However weak Wrykyn might be--for them--there was a very
firm impression among the members of the Sedleigh first eleven that the
other school was quite strong enough to knock the cover off _them_.
Experience counts enormously in school matches. Sedleigh had never been
proved. The teams they played were the sort of sides which the Wrykyn
second eleven would play. Whereas Wrykyn, from time immemorial, had been
beating Ripton teams and Free Foresters teams and M.C.C. teams packed
with county men and sending men to Oxford and Cambridge who got their
blues as freshmen.
Sedleigh had gone onto the field that morning a depressed side.
It was unfortunate that Adair had won the toss. He had had no choice but
to take first innings. The weather had been bad for the last week, and
the wicket was slow and treacherous. It was likely to get worse during
the day, so Adair had chosen to bat first.
Taking into consideration the state of nerves the team was in, this in
itself was a calamity. A school eleven are always at their worst and
nerviest before lunch. Even on their own ground they find the
surroundings lonely and unfamiliar. The subtlety of the bowlers becomes
magnified.
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