Page:Jubilee Book of Cricket (Second edition, 1897).djvu/332

310, and at present few "Home-boarders" qualify for their colours.

On the four whole-school days about two hours and a half are devoted to practice at the nets or to practice-games, three professionals being employed for the education of the eleven and other promising players: other nets are set apart for the houses. On half-holidays there is "Big-game" for the proficient, and "form-matches," each controlled by a captain, for the rest of the school, the "forms" being drawn against each other on the League system. On two evenings in every week house-games take place, a professional being engaged on either side; and regular house-matches, on the " knock-out " principle, are also played for a challenge shield.

The chief matches of the Westminster season are against the Lords-and-Commons, Incogniti, I Zingari, M.C.C., and Charterhouse, the only school-match. Charterhouse has of late years proved itself far too strong for the London school, and the score stands at—Charterhouse 19 wins, Westminster 12 wins, drawn games 3.

Among well-known Westminster cricketers may be quoted J. L. Baldwin, H. M. Curteis, E. T. Drake, R. M. Curteis, C. G. Lane, H. E. Bull, R. D. Balfour, E. Bray, C. J. M. Fox, S. C. Probyn, L. J. Moon, W. R. Moon, W. E. Roller, F. T. Higgins.

No school possesses, from the batsman's point of view, a more delightful ground than Winchester does in "New Field," where wickets of wonderful excellence are provided, and scoring in consequence is consistently high. The system of training, too, is one of high excellence, and is calculated to make the very most of all available talent. Most important of all is the incessant attention paid to fielding, in which department Winchester men have always been famous for their ability.

The organisation of practice is as follows: on ordinary afternoons the professionals' nets are occupied by the best players for an hour. At the end of that time fielding-practice is indulged in for some three-quarters of an hour, while the second class bat and bowl at the nets. These latter go to "house-fielding" later on in the day, when the nets are reserved for promising colts