Cricket 1882

228 CRICKET ; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. august 17 , isss. C R I C K E T ! L A W N T E N N I S ! ! F O O T B A L L ! ! First Prize Medal at Melbourne Exhibition, 1880. JAMES LILLYWHITE, FROWD & CO., Manufacturers of all articles used in the above and other Athletic Sports. Speciality for the highest class Goods. Bats specially seasoned for hot climates. Price Lists and all parti­ culars may be had post free. Shipperssuppliedat wholesaleprices. J. L., F. and Co. are the sole Manufacturers of Frowd’s new patent “ SpecialDriver” Bat, which drives better, jars less, and averages LJ ounees lighter than any other Bat; universally allowed to be the greatest improvement made in Bats since cane handles were introduced. Publishers of JAMES LILLY­ WHITE’S CRICKETER’S ANNUAL. Manufactory and Ware­ house :—4 and 6, Newington Causeway and 78 and 74, Borough Road, London. FOOTBALL. The very best quality Football Outfits. LARGEST STOCK IN THE WORLD. GEORG i T k ENT, ATH LET IC CLOTHING MANUFACTURER, 149, FENCHURCH STREET , L O N D O N . Intendingpurchasersshouldfully understandthat inthis class of Ooods there are three orfour inferior and worthless qualities made, but I havefoundfroma long and great experience thut the best qua y is the cheapest, and the only one to be relied upon. I therefore only keep the best , but if most particularly ordered, of course can malce any of the common qualities. JE R SE Y S , best 3/9, 4/3, 4/6, 4/9. ; Hose 2/, 2/3. SH IR T S , in two colours, 10/6, 12/6, 14/6. CAPS, 1 /; Garters, / 6 ; Shin Guards, 3/6, 4/. K N ICK E R BO CK E R S for 8 / 6 , 10/6,17/6; Ditto, Elastic Web Figure-fitting, for 6 / 6 . FO O T B A L L S , No. 5, 7/6, 8 / 6 , 9/6, 10/6. A IR PUM PS, 3/6, 9/6, 13/6. Goal Posts, 17/, 19/6; do. Rugby, per set, 28/6. Boundary Staffs and Flags. LA CROSSE Jerseys, Hose, Caps, Knicker­ bockers, Bats, Balls. B ICYC L ING Caps, Jerseys, Hose, Jackets, Knickerbockers, and Ribbons. BO X IN G G LO V E S , Single Sticks, Foils, Masks, Fencing Gloves, Jackets, Dumb-bells, Iron Shot, Indian Clubs, Hammers, Wristlets, Quoits. G YM N A ST IC Apparatus of all kinds. L A W N T E N N IS Jerseys, Hose, Caps, Knick­ erbockers, Nets, Balls, Bats, and Shoes. GEORGE KENT, 149, FENCHURCH STREET , LONDON C R I C K E T . A W e e k l y R e c o r d o f th e G a m e THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1882. t w i n , “ C r ic k e t ” this week consists of sixteen pages ami a wrapper. This is the second enlargement since the institution of the paper. “ C r i < k ‘* ” can be had at W. H. Smith & Son’s Book htaiid, T' j 3 first, second, and third number? are out of T H E A U S T R A L IA N C R ICK E T E R S . No. 16 of “ C ricket ,” to be published next Thurs­ day m»rning, will contain a portrait and biography of A. C . Bannerman, the Australian cricketer. Each following number will contain a portrait and biography of a member of the Australian Team. Next week will be commenced (which ought to have begun to-day) the first of a series of articles by an old Harrovian. No. 1 will be on “ Modern Harrow Cricket,” and this will be followed by “ Middlesex Cricket,” and “ A Retrospect.” W :' 0 f l : £ O B g C R I P J F J 0 ]^ “ C r ic k e t ” is published at 17, Paternoster Square, London, E.G., and will beforwarded toany ad­ dress in Great Britain, for the Season of 8 weeks, including pi esent issue, for 1/IQ in .time for first post on Thursday Morning. It is requested that Postal Orders (not Stamps) be sent for Sub­ scriptions and Scores. They can be made ~:zyable to W . R. W r ig h t, at the head office, and crossed London and County, Holborn. •‘ C r ic k e t ” is r e g is te r e d f o r tr a n s m is s io n a b r o a d a n d c a n be s e n t, p o s t f r e e , a t th e r e g u la r n e w s p a p e r r a te s o f p o s t a g e to a n y p a r t o f th e w o r ld . Reading Cases for holding four numbers of “ C r ick et ” can now be had at the Office, price 2/-. TO ADVERTISERS. “ C r ic k e t ” presentsan unequalled mediumfor announcements in connection with the game, as the circulation is already in advance of any ncxcspaper of the kind. The scores ofmostof the principal Clubs toill appear exclusively in its columns, and there is already a large number of sub*cribers, includingmost of the leading players of the day. “ C ric k e t ” will be filed too for reference in the Pavilions of all the principal Clubsf and it willthusappeal directly to every class of cricketer. A limited number of high-class Advertisements will betaken on terms to be obtained of the Manager. For ordinary Advertisements the charge will be 3/- an inch narrow column. LEG BEFORE WICKET. In several of tlie most important matches ■whichhave been played this year a tendency has appeared of questioning somewhat openly the decisions of umpires in cases of leg before wicket. This is due in great part to the idea— confessedly a tolerably just one—that umpires are often indifferent judges as to the grounds upon which such decisions ought to be founded. The main difficulty arises in the case of a round-arm bowler trundling round the wicket; for many confidently assert that it is quite im­ possible to be l.b.w. at all when the ball is delivered round the wicket. This surely is a mistake. If the conditions of a just decision in this case be (1) that the ball pitch straight, (2) that if it were allowed to pursue its direct course it would strike any one of the stumps, (3) that any part of the batsman’s person intervenes to prevent the second condition being realised, it seems difficult to see why a batsman should not be out l.b.w. round the wicket as well as over the wicket. It is true that the second condition may less probably be granted, but still it is far from impossible —pace James Lillywhite— to pitch a ball round the wicket in such a way that it should carry this condition out. The 24tli Law of Cricket— as set forth in the “ Cricketer’s A n n u a l i s fcus w o rM ; “ The striker is out, if with any part of his person he stop the ball, which in the opinion of the umpire at the bowler’s wicket shall have been pitched in a straight line from it to the striker’s wicket, and would have hit it.” The great difficulty lies in settling whether a ball pitched straight would or would not, in pursuing its course, strike the wicket; and in solving this problem the umpire should be altogether mindful of the circum­ stances of the question, and should, if the bowler trundle round the wicket, bo dis­ posed to give the batsman the maximum of any reasonable doubt that may arise in his own mind about the justice of the appeal. When the ball is delivered over the wicket, it is naturally not so difficult to decide the tenableness of the second condition above- mentioned ; but here, again, if the bowler be round-arm, it may happen that the ball is delivered with such a curve that, even if pitched straight, it would not strike the wicket if allowed to pursue its course. It is clear that this second condition of a just verdict bristles with the elements of probability, but the merits of an umpire in this matter consist largely of so far reducing these elements to a logical position that probability becomes almost identical with certainty. But if the umpire’s duty is so difficult, it must also be remembered that a duty rests also upon the bowler and the wicket-keeper, and, indeed, upon anyone who is justified in making an appeal for l b w . There should be a morality of appeal in this as in many other points of the game. There should be, in the mind of the person who appeals, a reasonable conviction that the batsman had his leg before wicket. A practice—much to be condemned—has sprung up of appealing on the slightest provocation for l b w , pre­ sumably with the double object of getting rid of the batsman and of emphasising the bowler’s powers. Many young wicket­ keepers, it may be remarked in passing, are much too ready to appeal for running-out, for stumping, and for catching-at-the-wicket. These unnecessary questions form a weak­ ness that threatens to impair the manliness of the game ; and the umpire’s difficulties are thereby much enhanced. There is still another case in which the grounds of a decision as to 1 b w should be very carefully weighed. If the bowler be left-arm and trundle round the wicket, and have the power of putting a spin upon his balls, the ball as often as not will, after pitching straight, work off the wickets, or so work as to make it very difficult to determine whether it would strike any of the wickets or not. In awaiting an appeal for l b w under these conditions, full credit must be given to the discretion of the umpire, who, from his very position, must and ought to have the mono­ poly of impartiality in the matter. And a decision, once given, ought not to be de­ murred to. Few batsmen appear to ba satisfied with being given out l b w , but these few, by readily acquiescing in