Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/52

 Grundy, James Lillywhite, W. Slinn, and Isaac Hodgson. Grundy was much the best of the four, and a good all-round man. The other three did not play so prominent a part as those I have already named. They were frequently engaged by twenty-twos in their contests against the All-England Eleven, and did some good performances in bowling.

With such an array of talent as I have enumerated, and a large number of young promising players, it will be readily conceived that there was little difficulty in finding players enough to fill up the All-England Eleven. Indeed there were more than enough to fill up two elevens; and very soon a second was formed, under the title of the United England Eleven. There had been a good deal of grumbling in the early part of 1852 about Clarke's management of the All-England Eleven. One or two of the players were dissatisfied with his treatment of them, and did not hesitate to say so. Clarke had formed the Eleven, conducted it in his own way, and successfully; and, like most successful men, he was a little bit arbitrary, and disinclined to changes which did not agree with his mode of thinking, and which would affect his future management. A little consideration to the opinions of the grumblers might have kept the original team longer together, although the increasing number of good players every year would very likely have led to the same result in a year or two. Clarke did not see his way to making the changes desired, and so the United England Eleven was formed that year.

The United England Eleven played its first match against Twenty Gentlemen of Hampshire at Portsmouth, August 26th, 27th, 28th, 1852. The eleven representing it on that occasion was certainly not of the strength of the All-England Eleven; but there were three players in it who had done good work for Clarke's team, and