James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1899

C R I C K E TIN 1 8 9 8. 1 5 - August. Another noteworthy performance was the 148 for the tenth wicket of Yorkshirev. K e n tat Sheffield o nJune13. LordH a w k eandHunterwerethe heroes of this last stand. T h elist of bowlersw h otook over 100 wickets in first -class matchesis less thanthat of 1897 by two. In all eleven reached the number, a credit- able proportion considering the generally run-getting character of the wickets. This time Richardson had to yield first place to J. T. Hearne. Thelatter was the only bowler to get over 200 wickets . This time he out- did Richardson , and very considerably , with a margin of 61 wickets . Nonethe les his achievement , good as it was, paled altogether before Richardson's performances in 1895 and 1896. In the former Richardson was credited with no less than 290 wickets , a long w a ythe best record of the kind. Only three cricketers , as against four in 1897 , scored over 1,000 runs , besides taking 100 wickets . The three are F. S. Jackson , C. L. Townsend, and Cuttell . Not one of them, it is worthy of remark, were in the success- ful quartette the previous year. Thewetwickets in the early part of the season played havoc with Public School cricket . Fromall sides came the same bitter cry of lost opportunities . Little practice was possible during a great part of M a y, and whatthere was, underthe prevalent conditions , was, to quote Mr. Mantalini , " dem'd" moist andunprofitable . Unprofitable it certainly was, for in some notable instances the elevens were only beginning to get into form whenthe season was closing . The Eton and Harrow match , as has already been mentioned , ended in a well - deserved victory for Harrow. They were very muchabove the average of Public School elevens in point of physique , and on a fast wicket could always have been relied on for a lot of runs . Underordinary favourable conditions they would have been able to hold their ownwith the very best , and m a yfairly be classed as the best School eleven of the year. Considering that they only had two old choices , the Eton eleven came out creditably it will be admitted. Theybeat Winchester, but the result can hardly be regarded as a reliable test of the relative cricket merits of the two Schools . Winchester , indeed , had the worst of the luck in every way. They were, it is fair to assume, a muchbetter all -round team than the form of this one matchwould lead an ordinary observer to believe . Marlborough beat Cheltenham in fine style , making 180 in the fourth innings at a cost of only four wickets . Theywere a good batting side , as they proved subsequently against Rugby at Lord's . The match produced some heavy scoring on both sides , and with the bowling equally weak there was, perhaps , little to choose between the two Schools . Cheltenham were only fairly good. Their best performance was against Clifton , who, it may be stated , did not wina match. Still , the Cheltenham eleven did a notable achievement in each innings . In the first the last wicket added 139, in the second they made150 of 159 wanted to win in exactly the hour. Charterhouse hada better eleven all round than in either 1896 or 1897, and though not able tow i neither h a dnonethe worst of their two Inter-School matches against Wellington and Westminster. Like Clifton , Wellington failed to score an actual winduring the season . Still , they were a better lot than they appeared on paper , and would certainly have been successful in more than one of the drawn games had they been played out. Haileybury , like mostof the Schools , lacked bowlers of real merit . Inbatting and fielding they werereally good. There was very little tail to the eleven , and in fact