Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/303

 His height was 5 ft. 10 in.; weight, 11 st. 7 Ibs. From 1870 to 1880 Mr. Chalmers was, without doubt, the premier batsman of Scotland, and rarely failed to score against the All-England and United South of England Elevens when they played in Glasgow. He also belonged to the Caledonian and West of Scotland clubs. His defence was good, and he hit low and hard to all parts of the ground. But it was his power to play the ball hard away from him, whatever the quality of the bowling, that gave him his high position amongst Scottish cricketers. He was also a very fair wicket-keeper and a first-class long-field, and has thrown the cricket-ball repeatedly over 100 yards.

Another eminent Scottish cricketer to be included with such good men as Messrs. Chalmers and Carrick is Mr. Leslie Melville Balfour. He was born in 1854, and from 1876 until the present time no one has done more for the game in his own country. He has been closely indemnified with the Grange Club, Edinburgh, one of the oldest, strongest, and most influential in Scotland. The string of centuries to his credit in club matches is an exceptionally long one, and he has invariably scored in the inter-city contests between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

He is a very fast scorer, his late cutting and leg-hitting being quite first-class. In the field he is very quick, especially at cover-point, and he can keep wicket in very fair style; and he makes an excellent captain. As an all-round athlete he has few equals in his own country, being quite at the top of the tree at golf, and not far short of it at football and lawn-tennis.

A Scottish cricketer better known in England than either of the three I have just mentioned is Mr. James George Walker. He was born at Glasgow, October 9th, 1859, but received his cricket education at Loretto School, Edinburgh. He entered Trinity