Over the concluding incidents there is some conflict of evidence, but
it seems probable that the fact of an extension of the playing time
having been agreed to affected the finish, the light becoming bad.
When Mr. Ottaway was dismissed, Oxford needed 19 to win, with five
wickets to fall. Subsequently Messrs. Townshend and Francis were sent
back, but only 4 runs were required, with three wickets to fall. Then
came Mr. Cobden’s sensational and renowned over. Off the first ball,
Mr. F. H. Hill, who was well set, made a vigorous stroke which was so
well fielded by Mr. A. Bourne that only a single was scored. Off the
second ball Mr. S. E. Butler was sharply annexed by the same opponent.
Mr. T. H. Belcher was bowled by the next delivery, and it is even now
controversial whether clean or off his pads. Finally, in came Mr. W. A.
Stewart, who was, under the circumstances, naturally extremely nervous,
and the victorious bowler at once removed his bail, amid a scene of
frantic excitement.
Wonders now come in battalions, for in the very next University
encounter was performed another feat never again or before achieved
in this especial match. This was the capture of all ten wickets on
a side. Whether much of the success was due to the ground is beside
the question. The fact remains that Mr. S. E. Butler took all the ten
Cantab wickets at a cost of 38 runs, and then claimed five more for
57. He was a fast bowler, who on this occasion found a spot which made
the ball keep very low, and on a difficult pitch he was absolutely
unplayable. Oxford this season had the benefit of the fine batting
of Lord Harris, the man who, next to Lord Hawke, has probably done
more for cricket than any one else. He was a stylish, attractive bat,
with brilliant strokes and great driving power. Few batsmen have
performed better against fast bowling; but his prowess ripened by his
association with Kent rather than in his University days. Still, the
Cantabs possessed the bulk of the new cricketers. Mr. W. N. Powys, a
rather fast left-handed bowler, had the splendid figures of twenty-four
wickets for 153 runs, while the two Etonians, Messrs. George Longman
and A. S. Tabor, acquired high repute as batsmen. The former was
the more attractive, comparable in a later generation to Mr. Norman
Druce, while the latter, though more cramped, also might have been the
more difficult to dislodge. In 1872, both being freshmen, they were
the earliest who ever put up a century for the first wicket in the
University match.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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