Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/390

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382
CRICKET.

ways, and varies his pace and length with excellent judgment. In fact, you rarely get two balls alike from him; and if there is a weak spot in your batting, he seems to find it out before he has finished the first over. He does not in the least mind being hit; but he is a very clever or lucky batsman who can do it more than once in the same over without giving a chance.

His batting is also first-class. He hits very clean everywhere; balls the slightest bit loose being hit to the boundary. I do not believe he has ever been troubled with nervousness at any period of his innings; anyhow, I shall not readily forget the unceremonious way in which he treated the Australian bowling at Lord's for the M.C.C. and Ground in 1884 immediately he took guard. He lost no time in getting well set that innings, and Spofforth, Giffen, Palmer and Cooper had a most unenviable time of it.

His best batting years have been:

Completed Innings. Runs. Most in an Innings. Average.
1879 20 553 93 27.13
1880 22 496 118 22.12
1881 28 834 106* 29.22
1882 26 739 171 28.11
1883 12 370 68 30.10
1884 25 967 148 38.17
1886 10 418 83 41.8

His best bowling years have been:

Overs. Maidens. Runs. Wickets. Average.
1878 1223 447 1542 164 9.66
1879 943 432 1120 93 12.4
1880 925 400 1205 92 13.9
1881 1257 537 1683 125 13.58

H. H. Stephenson was born at Esher, Surrey, 3rd May, 1833. His height was 6 ft.; weight, 11 st. 12 lbs. He was a first-rate bat, good wicket-keeper, and very successful fast round-arm bowler a combination of qualities rarely met with in the cricket field, and to