Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/117

 Mitchell 44 not out; and G. Parr was highest for the Players, making 60 in their second innings.

I had another, and what I considered a very high, compliment paid to me on the 17th, 18th, and 19th July. The second of those dates was my eighteenth birthday, and I spent it playing for The Gentlemen of England v. The Gentlemen of Middlesex, on the Middlesex County Ground, at Islington. The result showed that both teams had plenty of batting strength, for 822 runs were scored for 36 wickets. My brother E. M. was most successful for England, scoring 12 and 111; and my share was 48 and 34. Mr. A. J. Wilkinson scored 28 and not out 84 for Middlesex; and Mr. C. F. Buller made 71 for the same side.

At the Oval, on the 2ist and 22nd August, I played for England v. Surrey, and going in first with E. M.,. raised the score to 80 before we were parted.

I have dealt more fully with my own doings in those matches than I had intended; but, as it was the first year in which I contended against the best of the amateur and professional talent, I believed it might be of interest and encouraging to beginners to have the results. It will be seen that, at times, I was fairly successful with both bat and ball; but that now and then I shared the common experience of doing very little with either. First-class professional bowling I found to be a widely different thing from the amateur bowling which I had played chiefly against in the last year or two against local clubs. My slight experience against the All-England Eleven had in a measure prepared me for it, and I took no liberties: but most of the bowlers were new to me, and their styles varied; and I learned that before I could do much against a man, I must know something about his bowling. It was trial enough to be compelled to play over after over of straight, good -length balls; but I had to