FORTY YEARS OF CRICKET.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7777, 3 February 1891, Page 2

FORTY YEARS OF CRICKET.

Br W. 6. Graox. (Continued.) No. .£XXV.—>Read, Haul, Ulybtt. Mr Walter William Read was born at Reigate, Surrey, on the 23rd November, 1855. Height, sft ll∈ weight, list 51bs. He will stand out as one of the great batsmen of the age. For excellent defence and vigorous hitting he has had few equals ; and to-day, though he is in his 85th year, his form is almost up to his best years. Aβ far as I can learn, he had no special training, but his innate love for the game and unwearied perseverance brought him rapidly to the front; and he was tried by Surrey Committee at the early age of seventeen. His defence was excellent then; and great things were predicted of him when he reached the years of manhood. He always played with a straight bat, and, as the years went on and strength came, his bitting powersjimproved rapidly. For'quick scoring he has few equals at the present time, and there is no one the cricket-loving public watches with great delight. The very first over he is on the alert for a loose ball, and I do not envy the bowler when he has got well set. lake most of pur great batsmen, he has hie pet hits. A long hop,oh the off-side is his especial delight.. He makes no attempt to pull it to the on, as one or two powerful hitters do, but steps back with his right foot, and smites terrifically hard between point and mid-off. He plays every ball clean and hard, however good the length of it, and on the leg-side ne is exceptionally strong in placing, Of late years he has fielded close in, bat in the past he was good Jn the long-field ; and it is an open secret that he can keep wicket fairly welf. and bowl lobs* at a pinch. In 1881, for Surrey v. Yorkshire, at Huddersfleld, he kept wicket while Yorkshire scored32B and did not give a single extra. He first represented his country ltt 1873, and was actually at the . head of the averages in 1875. The year 1877 saw him representing the Gentlemen against the Players, and, with the exception of 1878 and 1879, note year-has, -passed lin which he has not played a great part in all matches of importance. To give every three-figure innings he has made would take too much space, so I confine myself to those scored from 1884 to 1889, when he was undoubtedly seen at his best:— ■ May 26,1884—F0r Surrey v. Leicester .. " 162 Aug. 11, " —For England v. Anatralia .. 117 Aug. 25, " —For Sutrey t. Gloucestershire -~ . ... . ... .. .. 135 May 11,1885—For Surrey t. Essex ..143 May 28. " —For Murrey v. Derbyshire — 123 June 15, " —For Surrey t. Essex .. ..214 Jane. 29, " —For Surrey v. Sussex .. 183 July 2, " —For Gentlemen ▼• Players ... 159 July 13, " —For Surrey v. Sussex . „ IQI t n g. 3, " —For Surrey v. Notts'.. ■„■ 135 ug. 6, " —For Surrey v. Derbyshire .. 109 June 24, 1886—For Surrey v. Cambridge Univereity .. .. .. ;. *114 Aug. s, lBBS—For Surrey v. Derbyshire .. 115 Aug. 23, " —For Surrey v. Gloucestershire .>. -.. -U.* ■'■ : .... ii. i. 190 August 20,1886—F0r Surrey v. Leicestershire .. .. .. ~ ~ ■ *137 September 25,1887—F0r South of England; v. Australians.. ... .'. ■ ~ «IQ2 June 9,1887—F0r Surrey v. Oxford Uni-' veraity.. ~ .. .. .. 118 June 16,1587 -For Surrey v. Lancashire .. 247 June 20, 1887—For Surrey v. Cambridge Uwivendtr .. .. ,;. .. *244 July 28,1887—F0r Surrey v. Derbyshire .. J45 Augu»t— 22,1887—F0r Surrey r. Kent .. 100 May 28,1838—»"of Gentlemen of England v.AH*tr*flane.. .'./... •/;.. .. 109. Juj»e4.lßßß—For Surrey v.K»sex , „ 189 June 7.MBB—For Surrey t. Yorkshire ..-'•■ 103 June s—ror Gentlemen of Saner v. ! Parseee .. .. .. .. 132 June2s, I*©—For Surrey v.Oxford JJai- > vereity.. .. .. . , 338 August^TiSSe-ForSurrey,v.BuiMx/ J 171 July 18, &o ,1889—For Gentlemen of Surrey V. Gentlemen of Phlladelpia 105 & 130 August 8, Surrey v. Middlesex 115 W. W. Bead's Batting Avenges, from 1875 to 1889. v f'i i >■ s -i 1 t T '"'•' mc c '-'.at , ..' '".■Jβ.-'; Xμ* ■ 1878 li 688 109 43 1377 U 399 ' 140 M.3 ' 1878 13 278 80 23.8 1879 6 123 S3, 20.3 1880 18 ' 306 85 , 2fc6 1881 . 23 831 160 32.3 , 1882- 34 884 117 83 * 1883 3J 1573 163 47.82 1834, 43 1256 ISS 29.9 IKS 42 ISBO 163 44.33 1889 43 1685 , 130 42.19 1887 84 1615 247 47.17 1883 39 1414 Ssß 56.10 1889 32 BUS 116 &* In 1883, 1888, and 1883, Mr Read was at the top ox the first class averages. 1 Louis Halt was born «t Batley, Yorkshire, on November Ist, 1852. His height is sft IOiQ ; weight about list. He flrec played for bis country on the 22nd May, 1873, when be scored 37 nine, after he had batted for an hour and 40 minutes. It was a promising start fo? him, and as his defence was excellent, the Yorkshire Committee naturally thought they had secured a vainable recruit for the eleven: however, he did not do much during tthe remainder of the season, and he was left ont of county contests until 1873. From that date he improved yearly; and to-day, though in his 33th year, there is no more dependable bat in the Yorkshire eleven. He tavariacly goes in first, and the spectators are never surprised when he comes out last, or carries n!s bat throughoat the innings. I believe that he has carried his bat through the Yorkshire innings on thirteen different occasions. His patience and cooiaeaa are quite equal to Scotton's, and hia scoring pace not; * PettuahedL Mr'peeialeraaogemente with the author. AUge&ta «a*ewed.

much faster. From 10 to 15 runs an hour is a fair average for him. But he can Bit) when he makes up his mind to; however, thote occurrences are few and far between. I remember one of them. It was eomo years ago, when the United South played eighteen of Batley. I was bowling to him, and had tried to tempt him to hit out for some overs, but failed. Suddenly ho woke up, and, to my surprise, hit; mc to square-leg clean out of the ground. Do I sleep f do I dream f or, are visions about ? ran ray thoughts: bub no, it was etern reality; and ne kept It up for some time. In the same match I had rather a peculiar experience. I was fairly well set when a bowler whom I had never seen before was commissioned to have a try at mc. The very first ball was a deliberate throw, and it hit my wicket, and I had to go out, every one of the opposite side alleging that as the umpire had not "no-balled" him, the ball must be considered to have been fairly delivered. The joke of the thing lay in the fact that the bowler had been engaged to play entirely owing to his throwing powers, and was only to be allowed to Bowl one over at mc. They still tell that story ag&iant mc in the North. I am rather sorry that I cannot recall the qowler's name, so that I might hold him np for judgment even at this date ; but I daresay that would not trouble him very much. Hall can drive fairly well, and Is good on the leg-side; but it is his unwearied patience and strong defence which make, him so valuable a bat. He is a good field close in, and can bowl lobs or slow round He has scored over a hundred runs in an innings on several occasions, and has represented the Players against the Gentlemen for many years. He captained the Yorkshire eleven for soma time ; and he is a strict teetotaller. His finest displays with the bat were made In— • a . -si I 1883 « « 35 1180 127 83.25 1887 «. ~ 32 1240 160 88.24 George Ulyett waa born at Pltemoor, near Sheffield, 21st October, 1851. Hie height is sft weight, Hat. With the exception of Emmet, Ulyett has been the most prominent player in the York* shire eleven any time during the last fifteen years. Ha was one of the best allround professional cricketers in 1875, and he is one of the best to-day. Whether as a bateinan, bowler, or fieldsman, he has been worthy of a place in any eleven, and very few players have so fine a record aa he. He was at the head of the batting averages of his county some years in succession. He was almost as sucoessf al with the ball; and he is still a brilliant fieldsman anywhere. • He represented the Players v. Gentlemen in 1876, and he represents them still. Indeed, It would be difficult, even to-day, to choose a representative eleven of any kind without including . him. And 1 should think he has played oftener out of the United Kingdom than any player. He firnt visited Australia in 1876 with Lilly white's team; went out again with Lord Harris's eleven in 1876; and was also a member of Shaw's team in 1881-2. On each occasion he was at (the head of the .batting averages in eleven-a-slde matches, and showed the very fine results of: 1876, average 48.6; 1878, average 34; 1881, average 39.2. He ie very popular with all followers of the game; and his clean and vigorous hitting commands the admiration ofeveryone. lie hits well all round, and scores at a great pace, and invariably bats first man; and when he has got well set, the quality of the bowling makes little difference to him. As a bowler he has been very successful at times, and on a kicking wicket almost unplayable. He bowls high round with a high delivery, and gets a good deal of 'break from the off. Now and then he makes the ball rise very quickly, and he has to be carefully watched. His performance with thn ball for England v. Australia, in the second Innings at Lords, July 22nd and 23rd, 1884, was a very fine one: 39 ' overs, 23 maidens, 86 runs, 7 wickets ; and his catch of Bonner off his own bowling' in that innings has never been surpassed. The present season bo far has shown that he has lost little of his form—a very exceptional thing, considering that he Iβ fast completing his 39th year. i Hie best years with the bat have been— • ' It ■'< I I |f . 5 1878 «. '«. 48 1347 109 ; * 5».t3 18S1 ~ ~ 36 1197 112 33.9 1883 " ■■„ - 58 1542 138 07.80 1883 - „ 51 1572 84 30.42 1884 - - 45 1334 Mβ* 29.29 1885 _ ... 46 1337 91 29.3 1887 - .. S3 1487 199* 38.6