James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Companion 1884

25 2 ' ie h?'tntefd-as liar,lly aiiy batsman of his age has batted befoit. it an as said by a friend who saw the Middle0— — ..... ••• , . * ilvv " octvv tuts iTjLju.Clit:S6X veteran rrrpv ill his county’s service at the Oval, a week after the finish’ of the M iddlesex tour in the west and north, that his bones had even then hardly 1 ecovei ejl fiom the work the veteran had put on them. Consider the scoies—3/, 145, 62, 6, 76, and 5—from a man who first represented jianu, uuuveiy, ana aoout the same pace; this is not strong enough for M iddlesex to get to the top, no matter what the hatting may be, and the L ancashire tactics will shortly have to be resorted to, and another Howrrr may have to be secured. The batting of Mr. A. L yttelton , at the end of the season, was never excelled by him during his career. The condition of M iddlesex in cricket is like a strong man with one important part of the frame very weak; no amount of batting can make up for a total dearth of bowling. S urrey , thoroughly deserving of her place as fourth on the list, owes it chiefly to a number of good amateurs always ready at their County's call. The eleven started the season stunned with the loss of Mr. A. P. L ucas and the illness of J ones , who was probably the best bowler in the South. They also began by being beaten by N otts , L eicester ­ shire , and D erbyshire ; and yet during the whole season they were never defeated by another County on their own ground. The pluck of the eleven seems to have Yeturned, as the matches against Y orkshire and L ancashire jirove. B arratt has proved himself to be the most useful bowler in the South, for, though expensive, he always secures wickets, and is very easy to keep wicket to. The batting of Mr. W. W. R ead has been first-rate all through, and to him is the chief credit of S urrey ' s position due, for he played in every match. He was helped materially by Messrs. D iver , S huter , R oller , A bel , H enderson , and M aurice R ead . They are all through a good batting eleven, and in the three last named they have three very rising professionals; in H enderson , indeed, a gem of the first water may have been found. Of course, the usual zymotic disease of the South is present here as elsewhere, namely, a scarcity of fast bowling, Mr. H orner , fairly good, only being available occasionally. The last season has witnessed the retirement of P oolky , and a rare genius for the game is gone with him. A wonderflil wicket-keeper to the end ot his day to slow bowling—in his prime to fast also and a bat con­ spicuous for pluck in an up-hill match, and for very rapid run-getting, he was a sort of cricketer that the South does not produce now, as it did of yore. . , , X1 r n. ~ . The" fall of L ancashire is accounted for mainly by the falling off in Mr. H ornby ' s play, and the almost total absence of Mr A G. S teel , in fad their batting has gone off, while on the true wickets their bowling has naturally not been so deadly. B arlow lias played consistently well all through, but R obinson Las been uncertain, being one ot those cricketers who make a score of 100 and then have a moyth d ! compete ill success. Mr. T aylor is a sound bat but there is then an abse ice of trustworthy bats, though all have a chance o Y orkshire ^for the SEr t a t t L was plain in both these matches. However, the comm.ttee