Cricket 1893

92 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME, APRIL 27, 1893 CRICKET NOTCHES. B y the B e t , B , S. H o lm es . For the first time in m y life, I saw a cricket bat made a few weeks since, and the hours thus spent were both pleasur­ able and profitable. It seems strange that a man should live so long in ignorance o f the mysteries of bat-making. Perhaps, like many another veteran cricketer, familiarity may have partly deadened the sense o f curiosity so thoroughly alive in youngsters. One is contented to possess a bat without bothering to ask how it ever came to be a bat at all. It is a fine art, however, and to all who can appreciate a really good piece of work, I would recommend an early visit to a cricket workshop. And there must be dozens o f them here and there. Time was when cortain familiar names enjoyed a monopoly. Some of them are still to the front, a few have dropped out, whilst new firms have sprang up on every side. What a famous name Page once was, the maker to whom the Surrey Club gave its first order for goods in 1846, on the principle o f encouraging every phase of cricket in the county. Bats and stumps could be produced by a Surrey maker, but, to their disappointment, they had to wander outside the county to find balls. I was bent on visiting a small factory! one always seems to see more there- Fortunately I found one close at hand> and was permitted to watch a man who had for some time been employed at Clapshaw’s and was evidently a master hand. The whole process lasted some three or four hours. As an amateur, with none of the technical knowledge of the machinery, I may have missed several points of interest; but here is a hasty summary o f what I saw and heard. A bat is composed of two parts— the blade and the handle. The blade is fashioned out of willow, and the best willow is grown in Norfolk, though York­ shire (and I believe other Counties) yield a somewhat inferior quality o f the same wood. The tree is sawn cross-ways into lengths Bomewhat longer than the blade, allowance being made for the ends cracking; and then these same lengths are cleft with wedges into pieces large enough to make a single blade. It is in that form they are delivered to the maker. First of alia hatchet or axe roughly shapes these clefts into something more nearly resembling a bat. Then they are care­ fully stacked and left in the open air to get seasoned for a year or so. Before Lord’s was extended by the inclusion of Henderson’s Nursery, there used to stand such a pile at the South East corner— a none too sightly ornament for the fastidious, and yet to the enthusiast suggestive of many a year’s hearty en­ joyment. After this, the rough blades are stowed away under cover for another year or so, and by that time they are ready for the maker. The face and edges are first o f all hammered so as to resist the impact of the ball, and they are forther hardened by passing them through a press. I should not like to state on oath how much they appear to lose in this last process; as far as I could guess, at least an eighth of an inch in bulk. Then comes the shaping of it. All done by hand and eye. The draw knife first; then the plane; whilst for the shoulders a spoke-shave is used. But, if I remember rightly, a groove is previously made in the blade, into which the handle is inserted. The making of the handle is apparently much simpler. I speak now of cane-handles only. And, by the bye, one rarely sees anything else now-a-days. Where is the old whalebone splice '? I am ashamed to confess that I had no idea the entire handle was made o f cane, and noth­ ing else. The cane used is the well- known bamboo cane o f indefinite lengths, round, of course. The edges being made square, a number of pieces —12, 16, 20, and even more some­ times— are carefully glued together, and then wedged into a specially prepared frame so as to allow of the glue setting. Then the lower part— for the spliced blade— is most carefully tapered. And a very delicate and difficult business this is : for there is nothing to keep the handle firm in its place but perfectly accurate measurement and glue. Not a nail, or peg, or screw of any kind. So, if the handle be too small for the groove in the blade, it won’t h o ld ; and if it be too large, even though it may be driven home, yet the strain on the blade will cause it to split down the face as soon as it is used in the field. Just think of that, all batsmen, and specially when you examine an old favourite bat. Why is the handle as firm as a rock ? Answ er: Good workmanship in the making of it. And let me remind you that you never can adequately compensate the best workmanship, either in batmaking or anything else. A tile and various textures of glasspaper then finish off the blade. I was astonished to notice how soft willow must be, from the quantities of wood dust taken off by the sand-papering. A steel—well used— puts the final touch on the “ pod.” The handle is turned, of course, on the lathe, first with a gouge and then with a broad chisel; this too is filed and smoothed with glass paper. Then comes the string­ ing— simple enough that, with the aid of lathe, the string having been previously well waxed. But how in the world is fhe string fastened off ? Most batsmen have experienced the misery o f watching an end getting loose, and many a dodge have we tried to fasten it up again. A knot— or a piece of cobbler’s wax— or— funniest of all— a nail. To no purpose, that stray end would turn up. We could make no­ thing of it. It had to be sent to a practical man. W ell then, know that when the stringing is done all but some three or four inches, another looped piece of string is inserted by hand, the loop long enough to show itself when the stringing is completed: that loop catches up the stray end. The loop is then pulled out, and the end is thus drawn under the bound string, and so is hidden out of sight and made secure. There ! the secret is out. The bat is made. An application of linseed oil is necessary, not only to fill up the pores of the wood, but to harden the face, and put a surface on it. One more passage through the press, and the bat is ready for the buyer. Of course, I haven’t given a full description. An old practical hand may be provoked into quizzing. Let him know, however, for his satisfaction, that I shall never handle a bat again without cherishing a sincere respect for its maker. It’s all very well for bats­ men to brag about their skill, it would never come to the light unless it were supplemented by the genius of the mechanic. Instead of talking about “ my ” innings, and “ my ” average and the like, suppose for the future we remember the part played by the bat— by the bat-maker as well as the bat- wielder— and say *•our ” instead. Like all best work, it looked so easy under a master hand. My enthusiasm for cricket was intensified by this quiet but eventful morning. I was surprised to find how heavy modern bats are. They used to be much lighter. Two lbs. 6oz. seems an average weight. I was told that many o f the professionals prefer a bat at least 3oz. heavier than this. Who was it that to Alfred Mynn’s bowling always used a bat that weighed 31bs. ? Was it the late honoured R. Grimston ? H e always had two bats if Mynn happened to be on the opposite side. Just before last Christmas, Messrs. Wisden were good enough to make me a present o f perhaps the earliest kind of bat they sold. Say [it is some 35 years old. It is a curiosity in its way. The blade is dark, red in colour: that may be from age or stain, I know not. But there is no wood in it, it looks too frail for practical cricket. As a young lad said, he fancied it would “ smash the first time it was used.” Perhaps it would not. Anyhow, it scales barely 21bs. But at that time driving was but little practised, most runs were scored behind the wicket. The half-volley was respect­ fully played back to the bowler, and not ruthlessly slogged over the boundary. Consequently we want heavier bats now. But they must be well balanced, come up as light as a feather when ra;sed to cut or drive. I have been wondering whether bats of 31bs. weight could not be more frequently u sed ; to make them light for cutting, might not apiece of lead be inserted into the flat disc which forms the handle top? I f this is worth con ­ sidering, and worth carrying into effect, any bat-maker is at liberty to make use of it, and patent the idea, just as Crawford bas patented the insertion diagonally of the strips o f india-rubber down the whole length of the handle, which other makers fix in parallel lines. Before I forget it. I wish to refer to a letter from Mr. Gaston, o f Brighton, in the February issue o f this journal, touch­ ing the date of the formation o f the Sussex County Club. It is not a matter of prime importance, and controversy on any topic relating to cricket is not to m y taste. H e gives the year as 1839, and points triumphantly to the possession of an original circular, convening a meeting which resolved to form a county club in that year. But that circular proves n o­ thing. Granted that ever since 1839 Sussex, as he states, have annually played bona-fide county matches. For the matter of that, they played them long