Saturday 4 January, page 7: CRICKET “Wisden” this year quite maintains its good name as the standard record of the game. Cricketers invariably look for a fresh feature to introduce them to the analysis of the previous summer’s work; and, although the present volume contains no such heated controversy as “throwing in first-class cricket,” dealt with in the last annual, those who follow the great national pastime will find something of which the true cricketer never tires of hearing – the genius of W G Grace. In a year made famous by the champion’s completion of his hundred hundreds the editor of “Wisden” found his special subject almost imperative, and called in the aid, in the way of contributions, of Lord Harris, the president of the Marylebone Club, and Mr A G Steel. Both given their reminiscences of the greatest of players, and both will e read with interest. But one would have liked them longer. Mr Steel writes cricket almost as well as he played it, and more might well have been acceptable from the gentleman who helped to give the cricket volume of “Badminton” its great popularity. Mr Steel describes Dr Grace’s style of batting, and in closing his chapter pays the following tribute: - “There have been some who for a short period have given reason for the belief that his position as champion batsman was being dangerously assailed. I allude to such names as W L Murdoch, A Shrewsbury and A E Stoddart. That belief was, however, fleeting. W G Grace has proved his batting to be immensely superior to every other cricketer.” Lord Harris believes that W.G.’s later style of batting is quite different from what it was between 1870 and 1880, and explains in what way. The public schools in 1895 are dealt with by Mr W J Ford, and not the least interesting part of this article is the list of the cricketers who have gone up to the Universities. The vacancies in the Oxford team will be keenly fought for by a number of Freshmen of great school reputations. C C Pilkington, of Eton, has for some seasons been a fine cricketer, and Eton are also sending up A F W Baird, the wicket-keeper, and R W Mitchell. There are only two or three of the many good school names. Of the Cambridge Freshmen J H Stogdon, the brilliant Harrow batsman, is the most prominent. All the counties’ matches are fully analyzed, together with those of the Marylebone Club and the Universities, while there are records of the tours of Mr Stoddart’s team in the colonies, Mr Frank Mitchell’s in America and Mr Lucas’s in the West Indies. In addition there are I Zingari results. Deaths in 1895 make a long list. The obituary notices include those of Mr E M Hadow, the Earl of Bessborough, Mr J W Dale, Dr Henry Grace and George Freeman. It is satisfactory to find that last year’s omission of the rule relating to the follow-on in two days’ matches, which caused a great exchange of correspondence between various secretaries and captains and the authorities at Lord’s, has been repaired. Mr Sydney H Pardon is the editor of the excellent book, in which there is a capital portrait of W G Grace, and the publishers are John Wisden and Company, of Cranbourn-street. 1 Thursday 30 January, page 7: THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM FOR ENGLAND Melbourne, Jan. 30 The selection committee invited Bruce and Garrett to join the team which is to visit England next season, but they declined. The omission of Lyons, Turner, Howell and Albert Trott from the selected team is strongly criticized. – Our Correspondent. 2 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CLUB The annual general meeting of this club was held yesterday at Nottingham under the presidency of Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck. The financial statement showed that, by leasing the licensed property of Trent-bridge Ground and by the aid of last year’s subscription, the club had been able to relieve itself of a debt of £4,800 and to start the year with a balance of £200. Further satisfactory prospects for Notts cricket were found in the scheme for a club and ground, formed in order to retain the services of four or five professionals permanently. With the financially scheme and the idea of the club and ground the meeting was well pleased. The chairman pointed out that Notts had mostly suffered in the past through not being able to retain their young players, who migrated to other counties. Nottinghamshire always had played and always would play only those cricketers who were native to the county; and he regretted that other counties did not appreciate this spirit in county cricket. Colonel Denison dwelt on some of the misfortunes of the county, which had often been deprived of the services of such men as Shrewsbury, Flowers and Gunn through illness. He thought the league system, as followed so much in Lancashire, was inimical to the best interests of cricket. Lord Belper pointed out that among the causes of the decadence of Notts cricket was the fact of young players leaving the shire before they were good enough for the eleven. The meeting unanimously confirmed the adoption of the committee’s financial and club and ground proposals. The Bishop of Southwell is the new president for the year. Regret was expressed that the Leicestershire matches could not be played. It was reported that Flowers’s benefit fund reached £466. 3 Wednesday 29 January, page 7: LANCASHIRE COUNTY CLUB There was a large attendance at the annual general meeting held yesterday at the Albion Hotel, Manchester. Mr A N Hornby, the president, who was in the chair, made the presentation of a gold watch and chain to Mr A C MacLaren as a souvenir if the record first-class score of 424 obtained by Mr MacLaren against Somerset at Taunton last summer. Mr MacLaren, in accepting the gift, said that in reading some old Wisdens he had found that most of his best performances had been away from Manchester. For this he was sorry. He was further afraid that he would be unable to play for Lancashire until the holidays next summer. In the report of the club for the year it was shown that the attendances at the home county matches reached 148,000, an increase of 51,000 on 1894. The accounts showed a balance of nearly £2,300. Mr A N Hornby was re-elected president, Mr S H Swire hon. secretary and Mr J MacLaren hon. treasurer. ---------- The Surrey Club executive have decided to give Robert Henderson a benefit match in 1897. Henderson’s steady batting and usefulness as a change bowler made him in various years an invaluable player for the county. But he was not always a sound field. Henderson played first in 1883 for Surrey and is still among the first reserves for the county. 4 THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TEAM FOR ENGLAND Sydney, Jan. 28. The following have been definitely selected to form the Australian cricket team which is to visit England during the forthcoming season: - Eady, Tasmania; T R M’Kibbin, F A Iredale, S Gregory, H Donnan, New South Wales; H Trott, H Graham, H Trumble, Johns, J Harry, Victoria; and George Giffen, E Jones, J Darling, South Australia. The team does not include Albert Trott, who headed the Australian batting averages in the matches played during Mr Stoddart’s tour in 1894-95, while three of the number – Easy, Donnan and Johns – did not take part in any of the test matches between Mr Stoddart’s team and All Australia, Johns making his first appearance in the return match with Victoria on March [19], when he acted as wicket-keeper. George Giffen, Gregory, Trott, Trumble and Graham were members of the Australian team which played in England in 1893. – Reuter. 5 Saturday 14 March, page 12 THE KENT CXCLUB AND THE ST LAWRENCE GROUND We are asked to publish the following letter which has been sent to the members of the Kent County Club: - “Sir, - The Kent County Cricket Club, at a general meeting held on March 13, resolved to purchase the St Lawrence Cricket Ground, being urged thereto by the knowledge that, if the club did not purchase it, there was a risk of the ground being lost for cricket purposes for ever, and possibly at a early date; and by the conviction that the continuance of “The Week” was of vital importance to the club. This obligation has been forced on the club, not through any decrease of good will on the part of the landlord, but through the inexorable demands of the Finance Act, 1894. “The club also resolved to invite subscriptions to assist in meeting the cost of purchase, its invested funds at present amounting to £2,100 only, whilst the price of the freehold is £4,500. In recommending the club to purchase, the committee felt that upon grounds of sentiment they might depend for a considerable measure of material support from that portion of the cricket-loving public, which either still makes its annual pilgrimage to Canterbury in August, or can look back to “The Week” with pleasant recollections. “Canterbury Week” has been complimented by attempts at imitation, but to its devotees the St Lawrence Ground must always be unsurpassed in the picturesqueness and the appropriateness of its situation and surroundings. Years of labour have secured an excellent wicket, and the club has laid out a not inconsiderable sum on fixtures. The committee felt that it was worth while making an effort to retain these advantages, rather than seek for a new ground, which, in the long run, would certainly have cost not less than St Lawrence, whilst it could never have gained that savour of tradition which hangs over the spot where “those five mighty players, Felix, Wenman, Hillyer, Fuller Pilch and Alfred Mynn,” fought “their grand battle with all England,” and over which the standard of I.Z.