W. L. MURDOCH, CAPTAIN OF THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 248, 19 October 1880, Page 4

W. L. MURDOCH, CAPTAIN OF THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM.

{Sydney Herald] > In cricket circles the " hero of the hour" is undoubtedly William Lloyd Murdoch, of the Australian team, whoße recent brilliant performance against the All England Eleven furnished an instance of pluck and determination which will not readily be forgotten either in theße colonies or the motherj country. Starting in the face ofc-ty stacles which would have disheartenecj many batsmen, and the depressing effect which must have followed tiie failure to score in his 'first innings' Murdoch subsequently mastered the pick of England's bowlers, and by a display of cricket which we are justified in assuming has seldom been surpassed puts quite a different complexion orj the All England matcb, and materially assisted his side in escaping a hollow defeat and ensuring a termination to the great contest as highly creditable to the vanquished as. the victors. That Murdoch's determined batting in his second innings should have aroused the enthusiasm of the thousands who thronged Kennington Oval, and elicited tbe flattering comments of the London Press, is a matter of great satisfaction to Australians ; and it iB due in no small measure to the Bterling cricket he displayed that the coolness with

which our representatives had hitherto been received by the amateur players at home has given way to a feeling bf cordial admiration. Murdoch, who is 25 years of age, and a solicitor by profession, is a native of Sandhurst, Victoria, but came to New South "Wales at an early age, and learnt all his cricket here. He was a member of the Warwick Club about 10 years ago, and a season or two afterwards joined the Alberts, in which club he has remained ever since. The speciality which first brought him into prominence was wicket-keeping, in which department of the game he was soon acknowledged to be unequalled in the metropolis. As a batsman ,he wbb looked upon at that time as uncertain ; but, being an enthusiastic cricketer, he eoon got lid of hia looseness of style, and attracted attention an a coming " wielder of the willow ;" and when the first Australian team was formed, the promoters gladly secured his services. During the English tour, Murdoch obtained sixth position in the averages, and was pronounced by English critics to be one of the best batsmen of the team, his style being considered superior in finish to that of either 0. Bannerman or Horan. On the return of the team to the colonies, jMurdoch at, once gave evidence that the experience gained on English cricket grounds had not been thrown away, and he succeeded in heading the list with a batting average, in eight matches, of 29.10 runs per innings. Ifc is a coincidence thai bis largest singlo innings score during the final tour in Australia amounted tp 153, which was made in the match against 15 of Victoria, at a stage of the game, too, when the probabilities were all in iavonr of victory for the local team. When the ioea of a seond Australian eleven was started, Mur-. doch's cc-operation was obtained, and j as captain of the eleven he haa been remarkably successful in scoring an almost unbroken liyt; of victories and maintaining' his reputation as the batsman par excellence of- New South Wales. Murdoch's main strength in batting lies in his off pliay, arid he it a terrible punisher of loose bowling. He times the bowlicg with great judgment^ hits with vigour, and, as a rule, keeps the ball. well down, Seldom giving the field a chance. He" also driveß well, but apparently does not cultivate leghitting. He is a first-class field, especially at point, and when in; practice is still quite at home behind the wickets. A pare fjrom his ability as a cricketer, Murdoch's genial and gentlemanly qualities have gained him a host, of Iriends who are naturally proud of the refutation he has gained in England.