James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annnual 1881

H I N T SO N B A T T I N G . 2 1 T not to overstep the limits , as in the present age of efficient wicket -keepers , like the four P.'s -Pooley , Plumb, Pinder , Phillips -the end would soon come, and stumping is , at the best , an unsatisfactory death . Again, the adoption of a guard nearer the wicket is inadvisable , as , though a better defence maybe gained in someinstances , yet this is more than counteracted by the reduction of the reach , the consequent impediment in the wayof forward play , and lastly , the greater facility given to the bowler to drive you back into your wicket . The right leg should be kept, as I have already stated , quite firm , as in default of this provision it will readily be seen that the balance can hardly be maintained, or at least that the batsman can be so well prepared for a forward or retrograde movement, or so ready for an emergency. The right leg mustof necessity form the ' pivot ' to regulate the movementsof the batsman, as on it depends most of the offence and no small share of the defence. In the method of placing the left leg and foot there are innumerable varieties and eccentricities . For myself I prefer to place the latter about a foot in front of, and nearly at right angles to , the heel of the right foot . Thus , in the main, the ruling principle must be that the right leg should be firmly planted and represent a stout support for the batsman , and given this provision , the use of the other mustbe greatly subservient to the difference of play, and be ruled chiefly by the discretion of the player. Thebatsmanin the diagramnearly realises m yidea on the subject of position , with the reservations already mentioned . The young beginner will do well to frame his play according to this model. Fromm y own experience I have always found it to m y advantage to hold the bat half -way up the handle , and this happy medium I recommendfor adoption , as thereby you can control it as effectively as if held nearer to the blade , and the benefits incidental to the extra length are very important . To hold it higher in the handle neutralises this ad- vantage, as the bat is not so well nor so firmly grasped, and the power of hitting at a ball with certainty is considerably lessened Stand , then , in an easy position , with the bat held as I have directed , firmly , but not too stiffly , to admit of facility of motion, and await the attack of the bowler. D onot beat the air with your bat, as is the mannerof some, in unseemly flourishes , nor wave it high over your head after the fashion of other still more pantomimically inclined performers . Refrain , too , if possible , from wasting yourenergy in waggingthe bat , if I may so term the irritating practice so often witnessed during the delivery of the ball . As a rule these eccentrici- ties are the unmistakable signs of nervousness or impatience , and these two defects will prove the ruin of the young cricketer . Decision , above all things , is a strong point in the armour of the batsman, and one that maytend to render him shot -proof . To hold the bat , in what is termed the pendulum fashion , in my opinion , gives the greatest scope for freedom of play , without in the slightest degree diminishing the powers of defence. I disclaim any notion of egotism in the statement , but merely cite it as a practical demonstration that I always stand thus on guard myself, with the top of the handle just above the belt , and the bottom of the blade almost on a level with the centre of the midd.e stump. Again, it has from time immemorial been enacted that the leit shoulder should be kept well forward and the left elbow naturally well up. I do not think that the most hypercritical cricketer can say anything in disparagement of this ancient rule . Modern cricket has indeed failed to supersede or find a flaw in the judgment of the past on this point Thy the experiment of playing with a straight and upright bat and the left