John and James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Companion 1882

7 cricketers, by the time that they have played three or four matches in this country they will, we have little doubt, prove one of the strongest elevens ever got together. Unless their leading players sadly belie their reputa­ tion, and the team as a whole is devoid of the pluck and energy which have characterised A ustralian Elevens heretofore, they will be as superior to Mr. M urdoch ’ s 1880 Eleven as the first Eleven of a University or Public School is to the second. It has not been generally realised in England that Mr. M urdoch ’ s Eleven, on their return to Australia, weie easily defeated by a combined team from New South Wales and Victoria, and that, allowing for some disadvantages under which the losers labouied, it was admitted in the Colonies that the winners were by far the strongei side. But in 1882 we shall have in England the very pick of A ustralia ’ s strength, and, when once they have got into form, they will, we are con­ fident, make nearly all our County Elevens strike their flags. In two or three matches they are to meet E ngland , eleven to eleven, and, if the Old Country means to hold her own, no trouble must be spared, not only to select thoroughly representative elevens to do battle for her, but to get them to practise together before they meet the A ustralians . W ith the glut of County, University, and other first-class matches which there is nowadays, we are by no means sanguine that this will be arranged, but that the Eleven to represent E ngland should be pitted against another first-class Eleven before the first match with A ustralia comes on for decision we cannot but hold to be most desirable. We know only too well from the experience o f recent years how good the best Australian cricket is: we believe that the best English cricket is better still, but the difference is not so marked that the mother country can afford to throw a chance away. The interest always shown by the public in the doings of the leading County Elevens was marred in a great measure by the differences between the N otts Committee and the most prominent o f the Pro­ fessionals in their Eleven. These Professionals formed themselves, as it were, into a Union, each member o f which declined to take part in any of the matches unless all the members were specially retained for the entire season. The Committee very naturally objected to this dictation o f terms by their employes, and, as being the persons to whom the conduct of affairs had been entrusted by the County Club, only exercised their common sense in holding to the view that they, better than their opponents, knew how to carry out the work. Under these circumstances