James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Companion 1885

28 could not be played, as it would have given us a line y which to cor the merits of many of the schools. There were certainly two very fair bats in the eleven, of whom D’A eth was probably the best 1 their main strength lay in their bowling, of which there was niei t and some of it well above the average— C ampbell , for instance, did or two very smart performances, to wit, in the first innings of Welli ^ in ’ eleven fell to him at a cost of only oz runs, we are sorry to have • / *- ton he took 5 wickets for 8 runs, a d against the old boys the wh'f 32 . W v n n.,_ to add that the fielding left much to be desh'ed, the team not seemina to work together. The outlook for the coming season is, we fear, rather gloomy. Many recruits will have to be brought forward, and we under, stand that most of them will probably be “ raw.” Great success was predicted for the T onbridge boys in these pa»es last year, and even their most sanguine supporters must allow that the reality quite surpassed all expectations. To win seven matches, most of them easily, and to suffer hut one defeat, and that at the hands of a strong M.C.C. team, is a record that is quite remarkable, and if we bear in mind the comparatively small numbers of the school, the success is perfectly astonishing. We are glad to say that the fielding of the team showed a marked improvement on that of the previous year, while the two fast howlers, H aywood and G. C. H ubbard , were so consistently “on tlie spot” that not one long score was made against them. Further, the hatting of the team in general, and of R asiileigh in particular, was far above the common, and their score sheets tell us that the team averaged 230 runs per innings. In R asiileigh , Tonbridge undoubtedly possessed the finest school hat of the year; he had the almost unprece­ dented average of 64 for 10 completed innings, and more than once he showed form of which any cricketer might be proud. There should be a great future before him, and we hope the chance will be given him this season of showing what he can do in first-class matches. There is every prospect of great strength again this year, as R asiileigh and the two bowlers are still in the school. What can we say of U ppingham ? At the beginning of the season the play of the hoys were very promising, but it gradually fell off, and towards the end of the term the eleven completely collapsed. In May they won all their three matches, in June they lost one and drew three, and in the two matches played in Juiy they were badly beaten. These facts are in themselves very strong evidence of gradual but sure deterioration, even though in their match at Repton the luck avhs dead against them. More than one of the team shoAved considerable promise, and M artineau will, we hope, do much to restore the high prestige Avhich Avas so long attached to Uppingham cricket. He is a good bat, and a very fair slow bowler. The tAvo W hitwei . ls Avere useful men. The elder is a straight fast boAvler, and Avitli ordinary care might be a good ba t; the younger Ave think very promising indeed. Of the rest of the team little need be said, though C legg deserves a Avord of praise for his brilliant fielding “ in the country.” It Avould seem that Uppingham cricket has, during the last feAV years, much fallen from its former high standard, though'sevei’al good men have been turned out. The pvimary cause of the decadence is, Ave believe, the want of a really good second professional—one av I io can coach as well as bowl. Naturally H. H. S tephenson cannot do, or be expected to do, as much hard Avork as