James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1898

4 6 L I L L YW H I T E ' SC R I C K E T E R S' A N N U A L. werefavourable to run-getting , they werepretty sure to makea big score ; but more than once the eleven extricated themselves creditably from an unpromising condition . In Lees the County has found a young bowler well able to assist Richardson , Hayward, and Brockwell . His reputation was con- siderably advanced by his performan formances in 1897 , and as he is in addition a resolute hitter , and as events proved able to make runs on all wickets , he is likely to be of great use to Surrey . Mr. Jephson's inclusion in the team, too, strengthened Surrey's cricket very materially . A sound batsman, reliable even whenthe grounds favour the bowlers ,he played consistently good cricket throughout. Though his lobs were on the whole hardly as successful as hadbeenanticipated , on occasions they were of great service , notably in the return match against Essex, at Leyton, whenit is not too muchto say they fairly turned the scale . Still he is a fine field , so that his out-cricket was in any case of great use to the side . Richardson , though just at the outset not quite in his best form, later on bowled with remarkable success , fully justifying the position he attained as the best bowler of the year. Hayward's all - round cricket contributed in no small degree to Surrey's successes . Abel , in spite of a stroke of ill -luck, had a wonderful batting record , in fact he was the only batsman to attain an aggregate of 2,000 runs in first -class matches . In additon , in batting , Mr. Key, who was generally at his best , received useful assistance from Baldwin and Brockwell. The excellent performances of the Essex Eleven gave the greatest satisfaction to the cricket public . O n paper they had undoubtedly a powerful side under any conditions . In bowling , with Mr. F. G. Bull, Mr. Kortright , and Mead, they had quality as well as variety on any wicket , and werebound to be especially dangerous when the ground assisted the ball at all . Their cricket , too, is full of promise with so manyof the eleven fairly young, and there is every reason , if only on that account , to foreshadow a continuance of success for themat least in the near future . In any case the EssexElevenwere quite one of the most popular sides with the public . This washardly to be wondered at, as their cricket was generally attractive . T h ebatting was certainly not of a tedious character , and indeed with run- getters like Carpenter , Messrs . Owen, McGahey, Perrin , and Kortright in the side , the play is hardly likely to be wearisome . To beat Lancashire and Yorkshire , the latter twice be it added , as well as to have the best of the drawwith Surrey at the Oval, would alone have made the season memorable for Essex . Butgenerally their cricket reached a high standard of excellence all round. They hardly knew when they were beaten , and one of the best up-hill games of the season was that in which they beat Yorkshire , at Huddersfield , by one run. In Mr. A. J. Turner , of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Essex introduced a young cricketer of very great promise . For a first year in County cricket his performances indeed were particularly noteworthy . TheYorkshire Eleven failed to come up to the high standard of the pre- vious year . Their failure was bound to be disappointing to their supporters if only for the reason that the composition of the eleven was the same, or very much so, as in 1896. On paper Yorkshire had a decidedly strong batting side when in its full strength . Yet the run-getting was not so reliable , indeed nothing like so reliable as it was the previous summer. Mr. F. S. Jackson was as sure , and Brown, Denton, Tunnicliffe , Hirst , Peel , and