James Lillywhiite's Cricketers' Annual 1874

8 runs will take care of themselves, is an axiom that cannotbe contradicted. Consistent care from first to last will do more in the long run than impatience or desire for fast scoring . Remember, moreover, that it is not bad bowling that wants the least caution , and do not despise it, as some batsmen are too prone to do. To under-rate a foe is weakness , and should always be avoided . One last hint to the young beginner and I have done . Do not play with a bat too heavy for your strength . I think a bat should not exceed for any young bats- man 2 lbs . 3 oz . , or even 21lbs . 2 oz . It is this overweight that cripples many a promising player , and prevents himnot only from doing himself justice in the present , but mars his utility in the future . C H A P T E R II. A F E W R I N K L E SO NB O W L I N G . B YJ A M E SS O U T H E R T O N , THE great aim I have always had, and obviously that which should be the aim of everyone with any pretension to bowling , is to try and vary the pitch , pace, andbreak of the ball without the knowledge of the batsman. Perhaps this preliminary advice may appear superfluous to manywho read it, but there will also be many who are not so blessed in the matter of experience . There are manybowlers who have failed to learn the secret after a long apprenticeship , and hence the advice may not savour so muchof a plati- tude to some. Of course the old stagers learn one's style , and on grounds, such as the Oval , that do not help the bowler, it is difficult to break through the defence of the manyprofessional batsmen whomone has to meet perhaps five or six times during the year . There are some exceptional instances where it almost becomes an impossibility , but still I bowl every ball with the hope of getting the best of them, as I am sure that every manis to be got out with a good field to help . There is no batsman so good as never to makea mistake , and there are very few whohave the patience to play a persistent bowler without amomentarydeviation from the right path. I compare bowling to fishing . You musthave plenty of ground bait , and the ground bait in cricket is to continue to give the batsman almost but not quite every kind of ball that he wants. W h e nhe hits at a ball well and freely he is onthe feed, and then is the bowler's time to drop a ball very like the last in appearance but with slight difference of pitch , break and spin , and one of the field is very likely to play the part of the m a nwith the landing net. As an instance of this theory I maysay that some- times I have bowled some of the best m e nin England with a ball that a schoolboy could have played with a broomstick . As long as you have the privilege of bowling do not despair . In proof of this advice , I have sometimes , after trying every device I knew of making a ball break from off to on, and on to off, and finding that I was fairly mastered , Ihave gone to the bowling crease , with the same action , the same movementof arm, and the same intention as before , and pitched a ball , devoid of screw, straight to the centre . Once (in the match for Lockyer's benefit ) I took Dr. Grace's middle stump in this identical wayat the commencement of the match. I can recall , as well as if the remark 10 wereat this momentnew, his surprise and his ejaculation of disgust : "W h y, odi ben egundaear to euro Đ