The Ladies' Guide to Cricket

22 quickly in or hang nilcl go morn slowly. I f the ball pit the batsman’s log-side and turns in towards tho wicket it is called n twist, from leg, or leg-t wister. If it pitches on the off­ side and turns towards tho wicket, it is said to break back from the off. Miss L iston : But what causes a shooin') and why does the ball hang at other times ?” L over : “ Sometimes tho ball falls with tho spin going round and round in the direction of tho wicket, and thus causes the shooter, while if the spin happens to be hack towards the bowler the hall, checked by the contrary motion, is said to hang. Work, twist, curl, spin, and (lot it he whispered) devil) are all terms used to denote this peculiarity. Bub Slasher, a very wild hitter, is in now. l ie will either ‘ make a spoon or spoil the horn.’ Faith! he has done the former (p. 14) and short-leg (10) has him safe as a rat-trap. My turn has arrived, but as I have mv pads here I may tell you as I am putting them on that while, by a happy chance, seven of the eight batsmen have gone out in different ways, there are still twro other ways of losing one’s wicket. Happily, they are rarely seen, as they are wilful offences. The first is, when a batsmen, having hit the ball once, strikes it a second time in order to make runs, though this does not forbid stopping (not hitting) a ball which after being blocked is rolling towards the wicket. The second wilful and capital crime is trying to hinder a fieldsman from catching the ball while in the air, by purposely running against him. Both breaches of the law's are justly punished by instant dismissal. But they are calling out ‘ next man,’ so ladies, and please study the diagrams a b it !” Lover goes in with the telegraph showing 63—8—0, and Stanley keeps hitting awray merrily. The tens go up in rapid succession, Lover contenting himself with blocking all the straight balls, and hitting the crooked ones nowr and then. While they are batting there are one or twro things which had better be explained. The umpire, after a has been run, has called out, “ one short.” This means that one of the batsmen turned for the second run without having quite reached the popping crease. One run is deducted in such cases. A four becoming a three , a two a one, See., when “ one 6hort,: is called. Again one of the fieldsmen, not being up in the rules, stopped tho next hit with his hat. This misdeed causes 5 runs to be added to the score. A hot catch is another term often heard ; it means a chance of a catch (whether caught or not) from a very hard hit. Tho hat-trick is performed when a howler takes three wickets in three successive balls, for which feat lie is supposed to receive a new lmfc, but as a rule has to content himself with tho barren honour and glory, since it i» not ch-arly laid down that any person in particular is to protide the reward, flood and bad light are also fainilur