James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Companion 1884

24: not so workable. B y this we mean, neai'ly every member bowls, every- one may get runs, though at the same tim e there are three or four bats a long w ay in advance. In th e ir proper eleven are to be found B ates P eate , and P e e l , a l l first-rate slow round-arm bowlers, but three such bowlers are hard ly wranted in an eleven, and i t becomes difficult for the captain to work the changes properly. N otts , on the other hand has 'three bowlers so far superior to the rest that the difficulty is not nearly so great. A leading featui'e in Y orksh ire cricket, and indeed in the cricket of the year, has been the play o f H a h . The committee foolish ly as we think, did not thoroughly appreciate the play o f this player, and he has prior to this season always played w ith the conscious­ ness that his runs were jealously -watched, and an early opportunity m igh t be taken to dra ft him. Th is has a bad effect on the nerves of any player, and H a l l has probably suffered in consequence. I f the members o f the committee had the pleasure o f bow ling at H all for a few hours on good wickets on a hot day they would probably feel very l itt le doubt o f his powers o f defence. I t is enough to break any bowler’s heart, and despair is visible on the countenances o f most bowlers, when H a l l at one end and Mr. L umb at the other p lay three balls out of four slowly and safely back to the bowler. H a l l , however, pushes the ball about, and has a very good old-fashioned leg-hit. U lyett is as good as ever, and he and B ates are as dangerous as H a ll and Mr. L umb are safe. The old post-horses o f the county, E mmett and L ockwood , are still going their own pace, and are excellent wheelers in the Tyke team. The County has dug out a fast bowler in the shape of H arr ison , who shows the dearth of fast bowlers by being chosen to p lay at Lord ’ s for the Players his first season. He has, however, bowled w e l l for his County in a season when dry and good wickets were the rule and not the exception. The County that on its performances must be placed third is M iddlesex . This County has a two-fold ex istence : in its adult stage i t plays its first series o f matches, in the v igour of its manhood it plays the return matches. The adults generally lose a large proportion of its matches, and the warriors o f later date cannot always win back the laurels thus lost. In the early part of the season the Universities cannot spare their players, so the County cannot reckon on the services of Messrs. C. T . S tudd , J. E. K . S tudd , and de P a r a v ic in i , L eslie , or H e n e r y . The services o f Mr. A lfred L yttelton are not available, and he is, to say the least, a useful member o f any eleven. Consequently, when Y orkshire and N otts play them, w ith the ir legions in fu ll battle array, the result is generally adverse to the Metropolitan County. For the northern tour the fu ll strength is genera lly secured, and the batting combination is so strong that defeat on good -wickets ought almost to be an impossiblity. G igantic scores are got both by them and their opponents, and so weak is the M iddlesex bow ling that drawn matches are the rule, as was the case this year, when G loucestershire , Y orksh ire , and N otts each played a drawn game. There is no fast bowler of great merit, though Mr. B obertson occasionally delivers a good ball, and sometimes finds a way to the batsmen s ribs. There are three tried veterans who p lay in every match—Messrs. I. IX W alker , A . J. W ebbe , and P earson . Noth ing in last seasons cricket was more remarkable than Mr. W a lk er ’ s success. Verily be