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20 those two celebrated innings, the opposite method was seen when M'Donnell, though against vastly inferior bowling, scored over 100 by the most fearless, dashing cricket. In the same year M'Donnell's greatest innings was played at Manchester, when, in the last innings, going in first with Bannerman, on a soft wicket against Peate and the crack northern bowlers, he scored 82 out of a total of 86. This innings of M'Donnell, and Shrewsbury's of 164, I consider the two greatest batting feats that this generation has seen on bad wickets, while O'Brien's 148 against Surrey in 1896 ranks high.

In giving a sort of brief summary of batting now, it appears to me that, as may be naturally inferred when so many splendid grounds are provided, batsmen score faster and far more largely than formerly; but not being so accustomed to bad wickets, they do not rise superior to difficulties of pitch so well as our former batsmen. On bad wickets, I think, in their prime, Carpenter, Mitchell, George Parr, Daft, and Hayward, having