This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
232
THE HAMBLEDON MEN

Mr. Pycroft's Oxford Memories says this of his Lordship's bowling:—'His slow bowling, delivered with a bent elbow and as it were by a push, which seemed to give it "spring", was for a long time triumphantly successful. But a player called Hammond set the example of running in to hit him, and not only did Lord Frederick lose much of his confidence in and his fondness for bowling, but for a time slow bowling was forced to yield place to fast.'

The fourth of the great quartette, Mr. Ward, is thus described by Mr. Haygarth against his first recorded match, for England against Surrey, in 1810. In the second innings Robinson and John Wells collared the English bowling and Surrey won. 'He was born at Islington, London, July 24th, 1787, and was a large and powerfully built man. Height 6 ft. 1 in., and weight 14 st. He was educated at Winchester College, where he first played at cricket, but whether he was in the Eleven there is now unknown. His average is one of the largest ever obtained by any cricketer, and had he not continued the game too long, it would perhaps have been exceeded by none. From the years 1816 to about 1828, his scores will be found enormous, but as he continued to participate in the game up till 1847 (in minor matches) so his average gradually decreased. He made the second highest innings on record, namely 278, in the year 1820, and on four other occasions he scored (it is believed) 200 runs in a match with both his innings combined. Some (indeed many) of his greatest feats with the bat were (it must be remarked) made against very inferior bowling and fielding. He was a hard forward hitter, and is one of the few there are who scored largely against roundarm, having begun his career against the under-hand delivery, and having never, it is supposed, obtained two noughts or a "pair of spectacles" in any match of note. He played with bats which generally weighed as much as 4lbs., but much heavier ones were in use at the time of the under-hand bowling. He also got many