Cricket 1914

30 THE WORLD OF CRICKET. F e b r u a r y 1914. South African Wickets. T h ere are so m an y readers of T h e W o r l d o f C r i c k e t w h o h a ve had no experience of Sou th A frican w ickets, and there h ave been so m an y w ron g impressions given of th ese w ickets in various papers la te ly th a t a little inform a­ tio n based on personal know ledge, and from p ra ctica l exp erien ce (I h ave p la yed th e grand old game in D urban, M aritzb urg, Johannesburg, P retoria, B u law ayo , K im berley, E a s t London, P o rt E lizab eth , and Cape T ow n of th e chief crick et centres in South A frica), m a y be welcome. T here is n ot a tow n in S ou th A frica where big crick et is p la yed w h ich I have n ot visited , eith er during Currie C up C rick et T ou rn am en ts or while tourin g w ith Joe D arlin g ’s 1902 A u stralian X I , w ith “ P lum ” W arn er’s M .C.C . team in 1905-1906, and w ith H. D . G. Leveson- G ow er’s 1909-1910 M .C .C . T h e recen t and present test m atches in S ou th A frica are th e o n ly te st games I h ave m issed ever since th e South A frican s w ere adm itted into fu ll m em bership of the Im perial C ricket F am ily. E v e ry crick et p itch in S ou th A frica is a m attin g one. L e t th is be understood from th e ou tset. N ow , a p art from th e influences of th e w eather, th e p itches are variable, accordin g to th e nature of th e ground under the m attin g. In some places, n o tab ly a t N ew lands, on one ground a t P o rt E lizab eth , and a t K in g W illiam stow n , th e m attin g is laid down and pegged dow n on tu rf ; b u t in other places th e m a ttin g is m ade secure on hard, bare soil, som etim es hard, san d y in character, som etim es of gravel. M ost grounds are en tirely w ith o u t tu rf, even in th e ou t­ field ; b u t in addition to th e grounds w h ich h a ve tu rf b etw een th e w ickets, th e oth er areas a t C ape T ow n , P o rt E lizab eth , E a s t London, D urban , and M aritzb urg possess tu rf out-fields. T h e S ou th A frica n C rick et A ssociation some years ago endeavoured to o b tain th e co-operation of all th e crick et centres to a d o p t one uniform class of w ick et. B u t some officials— those of th e W estern P rovin ce ground a t N ew lands in p articu lar— replied th a t th e y w ould “ n ever dream of spoilin g our grou nd .” W h en ou t in A u stralia w ith th e S ou th A frican team in 19 10 -1 I saw m a ttin g w ickets, b u t n ever in use for a first- class m atch. E v e n u p -co u n try th e m a ttin g is grad u ally bein g discarded, th an ks, in N ew S ou th W ales, la rgely to the assistance of th e C rick et A ssociation in p ro vid in g funds. In A u stralia, how ever, tu rf su itable for cricket p itches w ill grow ; b u t in S ou th A frica failure has dogged the endeavours o f all w ho h a v e tried to co a x th e tu rf to becom e suitable for b a ttin g upon . I saw som e cem ent and asph alte p itches in A u stralia also, b u t n ever a p itch of tu rf w ith m a ttin g stretched over it. In 1902 Joe D arlin g said th a t before long S ou th A frica w ould p la y on tu rf, b u t th a t is over eleven y e ars ago, and th e p ro p h ecy has failed of fulfilm ent as y e t. T h e S ou th A frica n grounds w h ich possess a tu rf out-field are n atu ra lly more com fortable fo r th e fielders, and th e spec­ ta to rs can e n jo y th e gam e more. Ju st im agine w h a t it m eans for th e fieldsmen, esp ecially those who are un­ accustom ed to th e conditions, to “ chase ’em ” on a bare hard ground w ith perhaps 140 or 150 degs. of sun h eat tu rn ed o n ! I h a ve seen cricketers in vest in boots big enough to ta k e th eir feet and also two pairs o f th ick woollen socks. W hen th e previous tours opened a t Cape T ow n , where there w as tu rf, and th e p layers th en w en t on to the hard grounds a t K im b erley, B loem fon tein , Johannesburg, and P retoria, it w as “ h e a ve n ly ,” th e y said, to p la y a t D urban, where th e y found once m ore a tu rf out-field. E v e n w hen th e p itches are n o t affected b y th e w eather, there is some difference in th e p la yin g character o f-th e w ickets where m a ttin g is stretched o v e r a bare hard surface. In th e higher altitu d es th e b a ll becom es more sp rin gy th an a t the c o a s t ; b u t th e nature of the soil affects th e bounce of th e ball ap p reciably, and nowhere is th is observed more th an on th e W anderers’ G round, Johannesburg. Such bow lers as H u gh T rum ble, W a lter Lees, and C laude B ucken h am have rem arked th a t it w ould be hard enough to get a w ick et in Johannesburg, w ith o u t a batsm an defend­ ing, w ith a really good len gth ball. “ G ive u s,” th e y said, “ an increase in th e h eigh t of th e stum ps, and th en it w ill be all r ig h t ; b u t our bow ling goes o v er the to p .” B ow lers, how ever, such as Schofield H aigh, G eorge Thom pson, Sim pson-H ayw ard, and S idn ey B arn es h a ve been able to h it th e w ickets often enough. Much has been w ritten a b o u t th e foothold of the bow ler in S outh A frica. B u t there rea lly is n ot a ground in S outh A frica where the foothold gives th e sligh test cause for an x ie ty . A t C ape T ow n and K in g W illiam stow n , and on one ground a t P o rt E lizab eth th e foothold is ju s t the same as in England, and nails w ill alw ays ta k e a grip on the grounds w h ich h ave tu rf out-fields only, or are w ith o u t tu rf a t all. Now , in A u stralia there is such a th in g as a “ slip p ery ” w icket, and bow lers h a ve been kn ow n to slide ab ou t b a d ly until a few scratches h a ve been m ade around th e bow lin g crease. T h e m attin g is ju st a few inches narrow er th an the bow lin g crease ; it is stretched betw een the p oppin g or b a ttin g creases, and does n ot reach up to those creases— th a t is where it is laid in accordance w ith th e regulations o f th e South A frican C ricket A ssociation. Thu s th e bow ler can h ard ly be incomm oded b y it. Perhaps his second step, after delivering th e ball, takes him on to the m a t ; b u t the right-hander’s le ft fo o t should never reach th e m a ttin g a t all. A n d th e batsm an ? T h e right-handed batsm an w ill h ave his right foot, of course, qu ite off the m attin g, whereas th e le ft fo o t w ill often be on th e m a ttin g du rin g his stance, and still farther on in p layin g forw ard. B u t few batsm en are inconvenienced in m oving thus. A w ell-m ade hard p itch w ill alw ays p la y a t th e same p ace ; b u t a badly-m ade p itch sometim es powders a t th e surface, and th en bow lers get a h arvest, because th e pow dering does n ot come a b o u t e ven ly a n y m ere th an an En glish w ick et dries e ven ly a fter w et. R a in , of course, alters th e pace of th e w icket, and it has freq u en tly been observed th a t visitin g cricketers h a ve been all a t sea ow ing to this. T h e presen t M .C.C. team during th eir opening p ractice a t New lands, were on fast w ick ets ; b u t the p itch “ in th e m iddle ” had been w atered, w h ich m a y accou n t for th eir sm all score of 199 in the first innings. T here are m an y grounds in S ou th A frica th a t h a ve v e ry u n even out-fields. T h e gam e is n o t p la yed enough to w arran t th e expense of keep in g th e ground in a proper condition. B u t where it is p la yed regu larly little fa u lt can b e found. Som e crick et fields are situ ate in p u blic parks, and when th e P u blic P ark s C omm ittee of th e p a r­ ticu lar corporation concerned chances to h a ve a few crick et and sports enthusiasts on it, beau tifu l p itches and out-fields are provided. Now , w h at happens when cricket w eather is in terrupted ? I h a ve alread y m entioned th a t rain m akes th e p itch slow ; b u t tr y to realise w h at happens a fte r a m a ttin g has been laid dow n on a v e ry w et, bare p itch , and th e sun comes o u t in all his f u r y ! T h e change in conditions is as m arked as when sun succeeds rain in E n glan d. E v e ry b all bow led leaves its impression on th e gravel under th e m at, and if th e m a t were ta k en up, a series of little cup-like in ­ den tation s would be observed. T h e h eat of th e sun goes th rough th e m attin g and bakes these cups, and then, as w ill be guessed, the balls w h ich pitch upon th em fly all over the place. Those who h ave no experience are inclined to th in k th a t a m a ttin g w ick et m u st be as tru e as a billiard table. T o m y m ind the m ost p erfect m a ttin g w icket possible v e ry m u ch resembles an En glish fa st stic k y w icket. M attin g w ill a lw ays ta k e spin, and th e m an who can spin a lo t