Page:America's National Game (1911).djvu/214

 This natural instinct of the ball player could not be readily changed to conform to the cricketer's custom of "blocking," so it was decided to violate all conventional cricket "form" and slug at every ball bowled. The better and more accurately the Englishmen bowled, the more hits we could make, for such balls in our eyes were what we would term "good balls."

The result was that we made 107 runs in our inning to 105 for the Britishers, and American cricket stock went soaring. The London newspapers, in commenting on the play of the American ball players, declared that while in cricket they were not up to much in "form," their batting and fielding were simply marvelous.

The history of that day's game was repeated in every subsequent contest played in Great Britain. Not once were we defeated. Following the first game, which was played at the Lords' Grounds, in London, with the above score of 107 to 105 in one inning to each side, at the Prince's Grounds we defeated the Cricket Club by 110 in one inning against 60 in their two innings. At the Richmond Grounds the game was drawn, the English cricketers being disposed of for 108 in their innings, while the Americans had 45 with only six wickets down when rain stopped the game. At Surrey Oval the ball players scored 100 in their first inning to 27 by the cricketers, the game not being played out. At Sheffield the Americans defeated a Sheffield team by 130 runs in one inning to 43 and 45, a total of 88 in their two innings. At Manchester they defeated the Manchester twelve by 221 to 95 in a two-innings game. In playing against an "All-