently the more difficult of explanation . Yet there was an explanation , and one quite intelligible . York- shire cricket in 1892 had been to a certain extent in a transition stage . Young players , however promising or capable , cannot be expected to settle downinto first -class cricketers without a little preliminary training . The introduction of more than one likely youngster was, in fact , something of an experiment which required time to complete . The effect , at all events , was visible last year in the experience of a season. T h e general result , as is bound to be the case, wherethere is an infusion of newblood ,was an animation and life which cannot be expected in a side composedmostly of players whohave lost a good deal of the enthusiasm of youth, and, in the course of nature in the majority of cases , come to regard cricket as a meansof livelihood , in which the guiding principle is rather a minimumthan a m a x i m u moflabour. A tall events the markedimprovementin the Yorkshire eleven of 1893, in contrast with its form the preceding year, was, no doubt, attributable to the feeling of self -reliance which inspired the various members of the team. There was an evident esprit de corps , a cohesion which was certainly not noticeable in some of the county elevens even of older standing . The success which attended them was the result of the high level of their cricket more than the workof one or even more bright particular stars . In Peel , Wainright , and Mr. F. S. Jackson , not to mention Hunter, who has certainly had no superior as a wicket -keeper for the last few years , they had--of course , it goes without saying- a trio of cricketers in whose absence no eleven would have been thoroughly repre- sentative of England. Yet it wasonly in the later fixtures that they wereable to claim the valuable services of the Cambridge captain , and indeed , in the majority of their successes he was not able to take any part . It was their unity whichwas the strength of the Yorkshire eleven last summer. Theywere, as a consequence , generally seen at their best , and that best was an aggregation of all round cricket , decidedly above the average of the counties in 1893. With Peel , Wainwright, and Hirst, even omitting Brown, whose leg breaks were on occasions of the greatest service to the side , not to mention such dangerous bowlers as Messrs . Jackson and Ernest Smith, when they were obtainable , there was an infinite variety of bowling , and moreover , of good quality , suitable too to every kind of wicket . Yorkshire's out cricket indeed , was decidedly above the average , H e r etoo, the county was seen quite at its best, for the fielding was generally reliable , and as a consequence there were few runs wasted or given to the other side . Excepting Mr. Jackson there was perhaps no really first -class batsman, unless exception could be made in favour of Mr. Sellers , whoshewed himself to be one of the surest run-getters against every class of bowling . Still , downto the last wicket , any one of the eleven might at any time be expected to make a good score ,which could hardly be said of not more than perhaps two other county elevens .