Lives in Cricket No 37 - William Clarke

126 Practical Hints on Cricket From these hints and observations you must not expect to reap the advantage in a week or a fortnight. Some may profit in years, some never, for – One science only will one genius fit. So vast is art, so narrow human wit. II On Fielding In placing the Field the men should be laid out according to the hitting; all batters have favourites hits. When in the Field you should be particular in watching the movements of the batsmen; you should not take your eye off him when in the act of playing, but always expect to have every ball played to you. That will cause you to be on your legs; and, though the ball should be played on the opposite side to where you are, you will get a good start at it, and actually be on your way almost before the batter has played the ball. In returning the ball, you should be sure and try to throw it in breast high. I think the system of making the ball bound before it comes to the wicket is bad. It may shoot, or be turned out of its course, in either case the chance is gone; therefore it is better to throw straight at the man. In nine cases out of ten, it is bad to shy at the wicket. There is the uncertainty of hitting it; and very likely the field will not prepared by backing up; and so you will cause one of those annoying sights, an overthrow. Any fieldsman intentionally shying at the bottom of the wicket, when a man is there to receive the ball, ought to have ‘a dozen’ immediately. You frequently will see the ball returned hard in, when there is no chance of a run being attempted; this is bad, it affects the wicket keeper’s hands, as he is not prepared for it; when there is a chance he would not fell it, if you were to send it in like shot; his anxiety would take away the thought. You should never hold the ball, but return it to the man at the wicket immediately; if you are in the out field, and the batsman is on the alert, he will steal a run, and you will get laughed at. In throwing in, avoid a long swing of the arm, but shy with as short and sharp a motion as possible. In catching, you will frequently see the easiest chances missed. For why? Men don’t give way sufficiently with their hands. Thinking it easy, they hold their hands stiff, which causes the ball to rebound, and they lose it, with the old saying, ‘I made too sure of it.’ That’s very little consolation to a bowler. Balls hit with the greatest force you will generally see caught; for the man, seeing the ball come with such velocity, feels a little fear, which makes his hands give, and causes the very action that makes the ball stick. Most catches, particularly high or slow ones, are missed for want of humouring the ball. In gathering to a ball, you should try to get it at the bound, which you will be able to do if well on your legs. At the same time be prepared, in case it should shoot; sometimes it is worth the risk losing a run, by darting in a little further to run the batter out, especially if he is a good one. I think there are no halfway places in the field a man should stand, either to save the one, or the three or four, except in extraordinary cases. The middle