It may interest some of our readers if we make a few remarks as to the standing of the various public schools in regard to the composition of the University elevens. We have analysed the elevens from 1861 to 1897 inclusive, and, as is perhaps natural, Eton comes first, having had during that period fifty-nine of her alumni representing one or other of the Universities. We are not reckoning the number of years that each played, but fifty-nine different Etonians have in the last thirty-three years played in the University match: thirty-four for Cambridge, twenty-five for Oxford. Harrow is represented by forty-six players: twenty-four at Oxford, and twenty-two at Cambridge. Rugby comes next with twenty-nine: nineteen for Oxford and ten for Cambridge. At one time Rugby was almost on a level with Eton and Harrow, for from the years 1861 to 1873 inclusive there were always two Rugby men playing in the match, and sometimes more; since that time, however, more than two Rugbeians have never played, two have played only twice, and from 1884 downwards two only have played. Mr. Leslie and Mr. Warner were the last good cricketers Rugby sent out, and her prowess seems much diminished as compared with the days of Pauncefote, Yardley, Francis, Kenney, and Case. Winchester has been represented by twenty-three, of whom all but three have played for Oxford, while out of eighteen Marlborough men twelve have played for Oxford; but Cambridge men will ever gratefully tender their thanks to Marlborough for the services of Mr. A. G. Steel, by far the greatest player ever turned out by that school, and perhaps the best all-round cricketer that has yet played for either University. Seventeen Cliftonians have played for Oxford, and two for Cambridge; but eleven out of fourteen Uppingham boys have represented Cambridge. Repton has contributed nine players, five representing Cambridge and four Oxford. Charterhouse has had nine University players, Tonbridge six, Cheltenham and Westminster have had five, and on the whole the proportion between Oxford and Cambridge has been about equal.
Of all-round players both Universities have had their full share in numbers. Cambridge has been helped by Makinson, A. G. Steel, C. T. Studd, and F. S. Jackson, and Oxford by Messrs. Maitland, R. D. Walker, and S. C. Voules. The great strength of Oxford in the years 1863–4–5 arose not only from the fact that in Mr. Mitchell it possessed one of the five greatest bats in England, but also that it had four such wonderful all-round men as Messrs. Voules, Walker, Evans, and Inge in 1863; and the same quartette, with the substitution of Mr. Maitland for Mr. Inge, in 1864 and 1865. But not one of the five was quite equal to any one of the Cambridge quartette, and when we say this we take as our basis the performances of the four in the University matches; and we do not consider the men who played before 1854, for it is difficult to make fair comparisons over so long a distance of time. The above-mentioned four will be found in the first half-dozen of batsmen and in the first half-dozen of bowlers. Messrs. Makinson, Yardley, Lucas, A. Lyttelton, A. G. Steel, C. T. Studd, F. S. Jackson, and N. F. Druce are the best batsmen from Cambridge, and Messrs. Mitchell, Maitland, Ottaway, Pauncefote, E. F. S. Tylecote, Key, Rashleigh, and Palairet the best from Oxford. In bowling, the champions from Oxford are Messrs. Marsham, Traill, Kenney, S. E. Butler, and Berkeley; from Cambridge, Messrs. Plowden, Pelham, Lang, Woods, and A. G. Steel. This is an opinion only, and would have to be considerably altered if we were to take another basis than the Inter-University match to draw our conclusions from. Mr. Kenney never played for the Gentlemen against the Players, and neither he nor Mr. Plowden could be compared as a bowler to Mr. Kempson, whose performance against the Players is historical. But he failed against Oxford. In the same way Lord Cobham, Mr. Ridley, and Mr. Lane were each as good as Mr. Pauncefote, but they failed in the Inter-University match, and consequently are out of our list.
The two following tables will show the best batting and bowling averages of those who have played for four years, and in the case of Mr. C. D. Marsham for five years, in the University match. The minimum batting average being 30, and the minimum bowling average being 12:—
| Name | Innings | Runs | Not out | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K. J. Key | 7 | 294 | 1 | 49 |
| C. W. Wright | 7 | 291 | 1 | 48·3 |
| R. A. H. Mitchell | 7 | 254 | 1 | 42·2 |
| W. Yardley | 7 | 278 | 0 | 39·5 |
| A. P. Lucas | 8 | 254 | 1 | 36·2 |
| Hon. A. Lyttelton | 8 | 234 | 1 | 33·3 |
| G. B. Studd | 7 | 225 | 0 | 32·1 |
| A. G. Steel | 7 | 184 | 0 | 30·4 |
| Name | Innings | Wickets | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. M. J. Woods | 36 | 318 | 8·30 |
| C. D. Marsham | 40 | 362 | 9·10 |
| H. M. Plowden | 19 | 188 | 9·17 |
| A. G. Steel | 38 | 342 | 9·31 |
| W. F. Maitland | 21 | 213 | 10·30 |
| Hon. F. G. Pelham | 26 | 292 | 11·80 |
| S. E. Butler | 25 | 312 | 12·12 |
| G. F. H. Berkeley | 27 | 341 | 12·17 |
FOOTNOTES:
- [35] The difficulty of getting accurate facts about this unique over has been immense. The author has before him the written statement of Mr. Hill, a copy of the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News containing a letter of Mr. Yardley, who was keeping wicket and was therefore in a position to judge, and a letter from Mr. Cobden and Mr. Belcher. In the first edition of this book Mr. Stewart is said to have been bowled off his legs; this is inaccurate, and the author apologizes for the blunder. Mr. Cobden complains of the account generally, and says that all three balls were of a good length, and that he never bowled better balls in all his life. The author in the above has written what he believes to be accurate, relying chiefly on the written evidence of Messrs. Hill, Yardley, and Belcher, and in a less degree from what he has heard from some spectators. It was not Stewart that was bowled off his legs, but Belcher; and in order that the public may form their own judgment, the written statements of Messrs. Hill, Yardley, and Belcher are here inserted. Mr. Hill writes:—‘Belcher was bowled with a yorker (half-volley?) and Stewart with a half-volley, but whether off his leg or not I do not remember.’ Mr. Hill also writes that on meeting Cobden some years later, Cobden repeated that they were three of the best balls he ever bowled, to which Mr. Hill replied that they were all half-volleys, and that he believed that if he had had any one of them he could have won the match with a fourer. Now Mr. Yardley, in allusion to the author’s statement that the ball that Butler was caught off was straight and well up on the off stump, writes: ‘As a matter of fact the ball in question was a very long hop, extremely wide on the off, so much so that I have no hesitation in stating that if Mr. Butler had made no attempt to strike at it the umpire would have called a wide. The batsman, however, was possessed of an exceptionally long reach, and just managed to strike the ball with the extreme end of his bat to cover-point, where it was beautifully caught by Mr. Bourne.’
- Now as to Belcher’s ball, Mr. Yardley says: ‘The ball in question was the most delicious half-volley on the legs, which Mr. Belcher did his utmost to hit out of Lord’s ground. Fortunately for Cambridge his deeds were not so good as his intentions, for he hit too hard at the ball, which he missed, and which, striking him on the left leg, cannoned on to his right leg, and from thence on to his wicket.’
- On the point of Mr. Stewart’s ball Mr. Yardley writes: ‘This fourth and last ball was the only straight one of that celebrated over. It was an exceedingly long hop, scarcely pitching half-way, and coming along surprisingly slow off the pitch. Had it not been for that circumstance Mr. Stewart would probably have not lost his wicket as he did, for it was only at the very last moment that he neglected his captain’s instructions and removed his bat from the block-hole, thereby allowing the ball to strike his off stump about three-quarters of the way up.’ Mr Yardley also writes that the scene appears to him as vivid after a lapse of twenty years as it did then.
- Mr. Belcher writes: ‘I am quite certain that I was bowled off my legs; the ball to the best of my recollection hit me just below the knee of the right leg and went into the wicket. At any rate I am quite clear as to my leg being hit, and my impression is that it was a very good-length ball, and not a half-volley. I don’t think I hit at it all. Of course at such a distance of time my recollections are somewhat vague, but the one point I am quite sure of is that I was bowled off my leg.’
- With these extracts before them, the matter is now left to posterity.
[CHAPTER XII.]
GENTLEMEN AND PLAYERS.
(By the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton.)
At first sight it appears impossible that amateurs—men who play when they chance to find it convenient—should be able to hold their own against professional cricketers who make the game the business of their lives. Cricket, however, is the one game where the two classes contend more or less on an equality, unless football be also an exception. Many amateur cricketers are not bound to work for their daily bread, and they can consequently find time to play as much as a ‘professional,’ if the accepted slang in which the adjective is employed as a substantive be permissible. Such was the state of things a few years ago when the Walkers, the Graces, Mr. Buchanan, and others could always be depended on to take part in the annual matches against the Players.