Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/372

 Maurice Read was born at Thames Ditton, February 9th, 1859. His height is 5 ft. 11 in.; weight, 11 st. 8 lbs. He first played for Surrey in 1880, when he was twenty-one years of age, and it is safe to say that no member of that famous eleven has done better service for his county in the last ten years. In county matches, for The Players v. The Gentlemen, for England v. Australia, and for English Elevens in Australia, he has done grand work with the bat and as a fieldsman; and he is as good to-day as he ever was. Nor is he to be despised as a change-bowler.

His batting is free and vigorous, and once he gets set he is a most difficult man to get out. His style is slightly marred by a tendency to pull occasional balls; but his pluck is equal to any emergency, and in more than one representative match, for England v. Australia in particular, he has stopped what looked like disaster. I cannot praise his fielding too highly. He has no superior and few equals in the long-field to-day, and he will stand comparison with most of the giants of the past; in fact, he is fit to go anywhere and in any company, and has about the safest pair of hands in England. His best batting years have been:


 * 1885 || 33 || 37 || 186* || 34.15
 * 1886 || 39 || 1364 || 186 || 34.38
 * 1887 || 38 || 908 || 71 || 23.24
 * 1888 || 31 || 786 || 109 || 25.11
 * 1889 || 25 || 847 || 136 || 33.22
 * 1890 || 40 || 829 || 135 || 20.29
 * }
 * 1888 || 31 || 786 || 109 || 25.11
 * 1889 || 25 || 847 || 136 || 33.22
 * 1890 || 40 || 829 || 135 || 20.29
 * }
 * 1890 || 40 || 829 || 135 || 20.29
 * }

Mr. Henry Renny-Tailyour was born at Missouri, in India, gth October, 1849. His height was 5 ft. 10 in.; weight, 12½ st. For years he was one of the finest batsmen in England against second-class bowling, and he still retains much of his old skill. His hitting was magnificent, and he scored very rapidly.