The Earl of Chichester

THE EARL OF CHICHESTER, whose sudden death on April 21st, at Stanmer Park, Lewes, evoked so much sympathy, was in his Eton and Cambridge days a prominent figure in the cricket field, being known then as the Hon. F. G. Pelham. It was only in his last year at Eton-1863-that he secured a place in the eleven. By taking eight wickets with his slow round-arm bowling he helped Eton to beat Winchester in a single innings, but in a drawn match against Harrow at Lord"s he met with very little success, his only wicket costing him 44 runs. The Eton team in 1863 was an extremely strong one, including as it did Alfred Lubbock (captain), the late E. W. Tritton, J. Frederick, the Hon. G. W. Lyttleton, and the late C. A. Teape. On their form that year Lubbock and Tritton could compare with almost any school batsmen, and against both Winchester and Harrow they did great things. At Cambridge the Hon. F. G. Pelham was in the eleven for four years, being captain in 1866 and 1867. He had the pleasure of taking part in some remarkable matches against Oxford, but only in 1867 was it his good fortune to be on the winning side. There was nothing surprising in this, however, the Oxford elevens of 1864 and 1865 being among the best ever sent up to Lord"s. In 1864 T. S. Curteis-a fine left-handed fast bowler that season-was, with Pelham on at the other end, winning the game for Cambridge when R. A. H. Mitchell turned the scale, and by scoring 55 not out gave Oxford a four wickets" victory. Small as it looks in these days, that 55 not out was always regarded as one of the finest innings Mitchell ever played, runs being very hard to get on the bad wickets at Lord"s in 1864. In the following year- Mitchell"s last in the University match- Oxford won easily by 114 runs, but in 1866 they only got home by 12 runs, after a very stern fight. Then, in 1867, Pelham tasted success at Lord"s, a good all-round team beating Oxford by five wickets. Pelham had a notable share in the win, taking five wickets in Oxford"s second innings for 32 runs. Altogether, in his four matches against Oxford he took twenty-six wickets-a better record than that of the Oxford slow bowler, W. F. Maitland, in the same games. Pelham played occasionally for Sussex, and was a member of the combined Surrey and Sussex eleven that met England at the Oval for Tom Lockyer"s benefit in 1867. Thanks to the bowling of Emmett and W. G. Grace, England, though by no means at full strength-the leading Northern professionals keeping away from the Oval at that time-won by nine wickets. Pelham was born at Stanmer on October 18th, 1844, and entered the Church in 1869.