| Match | 58 |
| Date | Wednesday 26th, Thursday 27th August 1891 |
| Venue | Phoenix |
| Result | Match Drawn |
| Type | Two-day match |
| Debuts | B Hamilton. |
| Finales | GFH Berkeley, E Fitzgerald, JP Maxwell, JH Nunn, RL Pike. |
| Report | Rain prevented play on the second day of this match and a draw thus resulted with I Zingari 100 runs on and 4 second innings wickets in hand. While 5 of the Irish team were playing their last match, it was some consolation that Bud Hamilton was making his debut. WD Hamilton, H Bruen and FH Browning cried off the originally selected team and the subs were JP Maxwell, B Hamilton and Lowry Hamilton. Bruen in fact subsequently played for I Zingari!
Stars for I Zingari were AGG Asher and AH Evans, both Oxford Blues and the former a famous Scottish Rugby International. Bowlers were on top throughout the first day but the Irish team played well below its true form. There had been much rain and the wicket was wet and slow. The day was reasonably fine and towards evening, as it began to dry, it favoured the bowlers. Evans exploited this and in 20 overs he took 9 for 39 - seven of them clean bowled. The crowd was very large. With the exception of Asher and Turner none of the IZ made much of a show in the first innings and, but for indifferent Irish fielding, the score would probably not have been much more than 80. Walker and Bridgeman opened and the latter was run out at 0. Walker was bowled by Pike for 4 at 25. Turner and Asher then made their stand of 39 for the third wicket. At 63 Turner was caught and bowled by Bud Hamilton (his first wicket) for 39. Dunn and Phillipson also fell to Hamilton and Meldon bowled Evans. At lunch the score was 103 for 6 with Asher 41 not out. The last 4 wickets fell for 32 runs. Meldon took 3 of these including Asher's who was 9th out for 54. Meldon had taken 4 for 15 in 7.2 overs. 135 was not a formidable total but the home side could only manage 76. Evans and Miller bowled unchanged - 20 overs each - and only 3 Irish players reached double figures. L Hamilton was bowled by Evans for 0 by a well pitched up ball. 2-1. Nunn joined Fitzgerald but was bowled by Evans for 5. 12-2. Maxwell helped to add 11 before being lbw to Evans for 3. 23-3. Meldon hit Evans for 14 in one over. He then snicked a ball on to the wicket keeper's foot from where it rebounded in the air to be caught by Phillipson. 42-4. Hynes was next and he was almost run out at once. When the score was 50 Fitzgerald was caught at slip off Miller in attempting a chop shot. Evans took the catch and thus deprived himself of the chance of taking all 10 wickets. Fitzgerald had made 24. At 57 Smith was bowled for 0. B Hamilton and Hynes took the score to 76 and then the last 4 wickets all fell at this total, all clean bowled by Evans. First Hynes for 15 and then Vint next ball. Berkeley survived an over, as did Pike, but both failed to score. Evans had the remarkable figures of 20-11-39-9. Miller backed him up very well bowling 20 overs for 36 runs. Warm sun had made the wicket very difficult when IZ went in again and the light was not too good. The start was disastrous as 5 wickets went down for 18 runs. Walker and Bridgeman opened the batting to Berkeley and Fitzgerald. Bridgeman should have been caught off the first ball which went between Nunn and Fitzgerald for a run. Walker was caught and bowled off Berkeley's second ball. 1-1-0. Turner came in and was badly missed by Fitzgerald and Bridgeman also gave Pike a difficult chance. The Turner was smartly stumped by Vint off Berkeley. 3-2-1. Asher was now in but at 15 Bridgeman was run out by Meldon for the second time in one day. Dunn came in and in trying a ridiculously impossible run ran out Asher for 6. 17-4. Phillipson came in and Fitzgerald went off after bowling 7 overs for 3 runs and no wicket. Meldon replaced him. Next over Berkeley caught and bowled Dunn. 18-5-1. Evans joined Phillipson and a stop was put to the rot. Shortly after 20 came up B Hamilton replaced Meldon. The runs were scraped up to 40 and Fitzgerald came back on for Hamilton. One run later Evans was caught at mid-off by Hynes off the new bowler for 16. Play then finished for the day with Phillipson 7 not out. Berkeley had taken 3 for 25 in 14 overs. On the second day there was no play. It rained up to 1 00 and then it cleared and the afternoon was fine but at 2 00 the game was abandoned much to the disappointment of the crowd. The wicket was soft and wet but not sufficiently so to have abandoned play so early. Derek Scott |