Cricket 1890

DEC, 27, 1890. CRICKET: A WEEKLY BECORD OF THE GAME. 467 “ Lord’s ” going too? No! Perish the thought! "We trust there are good men, and true, who will oppose this railway fiend to the utmost of their power. There are men in the House who have stopped bowling faster than the speed attained by locomotives. Let them all unite and save “ Good Old Lord’s ” from such a cutter-up of wickets. FORTY YEARS OF CRICKET. B y W . G . G race . [Perm ission has been kindly given to us to reproduce the Chapters on “ Bowling ” and “ B atting ” from the above work.] B attin g (Concluded), A nd now I com e to a point which is fast becom ing a characteristic of all good batsmen ; and that is, playing the ball with the bat, and not allow ing the ball to hit the bat. Your back play and forward play may be perfect; but if you can only stop the ball, you will never belong to the ranks of first-class batsmen. Make an effort to play the ball with some force away from you, and with practice it will come as readily as merely stopping it and allowing it to roll a yard or two away. In m y Fam ily Sketch I pointed out that it was years before I gained sufficient command of the bat to enable m e to place the ball where I wished. A t first I was content to be able to play it firm ly away anywhere from m e ; but with con ­ stant practice I added to m y skill the power of placing it between the fieldsmen. I firm ly believe any player can do the same thing if he only tries hard enough. E ye and wrist will respond when the brain commands. Here and there you may find a batsman who seems to be able to do more than another; but if the reason of it were closely thought out, it would be found that he had tried harder. Tim ing the ball is the secret of vigorous p la y; and tim ing, as far as I can make out, means the harmonious working of eye, wrist, arms, legs, and shoulders, which can only be acquired by constant practice. It may be said that keeping up one’s wicket s all very well, but what about hitting and the making of runs ? W ell, let me tell you that if you can keep up your wicket and play the ball hard away from you, runs will com e. There is a variety of hits that ought to be touched upon, such as the cut, the leg-hit, the drive, & c.; but they almost demand a treatise to themselves. Of the cut, the most[charming of all strokes, because it seems to be made with but little effort, I may say that it depends entirely on the perfect tim ing of the ball. The right foot should be m oved to the front of the off stump, and the stroke should be made with the wrist when the ball is about a foot in front of the wicket. H alf the secret of good cutting lies in hitting slightly over the ball, instead of hitting with a horizontal bat, which will cause the ball to touch the ground at a short distance from the wicket without affecting its speed. The batsman should not be satisfied that it is a genuine cut unless the ball travels more in the direction of long-slip than point. Of course, I am speaking of a good-length ball, a little outside the off stump ; anything shorter should be hit hard between point and m id-off with a horizontal bat, and the batsman should advance the left leg in front of the wicket in doing it. There is very little leg-hitting nowadays, and it is owing to the wonderful accuracy of the bowling. The bowler, as a rule, has eight men on the off side of the wicket, and very seldom bowls to leg. Occasionally you may get a half-volley on the pads, or slightly inside of th em ; but that should be driven between short-leg and m id-on, instead of pulled to leg. W hen you get a good-length ball, or one a little over pitched, just outside of the pads, the proper w ay to treat it is to throw out the left leg and hit as near to the pitch as possible ; it is a long-hop, then you bliould draw back the left leg and hit w ith a full front to the bowler. Try to hit with a horizontal bat, and guard against getting under the ball. If the ball is pitched right on the pads, do not forget you can make a safe and effective stroke by stepping back and allowing the ball to glide off the bat. In driving, you should aim at getting well over the ball and hitting with a straight bat, and neyer be satisfied unless you keep the ball well down. Of course you will notice if the fieldsmen are too close in, or if the boundaries are short, and if they are, may risk something in lofty hitting. It used to be considered by some very good players— I need not mention names—bad cricket to hit a straight ball, whatever the length of it. On the faith of it, Wootton and Grundy, two of the very best bowlers of their time, placed alltheirfieldsm en, with the exception o f long-leg, close in, and treated the batsmen to an occasional long-hop or lialf-volley with perfect complacence. I believe my brother E. M. was the first to up­ set that theory by hitting out as hard as he could over the bowler’s head, or to long-on, and not troubling about the flight of the ball. I considered the example a good one and followed in his footsteps, and I do the same thing to-day under sim ilar circumstances. The great thing in hitting is, not to be half­ hearted about i t ; but when you make up your m ind to hit, to do it as if the whole match depended upon that particular hit. That applies strongly to slow round arm or lob bowling. The fear of being stumped has deterred many a man from running out far enough, and a weak hit, followed by a catch, is the result. You may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb ; so go out with a will, smite and spare not, and forget there is a wicket­ keeper or fieldsman within a mile of you. I believe it to be a mistake to hit at the pitch of slow round or underhand bowling. There is generally sufficient twist on the ball to beat you, and if you do not miss the ball altogether, you will most likely get caught at coverpoint. And the same may be said of a medium-pace good-length ball on the off stump, breaking slightly away from you. In my younger days, w'hen I was quicker of foot than now, I always ran out to slow round and under­ hand bowling, and hit it before it bounded, or waited and got it long-hop. I still consider it good practice, and I can assure you it has a demoralising effect on bowlers. There are two or three other hits that I might allude io ; but those I have touched on are the principal ones, and the beginner should practise them as often as he can. He should also make a point of watching every first- class batsman, and make a note of his charac­ teristic strokes. V ery rarely will you find two batsmen hit in the same way, and it is always of interest to note where they differ. I also think it useful in practice to indulge in an occasional burst of hard hitting, but always try to keep the ball well down. There are many other points to be con ­ sidered, such as judgm ent in knowing when to steal a shoit run, and when to play a low patient game, or a forcing gam e; but these are the growth of time, and an experienced captain considers it a part of his duties to point them out to you. Just let me say that the prom inent characteristic of all first-class batsmen is consistency of scoring. They dis­ play the same carefulness after having made a hundred runs as thev do after scoring ten. Try to follow in their footsteps ; for that is the only way to score largely. And never grumble if you have a run of ill-luck and fail to score heavily for w'eeks in succession. It is an ex­ perience which comes to us all at some time or other, and he only is made cf sterling stuff, and a real lover of our grand game, who accepts it cheerfully. And always be modest in the hour of success. I ought to have said something about the young batsman’s outfit. T oo little attention is paid to that by fairly good coaches; but, believe me, badly-fitting boots, or boots w ith­ out proper spikes, m ay make all the difference in your play. No good cricketer is careless on that p oin t; fo r he knows w el he must feel at ease there, if lie hopes to be at all successful with the bat. Pads that do not fit com fortably will tire you as much as hard hitting, and you should make sure that they are carefully strapped, and not likely to get loose before you comm ence your innings. Gloves are oven more important, and if they do not fit nicely, will affect your hitting. No player o f any em inence now bats without a right-hand glove at least ; but I strongly advocate both right and left being used. And you cannot be too careful about the quality « the ru bb er; for a blow on the back of the hand or fingers when imperfectly covered will pla}' sad havoc with your scoring, and may stop your play for some time. Youslioul.l also make sure that the fastenings are all right, as carelessness there will make the hands uncom ­ fortable; and a loose, fiapping-glove may be the cause of your losing your wicket,as the ball is more likely to hit a glove of that descrip­ tion, than when it is firm ly fastened. Aud a belt instead of a scarf is sometimes an element of danger. The handle of the bat may com e in contact with the buckle, and the noise be mistaken by the umpire for a snick off the bat. In fact, I once saw a man given out in that way. The ball passed so close to the bat, that the umpire, hearing a snick, thought it must have touched it; and, on being appealed to, unhesitatingly gave him out. I did not blame the umpire, but quietly made a mental note of contributory negligence against the batsman. P E R IP A T E T IC S C LU B .— S e a so n 1890. Matches played 29. Won 7.—Christ’s College Finchley, High gate School, Upper Tooting, Holmesdale, Nutfield, Clare CV.lege Cambridge, Emanuel College Cam­ bridge, Pembroke College Oxford. Lost 10.—Blackheath School, Willesden, St. Paul’s School, Hendon, Streatham, Keble College Oxford, BN.'\Oxford, Eastbourne, Pembroke and Trinity Hall L.V.C. Cambridge, King’s and Clare L.V.C. Cambridge. Drawn 12.—Totteridge Park School, Peterhouse Cambridge, King’s College Cambridge, Christ a Co lege Cambridge, Caius College Cambridge, University Co lege Oxford, Merton College Oxford, Worcester College Oxfotd. Devonshire Park, Caius College L.V.C., Cambridge University L.V.C., St. John’s College L.V.C., Cambridge. AVERAGES. Most in Times Inns. Runs an Inna, not out Aver E. G. Raud ... 4 .. 129 . . 95 . . 1 .. 43 R. 0. Crawford 8 . . 2i5 .. 64 . . 1 .. 30.R E. (’. rooper ... 8 .. 1 'i . . *8 . 3 .. 24.4 Rev. E. B. t-irlh 16 .. 200 . . 115* . 4 .. 2'.8 A. Y. Maxtor ... n .. 198 ... 48 . 0 .. 18. 1. Ogilvte........ 6 .. 1)7 . . 48 . 0 .. 17.5 G W, Thompson 5 .. 5J .. 19* . . 1 .. 13 S. J. Svmons ... 4 .. f.2 ... 40 . 0 .. 1\ W. H. J:<quea 3 .. i*6 .. 16* . . 1 .. 13 F. Hill .......... 5 ... 48 .. 3rt* . . 1 .. 12 J. B. Oakley ... 12 .. 131 ... 25 . . 0 .. 10,11 A. E. Bodington 3 .. 21 . . 11 .. 1 .. 10 1 J. W. M. Onslow 9 .. 69 . . 21 . . 1 . . 8 5 L. T u bbs.......... 4 .. 35 . . 22 .. 1 .. 8.8 W. H. Dixon ... 5 .. 34 .. 11 . . 1 ... 8.2 C. H Mander... 5 . . 33 .. 12 . . 1 . . 8.1 H. k . Morice ... 4 .. 21 ... 13* . . 1 .. 8 F. H. Hirch ... 11 .. 63 ... 21 . . 3 .. 7.7 G. C Cope 7 .. 44 .. 14 . . 0 ... 6.2 C. H Stephen 9 . . 51 .. 12 . . 0 . . 6 El. R. Ladell ... 5 . . 16 .. 10 . . 1 . . 4.3 h\ Carlisle G ... 32 .. 5 . . 0 . . 2 G. Tahourdin... 3 . . 6 .. 4 . . 0 . . 2 22 Members had less than 3 innings. C b ic k e t C h a t f o r 1890.— (Seventh Year of Issue), enlarged and improved edition, post free 1/i2. Containing in addition to Fifteen Portraits and Biographies, a Special Cabinet Portrait of Mk. J o h n S h u tk b , the Surrey captain, together with groups of the followin'? countipp; Nm.fq Lanca­ shire and Gloucestershire. To be had **f the Office of this pape” , of all Booksellers, or W. K. Smith &Sons’ stalls.— A d v t . Footballs. This ,irand |s A B s 0 |_U T c LY T H E B E S T NEXT ISSUE, JANUARY 27.