Cricket 1883

8 8 CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. m a t 10 , uss. C R I C K E T 1 L A W N T E N N I S ! ! F O O T B A L L ! ! ! F irst P r ize M edal at M elbourne E xhibition , 1880. JAMES L I L L YW H I T E , F R 0 W D & Go. Manufacturers of all articles used in the above and other Athletic Sports. Specialite for the highest class Goods. Bats specially seasoned for hot climates. Price lists and all particulars may be had post free. Shippers supplied at wholesale prices. J. L., F. and Co. aro the sole manufacturers of Frowd’s new patent “ Special Driver” Bat, which drives better, ars less, and averages 1£ ounces lighter than any other Bat; universally allowed to be the greatest improvement made in Bats since cane handles were introduced. Pub­ lishers of JAMES LILLYWH ITE’S CRICKETERS’ ANNUAL. Manufactory and Warehouse:— 4 and 6, Newington Causeway, aud 78 and 74, London Road, London. UPON APPLYING AT W A R D ’ S ATHLETICWAREHOUSE, Heckmondwike, Yorkshire, The Laws of Rugby and Association Football, Crieket, Lawn Tennis, &c., &a., will be sent gratis and post free to any address. WARD’ S WAREHOUSE IS THE BEST FOR Footballs, etc., etc. Send for Samples. NOTICES. C R I C K E T IS PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE, 17, PATERNOSTER SQUARE. LONDON, E.C. It will appear every Thursday morning until September 22nd, and Monthly from October until April next. C ricket can be had at W . H . Smith and Son’s Book Stalls, and of all Newsagents. No. 28, next Thursday, will contain POR­ TRAIT and BIOGRAPHY of Mr. E. F. S T y le c o t e , of Hon. Ivo. Bligh’s Australian Eleven. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. C ricket will beforwarded byfirst post on Thursday morning to any address in Great Britain, on receipt of a Postal Order (not Stamps) for the amount of the subscription (3s. lid . for 19 numbers, up to September 22nd, or up to April next, including six Winter Numbers for 58. 6 d., with present issue). Post Office Orders and Cheques can be made payable to W . R. W right , at the head office, and crossed "Londonand County, Holbom .” C ricket is registered for transmission abroad and can be sent , postfree, at the regular newspaper rates ofvostage to any part of the world. A few copies of Vol. I. are to be had bound, price 7*. 6 d. It contains Portraits and Biographies of all the members of the Australian Team of 1882, “ Cricketers of my Time,” by J ohn N yren , and a number o f interest­ ing articles by the best writers on the Game. TO ADVERTISERS. C ricket presents an unequalled medium for announce­ ments in connection with the game, as the circulation is alieady in advance of any newspaper of the kind. The scores of most ®f the principal Clubs will appear exclusively in its columns, and there is already a large number of sub­ scribers, including most of the leading players of the day. C ricket will be filed, too, for reference in the pavilions of all the principal Clubs, and it will thus appeal directly to every class of cricketer. It is also filed in most of the public libraries of Australia, and numbers among its sub­ scribers cricketers and dealers in cricket materials all over the globe. A limited number of high-class Advertisements will bo taken on terms to be obtained of the Manager. For ordinary Advertisements, the charge will be 3/- per inch narrow column. To Boys a t our Public Schools. MR. JOHN SHRIMPTON, 38, LINCOLNS INN FIELDS, LONDON, W.C. Will be happy to forward a copy of his F o u r t h A n n u a l L e t t e r to any young gentleman send­ ing his name and address. Crtcfcet: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1883. NUMBER TEN. N one of tlie forty-seven laws which have now for so many years formed the code for the government of cricket, has of late given rise to so much vexation of spirit as that known to the initiated as Law Ten. The provision that “ the ball must he bowled,” if honestly carried out in the proper spirit of the game, ought to be sufficient to ensure the fair delivery of a bowler. The words “ if thrown or jerked, the umpire shall call no ball,” which complete the rule, are merely an amplification by way of instruction to those who have in their hands the en­ forcement of the penalties in the event of any infringement of any of the regula­ tions. We have persistently and strenuously pointed out the urgent need of a stringent exercise of the authorities vested in umpires on this particular question of fair bowling. Last summer we were alone in denouncing the rapid extension of an undoubted abuse in the increase in the number of bowlers, amateur as well as professional, the legality of whose delivery was fairly open to suspicion. We did our best to represent that this extension of what we term the throwing movement was calculated seriously to in­ jure the development of the legitimate order of bowling. It is satisfactory therefore to find that two such practical authorities as Lord Harris and Mr. I. D. Walker offered at the recent general meeting of the Marylebone Club a pro­ test against a system Which “ C ricket ” has more than once represented as most injurious to the game. According to the official report of that meeting, Lord Har­ ris asserted that Law X . was constantly violated. He urged that it was incum­ bent upon the committee of the M .C .C . to take steps to put a stop to the practice of throwing, which was gaining ground every year. As a consequence, he claimed that bowling was deteriorating, and the game o f cricket too, and he urged upon the meeting the necessity of immediate legis­ lation on the subject. As Mr. I. D. Walker fully endorsed these remarks, there is at least a uniformity of ideas on throwing in the judgment of two of the most capable exponents of cricket opinion. It was only right that a subject which has been for some time seriously exercising the minds of a very large proportion of the best qualified judges of cricket should have been discussed at an assemblage such as that at Lord’s last week, com­ posed not only of representative cricketers but of the law-makers of the game. The committee of tha Marylebone Club are justified in the assertion that the law itself is explicit enough if it is properly carried out. “ Aye, there’s the rub.” If the law had been administered in its integrity, there would have been no necessity for the protest of the Kentish and Middlesex captains. An abuse which might have been checked in its in­ cipient stages, has for the want of resolute action of the authorities grown till it has become an element of real danger to the game. The report of the Marylebone Club contains an admission that the law has not been so scrupulously administered asit might have been,and their hope thatit may now be more rigidly enforced, is only a natural consequence of recent agitation. Theintention of the executive of the M. C.C to instruct their umpires to carry out this law strictly may have the effect of par­ tially reducing the evil ofunfair bowling. The question is one of some difficulty,we are ready to admit, but it will have to be m6t with determination, and the utmost rigour of the law should be dispensed to offenders. We should be more sanguine of the success of the manifesto of the Marylebone Club to umpiresHf we had more confidence in the capacity of tho ordinary run of officials under the still recognised system of appointment. It is said of the late John Lillywhite that he declared his intention, whenever he stood umpire, of no balling Willsher if he continued to infringe the law then ex­ isting against bowling above the shoulder. And those who remember the match at the Oval in 1862 between Surrey and England, will know how thoroughly he discharged what he considered to be his duty. It only needs a few as conscien­ tious and determined to remedy a fast growing abuse, and we trust to see them equal to the occasion. With the hearty and loyal support of those in authority their task should be materially lightened. Under any circumstances their course is clear. I n the match at Lord’s on Thursday last, Harrison, of Yorkshire, clean bowled five wickets of the Colts of the South in six balls. I n the list showing the order of merit of the lieutenants of militia recommended for com­ missions in the regular army who are reported as having passed the qualifying examination held by the Civil Service Commissioners in April, 1883—Lord Skelmersdale [stands first.