ENGLISH OPINIONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN ELEVEN.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 58, 19 July 1878, Page 2

ENGLISH OPINIONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN ELEVEN.

Tho following oxtrnot from Bnily's Mngnaino will douhilcsH |)Mfo interesting :— " Unless flpponrniict'snro urofttly belied May-day of the pr<vs<>iit your of grace will usher in A season f«r moro ovontful tlmn any tlmt has yet boon wwrded ainco the Rnrao first cow into tho xhnpo of A nntionnl pnstinuv lm)««>rl, wo nro on tho ovo of n yoar thiifc will, iv nil likolihood huvo to bo mnrkod with a white stono in tho oriokol oalondnr. The visits of two olovons Irom widoly distant portions of tho Coloninl Empire, of entirely different races, nnd brondly-mnrkod differences of lioliof and nsaocintioiis, should nmko tho campaign on which criokctora nro just ontorinct historical. What tho shadow of tho o'd hcroos of the Hnmblodon Clubs tho Smalls, tho Alfwards, nnd othor worthies who first gavo to orickot a local habitation and a namo, must think of tho wondorful adranco of tho gnmo sinoo tho days when Brand Hnlfponny down, formed tho scone of tho great contests, and tho sport had not then pnssod beyond tho confines of Hamp9hiro and ndjacont oountios, it would bo intorosting to know now. Tho leading spirits of ovon oho last gonoration wonld hnvo stared could they iiaro known that a visit from a purely Colonial eleven, composed mainly of mm who bad loarnod tho rudiments of tho gAtno thousands of railos away from English shores, was so soon to bocomo an established fnot. " Tho opinions of thoso who havo had praotioal oxporionoo of •Australian cricket appear to bo a littlo at vnrionco. Mr W. G. Grnoo docs not seem to havo tho samo bolief in its excollcnco oxpressod by somo of tho twolvo who last visited Australia undor tho onptninoy of .Tamos Lillywhito. Tho inforonoo though is natural, that a comparison botwoon Coloninl oriokot in 187-i (whon Mr Graoo rodo roughShod ovor fiftoonsond twentytwos) and 1876 (whon oloron of tho colonies provod equal to the task of Iwatina; Lilly* white's olovon on equal terms) must bo vastly in favor of tho moro recent data. No doubt tho Australians will auffor from tho variations of temporaenro hero, as English crioketors havo suffered from the oxoosßivo boat of tho Colonies. But it would bo ridiculous to undorrato tho moriks of players who havo shown such oonsistontly good form during their rooont farowcll tour, as havo tho twolvo who aro so soon to try thoir strength against tho English orickotors, 44 Thoy will no doubt find a sonsiblo difforouoo in tho stato of tho grounds hero to what thoy aro acoustomod to, and it is reasonable to supposo that tho wonr and tear of six days' orickot in tho woek, with intormodiato travelling, will tend to ro< movo a littlo oi tho freshness of their play. Much of thoir suoooss may depond on tho woathor, and should it bo in tho ordor of ovonts that wo nro to huvo a wot summor thoir ohaucos should bo proportion* atoly small, after their hnrd and lirol/ wiokots on whioh thoy aro noustomod to perform That thoy havo somo vory fine criokotors among thorn is evidontand C. Bnnnorman, of Now South Walos, has already gninnd a special interest in his batting in England. In tho two Bannormans and Hornn, thoy havo throo good batsmen . in Kendall, Allan, Boylo, and Spofforth four good bowlers ; in Blnokham a wicket- keeper said to bo almost, if not quito ns smart as Pooloy himself. C. Bnnnorman is something after the stylo of Mr A. N, Hornby in batting and Holding, His

tin* inniugs of 1(}:>, not oat ngainit LiMywhitOs toam nt Melbourne, cannot have boon forgotten, and indeod, hig generally high scores in the farewell matches of tho Australians, sometime ou bad ground, prove Mint ho is a ye« dmgeroua butsman. His timing ofifo ball is romarkftbly accurate ; ho moots tho ball hard, with a perfectly straight bat, punishing severely when ho choosos: Not unlike Tom Humphry in build, ho i.i taller than his brother who is described as a stondy bat and good log hitter and the best fiold in tho team. Horan lick* 0 Bannorman's stylo, and is somothtuu aftor Jupp's mode of batting but ho is a difficult wicket to got, and will no doubt givo trouble Allan and Spofforth *iro bowlora of tho tear-aw»y class. Tho hitter is «uid to bo specially deadly with yorkors, Boylo is described ns n bowler witha very high and easy delivery, mignificcnt fiold especially to his own bowling and a dead oat eh, The Eleven though somo of thorn aro not in tho bloom of youth, aro sure in tho fiold and cxoolh lent throwers, and it is to bo hoped that thoy will rocoivo tho hearty welcomo they thoroughly desorvo among English cricketers, as tho pioneers of what may may provo to bo a series of visits from Colonials."