Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/297

 in 1866. He was born in Scotland, 16th January, 1830, and was educated at Rugby and Cambridge. His height was 5 ft. 5 in.; weight, 12 st. At first he bowled fast round-arm, left-hand, and was very successful for his School and University; but it was after he moderated his pace that I met him, and that he did his finest performances. He had a wonderful command of the ball, and could break both ways; and when he found a batsman too eager to hit, had little difficulty in getting him caught out. The ball he was most successful with was one well up, about a foot on the off, which he caused to break slightly away from the batsman when he hit at it. It was sure to touch the edge of the bat, and an easy catch followed. He placed extra fieldsmen to the off for this particular ball, and I have seen many good players walk into the trap with their eyes open, and then come away from the wicket railing at their simplicity and stupidity.

Mr. R. F. Miles, of Gloucestershire, and Barratt, of Surrey, were fairly successful with the same kind of delivery; but after a time batsmen became wary and left it alone, and it is one rarely bowled to-day, unless to a novice. But I remember Messrs. Buchanan and Miles, who were carrying everything before them against right-hand batsmen, being completely knocked all over the ground more than once by a left-hand player. The break which had done so much mischief in one case was useless in the other. Mr. Buchanan was very closely connected with the Free Foresters' Club, and was their principal bowling mainstay for years. He bowled splendidly for the Gentlemen v. Players in 1868, when he was 38 years old, taking nine wickets for 82 runs in the second innings. He bowled with success in the same matches for four or five years afterwards; and if he could only have fielded his own bowling as well as some of our brilliant amateurs, he would have