where Hearne and Richardson have proved to be harmless.
Scoring being on such a gigantic scale, I am tempted to ask what has become of the old-fashioned lob. I fully admits even with the astonishing success of Humphreys, of Sussex, before me, that it is well not to rely upon a lob bowler as your sheet anchor, but I am convinced that every side would be materially strengthened if a good lob bowler were to be numbered among the eleven. Formerly there were a good many first-rate lob bowlers in England. William Clarke, V. E. Walker, Goodrich, Tinley, Mordaunt, Rose, and Ridley were all first-rate; and many other bowlers were very useful, though not first-rate, in this department—such as Iddison, Mudie, and others. I believe modern batsmen would be found to play the best lobs better than the old players; but still to this day there are many cricketers I could name who seem to me to play lobs worse than they do any other sort of delivery. When a player is well set and going strong.
