Cricket 1901

86 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A p r i l 2 5 , 1 9 0 1 . 4.—When a cricketer uses as residences in the course of,the year, tenements in more than one county, or where he leaves the country for the winter months, and in all other cases where his qualification is in any doubt, it is obligatory on the county for which he wishes to play to prove his qualifica­ tion to the satisfaction of the M.C.C. 5.—A cricketer who has played for a county for five successive years is qualified to play for that county for the rest of his cricket career, or until he plays for some other county. 6.—A cricketer may play for his old county during the two years that he is qualifying for another. 7.— Transfers .—A cricketer alreadyqualified for a county, but wishing to qualify by residence for another county, must give notice in writing to the Cricket Club Com­ mittee of the former county before he commences such residence; and a county cricket club wishing to engage, under a residential qualification, a cricketer who is already qualified for another county club, must inform the committee of the latter before commencing negotiations with the cricketer. 8.— Appeal .—Should any question arise under these rules it shall be left to the decision of the committee of the Marylebone Club, which shall be final. On May 3rd, 1899, the follow ing un­ important alterations in the laws were passed at the M .C.C. meeting :— 33.—A batsman being out from any cause, the ball shall be “ Dead.” 33 a . —If the ball, whether struck with the bat or not, lodges in a batsman’s clothing, the ball shall becom e “ Dead.” 46.—They shall not order a batsman out unless appealed to by the other side. N.B.—An appeal, “ How’s that,” covers all ways of being out (within the jurisdiction of the umpire appealed to), unless a specified way of getting out is stated by the person asking. O x e -D a y M atch es . 2.—The match, unless played out, shall be decidcd by the first innings. Prior to the commencement of a match it may be agreed that the over consist of five or six balls. N.B.—A tie is included in the words “ played out.” A t the end of June, 1899, the follow ing instructions to umpires were approved by the M .C.C. committee :— (a) If a side declare its innings during the luncheon interval, it must do so within fifteen minutes after the commencement of such interval; otherwise an extra ten minutes will be allowed for rolling. (b) If a side declare its innings closed in the morning before play commences, it must do so in sufficient time to enable the other side to choose the roller it prefers; otherwise an extra ten minutes will be allowed for rolling. Next came the famous alterations which enabled either umpire to call “ no-ball.” These would have been passed at a special general meeting of tbe M .C.C. on Septem­ ber 7th, 1899, but the number of members present was not sufficient to form a quorum, and tbe meeting was adjourned to October 80th, when the alterations were confirmed. Attempts had for a long time previously been made in various ways to put a stop to throwing, but as the opinions of cricketers differed so widely as to what was a throw, and what men threw, things went on pretty much the same as before. But it was hoped b y their supporters that the new laws would at once put a stop to throw­ ing. The result has not been what was anticipated, for although a few umpires speedily showed their appreciation of their new opportunities and responsi­ bilities, the vast majority still continued to consider fair tbe bowlers who had been pointed out as throwers. The alterations were as follows :— Law 10.—The ball must be bowled; if thrown or jerked, either umpire shall call “ nc-ball.” Law 48.—If either umpire be not satisfied of the absolute fairness of the delivery of any ball he shall call “ no-ball.” In December, 1899, it was announced that still further alterations in the laws were proposed, v iz .:— 1.—Six balls to constitute an over. 2.—Declaration permissible at or after the luncheon time on the second day. 3.—The side that leads by 150 runs in a three-day match, 100 runs in a two-day match, or 75 runs in a one-day match, shall have the option of calling on the other side to follow its innings. These alterations weie confirn-ed on May 2nd, 1899. In April, 1900, the cricket world was startled by the announcement that in the report o f the Marylebone C.C. which was about to be issued to the members, the follow ing statement was to be m ade:— It has be3n decided to enclose the ground with netting during club matches, as an experiment, and to dispense, as far as possible, with boundary hits. If the ball hit the net, two runs shall be added to the batsman’s score in addition to those actually run. Hits over the net are to be regarded as boundaries, and boundaries are to count three.” It is unnecessary to refer here to the amusement with which this strange announcement, which foreshadowed a revolution in the game, was received by cricketers. Suffice it to say that the experiment was first tried on May 3rd and 4th in the match at Lord’s between Notts and the M .C.C., and that after a very short trial it was decided to amend the scheme, as follows : — Hits which bound over the net, or under it, are to count as four; hits clean over the net are to count as five ; and hits out of the ground as six. Finally in June, after a life of tix or seven weeks, tbe net experiment was abandoned, which was obviously much the wisest course. In the autumn of 1900 a strenuous attempt was made by a section of the cricket world to pass a law b y which umpires should have to decide whether an unfinished match in the county cham­ pionship ought to be counted as drawn or as a victory. But the scheme was almost universally condemned, and nothing came of it. A t the beginning of the Australian season, September, 1900, the Melbourne C.C. tried a little legislation of its own in the Pennant matches at Melbourne, which are on a level with our county matches. It is necessary to quote these laws, because if they prove successful an effort will probably be made to introduce them in first-class cricket in England:— 1.—The time allotted for play shall be divided on each day of the match equally between the opposing club. (Certain pro­ visions follow, into which it is unnecessary to enter here.) 2.—All interruptions occasioned by weather or light shall be counted as portions of the time allotted to the batting side during whose occupancy of the wickets such interruption has occurred. 3.—The follow-on rule shall not apply, but the opposing sides shall (except as mentioned in the previous provision) bat alternately. 4.—At any time during the last day of a match either side may declare its innings closed. For a long time certain enthusiastic legislators had advocated a new law as regards leg before wicket, and a circular was sent by the M .C.C. to the county committees and to Australia, asking for opinions. The county committees were decidedly adverse to any changing in the rule, but the majority of the M .C.C. com ­ mittee recommended it. Nevertheless, as the committee was not unanimous, it was decided that the proposed new law should be voted on by the M.C.C. members at the Annual General Meeting on May 1st o f the present year. The proposed new law has caused an unparalled amount of discussion. Modern cricketers seem to be against it almost to a man, while nearly all cricketers who have retired are in favour of it. I t is as follow s:— The striker is o u t ............. if with any part of his person (except the hand), which is between wicket and wicket he intercept a ball which would hit his wicket, ‘ ‘ Leg before wicket.” A t the end of December, 1900, the news leaked out that at a private meet­ ing, the captains of the first-class counties, with certain prominent excep­ tions, had legislated on their own account. It was stated that a number of bowlers were to be banished from the cricket field, and others warned. To set rumour at rest, a circular, signed b y the Secretary of the M .C.C., was issued in January, 1901, as follows : — At a meeting of the first-class county captains, held at Lord’s on December 10th, it was unanimously agreed that the county committees be informed that the captains have undertaken not to bowl the following bowlers in county matches during the season 1901, viz.:— C. B. Fry, Captain Hedley, Captain Bradford, Mold, F. Davidson, Roche, W . G. Quaife, and Geeson. And they also request the different com­ mittees will be good enough to warn F. G. Bull, W . Lowe, Tyler, Bland and Lockwood that they must be more careful as to the fairness of their deliveries. To say that this circular aroused a storm of criticism is to put tbe matter