James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1898

T H EM A R Y L E B O N EC L U RIN 1897. 6 7 (9) Middlesexv. S u r r e y. Lord's, July 15, 16 and 17. Surrey undoubtedly got the best of it in going in first . As a result they werebatting till the second morning for a total of424. Abel (62) andHayward (82) put on 135 for the second , and Mr. Key(76) and Holland (70) 151 for the seventhwicket . Thoughthe ground wasnever difficult it helped the fast bowlers perhaps a little , and Middlesex found Richardson far fromeasy to play . Still , theymadeon the whole a fairly good showunder the circumstances . All the first ninebatsmengot double figures in one innings or the other . Themost successful of them were Mr. Stoddart (91 and 25) and Rawlin (41 and 43). Surrey in the end had to go in to get 57, which cost them two good batsmen, so that they w o nby eight wickets . Surrey, 424 and 57 (2 wickets ); total , 481. Middlesex, 271 and209; total, 480. Richardson (Surrey) O v e r s. 7 2 . 4 M a i d e n s. 2 7 1 (10) Middlesexv. S u s s e x. Lord's, Aug. 12, 13 and 14. R u n s. 1 9 3 W i c k e t s . 1 3 This wasthe first victory of Middlesex in 1897. Sussex wonthe toss , and werecheaply dismissed for a total of 216, of which Messrs . Fry(63) and Brann (55) contributed the greatest part . Middlesex just doubled their score , and here again two batsmen , Messrs . McGregor (141) and J. Douglas (110 ) were responsible for morethan half. At one time during their second innings it looked as if Sussex might save the game. Mr. Brannwas batting four hours anda quarter for his 109, and Mr. N e w h a mcarried out his bat for a most useful 84. Butthe last few wickets fell so quickly that after all Middlesex , who had 67runs to get in 65 minutes, wonwith seven wickets to spare . Middlesex , 432 and67(3wickets); total , 499. Sussex, 216 and 282 ; total , 498. (11) M i d d l e s e xv. Lancashire. Lord's, Aug. 23, 24 and 25. N oplay was possible on the third day, and the gamewas not only prema- urely stopped , but also considerably interfered with on the second ; as a con- sequence there was no chance of a definite finish . As the wicket was, high scoring could not be expected , and the bowlers had all the best of it. Indeed only 342 runs were madealtogether for twenty-four wickets , and the highest score was Mr. P. F. Warner's 48 for Middlesex . J. T. Hearne got all four wickets downin Lancashire's second innings for thirteen runs. Lancashire , 176 and 34 (4 wickets ); total , 210. Middlesex , 132. Maidens. R u n s. Wickets. 1 2 Briggs(Lancashire ) Overs. 3 6 (12) K e n tv. Middlesex. Lord's , Aug. 26, 27 and 28 . 4 8 6 Thewicket wasall against run-getting throughout , and the bowlers were seen to the best advantage . Mr. J. Douglas ' second innings of70 for Middlesex was the highest individual score , and Rev. W. Rashleigh's 91 (49 and 42) for Kentthe best aggregate in the match. J. T. Hearne on the one side , ard Alec HearneandWright on the other , had remarkable bowling figures . Middlesex w o nby53 runs. Middlesex , 112 and213 ; total , 325. Kent, 123 and 149 ; total , 2 7 2. O v e r s. Maidens. R u n s. AlecH e a r n e(K e n t) J. T. Hearne (Middlesex ) . 5 8 2 5 9 3 7 3 . 3 3 6 1 0 4 Wright(2nd inns . Middlesex) 1 2 . 1 8 1 1 Wickets. 1 0 1 3 5