ment. With a view to this he is provided with a book, periodically inspected by the school captain and a master, registering the attendance of members, and no one is excused except on medical grounds. Each club has its own matches on holidays, and its own nets on other days. The Lower School is "fagged" in turn for fielding at the senior nets. The most important club, with a view to the future, is the "Colts' Club," consisting of all the promising youngsters who are "spotted" early, or who improve sufficiently as the term wears on to merit promotion. Special care is taken that they have good wickets for practice and games; and another fact deserves observation, and perhaps imitation—viz., that their pitch is 20 yards long instead of the regulation 22. Great attention is paid to their coaching, and to belong to the "Colts' Club" is a highly-prized honour, leading on, as in nine cases out of ten it does, to the school eleven.
In the afternoon games of the Senior Club masters and professionals take part, and as every batsman who makes 30 runs has then to retire, each side probably has a full innings every afternoon. The eleven and the aspirants to the eleven have regular fielding-practice, and "house-fielding" is also compulsory, with excellent results. It should be added that the bulk of the coaching is done by the masters, and that really good bowlers are secured for short spells of service in addition to the regular professionals.
Malvern has been unlucky in fixtures with other schools, Repton being the only school which has kept up a regular engagement. Shrewsbury, Rossall, and Sherborne have all been played at different times; but for various reasons, mainly in connection with distance, these have been discontinued. In the contests with Repton, Malvern has only won eight matches to fifteen, though the difference would be still larger but for the increased effectiveness of Malvern cricket during the last few years.
Other fixtures are with Worcestershire, Free Foresters, the M.C.C., the Quidnuncs, and Herefordshire.
The best-known Malvern cricketers are A. H. Stratford, Captain A. Newnham, C. J. Burnup, H. H. Marriott, P. H. Latham, and the three famous Fosters—H. K., W. L., and R. E. As the school is comparatively young, the shortness of the list is not surprising.
