Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/118

 watch tricky ones as well. Patience I found to be my greatest friend, and before the season was over I had gained something in confidence. But, of course, I was disappointed at not scoring a hundred runs at least once during the year, although I knew that was a feat rarely accomplished at that time against first-class bowling. My highest score was 85, for the South Wales Club v. I Zingari; but my most encouraging performance was in bowling for the Gentlemen of the South v. Players of the South, in the match I have already mentioned, and for which the Surrey Club presented me with a ball, with the following inscription on it:

"Presented to W. G. Grace, Esq., by the Surrey County Cricket Club, for his great performance in the match of Gentlemen of the South v. Players of the South at the Oval, June 22nd and 23rd, where he bowled 5 wickets first innings for 44 runs, and 8 second for 40."

I had plenty of cricket of one kind and another that year, playing in all 54 innings, and scoring 2169 runs; and one of the innings was for Suffolk County Club. It came about in this way. The M.C.C. was playing that county at Lord's, and I was in London at the time. I strolled on to the ground the second day; and Suffolk being two men short, very kindly asked me to play. I did not wait to be asked twice, and could have wished to have done better for them. We were sadly defeated, only scoring 58 and 62; while the M.C.C. scored 269 in a single innings. E. M. scored 82 for them, and knocked the Suffolk bowling all over the ground.

There were two or three good individual performances during the year; one of them being Jupp's 216 for the Players of the South v. Fourteen Gentlemen of the South, at Southampton in September. The Gentlemen were a very weak lot; but Jupp's score was made without a chance. Pooley scored in by hard hitting in the