The Marylebone Club

Professional Bowlers engaged at Lord's in 1871--Jas. Grundy Sen., Wootton, Alfred Shaw, T. Hearne, Sen., Royston, Walter Price , T. Nixon jun.., W. Marten, Biddulph, F. Farrands, John West, Flanagan, John Smith (Cambs), R. Barber (Bucks) and James Grundy Jun.

Ground Keeper--D. Jordan, Sen. Size of Lord's Ground--About 9 Acres.

The 84th ANNIVERSARY MEETING of THE MARYLEBONE CLUB was held at Lord's Ground on Wednesday, May 3rd, 1871, when a ballot was held and 57 candidates were elected. Dinner was served in the new Tavern at 7.30, the President, J. H. SCOURFIELD, Esq., M.P., in the chair. Bell'sLife in London gave a detailed and graphic report of the proceedings, the following being the most important items:-- The President proposed the toast of the evening, ' CRICKET AND SUCCESS TO THE M. C. C.;' and in the course of an eloquent speech Mr. Scourfield remarked he had been 43 years a member of M.C.C., and he had seen many curious changes in the Club, amongst others he might mention the charge for dinner in the Pavilion on match days used to be 10s.; and a member's share of expenses in a match would often amount to 35s. He concluded by alluding to the melancholy accident during his term of office that deprived the cricketing world of an eminent cricketer in George Summers, and expressed his conviction that the M. C. C., now finally established on an independent footing, would always be looked up to as the highest court of appeal in everything relating to Cricket.

THE ANNUAL REPORT was then read by the Secretary, the most interesting features of which were the following:--

The Annual Report will be found to differ in one material point from those of preceding years. The Committee are no longer compelled to submit any items of heavy expenditure. They have great pleasure in stating that the heavy expenses of late years are completely justified by the results. The Club has increased in due proportion to the outlay on the premises, and the receipts at the Gate and the Grand Stand testify to the public appreciation of the means taken for the promotion of cricket and comfort of visitors to the ground.

The Committee have granted the use of Lord's Ground on July 10 to E. Willsher for his benefit match-- MARRIED v. SINGLE, and thereby express the high opinion they entertain of his long services and straight-forward conduct as a cricketer.

With a view to secure the best available talent amongst the professional players at Lord's Ground, the Committee have decided, in addition to the payment of £5 per man, to make a present of £1 in all cases where they are satisfied that a player has travelled not less than 100 miles on his way to a match.

In order further to encourage the rising players of the day, and to impart a particular interest to the match, it has been agreed that a sum of £10 shall be given to every player selected by the Committee to play in the match against The Gentlemen. The Committee trust that by a liberal recognition of the merits of the, players, the old character of these contests between the amateur and professional element may be restored.

Mr. S. DARK having resigned, Mr. J. MURDOCH has been appointed to fill the post of Assistant Secretary and Clerk to the Committee.

The expenses of matches in 1870 amounted to £972 2s. 11d. The Benefit Fund now amounts to £399 11s. The following payments were made out of it--£2 to Marten and £10 to G. Tarrant.

Two hundred and twenty-three new members were elected, and subscriptions were received from 1,265 members in 1870.

The prosperity of the Club depends on the regular payment of the subscriptions as also upon the receipts of the grand matches. A careful supervision must be kept over the first, and as to the latter source of income members must bear in mind that their privileges are limited to the admission of their own carriages, and that the extension of these privileges to strangers amounts to a serious diminution of income to the Club.

The Report was then carried; the healths of the President, of the Treasurer, of the Secretary, of Mr. Heathcote (who had done so much to revive the interest in that most scientific of all games--Tennis), and of the Committee, were duly proposed and honoured, and the meeting was wound up by the Secretary proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. John Day for the excellent arrangements of the evening, which was unanimously carried. The table and room had been most tastefully decorated, and the dinner was worthy the occasion.

THE 85th SEASON of the M. C. C. was one of storms, showers, sunshine, good wickets, splendid batting, great scoring, and one-sided matches. A thunder storm interrupted the progress of the opening match at Lord's; torrents of rain and hail stones of large size fell during the violent storm that stopped play in the M. C. C. and G. v. Cambridge University match on the old ground; frequent and heavy showers of rain made a mud pond of the wickets, and prevented the completion of that--so far--capitally contested match between the Gentlemen and Players of England; and the continuous heavy rainfall from morn to past mid-day that put cricket on one side for a whole day in Willsher's match, will not readily be forgotten by the very many friends of the Kent bowler who felt interested in the success of the cricket battle between the Benedicts and Bachelors of England. June was nippingly cold, and July was wet and windy, but there are two sides to all tales told, and if the greater portion of the three months up at Lord's in 1871 was unseasonably stormy and showery (and it was so), sunshine at other times beamed brilliantly on the famous old turf, most opportunely so at the North v. South; at the Oxford v. Cambridge; and at the Eton v. Harrow matches, and those three attractive contests collectively drew to Lord's audiences more numerous than had ever before been attracted there to three matches in one season.

The Ground had been carefully and unremittingly attended to throughout the recess, its excellent condition--all over--during the season being highly creditable to Jordan the ground-keeper. The general character of the wickets at Lord's in '71 won hearty praise from all classes of cricketers, and that their truth and excellence deserved that praise, and that the batting on them was good, and the scoring great, is attested by the facts that in one match 915 runs were made for the loss of 29 wickets, and that at various times Elevens played innings of 485, 338, 328, 323, 310, 308, 294 and 269 runs; that during the season one batsman-- Mr. W. G. Grace--made 1145 runs on the old turf, and that such individual innings as 217, 189 not out, 181, 178, 140, 117, 108, 107, and 105 not out, were hit.

The M. C. C. and M. C. C. and G. matches played in 1871 were 37 in number; in these 37 matches, so many as 147 members, and 14 of the Club's professionals played. Eleven other matches were also played by M. C. C., and that the Committee succeeded in having the Club's programme played out by the most eminent cricketers of the period is assured by the following record of:--

AMATEURS WHO PLAYED AT Lord's IN 1871.

PLAYERS WHO PLAYED AT Lord's IN 1871.

THE HIGHEST INNINGS played by an Eleven at Lord's in 1871 is the 485 by Middlesex against M. C. C. and G., whose 338 in the same match is the highest M. C. C. innings scored last season.

THE HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL INNlNGS hit at Lord's in 1871 is the superbly played 217 by Mr. Hadow for Middlesex; and the six highest innings played for M. C. C. last season, are Mr. W. Grace's 181 at Lord's against Surrey; his 146 on the Oval against the same County; his 117 against Kent at Canterbury; Rev. H. Bell's 113 against Marlboro' College; T. Hearne's 108 against Huntingdonshire, and Hon. G. Harris's 107 against Oxford University. (All told Mr. W. Gracemade 892 runs in 15 innings for M. C. C. in 1871, giving an average of 59 runs per innings for the old Club.)

As heretofore the Committee of M. C. C. were earnest in their endeavours to foster cricket at the Public Schools, as not only did M. C. C. teams play Rugby, Cheltenham, Charterhouse, Westminster Clifton (a new match) at Lord's, but the Club sent Elevens to Eton, to Winchester, to Harrow, to Rugby, to Marlborough, and to Cheltenham to play matches with the respective Schools Elevens, and thereby keep active that love for the manly old game happily now so largely prevalent among the rising generation of English gentlemen.

THE COUNTIES that M. C. C. and G. Elevens played in 1871 were:-- Surrey (2), Yorkshire, Kent (2), Gloucestershire, Middlesex, Sussex, Huntingdonshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk. An excellent list of County matches this for a non County Club to play; but general regret was felt at the M. C. C. and G. v. Nottinghamshire match being struck out of the Club's programme for '71, and so assured do the London Cricketing public feel of witnessing the science of the game all round being fully developed when M. C. C. and G. and NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ELEVENS of the present era meet, that the wish was universal and earnest for the match to be played in 1872.

The usual Out and Home matches with the Universities Elevens were played, and those old, exciting, attractive and important items in the M. C. C. annual bill of fare: -- ETON v. HARROW, OXFORD v. CAMBRIDGE, NORTH v. SOUTH, and GENTLEMEN v. PLAYERS were contested with more than their old popularity and attractiveness; the two splendid cricketing Elevens that represented the Gentlemen and Players of England, and the even character of that match, so far as it was played, rendered it matter of general regret that rain should have prevented that ever interesting old cricket fight from being fought out to the pleasant end.

MARRIED v. SINGLE OF ENGLAND was revived for the benefit of E. WILLSHER. This marked expression of the high opinion the M.C.C. entertained of Willsher's long services and straightforward conduct as a cricketer, was a compliment as deserved as it was marked, but the kindly feeling thus shewn by the Club to the cricketer was partly frustrated by adverse weather; however, Willsher's subscription list in the pavilion at Lord's eloquently told how highly his long and meritoriously professional career is esteemed by members of the M. C. C.

THE NOVELTY of the M. C. C. season of '71 was the opening match of ELEVEN OF THE CLUB AND GROUND v. Fifteen who had never played at Lord's. The Canterbury Week was a brilliant success, the M. C. C. cricketers during that increasingly popular and pleasant outing being eminently prominent--Mr. W. G. Grace with the bat, Mr. Rose with the ball, and Biddulph with the gloves, effectively maintaining the high cricketing status of their old Club. In The Royal Week at Dublin an Eleven of M. C. C. and G. successfully played Eleven Gentlemen of Ireland; later on a Club and Ground team tried conclusions on Fenner's ground with an Eleven of University, after which those two old annual contests-- M. C. C. and G. v. SUFFOLK, and M. C. C. and G. v. NORFOLK, at Bury and Dereham, brought to an end the stormy but brilliant hitting M. C. C. season of 1871.