Cricket 1901

52 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A p r il 11, 1901. line from the shoulder. The slower the release, the higher will be the subsequent elevation of the ball. The speed of the hand during the release is practicilly the same throughout, so that it is not easy to tell by sensation, and still less by sight, where the point Y really is. But the one may help us, for it will tell us that in the case of a swing, which is the true essence of all real bow ling the acceleration is due to the contraction of muscles situated, not in the arm— for the arm may be kept perfectly stiff and straight— but connect­ ing the arm with the front part of the shoulder. Now as soon as the arm has become level with the shoulder, the required horizontal, or nearly horizontal, direction of the ball has been reached, and further contraction of the accelerating muscles would have the effect of giving such an upward direction to the hand as to send the ball high in the air. So on the contrary, instead of further contract­ ing such muscles the bowler suddenly stops the contraction, and may even allow a slight extension, while the horizontal motion of the shoulder itself keeps up the pace of the hand during the release. It is the motion or travel of the shoulder which makes the hand appear to increase its speed after first reaching the vertical line of the shoulder. All true bow ling swings essentially follow the above principles, whether the delivery be underhand, underarm, round- arm, or overarm. But the action of throwing is different. The bow ling swing of the arm, which is in effect a pull upon the ball, is changed to a thrust­ ing or pushing action, the maximum velocity being attained when the arm has reached a point well in advance of the shoulder. The difference between push­ ing and pulling is the difference between throw ing and bow ling. The action of the wrist may be the same in each, and no kind or amount of wrist action will turn a bow l into a throw, or vice- versa . (There is more difference of opinion, however, on this point than on any other concerning throwing.) Neither will any action of the elbow, of itself, for the real difference of muscular action is in the shoulder muscles. It is true that during a slow throw, as well as a fast one, the elbow may be much bent and then straightened. But the same thing will occur while bow ling slowly. It is possible and even easy to bow l fairly while exhibiting every characteristic of a throw except the pushing action from the shoulder. It isimportant to emphasize the factthat a fair bowler may bowl with a bent elbow. It is quite easy, but the ball so bow led is seldom worth b ow lin g ; a bent elbow during the “ pull ” generally accompanies a stiff wrist, which in its turn ensures that the ball will be practically devoid of spin. Spin has been well called the bow ler’s “ sacred fire,” and a dead or lifeless ball is, in itself a bad one. On the other hand a ball may be thrown with a bent elbow and a free wrist, so as to have a lot of spin. It is certainly a fact that a slow throw may put so much spin on the ball as to render it very lively off the pitch. A fast ball, on the contrary, can scarcely be bowled with a bent arm. A straight elbow is the leading feature of any good fast bowler, as indeed of any good bowler. His pace is obtained from the shoulder as the single centre of the swing. In a throw the elbow is gener­ ally used as a second centre for the swing of the hand and forearm, the uppar arm swinging from the shoulder. The second centre has the effect of allowing the hand to move, during the last foot or so, in a nearly straight line, and the change of motion from a curve to a straight line is the most apparent characteristic of the open throw. There is a well-known phenomenon known as “ throw ing the arm out.” This is the effect of a throw only, and can never occur while bowling. The maximum speed of the bow ling or pulling or pulling swing is attained while the shoulder muscles, by their contraction, are pulling the arm into its sockets. But the maximum speed of the throw or push is attained while the arm is moving to the front away from the socket, and the momentum of the arm tends to make it leave the socket. One important difference, as regards result, between bowling, throwing and jerking is that right-handed bowling has a natural bias from the leg side; throwing and jerking have a natural bias from the off. A man who naturally breaks from leg is above suspicion. A jerk has no resemblance to a throw, and is distinct from a bowl, so much so that it is not easy for modern cricketers to see that there is room for similarity. Yet, just as there are now players who can throw a ball in such a manner that professional umpires believe, or affect to believe, that they bowl, so in the days of underhand bow ling there were players who could j erk a ball in a manner scarcely to be distinguished from bowling. A jerk permits of the acceleration of the speed of the hand by contracting the large muscles of the arm. A jerk is more like a bow l than a throw, inasmuch as its shoulder action is entirely a pull without any push. But an increased pace is obtained by the sudden bending of the elbow, so much so that in order to effect the release at the proper moment when the motion of the hand is at its quickest and its direction almost horizontal, it is generally necessary to stop the forearm by letting it strike the side, and the collision of arm and body is held to be the characteristic of a jerk. In the days of underhand bow ling, men were found who could perform the jerking motion without this collision, and they were therefore (and rightly) considered fair bowlers. But the opinion was openly expressed that many of them would strike their sides when sending in their fastest ball. A fair and fast underhand delivery is quite compatible with striking the body with the upper arm, but scarcely with the forearm. As the real objection to throwing is this danger to the batsman, and as that danger is practically absent from jerking, at any rate on fairly good wickets, there seems no object now in view prohibiting the jerk. A perceptible but not unfair gain to the bowler would result from extending the bow ling crease a foot or more on each side. Permission to place the back foot on the line would also help fast bowlers with low delivery, for it is very difficult for a bowler with a low action to forget the presence of the stumps. These last three things are all at present illegal, but not otherwise unfair. It is worthy of note that if any defini­ tion is needed it is that of “ bow ling.” The rule says that the ball must be bowled. If there were fifty other methods of delivery, they would all be illega l; but it certainly would not be necessary to define all or any of them. The only question would be “ Is the ball bowled ? ” H. C. SU SSEX CR ICK ET AN D CR ICKETER S . Br S. A shley -C ooper . I I I .—THE BATSMEN. ( Continued from page 39.) T able N o . 3.— FOUR CENTURIES IN CONSECU­ TIVE INNINGS SCORED FOR SUSSEX. Batsman. Scores. Against. Ground. 135 ... Leicestershire . Leicester C.B. Fry | ^ 9 j Surrey ............Brighton 110 ... Middlesex ... Brighton ... Worcestershire. W orc’ str 105 ... Gloucestershire. Bristol Iq 1900 K . S. R injitsinhji just failed to perform the feat. ( Vide Table No. 4.) 1900. T able N o . 4 .— THREE CENTURIES IN CON­ SECUTIVE INNING * SCORED FOR SUSSEX. Batsman. Scares. Against. Ground. K. S. Ranjitsinhji f Lancashire ... Brighton Yorkshire ... Brighton ■J100 . (125* j 97 K. S. Ranjitsinhj in 19J0. ai ji ( J ® ;;; . ( 109 ... K. S. Ranj itsinhji (127 [ Gloucestershire. Brighton in 1903. j 222 ... Somersetshire... Brighton ' 215* .. Cambs. Univ.... Cambrge ‘ Surrey ...........Brighton Middlesex ... Brighton Gloucestershire. Bristol *Sigaifles not out. It will be seen that K . S. R in j itsinhji performed the feat twice in 1900. C. B. Fry, in 1898, scored 110 v. Somersetshire, at Taunton, and 99 and 133 v. Hampshire, at Brighton, in consecutive innings. T able No. 5 —BATS MEN WHO HAVE SCORED TWO SEPARATE CENTURIES IN A MATCH FOR SUSSEX. Scores. Batsman. Against. Ground. Year. jgy |Lambert, W .............Epsom ...Lord’s ...1817 105 ( t 101 | 100 I G. Brann... ...K e n t.........Brighton...1892 .lOSjC.B.Fry. lfl}C . B. Fry.. *125 | S.Ranjitsinhji ..Yorkshire...Brighton .1896 ...Middlesex...Brighton...189S .. Surrey ...Brighton...1900 Several players have failed to perform the feat by a few runs only, as follow s :— ^ j C. B. F ry...................Hants........... Brighton... 1898 ^ 7 J K. S. Ranjitsinhji...Gloucester,..Brighton...1900 **92 |Bean, G. ... ........... N otts............Brighton.. 1891 |G. L. W ilson ... ...Gloucester...Bristol ...1893 [ G. Brann...................Cam.Univ...Brighton...1891 lb l ) Jgg j K. S. Ranjitsinhji...Surrey ...Brighton... 1899 126 { Marlow, F.W . ...Surrey ..O v a l...........1893 • Signifies not out.