Page:Cricket (Steel, Lyttelton).djvu/360

332 has had Messrs. A. G. Steel, C. T. Studd, and C. W. Rock, who were good bowlers, and Messrs. P. H. Morton, A. F. J. Ford, and C. A. Smith, who may be called fair bowlers. Oxford during the same period has turned out, in our judgment, only one really good bowler—Mr. A. H. Evans; but she has produced more fair bowlers than Cambridge—Messrs, Peake, Bastard, Whitby, Cochrane, Buckland, Forster, and Nepean, having all claims to be included under this head. These fair bowlers could be relied on to get men out on difficult wickets, but more can hardly be said of them. The four good bowlers, Messrs. Steel, Studd, Rock, and Evans, had great merit, and were worthy to be compared with C. D. Marsham, W. F. Traill, W. F. Maitland, E. L. Fellowes, and E. M, Kenney of Oxford, and R. Lang, H. W. Salter, H. M. Plowden, Hon. F, G. Pelham and W. N. Powys of Cambridge. These last were all fast, with the exception of Messrs. Maitland, Pelham and Plowden, while the four later bowlers were all slow, except Mr. Evans.

No fewer than sixty-nine men have played four matches; and it is curious to notice that out of these sixty-nine there are only one Oxford man and three Cambridge men who have played in four winning elevens. The three Cambridge men are Messrs. T. A. Ansdn, W. Mills, and W. de St. Croix; and the one Oxford man is Mr. S. C. Voules. Mr. Voules played in the four winning elevens of 1863, '64, '65, and '66, Messrs. T. A. Anson and W. de St. Croix played in the four winning elevens of 1839, '40, '41, and '42, and Mr. W. Mills played in 1840, '41, '42, and '43. Two unfortunate Cambridge men had the bad luck to play four losing matches—namely, Messrs. R. D. Balfour and G. H. Tuck, in the years 1863, '64, '65, and '66. So far no Oxford man has had this fate. Cambridge once won five consecutive matches, and on two occasions they have won four, while Oxford has twice won four consecutive matches. As may be expected, the runs scored by the more recent batsmen altogether exceed the earlier players' efforts. Up to 1870, when Mr. Yardley made the first hundred, Mr. Bullock's 78 for Oxford, obtained in 1858, was the highest individual score,