in 1882 and 1883 drew attention to the matter.|alt=Black and white photograph of the Oval cricket ground Crossland's delivery was the cause for much discussion throughout his most successful year of 1882, but despite a commonly held view that he threw the ball,
umpires never called a
no-ball against him for throwing in first-class matches.
The Times addressed the issue in their match report, with a reminder that the umpires are the "judges of fair or unfair play", while the gossip columnist in
Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game suggested that it was "very obvious and frequent infringement of the laws defining bowling", and that it was clear that umpires lacked the expertise and the bravery to no-ball a bowler. A week after the match against Surrey, the only
Test match of the
Australian's tour was played, also at the Oval. In his obituary in ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, it was suggested that were it not for the accusations of throwing against Crossland, he would have been selected for the match. The Morning Post'' went a step further, and claimed that as Crossland had demonstrated he was England's best fast bowler, he should be selected to play in the Test match if his action was deemed fair, but that if it was not considered fair, he should not be allowed to continue to play for Lancashire either. An article written for
The Argus, a Melbourne-based daily newspaper, by an unnamed member of the Australian side in 1882 reported that Crossland bowled; "with a delivery so like a throw that I feel sure it would not be allowed in Australia; but, as we all know, throwing in England is just as common as bowling – more's the pity", and it was speculated that the Australian team would have protested had Crossland been chosen for the Test match. In 1883, Middlesex refused to arrange matches with Lancashire due to the perceived unfair bowling of Crossland and some of his teammates. During the previous season, a letter had been written to
Cricket magazine suggesting that Crossland's qualification for Lancashire was invalid, as they claimed that although he was engaged on the
Old Trafford ground staff for the summer, he continued to reside in Sutton-in-Ashfield during the winter. Crossland was summoned to
Lord's over the matter, but the Lancashire committee refused to send him, stating that he was playing for them that day. The protest was eventually dismissed, though the MCC noted that "it would be of value ... to have the evidence on both sides for future reference." Neutral umpires were introduced in 1883, and there was some concern in Lancashire about whether Crossland would be no-balled during the first match of the year. The match against Derbyshire featured one of the most highly regarded umpires,
Thomas Brownhill from Yorkshire, and Crossland bowled without censure.
The Daily News did suggest that "if [Crossland] always bowled as he bowled yesterday there would be no disputes about him—and he would not get many wickets." He generally continued to bowl effectively during 1883, and peaked towards the end of the season, claiming seven wickets in an innings against "The Rest" while playing for a combined Lancashire and Yorkshire side, another seven in an innings for Lancashire against Surrey, and the best bowling figures of his career, eight for 57 for the North against the
South. During the match against Surrey, the complaints from the crowd were again strong, and such were the vehemence of the protests, they almost drew the Lancashire captain,
A. N. Hornby to refuse to complete the match. In an end of season match for Dick Barlow's XI against
Tom Emmett's XI; he scored his highest first-class score with the bat, reaching 51 runs in the second innings. He took 72 wickets in 1883 at an average of 12.97, placing him third in the national bowling averages. Lancashire's policy of recruiting professional bowlers without much regard for their qualification to play for the county caused some bad-feeling with other counties, most notably Crossland's native Nottinghamshire. The bickering between the counties escalated and in 1883, after receiving a provocative Christmas card from Lancashire, the Nottinghamshire committee sent an aggressive response: LANCASHIRE COUNTY CRICKET. The only rules necessary for players in the County Eleven are that they shall neither have been born in, nor reside in, Lancashire. Sutton-in-Ashfield men will have the preference. , campaigned vigorously against throwing and took particular issue with Lancashire's bowlers. At the end of the 1883 season, a meeting of county representatives at Lord's was held, during which a proposal was made "that the undermentioned counties agree among themselves not to employ any bowler whose action is at all doubtful." The proposal was essentially a
gentlemen's agreement to try and prevent unfair bowling, necessitated by the umpires' refusal to intervene. The resolution was signed by representatives from Derbyshire, Kent, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey and Yorkshire, but those from Gloucestershire and
Sussex refused to sign it, along with
Alexander Rowley from Lancashire. As a result, Middlesex were joined by Nottinghamshire and
Cambridge University in boycotting Lancashire in 1884. In his next match, for the North against the South, he claimed seven wickets in each innings to record match figures of fourteen for 80. The crowd at Lord's followed the example previously set at the Oval, heckling Crossland throughout the match. He collected seven wickets in an innings again, in a match not classified as first-class against
Leicestershire, and completed the
ten-wicket haul with four wickets in the second innings. He faced the
touring Australians twice during June, taking two wickets for the North, before collecting eleven wickets for Liverpool and District. The report in
The Argus once again vilified Crossland, writing that "owing principally to the successful throwing of Crossland" the Australian first innings closed for 140. Crossland was named in the initial twelve-man squad for the first Test against Australia, which was played at Lancashire's
Old Trafford ground. An official from the home ground chose the England team for each match.
Lord Harris announced that he would not participate in the Test at Old Trafford if Crossland was selected. As a result, Lord Harris was withdrawn from the team and replaced by
Tim O'Brien, although in the end Crossland did not play either. Lord Harris, who was both the captain of Kent and England in 1884, led the protests against throwing. He forced the retirement of two of Kent's bowlers, but was reasonably satisfied with Lancashire in 1884: for their match against Kent at Old Trafford, they dropped Nash, Lord Harris had hoped that this indicated that Lancashire were making efforts to "of [their] own free will, and without agreement with other counties, to place [their] eleven in an irreproachable position", Crowd protests against Crossland spread; there was trouble during matches at both Yorkshire and Derbyshire in 1884. Towards the end of that season, the
London Truth reported that during a club match in his home town of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Crossland was no-balled by an umpire on account of throwing. Upon this, Crossland demanded the umpire retire from the match, and when the opposing captain refused, the match was abandoned. Crossland then announced, via the
town crier, that his bowling would "pass unquestioned" in his next county match. ==Termination of county cricket career==