John and James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Companion 1882

fil), hut, with this exception, the batting of the Amateurs was not remark able. IV uks was most conspicuous with both bat and ball, but B iiaw w0{1 the match by a marvellous piece of bowling which will not soon be gotten. We have already referred to the only N orth v . S outh match played during the past season. The M arylkbone C lub programme was longer than in any previous year, and Mr. P erkins had his work cut out for him to make the arrange merits requisite for bringing off 117 matches satisfactorily. In the ad. ministration of affairs, however, there was much to praise, and, try aj lie might, the critic had but little matter for fault-finding. The wicket? were hardly as good as they have been in previous seasons, but the ground.keeper had exceptional difficulties to cope with, the prevalence of fresh easterly winds in combination with scorching suns during May, June, and July drying up the herbage and rendering the soil so friable that the turf wore out before many of the matches were half completed. L ancashire was the only county to lower the Club’s colours, and this victory was rendered the more noteworthy by the fact that the two, crack northern amateurs, Messrs. A. N. H ornby and A. G. S teel , ivere not playing. The match between the C lub and G round and E ngland was utterly uninteresting by reason of the fact that the latter Eleven were not a representative team, and but two or three of the leading amateurs were playing on either side. The U niversities ’ match, though not especially favoured by the weather, brought out the good cricket one always expects to see. The result was an upset of public form, a victory for the C antabs being confidently predicted, as was natural, bearing in mind that they7had defeated L ancashire , and evinced wonderful powers of run-getting against all the bowling brought against them up to that time. The absence of Mr. N apier , whose fast bowling was much needed, coupled with the fact that the wicket did not suit Mr. S teel , militated against their chance, and the excellent batting shown by Messrs. P atter ­ son , L eslie , and T revor , and the almost unplayable howling of Mr. E vans , fairly won the match for the O xonians on their merits. It must be admitted, however, that their opponents had the worst both of the Jjght and the* wicket. It is noteworthy that the O xford captain was in- strum* ntal in the lowering of sixteen of the twenty wickets. The Whit* Monday match, O ver T hirty v . U nder T hirty , was spoilt byr rain, and th< form shown by some of the players evinced a want of practice. ! The C anterbury week was dull; it attracted the usual crowds, but