and by the end of the season proved that he had no superior as an all-round player. Lohmann, of Surrey, confirmed the good opinion formed of his bowling the previous year: and though his name did not appear high up in the batting list, he performed well enough to stamp him as a player of all round excellence. There were half-a-dozen other professional players, belonging chiefly to Surrey, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, and Yorkshire, who all displayed good form; so it will be gathered that the Gentlemen had now a hard nut to crack when they met the Players.
Three matches were played between them that year. The first, at the Oval, was drawn in favour of the Players: Gunn, Briggs, and Shrewsbury being very successful with the bat; while Mr. W. W. Read played a brilliant 159 for the Gentlemen. The second, at Lord's, was won by the Players by four wickets: Gunn, Shrewsbury, and Briggs being again the highest scorers; whilst Messrs. F. M. Lucas and A. G. Steel did well for the Gentlemen. The Players had not won a match at Lord's since 1874. The third was played at Scarborough late in the season, and resulted in a crushing defeat of the Players by an innings and 25 runs. Neither side was fully represented; but I happened to be in my best batting form, and scored 174 out of a total of 273, while Messrs. Christopherson and Evans were very successful with the ball. The Players scored 59 and 179—Gunn, 88 in the second innings.
Three matches were played between North and South, and all were benefit matches. The first was played at Lord's, on the 25th and 26th May, for the benefit of the widow and children of F. Morley, and was won by the South by nine wickets; the second was played at the Oval on the 25th, 26th, and 27th June, for the benefit of R. Humphrey, and was won by the North by eight wickets; the third was played at Manchester for
