James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Companion 1884

10 ft uncertain whether A ustralia w ill he represented by her full strength, and that, even though three matches may he fixed to be played between the Colonists and England, bad weather 01 long scoies w ill in all probability prevent at least one of them from being played out. In addition to this, there is but little chance that we shall be able to muster our best E l e v e n f o r each match, having regard to the inordinate length of the first-class County programmes, and the fact that County feeling runs so high that not a few cricketers prefer playing in their County Eleven to filling a place in even a representative Eleven of England. Then again, we are sure to be handicapped in another most important particular, for wh ilst the A u str a l ia n s w i l l enjoy a ll the advantages— and they are many— of hav ing played together in many previous matches, our repi'esentatives w i l l lack combination. As against this, however, it must be remembered that our Elevens w i l l always possess the advantage o f knowing the ground upon which a match is played better than their opponents. So much by way o f anticipation of what may or must happen. I f the A ustral ians come to us in fu l l strength, we have little doubt that the season w i l l be more replete w ith excitement than any that has preceded i t ; we only fear that w ith them and the P hiladel ­ ph ians amongst us there may be an embarras de richesses. W e must, however, plead gu ilty to hoping that this w i l l he the last A ustralian visit for two or three seasons, and we are confirmed in our view that these tours have been ovei’done o f late by the opinions to the same effect which have been so strongly stated in the Australian papers during the past few months. The inter-Colonial matches between N ew S outh W ales and V ictoria , the most popular fixtures of the season, have been shorn of not a litt le of their interest of late years by the tours of peripatetic Elevens, and the fact that the members of Mr. M urdoch ’ s team did not assist their Colonies in the first matches against Mr. B l ig ii ’ s Eleven was severely commented on. I t is pointed out that Club cricket in Sydney has materia lly suffered, and is now by no means of the same standard as i t was some four or five years ago, owing to the absence of the leading players from practice and Club matches. The young hands sadly feel the want of the teaching and example of the champions, and altogether fail to train on, so that in both Colonies it is admitted that those' who now show the most promise o f stepping into the places which must ere long be vacated by the present cracks are by no means so forward, either in style, execution, or knowledge of