Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/379

 better record. In first-class matches, he was most successful, doing good work between 1865 and 1875. The year 1867 was one of his best, when he took 450 wickets in all matches, and delivered very little short of 10,000 balls. He bowled fast left-hand, with a high delivery, and at times was very difficult to play. There was not the spin in his bowling that made Freeman's so difficult, but he brought his arm from behind with a very quick action, making it difficult to see; and if you were at all careless, the ball was on you before you expected it. More than once he beat me in that way; and one year in particular, 1871, he got me out first ball or first over in the first innings of two important matches. He used to tell of them with glee in after years, although he was compelled to put in 41 But I had it hot the second." The first time was at the Oval, July 31st and August 1st and 2nd, 1871. I was out l.b.w. to him first ball in the first innings; in the second I scored 268. The second time was at Brighton, 14th, 15th, and 16th August, in the Gentlemen v. Players' match, for John Lillywhite's benefit, the same year. He bowled me third ball in the first innings with a lovely break from the off; in the second I scored 217. My experience of him was that at first he tried all he knew to get me out, but that after I got set he repeatedly gave me a ball to hit, for no other purpose than to get me to the other end "so that he might have a try at somebody else." And over after over he bowled a ball rather wide on the off-side, in the hope of getting me caught; giving as his reason for doing it, "It ain't a bit of use my bowling good 'uns to him now; it is a case of I puts the ball where I please, and he puts it where he pleases."

He was a very poor bat, although more than once he kept up his wicket when runs were badly wanted and allowed others to score. An instance of it occurred in the