The reason of Wisden's playing for the North was owing to his owning (in conjunction with George Parr) a cricket-ground at Leamington.
After this match I was engaged by William Clarke (always known as "Old Clarke") to play for his All-England Eleven at Cranbrook. A great and noble figure in the annals of our national game is this Old Clarke! a name to be honoured by all cricketers for all time. What an extraordinary and interesting career was his! We trace him playing for his native town of Nottingham as far back as the year 1816, getting many wickets in that district, and yet not appearing at Lord's till 1836, and not being chosen to represent the Players against the Gentlemen till he was forty-seven years of age! We hear of his opening the world-famous Trent Bridge ground at Nottingham in 1838, and originating the celebrated All-England Eleven eight years later. We trace him through a most successful ten years as manager of this organisation, obtaining a wicket with the last ball he ever bowled, and dying at the age of fifty-seven a few months afterwards. Whatever may have been the slight failings as a man of this truly great cricketer (and I am bound to confess that he and myself did not get on too smoothly together), on looking back across a space of nearly half a century one is lost in admiration of this glorious veteran, who did perhaps more than any one else ever has done to popularise our great national
