the benefit of Watson, and was drawn very much in favour of the North, Shrewsbury scoring largely in both innings.
There was no abatement in the interest taken in county cricket. Nottinghamshire did not show up so well as in the previous year, but was again at the head of the poll.
Mr. J. S. Carrick created a new record by scoring 419 not out for the West of Scotland Club, at Priory Park, Chichester, on the 13th and 14th July, the total being 745 for four wickets; and Messrs. L. Wilson and G. Wyld, for Beckenham v. Bexley Park, at Beckenham on the ist August, scored 470 runs for no wicket. Barnes and Gunn distinguished themselves also, scoring 330 runs between the fall of the third and fourth wicket, for the M.C.C. and Ground v. Yorkshire, which was record in a first-class match. It was a great year of individual performances, 200 and over being scored 33 times, and the century about 800 times.
Very little need be said about the fifth Australian Eleven which came to us in 1886. A great deal was expected; but very little of importance was accomplished. The summary of the tour showed that 38 matches had been played: 9 won, 7 lost, 22 drawn. That was far below the standard of the previous teams, and the Australians were all more or less disappointed. Spofforth was not up to his old form, owing to an accident which caused him to play the part of a spectator for one month of the trip.
Giffen was the mainstay of the eleven, and without him the team would have fared very badly. Three representative matches were played, with the result that England asserted its undoubted superiority. Two of them were won by an innings, the other by four wickets. The opinion at the end of the tour was that
