James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1875

( . ' I I I I l I ' I l I l I I I I ! j I ' i I ' t : 10 ?Ccu1·s to hi ;n to keep up his bowlin�. Is it that batting is unfairly estimated by the p11blic, to the ne�Iect oi bowling? or tha.t the averages inoite a bais� man t-o prefer the notoriety of a sensational score, while no inducement is give11 to a bowler? � �haps b �h these are reasonable suppositions. In the Nort � of , Engl®d and 1n the Midland Counties, perhaps from indirect causes, bowlmg lS great J y foster � d. I h-ave in s om e _ p a r& s myself eeen colliers and work 1"8 of all kh1ds, du 7 mg their leisme hours, at practice with a ball at a stone or a r>iece of coal 1n t� roads or on the moors. No matter whe,e, so l?ng as they can ha e something whereat to bowl, at the regulation distance {Jf twenty-two ya1·ds, a11d the conseqt1ence i s · tha t fuey can almost all bowl ,vith ncct1rac 7 ; though I fAincy they prefer swiftness of pace, a11d do not · dovote Sl1.ffic1ent time to the study of slow and medium..paoed delivery. With young plnyers, th e · great er1�or is this ambition fo1· extreme s p ee d . The tlloory is to begin �th a'lows until you have gained some accuracy of aim. 1'he general practice is to tear away at the stumps as fast as possible, and to dc8t1·oy,as a natural co�sequenee, all hopes of distinction. Care must be taken not to overbowl at the outset ; 1 t o dcli"\7er at a slow rate of progression, to be increa�ed gradually, as strength accrues. Speed will come better if it is Btllowed to come of itself, rather than by fo1�eing it un11aturally. J. C. Shaw, Silcock, and Will�l1er do , not po11nd awa-y at their fastest pace, b u t . bowl so mucl1 witl1in their strength as to have almost comy>lete command over the ball, and hence the number of · ma i d e n overs as well as wickets to their names. Any object will do to form a mark for practice, as a piece of paper placed in front of the stµmps, at the point best suited for the pitch of the ball. A bowler will soon fall into a certain natural and mechanieal action ; and care should be taken, when a suitable delivery is attained, n o t . to deviate therefrom, as this will nullify the effects of the practice. Bowling, to my mind, should derive its motive power from the arm, and not from the body, as it is from the arm that most of �be spin is gained, and bodily exertion will always be to the disadvantage _ of a bowler. The a:rm shoul(l be kept as level as possible with the shoulder, as this of itself will produce facility of delivery, without an excess of phys}cal labour. Still there is much in the way of ex.a.mple in the advocacy of a high delivery as the best action for a bowler. J. C. Shaw, Freeman, and others of our best bowlers, have the adva11tage of a high delivery with a slight assistance from a tlirn of the hand and wrist, It is the m9st dj:ffic _ ult to play, �is the bowler can pitch the ball neare1· - to the bat without the ohanee of a hit, in consequence of the ball rising so abruptly and with so , much spin. Without p1·ejudice I am adverse to the claims o� Q fast against those of · a slow bowler. Indeed, most batsmen prefer pace, a s - g e ner ally fast bowlers piteh th e · ball short rather than well up, and the chances of a snick are m . any, while the op)?ortunities fo1· a cut are hardly less numerous. Mo1'eove1�, fast bowling cannot be . s o accurate, nor can it be so consistent as that which is well under control, and the bats­ m® is not so puzzled by the length o, the ball, as with a slow d1·opping delivery. A great defect among bowlers is the disinclination or inability to pitch the ball far enough. A home t oss · or what is technically termed a '�yorker," is often calculated to dispatch a bat � man before he has h � d · a. chance of'' getting his eye in." The shorter p3.tches may produce moo.den o-ve1·s but it is the balls that are pitehed nearest to the bat, as a rltle, that get �ickets ; and Howitt and otherf! can testify to the merits of a good '' tioe ,, when all other devices have failecl. When you have achieved accur�ey sufficient to warrant more ambitious attempts, it will be time