James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Companion 1884

9 * \ i,otter set of fieldsmen never left our shores. But though A i l A ustra l ia tfon the great match of the tour, the rubber played with Mr. M urdoch ’ s Eleven resulted in E ng la nd ’ s favour, and the A ustral ian victory by {even runs at the O val in 1882 was thus avenged. Our Eleven were, vsEnglish Elevens always have been in Australasia, most kindly treated wherever they went, and Mr. B ligh achieved a popularity throughout the Colonies which has been equalled by no English cricketer. We are to have another A ustral ian invasion this next Summer, and, should the Colonies send us a thoroughly representative team such as that of 1882, the interest taken in their tour will undoubtedly be of an exceptional character. After A ustral ia had beaten E ngland in 1882, a singular difference of opinion as to the comparative merits of English and Australian cricketers was noticeable as existingbetweentliecricketing and the non-cricketing public— i.e.} those taking an active interest in the game either as players or spectators, and those who only glance at the results of matches such as G entlem en v . P layers and O xford v . C ambridge . Whatever doubts they may have had before the match began, after it was over the cricketing public were firmly convinced that the result should have been the other way, that the English Eleven were decidedly the stronger team and would win two matches out of three. On the other hand, the outside public accepted the result as conclusive, and the remark was frequently heard that Australian cricket was superior to that of the “ old country.” It may be argued that those who study every phase of cricket, season after season, must more competent to pronounce an opinion than those only casually interested in the game, but it must be borne in mind that the latter are less likely to be biased, and since the defeat of Mr. B ligh ’ s team by A ustralia , at Sydney, their opinion has probably been strengthened. As " Matter of fact, however, the only meeting of English with Australian fricketers that can fairly be accepted as affording a criterion of relative merit ig that at the Oval in 1882, for England has never got, and never ^'Hl get, a perfectly representative Eleven together to visit the Antipodes. ^ ie question of superiority still hangs in the balance, for even Mr. R dock would not contend that a margin of seven runs was sufficient 0 decide it. W e look forward to the results of the great matches of the 0rning season to furnish us with reliable data upon which to base an Pinion, but we are by no means confident that such data will he foith- °niing. And for several reasons, the chief of which are that it is as }et