🗓️ 14 Jul – 20 Jul 1883 · 1883 — 1 match
🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLWLLHere is the match report:
Wednesday 18th July found us facing the visitors on a day that started well and, I'll admit, largely stayed that way. Winning the toss, I had no hesitation in electing to bat — a decision I still maintain was the correct one, even if the scorebook tells a rather thin tale. Runs proved elusive for most, with only F Foster showing any real appetite for the crease, carrying his bat to an unbeaten 20. Poor J Danells, meanwhile, will want to forget his golden duck as quickly as the rest of us are willing to let him.
If our batting lacked substance, our bowling more than made amends. The visitors fared no better with the willow, dismissed without troubling the scorers to any great degree — F Knight departing for a duck of his own. Jack Fryer was simply magnificent, scything through the order for figures of 4 for 0, with F J W Cornwallis lending superb support at 3 for 0. I permitted myself a quiet smile too, contributing 16 with the bat and 3 wickets with the ball — not a bad afternoon's work for the skipper.
There was cause for genuine celebration amid the gloom: Jack Fryer's efforts saw him leapfrog H Freed into 6th on the club's all-time run-scoring list, while he and Cornwallis continue to top this season's bowling and batting charts respectively. For all that, we were beaten by 59 runs in the end. A chastening scoreline, but the lads showed enough character to suggest we'll be considerably better for it next week.