292 SPORTING STORIES 



and more difificult to play than the modern overhand style ; 

 but the ground helped the bowler then far more than it 

 does now. " W. G.," whose experience is greater than that 

 of any other living cricketer, says that the fast bowling of 

 to-day is inferior to that of thirty years ago. 



I can remember the storm of controversy provoked by 

 Edgar Willsher's style when, seven-and-forty years ago, he 

 introduced in a modified form the overhand action which 

 is now universal. I was at the Oval during the match 

 between England and Surrey in 1862. England had gone 

 in first and scored 503. When Surrey went in Willsher 

 opened the bowling. He bowled two overs without any 

 protest. But when he started the third, Lillywhite 

 promptly no-balled his first delivery and each of the 

 succeeding five, though none could detect any difference 

 between Willsher's action in this over and in the two pre- 

 ceding ones. Lillywhite, however, insisted that Willsher's 

 bowling was in direct contravention of the rule that for- 

 bade the bowler's hand to be raised above his shoulder in 

 the act of delivering the ball. Willsher, in indignation, 

 flung down the ball and left the field, followed by the whole 

 of the England eleven. As Lillywhite stuck to his point 

 (and, mind you, he was perfectly right in doing so), the 

 committee of the Surrey Club held a consultation, the issue 

 of which was that Lillywhite was superseded by Street, and 

 the fairness of Willsher's bowling was challenged no more. 

 Edgar Willsher was one of the finest bowlers I ever saw. 

 I do not think that at his best he has ever had a superior — 

 not even Spofforth. One great feat of his was in the 

 match between Sixteen of Kent and Eleven of England at 

 Canterbury in 1863, when Willsher had the extraordinary 

 analysis of 41 overs: 31 maidens, 17 runs, 8 wickets! — and 

 this was against a side which comprised such splendid 

 cricketers as C. G. Lane, R. Marsham, W. Nicholson, 

 Caffyn, Carpenter, Grundy, Hayward, Jackson, J. Lilly- 

 white, Lockyer, and George Parr. 



I wonder what the objectors to cautious play would have 

 said to the rate of scoring fifty years ago. Talk of your 

 Scottons and Barlows : they were rapid run-getters com- 

 pared with most of the batsmen of that day. At the first 



