Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Coucy-le-Château" to "Crocodile"

Chapter II: MODERN CONFESSIONS OF FAITH.--The second great creed-making epoch of (8)

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The immense amount of labour and expense devoted to the preparation and care of cricket grounds has produced during the past quarter of a century a perfection of smoothness in the turf which has materially altered the character of the game. On the rough and fiery pitches of earlier days, on which a "long stop" was indispensable, the behaviour of the ball could not be reckoned upon by the batsman with any degree of confidence. The first ball of an "over" might be a "shooter," never rising as much as an inch off the ground, the next might bound over his head, and the third pursue some equally eccentric course. But on the best grounds of to-day, subject to the well-understood changes due to weather, the bound of the ball is so regular as to be calculable with reasonable certainty by the batsman. The result has been that in fine weather, when wickets are true and fast, bowlers have become increasingly powerless to defeat the batsmen. In other words the defence has been strengthened out of proportion to the attack. Bowlers have consequently to a great extent abandoned all attempt to bowl the wicket down, aiming instead at effecting their purpose by bowling close to but clear of the wicket, with the design of getting the batsman to give catches. Many batsmen of the stubbornly defensive type, known in cricket slang as "stonewallers," retaliated by leaving such balls alone together, or stopping them deliberately with the legs instead of the bat.

These tactics caused the game to become very slow; over after over was bowled without an attempt being made to score a run and without apparent prospect of getting a wicket. This not only injured the popularity of the game from the spectator's point of view, but, in conjunction with the enormous scores that became common in dry seasons, made it so difficult to finish a match within the three days to which first-class matches in England are invariably limited, that nearly 70% of the total number of fixtures in some seasons were drawn. Cricketers of an older generation have complained that the cause of this is partly to be found in the amount of time wasted by contemporary cricketers. These critics see no reason why half of a summer's day should be allowed to elapse before cricket begins, and they comment with some scorn on the interval for tea, and the fastidiousness with which play is frequently interrupted on account of imperfect light or for other unimperative reasons. Various suggestions have been made, including proposals for enlarging the wicket, for enabling the attack to hold its own against the increasing strength of the defence. But the M.C.C., the only recognized source of cricket legislation, has displayed a cautious but wise conservatism, due to the fact that its authority rests on no sanction more formal than that of prestige tacitly admitted by the cricketing world; and consequently no drastic changes have been made in the laws of the game, the only important amendments of recent years being that which now permits a side to close its innings voluntarily under certain conditions, and that which, in substitution for the former hard and fast rule for the "follow on," has given an option in the matter to the side possessing the requisite lead on the first innings.

_Early Players._--If the era of the present form of cricket can very properly be dated from the visit of the first Australian team to England in 1878, some enumeration must be made of a few of the cricketers who took part in first-class matches in the earlier portion of the 19th century. Among amateurs should be noted the two fast bowlers, Sir F. H. Bathurst (1807-1881; Eton, Hampshire), and Harvey Fellowes (b. 1826; Eton); the batsman N. Felix (1804-1876; Surrey and Kent), who was a master of "cutting" and one of the earliest to adopt batting gloves; the cricketing champion of his time Alfred Mynn (1807-1861; Kent); and the keen player F. P. Miller (1828-1875; Surrey). The three Marshams, Rev. C. D. Marsham (b. 1835), R. H. B. Marsham (b. 1833) and G. Marsham (b. 1849), all of Eton and Oxford, were as famous as the Studds in the 'eighties; and R. Hankey (1832-1886; Harrow and Oxford) was a great scorer. In the next generation one of the greatest bats of his own or any time was R. A. H. Mitchell (1843-1905; Eton, Oxford, Hants). A very attractive run-getter was C. F. Buller (b. 1846; Harrow, Middlesex); an all too brief career was that of C. J. Ottaway (1850-1878; Eton, Oxford, Kent and Middlesex); whilst A. Lubbock (b. 1845; Eton, Kent) was a sound bat, and D. Buchanan (1830-1900; Rugby and Cambridge) a destructive bowler, as was also A. Appleby (1843-1902; Lancashire).

Of the professionals, Fuller Pilch (1803-1870) and E. G. Wenman (1803-1897) were great bats; T. Box (1808-1876) the most skilled wicket-keeper of his time; W. Lillywhite (1792-1854), one of the first round-arm bowlers, renowned for the accuracy of his pitch, and W. Clark (1798-1856) possessed wonderful variety of pace and pitch. It was the last-named who organized the All England Eleven, and he was not chosen to represent the players until he had reached the age of forty-seven. George Parr (1826-1891), the greatest leg-hitter in England, had no professional rival until the advent of Richard Daft (1835-1900). J. Dean (1816-1891) was the finest long-stop, Julius Caesar (1830-1878) a hard clean hitter, as was G. Anderson (1826-1902), and T. Lockyer (1826-1869) seems to have been the first prominent wicket-keeper who took balls wide on the leg-side. Of bowlers, E. Willsher (1828-1885) would seem to have been the most difficult, W. Martingell (1818-1897) being a very good medium-paced bowler, and J. Wisden (1826-1884) a very fast bowler but short in his length. Four famous bowlers of a later date are George Freeman (1844-1895), J. Jackson (1833-1901), G. Tarrant (1838-1870) and G. Wootton (b. 1834). With them must be mentioned the great batsmen, T. Hayward (1835-1876) and R. Carpenter (1830-1901), as well as two other keen cricketers, H. H. Stephenson (1833-1896) and T. Hearne (1826-1900).

Since the first half of the 19th century the sort of cricket to engage public attention has very greatly changed, and the change has become emphasized since the exchange of visits between Australian and English teams has become an established feature of first-class cricket. First-class cricket has become more formal, more serious and more spectacular. The contest for the county championship has introduced an annual competition, closely followed by the public, between standing rivals familiar with each other's play and record; an increased importance has become attached to "averages" and "records," and it is felt by some that the purely sporting side of the game has been damaged by the change. Professionalism has increased, and it is an open secret that not a few players who appear before the public as amateurs derive an income under some pretext or other from the game. Cricket on the village green has in many parts of the country almost ceased to exist, while immense crowds congregate to watch county matches in the great towns; but this must no doubt be in part attributed to the movement of population from the country districts; and some compensation is to be found in league cricket (see below), and in the numerous clubs for the employees of business firms and large shops, and for the members of social institutes of all kinds, which play matches in the suburbs of London and other cities. At an earlier period two great professional organizations, "The All England," formed in 1846, and "The United All England," toured the country, mainly for profit, playing local sides in which "given men," generally good professional players, figured. They did much good work in popularizing the game, and an annual match between the two at Lord's on Whit-Monday was once a great feature of the season; but the increase of county cricket led eventually to their disbandment.

At this period, and much later, the first-class matches of "M.C.C. and ground" (i.e. ground-staff, or professionals attached to the club) occupied a far greater amount of importance than is at present the case. In recent years over 150 minor matches of the utmost value in propagating the best interests of cricket are annually played by the leading club. League cricket has of late become exceedingly popular, especially in the North of England, a number of clubs--about twelve to sixteen--combining to form a "League" and playing home-and-home matches, each one with each of the others in turn; points are scored according as each club wins, loses, or draws matches, the championship of the "League" being thus decided.

_English County Cricket._--The first English inter-county match which is recorded was played on Richmond Green in 1730 between Surrey and Middlesex; but for very many years, though counties played counties, there was no systematic organization, matches often being played at odds or with "given" players, who had no county connexion with the side they represented. This was the natural outcome of the custom of playing for stakes. It was not till 1872 that any real effort was made to organize county cricket. In that year the M.C.C. took the initiative by offering a cup for competition between the counties, six of which were to be selected by the M.C.C., the matches to be played at Lord's, but the scheme fell through owing to the coolness of the counties themselves. It was only in 1890 that the counties were formally and officially classified, Notts (the county club dating from 1859), Lancashire (1864), Surrey (1845), Kent (1842), Middlesex (1864), Gloucestershire (1869), Yorkshire (1862), and Sussex (1839), being regarded as "first-class," as indeed had been the case from the time of their existence; and by degrees other counties were promoted to this class; Somerset in 1893; Derbyshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Warwickshire in 1894; Hampshire in 1895; Worcestershire in 1899; Northamptonshire in 1905.

In 1887 the County Cricket Council had been formed, working with and not against the Marylebone Club, for the management of county cricket, but the council dissolved itself in 1890, and it was then arranged that the county secretaries and delegates should meet and discuss such matters, and request the M.C.C. to consider the result of their deliberations, and practically to act as patron and arbitrator. In 1905 an Advisory Cricket Committee was formed "with the co-operation of the counties, with a view to improve the procedure in dealing with important matters arising out of the development of cricket, the effect of which will be" (the quotation is from the annual report of M.C.C. in 1905) "to bring the counties into closer touch with the M.C.C." Various methods have been tried as to the assignment of points or marks, the following being the list of champion counties up to 1909:--

The Graces and Gloucestershire.

English county cricket is now the most firmly established cricketing
institution in the world, but in its earlier stages it owed much in
different counties to enthusiastic individuals and famous cricketing
families whose energies were devoted to its encouragement and support.
To Gloucestershire belongs the honour of the greatest name in the
history of the game. Dr W. G. Grace (q.v.) was not only the most
brilliant all-round cricketer in the world, but he remained supreme
after reaching an age when most cricketers have long abandoned the
game. He and his two famous brothers, E. M. Grace (b. 1841) and G. F.
Grace (1850-1880), rendered invaluable service to their county for
many years; and not to their county alone, for the great part they
played for a generation in first-class cricket did much to increase
the growing popularity of the county fixtures. A separate article is
devoted to Dr W. G. Grace, whose name as the champion of the game will
always be associated with its history. And of Dr E. M. Grace it may be
mentioned that, besides being the most daring field at "point" ever
seen, he altogether took 11,092 wickets and scored 75,625 runs. In
more recent years some excellent cricketers have been associated with
Gloucestershire, such as F. Townsend, and the professional Board; but
foremost stands G. L. Jessop, a somewhat "unorthodox" batsman famous
for his powers of hitting.

Kent.

What W. G. Grace did for Gloucestershire, Lord Harris (b. 1851) did
for Kent, and his services are not to be estimated by his performances
in the field alone, great as they were. His influence was always
exerted to impart a spirit of sportsmanship and honourable distinction
to the national game. Kent had been a home of cricket since the first
half of the 18th century, but it was Lord Harris more than any other
individual who made it a first-class county, celebrated for the number
of distinguished amateurs who have taken part in its matches. The Hon.
Ivo Bligh, afterwards Lord Darnley (b. 1859), and F. Marchant (b.
1864), both Etonians like Lord Harris himself; the two Harrovians, W.
H. Patterson (b. 1859) and M. C. Kemp (b. 1862), and the Wykehamist J.
R. Mason (b. 1874) are names that show the place taken by public
school men in the annals of Kent cricket, while the family of Hearnes
supplied the county with some famous professionals. Amateur batsmen
like W. Rashleigh, C. J. Burnup, E. W. Dillon and A. P. Day have been
prominent in the Kent eleven; and in Fielder and Blythe they have had
two first-class professional bowlers. The "Kent nursery" at Tonbridge
has proved a valuable institution for training young professional
players, and contributed not a little to the rising reputation of
Kent, which justified itself when the county won the championship in
1906, largely owing to the admirable batting of the amateur K. L.
Hutchings.

Middlesex and Lancashire.

Middlesex and Lancashire, not less than Kent, have been indebted to
the great public schools, and especially to Harrow, which provided
both counties with famous captains who directed their fortunes for an
uninterrupted period of over twenty years. I. D. Walker, the most
celebrated of seven cricketing brothers, all Harrovians, who founded
the Middlesex County Club, handed on the captaincy, after a personal
record of astonishing brilliancy, to a younger Harrow and Oxford
cricketer, A. J. Webbe, who was one of the finest leg-hitters and one
of the safest out-fielders of his day, and a captain of consummate
judgment and knowledge of the game. A. N. Hornby, a contemporary at
Harrow of I. D. Walker, was for many years the soul of Lancashire
cricket, and was succeeded in the captaincy of the county by the still
more famous Harrovian, A. C. MacLaren, one of the greatest batsmen in
the history of cricket, whose record for England in test matches
against Australia was almost unrivalled. In 1895, when he headed the
batting averages, MacLaren made the highest individual score in a
first-class match, viz. 424 against Somersetshire. Middlesex has also
the distinction of having produced the two greatest amateur
wicket-keepers in the history of English cricket, namely, the Hon.
Alfred Lyttelton (b. 1857) and Gregor MacGregor, both of whom, after
playing for Cambridge University, gave their services to the
Metropolitan county; while Lancashire can boast of the greatest
professional wicket-keeper in Richard Pilling (1855-1891), whose
reputation has not been eclipsed by that of the most proficient of
more recent years. Another famous Cambridge University cricketer, a
contemporary of Lyttelton, who was invaluable to Lancashire for some
years when he was one of the very finest all-round cricketers in the
country, was A. G. Steel (b. 1858), equally brilliant as a batsman and
as a slow bowler; and other names memorable in Lancashire cricket were
R. G. Barlow (b. 1859), whose stubborn batting was a striking contrast
to the rapid run-getting of Hornby and the perfect style of Steel;
John Briggs (1862-1902), whose slow left-hand bowling placed him at
the head of the bowling averages in 1890; John Crossland (1853-1903)
and A. Mold (b. 1865), both of whom were destructive fast bowlers; J.
T. Tyldesley and R. H. Spooner, both among the most brilliant batsmen
of a later generation; and W. Brearley, the amateur fast bowler.

Middlesex, like Kent, has been better served by amateurs than
professionals. Indeed, with the notable exceptions of J. T. Hearne,
who headed the bowling averages in 1891, 1896 and 1898, and of the
imported Australian A. E. Trott, few professionals of high merit are
conspicuously associated with the history of the county cricket.
Trott, in 1899 and again in 1900, performed the previously
unprecedented feat of taking over two hundred wickets and scoring over
one thousand runs in the same season. And in his "benefit match" in
May 1907 at Lord's he achieved the "hat trick" twice in one innings,
taking first four and then three wickets with successive balls. But if
there has been a dearth of professionals in Middlesex cricket, the
county has produced an abundance of celebrated amateurs. In addition
to the Walkers and A. J. Webbe, the metropolitan county was the home
of the celebrated hitter, C. I. Thornton, and of the Studd family, who
learnt their cricket at Eton and Cambridge University. C. T. Studd,
one of the most polished batsmen who ever played cricket, was at the
same time an excellent medium-paced bowler, and his brother G. B.
Studd is remembered especially for his fielding, though like his elder
brother, J. E. K. Studd, he was an all-round cricketer of the greatest
value to a county team. Sir T. C. O'Brien, who made his reputation by
a fine innings for Oxford University against the Australian team of
1882, sustained it in the following years by many brilliant
performances for Middlesex. A. E. Stoddart for several years was the
best run-getter in the Middlesex eleven; and W. J. Ford and his
younger brother, F. G. J. Ford, were conspicuous among many prominent
Middlesex batsmen. In more recent times the Oxonian P. F. Warner (b.
1873), both as captain and as batsman, did splendid work; and B. J. T.
Bosanquet, besides assisting powerfully with the bat, became famous
for inaugurating a new style of curly bowling ("googlies") of a very
effective type.

Surrey.

A glance at the table given above shows the high place occupied by
Surrey in the past. Surrey county cricket can be traced as far back as
1730. Pycroft observes that "the name of Surrey as one united county
club is quite lost in the annals of cricket from 1817 to 1845." But
before that date two of the most celebrated cricketers, William
Lillywhite and Fuller Pilch, had occasionally played for the county,
and so also had James Broadbridge (1796-1843) and W. Lambert
(1779-1851). Kennington Oval became the Surrey county ground in 1845,
the property being leased from the duchy of Cornwall; and in the years
immediately following the county team included H. H. Stephenson
(1833-1896), Caffyn (b. 1828), N. Felix, and Lockyer (1826-1869);
among a later generation appeared such well-remembered names as Jupp,
Southerton, Pooley and R. Humphrey. After being champion county in
1873, Surrey did not again attain the same position for fourteen
years, but for the next ten years maintained an almost uninterrupted
supremacy. The greatest credit was due to the energetic direction of
J. Shuter (b. 1855), who kept together a remarkable combination of
cricketers, such as W. W. Read (1855-1906), Maurice Read (b. 1859),
George Lohmann (1865-1901), and Robert Abel (b. 1859), all of whom
were among the greatest players of their period. Lohmann in 1885-1890
would alone have made any side famous; and in the same years when he
was heading the bowling averages and proving himself the most deadly
bowler in the country, W. W. Read was performing prodigies of batting.
No sooner did the latter begin to decline in power than Abel took his
place at the head of the batting averages, scoring with astonishing
consistency in 1897-1900. In 1899 he made 357 not out in an innings
against Somersetshire, and in 1901 his aggregate of 3309 was the
largest then compiled. The Oxonian K. J. Key was another famous
batsman whose services as captain were also exceedingly valuable to
the county. An almost inexhaustible supply of professionals of the
very highest class has been at Surrey's service. W. Lockwood (b. 1868)
became almost as deadly a bowler as Lohmann, and Tom Richardson (b.
1870) was the terror of all Surrey's opponents for several seasons
after 1893. Richardson took in all no less than 1340 wickets at the
cost of 20,000 runs. Tom Hayward (b. 1867), nephew of the renowned
Cambridge professional of the same name, succeeded Abel as the leading
Surrey batsman, his play in the test matches of 1899, when he averaged
65, being superb. During the following years his reputation was fully
maintained, and in 1906 he had a particularly successful season. Key
was followed in the captaincy by D. L. A. Jephson, but the county did
not in the opening years of the 20th century maintain the high place
it occupied during the last quarter of the 19th. It possessed some
excellent professionals, however, in Hayes, Hobbs and Lees, and the
season of 1906, under the captaincy of Lord Dalmeny, showed a revival,
a new fast bowler being found in N. A. Knox, and a fine batsman and
bowler in J. N. Crawford.

Sussex.

Several of the celebrated cricketers of early times already mentioned
as having played for the Surrey club were more closely associated with
the adjoining county of Sussex, whose records go back as far as 1734,
in which year a match was played against Kent, the chief promoters of
which were the duke of Richmond and Sir William Gage. One of the
earliest famous cricketers, Richard Newland (d. 1791), was a Sussex
man; and James Broadbridge, W. Lambert, Tom Box, and the great
Lillywhite family were all members of the Sussex county team. Lambert,
in a match against Epsom, played at Lord's in 1817, made a "century"
(one hundred runs) in each innings, a feat not repeated in first-class
cricket for fifty years; and the occasion was the first when the
aggregate of a thousand runs was scored in a match. Broadbridge played
for Sussex in five reigns, while Box (1808-1876) kept wicket for the
county for twenty-four years without missing a match. Notwithstanding
this distinguished history, Sussex never attained the highest place in
the county rivalry, and for a number of years towards the end of the
19th century the left-handed batting of F. M. Lucas (1860-1887) alone
saved the county from complete insignificance. A revival came when W.
L. Murdoch (b. 1855), of Australian celebrity, qualified for Sussex;
and at a still later date the fortunes of the county were raised by
the inclusion in its eleven of Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, afterwards
H.H. the Jam of Nawanagar (b. 1872), the Indian prince, who had played
for Cambridge University. Ranjitsinhji's dexterity, grace and style
were unrivalled. He scored 2780 runs in 1896, averaging 57, while in
county matches in 1899 his aggregate was 2555, with an average of 75.
Even this performance was beaten in 1900 when he scored a total of
2563 runs, giving an average for the season of 83. In all matches his
aggregates were 3159 in 1899, and 3065 in 1900. Not less remarkable
was the cricket of C. B. Fry (b. 1872), who came from Oxford
University to become a mainstay of Sussex cricket, and who in 1901
performed the unparalleled feat of scoring in successive innings 106,
209, 149, 105, 140 and 105, his aggregate for the season being 3147
with an average of 78. In 1905 his average for Sussex was 86, but in
the following year an accident kept him out of the cricket field
throughout the season; and in 1909 he transferred his services to
Hampshire.

Notts.

If Kent and Middlesex may be described as the counties of amateurs,
Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire should be called the counties of famous
professionals. Between 1864 and 1889 Nottinghamshire was champion
county twelve times and the county eleven was as a rule composed
almost entirely of professional players, among whom have been many of
the greatest names in the history of the game. Richard Daft
(1835-1900), after playing as an amateur, became a professional in
preference to abandoning the game, scorning to resort to any of the
pretexts by which cricketers have been known to accept payment for
their services while continuing to cling to the status of the amateur.
William Oscroft (1843-1905) was one of Nottinghamshire's early batting
heroes, and in Alfred Shaw (b. 1842) and F. Morley (1850-1884) the
county possessed an invaluable pair of bowlers. William Gunn (b.
1858), besides being a magnificent fielder "in the country," was an
exceptionally able batsman; but his performances did not equal those
of his greater contemporary, Arthur Shrewsbury, who in six years
between 1885 and 1892 headed the English batting averages.
Shrewsbury's perfect style combined with inexhaustible patience placed
him in the front rank of the "classical" batsmen of English cricket.
Of the batsmen nicknamed "stonewallers," who at one time endangered
the popularity of first-class cricket, was W. Scotton (1856-1893); and
among the other numerous professionals whose cricket contributed to
the renown of Nottinghamshire were Barnes (1852-1899), at times a most
formidable bat; Flowers (b. 1856), always useful both with the bat and
the ball; W. Attewell (b. 1861), a remarkably steady bowler who bowled
an abnormal number of maiden overs; Mordecai Sherwin (b. 1851), an
excellent successor to T. Plumb (b. 1833) and F. Wild (1847-1893) as
wicket-keeper for the county; and among more recent players, J.
Iremonger (b. 1877) and John Gunn, both of whom proved themselves
cricketers worthy of the Notts traditions. J. A. Dixon (b. 1861), one
of the few amateurs of the Nottinghamshire records, was for some time
captain of the county team; and he was succeeded by A. O. Jones (b.
1873), a dashing batsman, who in 1899 was partner with Shrewsbury when
the pair scored 391 for the first wicket in a match against
Gloucestershire.

Yorkshire.

The history of Yorkshire cricket is modern in comparison with that of
Surrey, Sussex or Kent. The county club only dates from 1861, and for
some years the team was composed entirely of professionals. But though
Yorkshire attained the championship three times during the first ten
years of the county club's existence, thirteen years elapsed after
1870 before it again occupied the place of honour. In the ten years
1896-1906 Yorkshire was no less than six times at the head of the
list, this position of supremacy being in no small measure due to the
captaincy of Lord Hawke (b. 1860), who played continuously for the
county from his university days for more than twenty years, and whose
influence on Yorkshire cricket was unique. But before his time
Yorkshire had already produced some notable cricketers, such as George
Ulyett (1857-1898), who headed the batting averages in 1878, and who
was also a fine fast bowler; Louis Hall (b. 1852), a patient bat; and
another excellent scorer, Ephraim Lockwood (b. 1845). William Bates
(1855-1900), too, was effective both as batsman and bowler; and Tom
Emmett (1841-1904), long proverbial for bowling "a wide and a wicket,"
was deservedly popular. To the earlier period belonged two fast
bowlers, George Freeman (1844-1895) and Allan Hill (b. 1845), and the
eminent wicket-keeper Pincher (1841-1903), who was succeeded by J.
Hunter (1857-1891), and later by his brother Daniel Hunter (b. 1862).
The full effect of Lord Hawke's energetic captaincy was seen in 1900,
when Yorkshire played through a programme of twenty-eight fixtures
without sustaining a defeat; and the county's record was but little
inferior in both the following years and again in 1905, in each of
which years it retained the championship. It was during this period
that as notable a group of cricketers wore the Yorkshire colours as
ever appeared in county matches. Edmund Peate (1856-1900), one of the
finest bowlers in his day, did not survive to take part in the later
triumphs of his county; but the period beginning in 1890 saw J. T.
Brown, J. Tunnicliffe, R. Peel, W. Rhodes, George Hirst and the Hon.
F. S. Jackson in the field. The two first named became famous for
their first wicket partnerships. In 1896 in a match against Middlesex
at Lord's these two batsmen scored 139 before being separated in the
first innings, and in the second knocked off the 147 required to win
the match. In the following year they made 378 for the first wicket
against Surrey, and during their careers they scored over a hundred
for the first wicket on no less than fifteen occasions, the greatest
feat of all being in 1898, when they beat the world's record by
staying together till 554 runs had been compiled. Peel was for many
years an untiring bowler, and Yorkshire was fortunate in discovering a
successor of even superior skill in Wilfrid Rhodes, who in 1900 took
over 200 wickets at a cost of 12 runs each in county matches alone,
and was also an excellent bat. Hirst and Jackson were the two finest
all-round cricketers in England about 1905. The Hon. F. S. Jackson (b.
1870), like his fellow-Harrovian A. C. MacLaren, had a wonderful
record in test matches against Australia; he captained the England
eleven in 1905, and his wonderful nerve enabled him to extricate his
side when in a difficulty, and to render his best service at an
emergency. Hirst (b. 1871) in 1904 and in 1905 scored over 2000 runs
and took more than 100 wickets; and in 1906 he surpassed all previous
records by scoring over 2000 runs and taking over 200 wickets during
the season. A concourse of 78,000 people watched his "benefit" match
(Yorkshire against Lancashire) in August 1904. Besides cricketers like
these, such fine players were included in the team as Wainwright (b.
1865), Haigh (b. 1871), Denton (b. 1874), and E. Smith (b. 1869); with
such material the Yorkshire eleven had no "tail," and was able to win
the championship six times in a decade.

Somersetshire.

Somersetshire hardly fulfilled the promise held out by the success
achieved in the closing decade of the 19th century; this had been
largely owing to the captaincy and brilliant batting of H. T. Hewett
(b. 1864), who in partnership with L. C. H. Palairet (b. 1870), famous
for his polished style, scored 346 for the first wicket in a match
against Yorkshire in 1892. Hewett was succeeded in the command of the
county eleven by the Cambridge fast bowler, S. M. J. Woods (b. 1868);
and among other members of the eleven the most valuable was L. C.
Braund (b. 1876), a professional who excelled as an all-round
cricketer.

Minor counties.

The counties above referred to are those which have figured most
prominently in the history of county cricket. Individual players of
the highest excellence are, however, to be found from time to time in
all parts of the country. Warwickshire, for example, can boast of
having had in A. A. Lilley (b. 1867) the best wicket-keeper of his
day, who represented England against Australia in the test matches;
while Worcestershire produced one of the best all-round professionals
in the country for a number of years in Arnold (b. 1877), and a
batsman of extreme brilliancy in R. E. Foster, a member of a
cricketing family to whom belongs the credit of raising Worcestershire
into a cricketing county of the first class. Derbyshire, similarly,
can claim some well-known cricket names, the bowler W. Mycroft
(1841-1894), W. Chatterton (b. 1863), and W. Storer (b. 1868), a
first-class wicket-keeper. Essex possesses at Leyton one of the best
county grounds in the country, and the club was helped over financial
difficulties by the munificent support of an old Uppingham and
Cambridge cricketer, C. E. Green. It has produced a fair number of
excellent players, notably the batsmen P. Perrin, C. MacGahey, and the
fast bowler C. J. Kortright; and A. P. Lucas, afterwards a member of
the county club, was a famous cricketer who played for England in 1880
in the first Australian test match. Hampshire had a fine batsman in
Captain E. G. Wynyard, and its annals are conspicuous for the
phenomenal scores made during the single season of 1899 by Major R. M.
Poore; these two put together 411 against Somersetshire in that year
before being separated. Among the later Hants professionals, Llewellyn
was most prominent.

The distribution of cricketing ability in England might be the subject
of some interesting speculation. In the first forty years of the
annual competition for the championship six counties alone gained the
coveted distinction, and three of these, Surrey, Notts and Yorkshire,
won it thirty-four times between them. Why, it may be asked, is it
that one county excels in the game while another has no place whatever
in the history of cricket? How comes it that great names recur
continually in the annals of Surrey and Yorkshire, for example, while
those of Berkshire and Lincolnshire are entirely barren? No doubt
proximity to great centres of population favours the cultivation of
the game, but in this respect Kent and Sussex are no better situated
than Hertfordshire, nor does it account for Nottinghamshire having so
illustrious a record while Staffordshire has none at all, nor for
Somersetshire having outclassed Devon. It is strange, moreover, that
while the universities are the chief training-grounds for amateur
cricketers, neither Oxfordshire nor Cambridgeshire has made any mark
among the counties. The influence of individuals and families, such as
the Graces in Gloucestershire, the Walkers in Middlesex, and in recent
times the Fosters in Worcestershire, has of course been of inestimable
benefit to cricket in those counties; but Buckinghamshire and Norfolk
and Cheshire send their sons to the public schools and universities no
less than Lancashire or Kent. It is difficult, therefore, to
understand why county cricket should so persistently confine itself to
a small number of counties; but such is the fact.

Cricket has never flourished vigorously in Scotland, Ireland or Wales,
a fact that may partly be accounted for by the comparative difficulty
of obtaining good grounds in those parts of the kingdom, and by the
inferiority, for the purpose of cricket, of their climate. In the
south of Scotland, and especially in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh,
there are clubs which keep the game alive; and Scotland, though it has
produced no great cricketers, either amateur or professional, has sent
a few players to the English university elevens who have found places
in English county teams. In Ireland cricket is fairly popular,
especially in those parts of the island where local sides can obtain
assistance from soldiers quartered in the neighbourhood. One or two
counties play annual matches, that between Kildare and Cork in
particular exciting keen rivalry. Trinity College, Dublin, has turned
out some excellent players; and the Phoenix and Leinster clubs in
Dublin, and the North of Ireland club in Belfast, play a full
programme of matches every season. D. N. Trotter, who played for
county Meath for many years towards the close of the 19th century, was
a batsman who would have found a place in any English county eleven;
so also would William Hone, one of several brothers all of whom were
keen and skilful cricketers. About the same period Lieutenant Dunn
scored so many centuries in Irish cricket that he was played, though
without any great success, for his native county of Surrey. More
recently L. H. Gwynn (1873-1902) batted in a style and with a success
that proved him capable of great things. Sir T. C. O'Brien, though an
Irishman, belongs as a cricketer to Middlesex; but T. C. Ross, who was
chosen to play for Gentlemen v. Players at Lord's in 1902, was a
bowler who played regularly for county Kildare.

_Gentlemen v. Players._--The most important match of the year as far
as purely English cricket is concerned is the match between the
gentlemen and players (amateurs and professionals) played at Lord's.
For many years a match played between sides similarly composed at the
Oval excited equal interest, but latterly county cricket has rather
starved this particular game, though it still continues as a popular
fixture. Other matches with the same title have been played in London
on Prince's Ground (now built over), and at Brighton, Hastings and
Scarborough and elsewhere, but those games in no way rank with the
London matches.

The Lord's fixture was first established in 1806, in which year two
matches were played; it became annual in 1819, but in those days the
amateurs, being no match for their opponents, generally received odds,
while in 1832 they defended wickets 22 in. by 6, and in 1837 the
professionals stood in front of wickets of four stumps, measuring in
all 36 in. by 12 in. This match was known as "The Barndoor Match" or
"Ward's Folly," and the professionals won by an innings and 10 runs.
Odds were not given after 1838, the gentlemen having then won eight
matches and lost thirteen. From 1839 to 1866 the gentlemen only won 7
matches as compared with 21 losses. In 1867 the tide turned, for the
brothers Grace, especially Dr W. G. Grace, became a power in the
cricket-field, and from 1867 to 1884 the gentlemen, winning fifteen
matches, only lost one. From 1885 the balance swung round, and by 1903
the professionals had won eleven matches and lost but four. The
gentlemen won on nine successive occasions between 1874 and 1884, a
draw intervening; while beginning with 1854 the professionals won
eleven matches "off the reel." The professionals won in 1860 by an
innings and no less than 181 runs; in 1900 they only won by two
wickets, but to do so had to make, and did make, 501 runs in the last
innings of the match. In 1903 the gentlemen, heavily in arrears after
each side had played an innings, actually scored 500 in their second
innings with only two men out. In 1904 the gentlemen won by two
wickets after being 156 runs behind on the first innings, thanks to
fine play by K. S. Ranjitsinhji and A. O. Jones. J. H. King had scored
a century in each innings, a feat previously only performed by R. E.
Foster in 1900. C. B. Fry's 232 not out in 1903 was the largest
innings scored in the match. Dr W. G. Grace, who is credited with
eight centuries, is the only cricketer who exceeded the hundred more
than twice at Lord's in the fixture, 164 by J. T. Brown being the
highest innings by a professional. There were seven instances before
1864 of two bowlers being unchanged in the match, and the Hon. F. S.
Jackson and S. M. J. Woods repeated this in 1894. The Oval match was
first played in 1857. The amateurs effected their first win in 1866,
and though several games were drawn the professionals did not win
again till 1880. As at Lord's, it was the era of Grace, but from this
point the amateurs could only win two matches, and by the narrowest of
margins, till 1903, this making their sum of victories up to then
thirteen, as opposed to twenty-three. In 1879 the gentlemen won in one
innings by 126 runs, the heaviest beating that one side had inflicted
on the other. The highest individual score was Robert Abel's 247, and
the next Dr W. G. Grace's 215. Hayward scored 203 in 1904; A. G. Steel
and A. H. Evans bowled unchanged in 1879.

_School and Club Cricket._--Cricket is the standing summer game at
every English private and public school, where it is taught as
carefully and systematically as either classics or mathematics. There
are also numbers of amateur clubs which possess no grounds of their
own and are connected with no particular locality, but which are in
fact mere associations of cricketers who play matches against the
universities, schools or local teams, or against each other. Of these
the best known, perhaps, is I Zingari (The Wanderers), popularly known
as I.Z., whose well-known colours, red, yellow and black stripes, are
prized rather as a social than as a cricketing distinction. This club
was founded in 1845 by Lorraine Baldwin and Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane.
The first rule of the club humorously declares that "the entrance fee
shall be nothing, and the annual subscription shall not exceed the
entrance fee." It is a rule of the club that no member shall play on
the opposing side. I.Z. has long been connected with the social
festivities forming a feature of the "Canterbury Week," a cricket
festival held at Canterbury during the first week in August, of the
Scarborough week, and of the Dublin horse-show. Dr W. G. Grace, who
almost invariably appeared in the cricket field wearing the red and
yellow stripes of the M.C.C., and some other notable amateurs, never
belonged to I.Z. or any similar club; but Dr Grace was instrumental in
the formation of the London county club, whose ground was at the
Crystal Palace at Sydenham. Other amateur clubs, similar to I Zingari,
are the Free Foresters, Incogniti, Etceteras, and in Ireland Na
Shuler; while the Eton Ramblers, Harrow Wanderers, Old Wykehamists,
and others are clubs whose membership is restricted to "old boys."

The Oxford and Cambridge universities match was first played in 1827,
but was not an annual fixture till 1838. Five matches, those of 1829,
1843, 1846, 1848 and 1850, were played at Oxford, the rest at Lord's.
The "'Varsity match," and that between the two great public schools,
Eton and Harrow, are great "society" events at Lord's every summer. Up
to 1909 Eton won thirty times, and Harrow on thirty-five occasions. D.
C. Boles by scoring 183 in 1904 set up a new record for this match,
beating the 152 obtained in 1841 by Emilius Bayley (afterwards the
Rev. Sir John Robert Laurie); and in 1907 the Harrow captain, M. C.
Bird, established a further record by scoring over a hundred runs in
each innings. Of the contests between Oxford and Cambridge, the latter
(up to 1909) had lost thirty-one and won thirty-five. Oxford's 503 in
1900 and Cambridge's 392 in the same match furnished the highest
aggregates. The largest individual innings was 172 not out by J. F.
Marsh in 1904; but as a feat of batting it was intrinsically inferior
to the 171 by R. E. Foster in 1900. Of the thirty centuries scored up
to 1909, Oxford was credited with sixteen. Eustace Crawley (b. 1868)
made a hundred both in the Eton v. Harrow and Oxford v. Cambridge
matches. In the match of 1870 F. C. Cobden (b. 1849) took the last
three Oxford wickets with consecutive balls, winning the match for
Cambridge by 2 runs.

_Australian Cricket._--Naturally popular in a British colony, cricket
made but little progress in Australia before the arrival of an English
professional eleven in 1861-1862, which carried all before it.
Subsequent visits, and the coaching of imported professionals, so
promoted the game that in 1878 a representative eleven of Australians
visited England. The visits were repeated biennially till 1890, and
then triennially. The visits of the Australian teams to England
aroused unparalleled interest and acted as an immense incentive to the
game. A great sensation was caused when the first team, captained by
D. W. Gregory, on the 27th of May 1878, defeated a powerful M.C.C.
eleven in a single day, disposing of them for 33 and 19, the fast
bowler F. R. Spofforth (b. 1853) taking 6 wickets for 4 runs, and H.
F. Boyle (b. 1847) 5 for 3. Their prowess was well maintained when in
September 1880 Australia for the first time met the whole strength of
England, such matches between representatives of Australia and England
being known as "test matches," a term that was applied later to
matches between England and South Africans also. Although in 1880 the
old country won by 5 wickets, the honours were fairly divided,
especially as Spofforth could not play. Dr W. G. Grace with a score of
152 headed the total of 420, but even finer was the Australian captain
W. L. Murdoch's imperturbable display, when he carried his bat for
153. From 1882 onwards the Colonials, with two exceptions, at
Blackpool and Skegness, only played eleven-a-side matches. Such
bowlers as Spofforth, Boyle, G. E. Palmer (b. 1861), T. W. Garrett (b.
1858), and G. Giffen (1859) became household names. Nor was the
batting less admirable, for Murdoch was supported by H. H. Massie (b.
1854), P. S. McDonnell (1860-1896), A. C. Bannerman (b. 1859), T.
Horan (b. 1855), C. J. Bonnor (b. 1855), and S. P. Jones (b. 1861),
whilst the wicket-keeper was McCarthy Blackham (b. 1855). This
visiting side in 1882 was the greatest team of all; 23 matches were
won, only 4 lost, and England was defeated at the Oval by 7 runs. In
1884 English cricket had improved, and the visiting record was hardly
so good. The match against England at the Oval will not soon be
forgotten. The Colonials scored 551 (Murdoch 211, McDonnell 103, Scott
102), and England responded with 346, Scotton and W. W. Read adding
151 for the ninth wicket.

The team of H. J. H. Scott (b. 1858) in 1886 proved less successful,
for all three test matches were lost, and eight defeats had to be set
against nine victories, but Giffen covered himself with distinction.
This was the first tour under the auspices of the Melbourne Club.
McDonnell's team in 1888 marked the appearance of the bowlers C. T. B.
Turner (b. 1862) and J. J. Ferris (1867-1900). The former took 314
wickets for 11 runs each, and the latter 220 for 14 apiece. To all
appearance they redeemed a poor tour, 19 matches being won and 14
lost. The 1890 tour, though Murdoch reappeared as captain, proved
disappointing, both the test matches being lost and defeats for the
first time exceeding victories, though the two bowlers again performed
marvellously well. After an interval of three years, M. Blackham
captained the seventh team, which was moderately fortunate. H. Graham
(b. 1870) and S. E. Gregory (b. 1870) batted admirably, and the 149 of
J. J. Lyons (b. 1863) in the match against M.C.C. was an extraordinary
display of punishing cricket. In 1896, though they did not win the
rubber of test matches, the colonials were most successful, 19 matches
being victories and only 6 lost. S. E. Gregory, J. Darling (b. 1870),
F. A. Iredale (b. 1867), G. Giffen, C. Hill (b. 1877), and G. H. S.
Trott (1866-1905) were the best bats, and the last-named made an
admirable captain. H. Trumble (1867) kept an excellent length, and E.
Jones (1869) was deadly with his fast bowling.

The Australian representatives in 1899 demonstrated that they were the
best since 1882, 16 successes and only 3 defeats (v. Essex, Surrey and
Kent) being emphasized by a victory over England at Lord's by 10
wickets, the only one of the five test matches brought to a
conclusion. M. A. Noble (b. 1873) and Victor Trumper (b. 1877), both
newcomers, batted superbly. The latter, v. Sussex, made 300, the
largest individual score hitherto made by an Australian in England,
the previous best having been 286 by Murdoch in the corresponding
match in 1882. H. Trumble scored 1183 runs and took 142 wickets for 18
runs apiece, and Darling not only made a judicious captain, but scored
the biggest aggregate, 1941, up to then obtained by any batsman
touring with a colonial eleven in England. On the home side, Hayward
did sound service with the bat, and his stand with F. S. Jackson in
the fifth test match yielded 185 runs for the first wicket.

In 1902 another fine Australian eleven, captained by Darling, won 23
and lost only 2 matches. They won the rubber of test matches at
Manchester by 3 runs, but lost the final at the Oval by one wicket
after an even more remarkable struggle, G. L. Jessop having scored 104
in an hour and a quarter. The other defeat was by Yorkshire by 5
wickets, when they were dismissed for 23 by Hirst and Jackson. The
rest of the tour was characterized by brilliant batting. The
performance of Trumper in making 2570 runs (with an average of 48)
surpassed anything previously seen; R. A. Duff (b. 1878) also proved a
brilliant run-getter. W. W. Armstrong (b. 1879) was useful in all
departments, and J. V. Saunders (b. 1876) proved a successful
left-handed bowler.

In 1905 there was a marked falling-off, as England won two and drew
the other three test matches; but only one other defeat, by Essex by
19 runs, had to be set against 16 Australian victories. The persistent
bowling off the wicket by Armstrong, and the inability to finish games
within three days, were the chief drawbacks. Armstrong eclipsed all
previous colonial records in England by heading both tables of
averages, scoring 2002 (average 48) and taking 130 wickets at a cost
of 17 runs each. He also compiled the largest individual score (303
not out v. Somerset) ever made on an Australian tour. M. A. Noble also
exceeded 2000 runs. For a long time the fast bowler, A. Cotter (b.
1882, N.S.W.), failed, but eventually "came off," just as F. Laver (b.
1869), who had taken many wickets in the earlier part of the tour, was
becoming less formidable. Duff saved the colonials by a great innings
in the fifth test match; Trumper was less certain than formerly, and
Clement Hill more reckless; whilst J. J. Kelly (b. 1867) on his fifth
tour was better than ever before with the gloves.

The Australians who visited England under the leadership of M. A.
Noble in 1909 were generally held to be a weaker team than most of
their predecessors, but they greatly improved as the season advanced,
proving that the side included several cricketers of the highest
merit, and as a captain Noble has seldom been surpassed in consummate
generalship. Their record of thirteen wins to four defeats offered
little evidence of inferiority, while the large number of twenty-one
drawn matches was accounted for by the cold wet weather that largely
prevailed throughout the summer. Two out of the five test matches were
unfinished, and Australia won the rubber by two matches to one. In all
the test matches England was under the command of A. C. MacLaren, but
the great Harrovian was no longer the batsman he had been some years
earlier; Jackson had abandoned first-class cricket; Hirst and Hayward
were becoming veterans; and, speaking generally, the English batting
was decidedly inferior, and it collapsed feebly in three of the test
matches. England's failure, for which poor fielding and missed catches
were also responsible, was the more disappointing since they began
well by winning the first test match at Birmingham by ten wickets. C.
B. Fry and Hobbs knocking off the 105 runs required to win in the
second innings without the loss of a wicket. In the third test match,
at Leeds, England was deprived of the services of Hayward and Blythe
through illness, and an accident to Jessop during the match compelled
the side to play a man short. It was in bowling that the Australians
were thought to be least strong; but Laver's analysis in the
Manchester test match, when he took 8 wickets for 31 runs in England's
first innings, was the most notable feature of the match; and although
his record at the head of the bowling averages for the tour, 70
wickets at an average cost of 14.9 runs, had frequently been beaten in
earlier Australian tours in England, it proved him a worthy successor
of Spofforth, Boyle and Turner. Armstrong, although he did not equal
his record of 1905, again scored over 1000 runs and took over 100
wickets, his exact figures being 1439 runs and 120 wickets. The most
remarkable Australian batting was that of two young left-handed
players who on this occasion visited England for the first time, W.
Bardsley (b. 1884) and Vernon Ransford (b. 1885), the latter of whom
headed the averages both for test matches (58.8) and for the whole
tour (45.5), his principal achievement being an innings of 143 not out
in the test match at Lord's. Bardsley, who was second in the test
matches averages (39.6), fell into the third place slightly below
Armstrong in the averages for the tour; but he alone scored over 200
in an innings, which he accomplished twice, and over 2000 in aggregate
for the tour, and he established a test match "record" by scoring 136
and 130 in the match at the Oval. Of the twenty-two "centuries" scored
by Australians during the season Bardsley and Ransford each made six.
Trumper and Noble each scored over a thousand runs, and Macartney was
an invaluable member of the side both in batting and bowling. As a
wicket-keeper Carter worthily filled the place of Kelly, and the
fielding of the Colonials fully maintained the brilliant Australian
standard of former years.

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