James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1875

' ' . .. . • • 11 Jno · h to devote yout a.ttention to the mysteries of break tmd spiu. · Onl;r. recently I read somewhere of the extniordiriary ce.pooi'tY. of � c eleb r a. te l � 9�ra _ bowle � in p rod � ei:ng sh o ote� . a,t wip. :JJut this facttl¼' e:ris t a-riowh � except u;i the ��nation of · t b e wnter; and the in te ll igence wa.a, p�haps, ' as novel and . Orig inal to the O :x:.o nian . as it m to an y on e ' Wh o had a pr�ti­ eol knowledge of the game. &duce shooters to a certa.in -ty, arid to a. great e . ten.t the proverbial uncElrtftin.ty of crickep is no mor e: · Aft e t this di gr essio n ' it may be as well to state _ tha t s oin-e . deli;veties . favour Bhooteis, and t�at: these are usually produced by a low slin g ·� aotion · , a;s was thtl,t of Mr . Fellowt s. �o · impart the mysteries Of the rotary _ motipn of a ball is not only�cult but imp o s sibl e , · e-xcept by personal init:m,tion. That tlie secret of good bowling is the spin infused into the · co urs e of the ball is so oBvious thnt the sta t em e nt aoos not require more -than (\ passing I eoniment. !{ueh of thif§ rotaey te n � dency is derived from the method in which the ball is held when it leave the hand, though it i , s e s s e ntial ly the combination of arm and wrist that. forms the positive instrument. There are some few who hold the ball in the palm of the hand, but there is no better plan, to my mind, than to al l ow the ti]?s of the fingers to touch the seru:n of the ball, holding it tightly, so as to gi'tle it the greatest amount of spin. But in this matter mueh must be left to the young bowler. Experiments will soon prove fruitful or fruitless, until more or less success is gained, and '' use will father what's begot by sen se . , , Ca.re must be taken, too, not to overdo matters by an excess of praotice, as it will be found best to employ short intervals for the purpose, and not to go in for undue taxa. tion of energy. Above all, it i s n ece ss ar y tl1at a bowler should learn to aceom­ modate himself to the play of a batsman. To do this requires a re sonable amount o.f perception, without whi ch slow bowling would be useless. As I · have said be f o r e , the batsman must be flattered, and his weakness e n co ura g ed: · until he is hooked. With comple�e command over the ball, '' pitch '' will be of conrse a certainty, and the other ineidental devices will follow. The variation of the pitch of the ball must not only b e . sttldied, but alteration of pace, which is quite as i mpor t ant a point .. Slow under.hand, too, should be cultivated, and in d eed , at the outset it would be advisable to acquire a first m.odic11m of aeeuracy by this practice. Here, too, con·stant alteration ahould be the chief aim. The chief defect of slow bowlers, in my opinion, is tha t . they are ge nera lly · too slow, and th at , moreover, the balls are tos ed. too high. A. batsman should never, except at the option of the bowler, be allowed to meet the ball at full pitch, as he can so often in these days. · Of­ course an oecasiona.l toss, with the aid of a good field, iS a useful experiment, but the mi:xtlll'e should be administered in moderation. And now a few words on the ma11agement of bowling. This may be old t\dvice, b -ut it is systematically overlooked. Wh e � a batsman is regularly set any ch wig e is be t te r than none. Constant ma1de11 overs weary th 3 field as ,veil as the spectators. Any por t in a storm, and a bad bowl8r · . wil l get a wick e t when the best ha--ve fail ed . Try a change at both ends if n ecessary , and when. the batsmen are separated you can go back to the former bowlers. D o n ' t keep a man on si mply because he has got · a wicket . A. mn.n m a.y be a. recognised p u b l ic - bowler, but as he i a · onl y one of the eleven he mu.st look to the other- te n . for hel p ; and uuless they can aid him by good fiel ding th ey have no right to plaoes in the team. . The �vantages of any change are often _ vi fl i bl e in the best matches'. See how _ Wtld sett ! ed Mr. W . G. Grace at Lords, in 1869, in . the match between Nottmghamsbire and the Ma.rylebone Club, when . he was . . ( ' .