Canadian Cricket Field Volume 1 1882

20 THE QmyfDIM2 SPM. FiLD. are other players for wihom the landle is never short enough, and who hold the bat down against the shoulder. The consequence is thai their play is cratuped and clumtsy, and whon the ground ia livoly they aro continually gotting their tin'crs knocked about. I SEASONABLE IEMINDERS. prefer a handale of the ordinary length, ana I hold the bat about half way up it, an,' you cannot do better. To the Editorof the £<madian Crickd Fiel. Then hold the bat firmfly, and dlo not flourish and twirl it about fl Sio, of wiarc Ficiti. as you see some young people do. Hold it straiglt and in a eay ^ Sm,-Now that we ara beginning to get under way for position. Kelep your left shoulder well forward, and you are sure another season, thore are many oits ta which the attention o tu play with a straight bat. Keep upright, and watch well tue crichtors iay well be called. Ihe following arc a few of thon bowler's hand ; you will very sooi finid out which way lie ieans 1. " 10.30 a. n." ought not ta nwau il or 12, and need nut if overy the ball ta twist, and this little bit of inifornmation is no sliglit help secretary or captain would promptly fill the places of absentees, of wheu you are batting. whatever enîence, at the tine tixed for play, whether the match Yo shiold not lot the bail hit the bat but rathr mako the bat begins thon or not, and accopt no e:cuseO whatever for the neglect of eu tlt the hall.A reat y bitter baft btther rs eîîthe bayforgt a >sitive engagement. This u'npunctuality is most frequent on the hit the ball. A great many cricketers of the present day forget . e of the lomle club, and displays a gross lack of courtesy towards that the bat wa ade for this p rpose, and simply hold it to pro' the visitors. The avil ie one which is mnost injurious ta the popu- tect the wicket, alloing the ball to play itself. Of course every larity of the gane, and whih cai bu very easily renoved by the now at agam you on tha oth at it is rimpossible to dou gythg exorcise of a litie "wholesomediscipline. with but stop, but on the oth nerat e ars huîndredn that ought 2. One-day matches ire drawn unless played out, or agreed ta be be punished, and are by mdifferent players permitted to escape. decided by the first innings. if you ilake up your mind ta lit, hit liard. No half-and-half 3. Batsnien who know no botter than to ask for a "l trial bail" style as a rule will pay. And whîen yoîu block infuse a little power at the coîmmcceient of an itminugs, are advised that no such right into what vou do, and do not be content ta stop the ball by siniîply or customn exists. Wiere on earth did such an absurd idea originate putting the bat in its way any one can do that-but try and score 4. A batsmian lias no riglit to dictato the position of an umupire. off it. Hit with your arms, but use your wrists as much s youu cat He imay simply request him to stand as may nuit his cn- -the wrist-work is the secret of balls that you block flyiung off far venience, but the latter ias the rigt tn >ace himself as o miay enough to mLake runs. Hit, then, lard, and get well over the ball, choose. It is well for a batsian to avoi as nuch as possible all never spoo iit up ; the ball travels farthest when h it along the nervousness at abjects behind the bowler's armi, since such objects, grounid-a skypg hit ever goes so far as one that skis aross the if stationary, are rcally less troublesomie than is supposed. and with grass. sIt aay please some people, but it is nearly all show-a highi oe bowlers it is impossible for the umpire ta avoid being in the litter is invariably a slow scorer. way now and thon. Hit at the bal], not at the place where you think the ball ouglt 5. If the bowler in the act of delivery, knock off a bail, it is not :o b, and wvatch the ball along the whole of its journey to the bat. necessarily a " nu ball." 1 Nover makze up your mind iow you will play a ball iitil the ball 6. A bowle- nmay, if lie choose, deliver with both fot bohind the is bowled anld you ascertain the " nanner of its coiming." Practise bowling crease su long as lie has one foot ýwithin the limit of the both backward and forward play, and after a time you will inistinc- returnt crease. tively feel, as the ball approaches yau, how it should bo treated. 7. It lias bee decided impossible for a bowler ta deliver the ball Play forward whenever you can. without his rearward foot being on the ground. Even had the There is n1o hard-and-fast rule whichi will apply to every one as question not been settled, common sense would show suÇh delivery ta how to treat the various kinds of·balls ; eaci will be met best by ta bo adinissible by the spirit and intention of the rule, supposmng different men in a different way. it ta be possible. Long-reachd mi will smother forward many a bail that shorter- 8. Umpires vlo nay be in doubt sbould remeinber that, though reacied players ean only piay close back. itiinieossible ta describe la words the action of a throw, the said Ne eL tao ar bac andy lay cls aro. whrip-lei- action mnay be detected by the protrusin of the elbow Nover get to far back, and ahvays bware of the bowler driving before the iand in the net of delivery, whicl itnecessarily involves. you on to your wicket. A jerk generally consists in the liand touching and being checked Never play across the wicket, or pull balla over, and take care by the side, what you are doing if you stop in. There is sueh a tendency amng 9. Wien the L. B. W. liend comtes along with lis eternal and young players to swipe ta lcg, that uniless it is checked tlcy ara exasperating assertion that it is inipossible for a mlan to be out L. scarcely able to do anything else, anld never attamn ta aven respect- B. W. wlen the bowling is " round the vickit," and talks nonsense able mtediocrity in the gaine. Of course an undeniablo leg hall about the mieaning of " pitched straiglt fron wicket to wicket," should be lit to leg, but take care that it is a leg ball. until you feel a righteous thirst for his blood, this is how tu answer In cutting kep the ball down--pat it, so to speak, and if yu hin. " Pitceid straight" ineans piteled within the parallelogram, shift your right foot, be careful that you take up your old position complcted by joining the opposing off and leg stunps of the two before the bowler lias another try at your wicket. 1 wickets. If such a ball bc stopped with anythmg but bat or band, Never be.in a hurry to get runs. Study the bowler's attack, and and the unipiro be sure that it would have hit the wicket, you are find out if you can what le thinks is your weak point and is out. With bowling " round f lie wicket" no doubt the accident can aining at. very rarely occur ; still it can occur, and whother it does or does Practise often but not too iuch at a timue, and practise intelli- not in your case, is the unpire's business and no one elso's." gently. Practise playing the ball and not mierely slogging at it. 10. Doues it ever occur ta any one that two minutes is the 3e as careful ai, the wickets when the net is behind you as you miaximiiiuimi and nut the mmnimiîum time for a nian t come mi? Does would be during a miatch. If you eau manage it, get somie one who any one ever consider that it is just as easy as not for the incoming knows the gane well ta bowl to you, and ask him to point out batsmtan to meot bis retirimg comirade half way, and take his guard where your defence is weak and where you make mistakces, and promiptly, imstead of dawdliiig about until lue is fairly howled af, give eed ta what lue says. Think wbat you are doing, and watch and thon bothering the umpire three or four tines, and diggmg the effect of different bits on different balls. Notice the different away for a minute or so at a hige grave imi front of the wicket, angles mttade by different strokes, and try to apply the knowledge while his partmner is becoining pleasantly chilled, and " getting his thus gained by placing the hall in different directions. eye out," and every intelligent spectator is devoutly praying that A great dea) bas been written as to the positions of the legs in the insuifferable nuisance may light on a shooter for his first ball ? aking the various hits. I do not attach miuch importance to this This is what mnay be seen la any Canadian cricket match in the mnyself, asi think it almost iomtapssible to describe such things case of three oit of four men, and the mrore useless the performer lucidly and correctly, certainly not without the aid of two or threc the miore imie will lie waste on lis unfortunate exhibition of ignorant diagrams ta eaclh subject. and conceited self-inportance. No wonder thmat the gane is un- This ias been mny object througiout, as I hinted at first. Watcl attractive to those who know it not, when city clubs will sometimes a really good batsmuan and take your style from him ; you c..nnot spend a wiholo day over three ininga of froin 50 to 80 riuns. How help nodifying il to suit your own peculiarities, tu-y what you wi many imatches, e. g., between Toronto and Hamilton lave been Practiso intelligently and assiduously until you have obtaineda finished it tho past ton years i perfect familiarity with the powers of the nweapon you wield, play There are mnany other little matters, Mr. Editor, which mtay be with a straiglht bat, meet the ball, and hit liard, and you will very mentioned hiereafter; but for the present. I fancy I have taken up possibly soou excel the nan you have taken as your nodel. quite oenougi of your space. (To ccuî )Yours, &c., (To b contnu«OSnour Io.