Cunliffe was one of Kent's leading slow bowlers of the time but was forced to give up cricket due to ill health.
[9] Considered one of the finest slow bowlers Kent had produced to date, Cunliffe's bowling was described as: "pace very deceptive, with a great curl[D] in the air".
[9] Writing in Wisden in 1907 George Marsham, who had watched Cunliffe play, was of the opinion that "even in these days of curlers I have been told that no bowler curled as much as Mr. C. M. Cunliffe"[9] and he was "renowned for his break-back from the pitch"[7] which Lord Harris described as "very puzzling".
[8] Cunliffe played in a total of 25 first-class matches, including two for the amateur Gentlemen of Kent side.
[7] During the 1884 Canterbury Cricket Week Cunliffe is reported to have said: "Well I shan't be here next year but I'd like to be buried in the middle there to make a good bumpy pitch for our bowlers".