James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1899

C R I C K E TIN 1898. 9 B y the light of their brilliant achievements in 1897 , when, it is superfluous to add, they won the Championship , the record of the Lancashire Eleven furnished rather strange reading . Not that they were the same Eleven. There was more than one blank. Hallam, whose bowling had been so useful in the previous season , was absent altogether- a serious loss as the team was . Smith , the wicket -keeper , whose plucky batting had frequently stayed a rot, too , owing to an injury , was out of County cricket for practically the whole of the summer, although as a mere stumper Radcliffe filled his place comfortably . But misfortunes came not as single spies for Lancashire cricketers . Mold strained himself so badly that hewas generally seen at anything but his best ; indeed for several of the later matches , just whenhe was perhaps most wanted, he was not able to play at all . WithHallam out of it , and Mold not able to show to advantage , the bowling was of a very different quality to that of 1897. As it was, though Briggs was occasionally something like the Briggs of old and a new leg -break bowler was introduced , and with some success , into the Eleven in the person of W.B. Stoddart , Lancashire's changes were so moderate as to account fully for any shortcomings . Fortunately , Cuttell was seen at his very best , both as a bowler and a batsman, and, considering the scant help he received , his bowling was surprisingly good . Nor was it only in the bowling that Lancashire cricket failed by comparison . The batting was practically the same as in the previous summer. In some respects it was better , with useful additions in C. R. Hartley and W . B. Stoddart . But it sadly lacked the life and vigour of 1897 , or of earlier years . Tyldesley played brilliant cricket throughout , and Ward, more defensive than ever , was of great use always . Otherwise there was a painful uncertainty . Cuttell , C. R. Hartley , and Baker frequently came off , and Frank Sugg, after a succession of failures , played a few brilliant innings . A. C. MacLaren , too , when he did come into the Eleven at the end of July. July, was nothing like as successful as of old . Bad luck had a good deal to do with Lancashire's failures , it must be admitted . Still , at the root of it all was uneven cricket . But for the batting of Tyldesley and the all -round cricket of Cuttell the season would have been absolutely without features of anyreal interest . Underthe captaincy of J. R. Mason the Kent Eleven had a slightly better record . His tour in Australia had evidently done the new Captain little harm, for his batting in the earlier matches was quite up to his highest form. Theteamfor atime, too , showedbetter all -round cricket . Thevictory over Yorkshire at Maidstonew a sthe first check the hitherto irresistible YorkshireElevenreceived . For the first balf of the season Kent had a very encouraging record . Subsequent failures dimmedto a great extent the recollections of earlier successes . The batting was as strong as ever in the later matches , but the run-getting was not as reliable as one might have expected on the hard wickets . Under such conditions , too, as was only natural , the little bowling Kent had presented no terrors to batsmen . It can hardly be said , indeed , that there was anyone really first -class where the ground did not help the ball a bit . Theways of the Notts Eleven were like those of the Heathen Chinee- peculiar . The fact that they only lost two matches during the season of itself affords food for reflection . The summer, indeed , had nearly passed its meridian before they lost at all . The first seven matches were , as a matter of fact , all drawn, and when the eighth was won the scoffers began to