Page:Cricket (Lyttelton, 1898).djvu/126

122 If a young player has faced such an ordeal he will be better prepared to overcome his nervousness at the University match. I seldom indulge in prophecy, but I anticipate that Cambridge will find Oxford a far stronger side in 1898 than they were in 1897. In 1897 Oxford had some excellent batsmen in Fane, Bromley-Martin, Champain, and Eccles, but none of them had taken part in this great match before, and only Fane had been seen in first-class cricket elsewhere. The result was that they played nervously in the match; but with a year's experience of first-class cricket at Oxford and county cricket, these batsmen, if they all play again, will probably appear in a very different light. In the Cambridge eleven Burnup, Wilson, Druce, Jessop, Shine, and Bray had all played, not only for their University in previous years, but also in first-class county matches, having obtained thereby an experience far beyond that gained by Oxford.

The great R. A. H. Mitchell was captain in 1863, 1864, and 1865, and won all three