Lives in Cricket No 37 - William Clarke

98 with us; the same number went round as if he had not gone, but we are fond of him, and I hope he will go with us again. We began 1846 with one gentleman, and one ever since at times. He says the committee never interferes. If that were true , what a great compliment to me, and it is by the management of the funds that cricket is introduced into districts it never would have been, making 180 matches. I had been applied to from Newmarket and Salisbury, and could not go. Playing at The Oval, I was informed (I gave them my author) that Pilch and my name were in the bills going to play at Newmarket. I wrote to Newmarket to say they might play whom they liked, but they must not use the All England Eleven names to deceive the public. It appears the secretary at Newmarket is named Clarke, so it answered two purposes; they could take it for which they liked. If they stand so high, why use the names of the not fit-to-play party? For Pilch’s name was there, but finding by being rejected by the gentlemen of Wiltshire they did not stand so high with the public as they did with themselves, as was proved by the miserable thin attendance they had at the two or three places they went to, they adopted those means. This lover wishes it to be understood that A.Clarke, A.Mynn, A.Marshall, Esq., and Hillyer play in all the matches. Now, in looking over the England score book, I find that in 24 matches out of 28 the Eleven consisted of the following: N.Felix, A.Mynn, Box, Clarke, Parr, Guy, Caffyn, Caesar, Anderson, Bickley and Martingell, with sometimes, Grundy and Adams, for those unavoidably absent. Aye! Bickley. He is the best short slip that ever played at cricket, and see his averages of bowling. Now for A.Mynn. Nine places out of ten I am written to request him to come. He has played in 15 matches out of 28, instead of all the matches – had 26 innings, scored 297 runs, averaged 11 and 11 over. Martingell played in 18 matches, got 132 runs, average 4 and 4 over. So you see the bad player gets 16 a match more than Martingell, and we must not say much about the difference in fielding. With regard the signing, it’s a rope of sand. But I think they have left out the talent of bowling. Where are the Tinleys, Jacksons, Berrys, Armitages, Crosslands, Divers, Buttresses, Arnolds, Joys and others? Look at their performances; they could not get them in the snare, for they knew what I had been the means of doing for them. Look at Wisden and Dean, at Northampton, with four or five of the most noted from Rugby, and twenty-two at their back, best almost at one innings, the All England getting about 125 from those renowned bowlers, whilst those most noted were about all ciphered by the bowlers not fit. Look again at Nixon – at Ipswich he gets one wicket against us, and at Newton Abbot the same number – rather a long journey (400 miles) I take it, for one wicket. How is it this gifted party that is established on such perfect principles are spectators, whilst the not-fit-to-play party are all engaged at Lord’s and Canterbury? After the Surrey and England match at Lord’s, I take Nottingham under my own management – mind you, under my own Controversy