school of Beldham, and he was quite as fine. He introduced a slow home-and-easy kind of bowling, which was very effective; till Saunders and Beagley, and the new players, destroyed it, by rushing in, and driving it away. Though his Lordship has given up the bat some years, we have seen enough of his practice to say that his execution was eminently beautiful, and certainly not equalled now.
Excepting the name of Hammond, the famous wicketkeeper, and Ray (a good batter), among the players, and those of Tufton, Col. Upton, and Bligh, among the gentlemen, the old list of players remained much the same, till about the year 1804. Then the names of Aislabie (the father of cricket, and the great fautor of the Marylabonne Club), and of Budd, first appear. The latter gentleman resigned last year, after near thirty years' display of the finest science; and his departure is much lamented. His fielding was excellent, his hits strong and scientific; but his bowling, once good, was no longer of avail. A little before this, the name of Lambert first appears among those of the players. Take him in every department of the game, we believe he has been esteemed as the first player that ever appeared. His batting was straightforward, and driving, a good deal resembling that of Mr. Ward; who appears to have been instructed by him. His bowling was excellent, and had a considerable twist. A splendid single-wicket match appears, in 1806, to have been played by him, Robinson, and Beldham, against Bennett, Fennex, and Lord F. Beauclerk, and won by the former. The play must have been very fine, for from 117 hits Lambert obtained only 13 runs.
[I break the article here because Mr. Mitford goes on to speak only of his contemporaries—Lillywhite, Caldecourt, Harenc, Marsden and Fuller Pilch (his particular hero), and these belong to the new round-arm age, and therefore, however great, are interlopers here. But if a time should come . . . . . . E. V. L.]
