Cricket 1904

CRICKET, MARCH 31, 1904 j © 0— € = = Z > J © S C _ 3 = H © H = € = Z D 8 @ 8 C_____ ----------------------------------------)fl © 5 © f V 1 < n o ¥ / / l i I |UA 1 7 L I WiqUHM j//j 1 m “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.” — Byron. n o . 65 2. v o l . x x i i i / THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1904. p r i c e 2 a. A CHAT ABOUT L . O. BRAUND . Few cricketers have come to the front as quickly, arid have held their position as securely as Leonard Braund, the well- known Somersetshire professional, who is now on his way back from Australia with the M.C.C. team. As an all-round player he has perhaps no superiors; he is a fine batsman, the best and most accurate leg-break bowler of the day, and a brilliant field. As a batsman he has shown great versatility; he can play a bold offensive game as well as most people, or he can defend his wicket with an obstinancy worthy of a Scotton. In Australia he showed conclusively that he knew how to “ play for keeps ” almost as well as the famous Australian pioneers of that particular variety of batting; and during the tour he very seldom let him­ self go. But when he is iu the mood, or necessity requires, he cm hit with great vigour, and it is always a delight to see him at the wickets on these occasions, for he then seems the em­ bodiment of life and energy. When he first came iuto notice as a leg-break bowler he was slower than he is at present, and numerous people have claimed the credit of persuading him to increase his pace. Whatever the merit of their claims, it is certain that the increase in pace has made his bow l­ ing more difficult, while it does not, as in the case of so many leg-break bowlers, seem to have interfered with the accuracy of his pitch. I t is this accuracy which has been the chief cause of his success, and he is almost the only man who can go on week after week, month after month —even year after year—without having frequent days when he cannot for the life of him get a length. Numerous instances of this fail­ ing on the part of leg-break bowlers might be mentioned, and in fact it would be difficult to name any other bowler who is to be depended on almost invariably. Harry Trott was one c f the most notorious instances of an uncertain leg-break bowler ; if he went on and happened to get his pitch at once he was as likely as not to upset a sid e; if he failed to find it in the first over or two, he judiciously took himself off very quickly, for he knew as well as the bats- L, C. BRAUND. (From a photo by E. Hawkins & Co., Brighton). man that he wculd come in for great punishment. Whether Braund will be able to keep up his accuracy for long remains to be seen; if he does he w ill be about the only bowler of the kind who has succeeded in so doing. Braund is one of those cricketers who are universally known as “ triers ” — a horrid word (if it can be considered as a word) which nevertheless expresses well enough what every player under­ stands when he speaks of a man [who works his hardest from the beginning to the end of a match. H e is, as he] has always been, an enthusiastic player,'who does his level best for his side, under even the most adverse conditions. I can well remember seeing him, in his younger days, almost jump down the throat of an old and experienced umpire three or four times in a couple of overs in his keenness to get a decision for lbw . I can also well remember his look of in­ effable difgust when the umpire smiled more and more blandly as he said “ notout ” after each suc­ cessive appeal. But this was merely the natural excita­ bility of a keen young player, who, forgetting that the ball did not pitch quite straight, saw bis man completely cover his wicket time after time in a manner which can only be described as maddening to a bowler. One likes to see Braund bow ling, for apart from the pleasure which one always derives from seeing a well- pitched leg-break ball—there is just the same pleasure in watching even if the ground is so hard that the ball does not break at all, for to the spectator the look of it is just the same—the y ou rg bowler goes at his work with such evident satisfac­ tion, that he succeeds in impressing the spectator in the most remarkable man­ ner, much more thnn do most leg-break bowlers. It is very seldom thatheisreally collared, although few of his contemporaries with the same style can keep on for more than a few overs w ith­ out being severely clumped b y an enterprising batsman. Altogether he is one of the most useful bowlers in the world at the present day on any class of wicket. As a field he may be said to have taken the place of Lohmann at slip. It is extraordinary to see him pick up a catch when the ball seems to be going entirely