the first and 66 in the second innings. One of the inevitable drawbacks of university elevens is that a man who ought to play is accidentally left out, or played by a kind of after-thought.
2. By the victory of 1889, Oxford had crept up to within one of Cambridge. But she was destined to be disappointed in her hopes of equality by the accession of one man to the Cambridge side. From the moment that that great athlete, Mr S. M. J. Woods, went up to Cambridge, what one constantly heard from Oxford men was the mournful complaint, "So long as Sammy Woods bowls against them, Oxford has no chance." Let us pass over this time as quickly as possible, merely remarking that in 1888 Oxford was lucky in having the match drawn by the clerk of the weather, while in 1889-91 she suffered three successive defeats. Mr Woods has the chief honour of having placed Cambridge in the advantageous position of being in 1891 four victories ahead of Oxford.
3. From 1892 to 1896, since Mr Woods has left Cambridge, Oxford has done well, and on the whole better than Cambridge. Oxford has won 3 to 2 matches, and reduced the advantage, of Cambridge from 4 to 3 victories in hand. These matches are so recent that it is hardly necessary to recall them. They have been most interesting. There has been high scoring; first one university has won and then the other; and the matches of 1892 and 1896 have never been surpassed in interest. In 1892, Oxford going in first, Mr M. R. Jardine, the splendid fieldsman, played a very good innings of 140, and Mr V. T. Hill a very hard-hitting, somewhat lucky, innings of 114. Against Oxford's 365 Cambridge compiled 160 only, but following on scored 388. Then Oxford hit off the required 187 with 5 wickets to spare, Mr L. C. H. Palairet making 71 (not out) and Mr Jardine 39, so that he alone scored 179 runs in the match. In 1893 Cambridge won by 266 runs. In 1894 Oxford, thanks to Mr C. B. Fry's 100 (not out), won by 8 wickets. In 1895, in spite of Mr H. K. Foster's 121 out of a total of 196 in the second innings of Oxford, Cambridge won by 134 runs. In 1896 Oxford won once more by 4 wickets, after a match memorable for fine weather, very high scoring, some good bowling, sustained interest, and great excitement. Cambridge led off with 319. Oxford made 202. Cambridge added 212. Then Oxford achieved a victory without a parallel in Oxford and Cambridge matches for the large number of runs the side had to make to win with the small number of wickets lost in making them. As this Oxford second innings is also the last innings made in the
