SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN Northamptonshire would long ago have attained first-class honours had the county possessed a town with nearly a quarter of a million of inhabitants, how much more enthu- siastic would have been the character of Hertfordshire cricket had a thousand spectators ever watched a single match ? In 1 88 1 a suggestion was made that a challenge cup be provided, to be annually competed for by various clubs in the county. The subject was at various times brought up, but not very favourably received, although in 1882 the Rev. F. W. Gall ' offered to pre- sent a cup to be competed for temporarily, until a handsomer one should be provided.' Nothing further appears on the club minutes in connection with the matter until February 23, 1885, when the draw for the challenge cup took place, eight clubs having entered for it. In the minutes for the general meeting for December 7, 1885, is the following : 'It appearing that the institution of the county challenge cup was somewhat informal, it was resolved that the county club should take over the same into its own hands.' Though there is difficulty in tracing any cup-ties in 1885, the trophy went to Potter's Bar, whilst in the following year Watford proved victorious. In the minutes of the general meeting held on December 6, 1886, it is stated that 'con- siderable dissatisfaction has been expressed with regard to the umpiring in the cup-tie matches.' The competition was continued in 1887, for it is stated that the honorary secretary, Mr. Charles Pigg, was authorized to pay a certain sum to the umpire in the Redbourne v. Watford cup-tie match, when the prize belonged to Hemel Hempstead. The cup was won by Redbourne in 1888, 1889 and 1890, when it became their abso- lute property. The competition has never since been revived. For many years Mr. Charles Edward Keyser, of Derry Hill House, Bushey, was honorary secretary to the county club. He was an old Etonian who graduated at Cam- bridge. In 1884 he was succeeded by Mr. H. Freeman, who resigned in favour of Captain Beresford Baker, who in turn vacated the post, which was then filled by Mr. Charles One of the pleasantest memories of Hert- fordshire cricket were the charming matches at the Node, Welwyn, where during the season strong wandering clubs are met. In 1871 a most exciting contest was played against the Incogniti. The match was played on July 27, the ' Incogs ' scoring 171. The match seemed a certain win for the visitors, but on Mr. C. F. Reid, the last bats- man on the side of Node, joining Mr. H. E. Baker, the bowling of the Incogs was fairly collared, scant respect being paid to the trund- ling of Messrs. C. J. Brune, G. Law and P. V. Turner, the two Node batsmen winning a splendid contest for the home side by 27 runs for the loss of but 9 wickets, Mr. C. F. Reid carrying out his bat for a sterling 64, while his vis-a-vis, Mr. H. E. Baker, was undefeated at 21. Mr. C. F. Reid is father-in-law to the well-known Oxford University and Middlesex amateur, Mr. E. A. Nepean. Mr. C. F. Reid was an ardent member of the Free Foresters. In the Annals of the Free Foresters, published in 1895, appear several amusing annotations from the pen of Mr. Cecil Reid. With reference to club and village cricket within the county in recent years, Dr. Earle Norman, after much inquiry, found that the particulars he could elicit were so meagre and at the same time so spasmodic and unreli- able that no regular account could be com- piled, few scores being preserved, and in those omissions being more conspicuous than avail- able information. HAILEYBURY CRICKET Haileybury College was founded in 1862 and incorporated in 1864. During the first years of the school's existence no match was played against another school, and it was not until 1866 that a fixture was first arranged against Wellington College. From that time to 1900 the match has been played regularly, and the record stands : Matches played, 31 ; won 7, lost 1 8, drawn 6. The last three consecutive games have been won, the last in 1 900 being one of the most interesting of the series. On going in to bat the second time Haileybury were left 330 runs to get in three hours and a half ; these were knocked off for the loss of 4 wickets in two hours and a quarter, E. C. Smith and E. C. Hodges both scoring over 100. The only other century scored against Wellington seems to have been C. Gurdon's 152 in 1872, when Haileybury won by an innings and over 300 runs. In 1868 an additional school match was arranged against Uppingham. In this fixture, which became an annual one, the School has had very few successes, the wins standing at 3 as against 14 losses, while 3 have been drawn. In the last two years good games have resulted, but fast wickets have made the scoring too high for a definite conclusion to be arrived at. Since 1893 a third match has been played at Lord's against Cheltenham. For the first 379
