Cricket 1910

4 6 6 CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. D e c . 2 2 , 1 9 1 0 . perfect, but I think that occasionally it was responsible for bright cricket. Yorkshire, as you know, have recently suggested a method by which a side leading on the first innings shall be awarded one point and, if winning outright, two additional points. Personally, I cannot see why a side should receive any recognition fur leading on the first inniDgs in the event of the game being played out— especially if it should lose the match, for the toss may have a lot to do with it or rain may be wholly responsible.” “ Winning the toss may m e p winning the match.” “ It may, indeed, and often does. What I should like arranged would be that the side which loses the •toss in the first match s-liould have choice of innings in the return. Why, Essex once lost the toss about thirteen times running, and I am told that Sussex can p lint to an even more remarkable ex- psrience. I mentioned my suggestion to a famous old captain only a few days ago, but he said that, personally, he preferred the luck of the game. But, as I reminded him, his county has an eleven which is just as likely to win whether it gains the toss or loses it.” “ Can you draw any comparison between the past and the present ? ” “ Much more cricket is played now than formerly, and for every good cricketer who played in my time there are probably ten to fifteen now. But I think I could choose eleven of the old players who were as skilful as any team which could be picked from present-day cricketers. ‘ W. G.’ has never been approached. Banjitsinhji and C. B. Fry, great though they were, were not in the same class. And you must remember that ‘ W. G.’ was at his best when the wickets were very different from what they have been during recent years. If he were in his prime now they would never get him out. And he was a fine field anywhere and got heaps of wickets. I am sure that the old p ayers were made of sterner stuff than the modern. Ihey certainly played under dif­ ferent conditions—at times the pitches were really dangerous—but they cheerfully ac­ cepted the rough with the smooth, and came to regard blows almost as part of the game. Nowadays, so it appears to me, many cricketers seem to anticipate trouble. More than once I have been told that some bats­ men have arranged to practise at a certain time and have gone to the ground to see them perform. If the weather has been fine and the ground well rolled they have generally carried out their intention, but if rain has caused the wicket to be tricky or the ball has bumped they have, as frequently as not, backed out! It seems no good to remind them that the experience would do them good as they would be certain to be called upon to play under such conditions sooner or later. Their action certainly does not bespeak keenness. Then, I should like to see matches start at eleven and the tea interval abolished, but I can quite see that there is a very great deal of cricket played now and that a lot of travelling has to be got through.” ‘ ■Whilst at Cambridge you must have played frequently against Buttress. Can you state what caused him to be so difficult at times ? ” “ Buttress had great command over the ball and a deceptive flight, and if he had kept himself in condition would probably have done some very remarkable things. He could make the ball ‘ do ’ a lot, chiefly from the off. At his best he was very gool indeed, but he had many off days.” “ How do you consider the fast bowlers of your day compare in pace with those of more recent times ? ” “ I think that, on his day, Kortright was the fastest bowler I ever saw. Tarrant was about as fast as Buckenham or Fielder, but Freeman was considerably faster—faster than Richardson. Many bowlers of great pace soon get disheartened. Richardson was the pluckiest I have ever seen, and he was plucky.” “ Do you notice any change in the cha­ racter of the crowds which attend important matches ? ” ‘ ‘ Whether spectators derive as much enjo.iment from the game as they did in the old days I doubt very much. The crowds were of quite moderate proportions then and a man could, if he wished, enjoy his pipe and pot of beer in comfort without exciting comment. They were keen critics, too, and knew thoroughly all the points of the game. Speaking generally, the crowds are of a different class now, and there is far more booing than there was. The old specta­ tors followed the game more intelligently, but now they often commence to hoot if three or four overs are bowled without a run being scored. Considering how much we hear concerning poverty and unemployment, it is a mystery to me how so many thou­ sands find the necessary money to attend cricket and football matches.” “ Do you consider that batting has developed during the past forty or fifty years ? ” “ Owing chiefly to the vast improvement in the wickets, many more strokes can be employed than was formerly the case. But I cannot understand a man walking before his wicket in order to play a straight ball. Batsmen say it is a second line of defence. ‘ Second line of defence,’ forsooth! it is a second cause of danger and frequently gets them out. You never saw old “ W.G.” walk in front of his wicket in that way. It stands to reason that the policy is all wrong, for the batsman, getting too close to the ball, finds himself in a cramped position, and probably off his balance, so that the only stroke he can make is to the on. The attitude he gets in reminds one of a trussed fowl, and he is often caught at the wicket or lbw. Perrin and George Gunn are notable offenders in this respect, and as, like all great batsmen, they have imitators, the majority of those who have tried to copy their methods have proved dismal failures. Indulgence in the practice has spoilt Perrin’s play. He had some beautiful strokes on the off side, but now seems almost to have lost them all. The glance was started by Ranjitsinhji, who possessed an unrivalled eye and wonderful wrists and had a lot of scoring strokes off straight balls, in which respect he was in a class apart. His best imitator has been C. B. Fry, who is a brainy individual and does not overdo things. But the majority of players, instead of mastering the stroke, find that it masters them. Another thing I cannot understand is why there is so little forward play now on good wickets; it is almost all back. Yet on the rough grounds which existed in their time Mitchell, Parr, Buller, Stephenson, Hayward and C. G. Lyttelton all played forward. And even what back-play there is is different from what it used to be. We were taught to keep our right foot steady and make it a pivot, and I maintaia that modern back-play is done in the wrong way. Why, many bats­ men actually set themselves to play back before the ball is bowled ! ” ■ ‘ What are your views concerning the status of the amateur ? ” “ The great difference between amateurs of my time and those of the present day is that we bore our own expenses ourselves and that the modern players expect, and have, all their’s paid for them. Why, forty years or so ago a cricketer would have given his ears almost to be asked by the Walkers to play for Middlesex at Sheffield, or any other ground far from home, and would have thought the expense quite a small matter compared with the honour. Of course, there are very many more matches now than there were formerly, but I maintain that if a gentleman cannot afford to pay his own expenses he ought not to play—at least, as an amateur. Cricket is the best game in the world, but the question of money is too prominently connected with it. It is not a healthy sign when clubs have to be kept going by means of bazaars and shilling subscriptions, and old Fred Gale was right when he said that first-class cricket has become a money-making concern. There is too much cricket nowadays, and the many great tours have converted the game into a spectacle. We hear much as to the inter­ change of visits drawing the colonies and the Mother-country closer to each other ; it may possibly do so, but I doubt it very much.” “ What are your opinions concerning the qualification of players ?’! “ I feel strongly that unless you have a side consisting of home-bred players you do not secure half the real intertst there should be in the matches. I should like to see a man’s right to represent a county restricted either to a birth-qnalification or to residence within the county for not less than four years. I say four because I believe that such a period —double that now necessary—would do away largely, if not entirely, with the practice of importation. With such a rule in force no club would be very eager to speculate, more bunafide county teams would be put in tbe field, and a more healthy interest would be taken in the matches. We know that the rule at present. in force has not prevented attempts being made to secure the services of men like Trumper and Bardsley. Fortunately the offers were not accepted, but the law, so long as it makes it worth while, or even permits, a club to act in that manner is very far indeed from being ideal. I fear that the change may never be made, but I know that many old cricketers share my opinion. You will find the same state of things exists in connection with other classes of cricket. If you remember, years ago village clubs used to contend with each other at wrestling, boxing, cricket, &o., and the falling-off of such healthy rivalry accounts, I think, for the degeneracy of young men of the present day. Nowadays you frequently find several outsiders in a village team with the result that, more often than not, but little interest centres in their doings. But when all the members of the side are 'oona-fide home-bred players, the keenness and esprit de corps are most marked, and the games are generally very well supported.” “ Do you think that the Press has any undesirable influence over cricketers ? ” “ I consider that the newspapers deal at too great a length with the doings of the players, and often with unfortunate results. For instance, during the past season a great batsman got out without scoring and, as he passed me in the pavilion just afterwards, he said ‘ This will look nice in the paper to­ morrow ! ” The publication of the averages every week is a great mistake, as I know for a fact that it causes some cricketers to play for themselves instead of their side.” T he G entleman in B lack .