Lives in Cricket No 21 - Walter Read

110 evidence and suggest that, despite protestations to the contrary, the author did not see himself as a serious cricket historian. He is on more reliable ground with his descriptions of mediaeval bat and ball games and eighteenth-century cricket, but it is evident that, as he admits in the ‘Author’s Note’, in days long before Cricket Archive was a twinkle in the eye of dedicated and computer- literate statisticians, his main purpose is something of an ego-trip and is to provide a permanent record of his achievements on the field and his own comments on them. He surveys the game from its alleged beginnings, through its manifestation in a more recognisable form, beginning a new chapter for 1873 to mark his own arrival on the first-class scene. From that point, he has the advantage of being an eye-witness of and at times a participant in the history which he is recording. At the beginning of Chapter VI, he writes: In placing the present year under the heading of a fresh chapter, I had in mind the fact that it was my first introduction to the public in good-class cricket, and I possess the feeling that from now almost all I have to write about is either taken from actual observation, or a thorough knowledge of the circumstances under which it transpired….. When I started at the Oval it was in the match Surrey v. Yorkshire…. Being young and green I was very slow, and I shall never forget the advice given me by that veteran Henry Jupp, who remarked: “Now, young man, look here! The first thing you have to do if you want to be a cricketer is to keep your wicket up, and the runs are sure to come.” The value of such admonition from one of the leading professionals of the day was present to my mind for years afterwards, and I commend the advice as it stands to all young aspirants of the game. Aided by early Surrey statistician Anthony Benitez de Lugo, he lists all his own innings against each opponent, centuries, wicket- keeping and bowling performances and provides supplementary information on the personnel and results of Australian and other tours, and some statistics on the Eton v Harrow and Varsity matches. He lists players he has played with and against and provides illustrations of the evolution of cricket dress and equipment. It all seems a little quaint these days, but at the time, the book was as comprehensive a record as anything produced outside the Wisden and Lillywhite publications. Annals of Cricket and Short Hints on Cricket