James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1886

3 8 L I L L Y W H I T E ' SC R I C K E T E R S ' A N N U A L . C H A P T E R I V. P U B L I CS C H O O LC R I C K E TI N 1 8 8 5. B YR E V. A . F . E . F O R M A N . "B O W L E R Swanted! " was the almost universal cry of the different Public Schools during the past season , and it is a cry that will be repeated again and again , whenever we happen to have a dry cricket -like summer. A n dw h yis this ? Is it that the art of bowling is well-nigh extinct among schoolboys ? N o, surely not. Boys of the present day have the same natural talent as boys had in days gone by; but cricket each year is becoming more and morea science , and the science of bowling is not studied as it should be at public schools . W emake this remark with all reservation , because here andthere w eknowthat an immense amount of time and trouble is spent by the cricket authorities in encouraging their boys to learn the art of bowling , but this is by no meansthe universal rule , and w e are afraid that in the majority of our public schools bowling does not receive the attention it deserves . For instance , a boy who makes a big score against a rival school , gets not only "kudos." but something tangible as well , in the shape of a bat. Indeed, if his innings is a specially brilliant one, his admirers simply shower bats uponhim. N o wis the same thing done for bowlers ? Sometimes , it is true , a good bowling feat is substantially rewarded , but as a rule , praise , and praise alone , is the sole return , and even of this the bowler does not get his fair share . That this is not as it should be w e are sure all cricketers will admit, and w e are confident that manya boy would practice howling with far more zest did he realise that success in that line would gain him as much notice , practical and otherwise , as knocking up fifty runs in a foreign match. Surely something must be done. Amateurbowling gets weaker every year ; and though 1885 was essentially a batsman's year, wedo not believe that there ought to be such a dearth of bowling talent , as the reports from various quarters tell us was the case this last season . W ehopeweshall not exhaust our readers ' patience if w eadd a few words on this subject . There are two distinct classes of little- boy bowlers , and from want either of knowledge or of patience , the more important class is often disregarded entirely , or receives such slight encourage- ment, that they come to the conclusion that bowling is not their forte . The twoclasses m a ybe described thus :-First, boys, whoby natural instinct , as it were, cannot helpsending the ball accurately from wicket to wicket . Suchbowlers are often straight , and nothing else ; there is no " devil " in the balls they send down, and though they are of great service in " keeping up an end" and checking run-getting , they will never get manywickets on a fast , true ground. Secondly, there are the boys, who, as youngsters , are often very erratic , but yet everyball they deliver has lots of spin on it, and though there be little or no break, the spin, whenever a"goodone"does come, beats the batsman. N o w, w emaintain that the latter class of bowlers is often neglected . A vast amountof care and trouble must be expended on the part of a teacher before the necessary accuracy can be instilled into them ; but surely any expenditure oftime is amplyrepaid , if a real bowler is the result . Let coaches devote one houra week to going the round of the various games, and we are sure that in every school in England five or six youngsters would be discovered who would bewell worth taking in hand. Afterthese general remarks on bowling let us turn more specially to the records of the past season . Though those whohave done best for their