BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT (^ - ^ .^ . -. X89X h:JMi-:^j- ' ^iM;^. Cornell University Library arV18898 Jubilee book of cricket. 3 1924 031 254 406 olin.anx The original of tliis bool< is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031254406 THE JUBILEE BOOK OF CRICKET K. S. RANjrrSINHJI HOOKING A SHORT-PITCHED BALL ON THE WICKET. From photo h>j E. Ilaiijkins i Co., Eri'jhluii. THE JUBILEE BOOK OF CRICKET I I 1:/ l;-Y BY K. S. RANJITSINHJI SECOND EDITION WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCXCVII 'DEDICA TED, BY HER GRACIOUS PERMISSION, TO HER cMAJESTY THE QUEEN-EMPRESS. PREFATORY NOTE. In the following work the author has received special assistance from Mr W. J. Ford, Professor Case, Mr C. B. Fry, Dr Butler, the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, Mr Gaston of Brighton, and the writers on County Cricket. To these, and to other players of the game and well- wishers of it who have lent him their help, he desires to record his grateful thanks here. August 1897. CONTENTS. CHAP. I. TRAINING AND OUTFIT TRAINING — ELEMENTARY AND OTHERWISE OUTFIT — ELEMENTARY II. FIF.LDING THE WICKET-KEEPER LONG-STOP THE SLIPS POINT THIRD-MAN COVER-POINT MID-OFF MID-ON SHORT-LEG LONG-LEG THE LONG-FIELD PAGE I I 5 7 34 42 42 46 48 52 54 S6 57 57 III. BOWLING 62 IV, BATTING POSITION STANDING STILL PLAYING THE BALL . 145 160 162 164 V. CAPTAINCY VI. UMPIRING A FEW ELEMENTARY POINTS 229 267 267 VII. PUBLIC SCHOOL CRICKET. BY W. J. FORD I. CHARTERHOUSE II. CHELTENHAM COLLEGE 277 282 283 xii CONTENTS. VII. PUBLIC SCHOOL CRICKET — continued. III. CLIFTON COLLEGE . . 285 [V. ETON COLLEGE . 288 V. HAILEYBURY COLLEGE . . 29O VI. HARROW SCHOOL . . . 29I VII. MALVERN COLLEGE . . . . 296 VIII. MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE . . 298 IX. RBPTON SCHOOL ... . 299 X. ROSSALL .SCHOOL . . . 3°2 XL RUGBY SCHOOL .... 303 XII. SHERBORNE SCHOOL . . ■ 30S XIII. UPPINGHAM SCHOOL . 306 XIV. WELLINGTON COLLEGE . . 308 XV. WESTMINSTER SCHOOL 3°9 XVI. WINCHESTER COLLEGE . . . 3'° VIII. OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. BY THOMAS CASE . 314 L EARLY HISTORY OF THE CLUB, AND UNIVERSITY MATCHES DOWN TO 1862 . 3I4 II. REFORMED CONSTITUTION OF THE CLUB, AND UNI- VERSITY MATCHES FROM 1 862 TO 1880 . . 322 III. REMOVAL OF THE CLUB FROM THE MAGDALEN GROUND TO THE UNIVERSITY PARKS, AND UNI- VERSITY MATCHES FROM 1881 TO 1 896 . . 328 IX. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. BY W. J. FORD . 34O X. COUNTY CRICKET. BY VARIOUS WRITERS 365 THE MARYLEBONE CRICKET CLUB . 365 DERBYSHIRE ... . 370 ESSEX . . 37S GLOUCESTERSHIRE ... . 377 HAMPSHIRE — THE CRADLE OF CRICKET . 385 KENT . . . . 391 LANCASHIRE .... 397 LEICESTERSHIRE . . 402 MIDDLESEX . . . 406 NOTTS ... . . 412 SOMERSETSHIRE ..... 416 420 425 433 YORKSHIRE . . . 437 XI. CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA 443 SURREY SUSSEX WARWICKSHIRE ILLUSTRATIONS. K. S. Ranjitsinhji hooking a short-pitched ball on the wicket ...... Frontispiece W. Marlow throwing in the ball— Action I. ll W. Marlow throwing in the ball— Action II. 15 S. M. J. Woods stopping a ball in the country 21 MORDAUNT ready for a catch . . , . 25 W. Marlow catching the ball — a hot drive 28 W. Marlow catching the ball low down . 29 S. M. J. Woods picking up the ball running 31 Mordaunt picking up a ball running . 33 G. MacGregor at the wicket . Z7 Storer taking a ball wide on the leg-side . 40 Storer waiting for the ball . . , 41 LiLLEY at the wicket ... 44 LiLLEY taking a rising ball ... 45 Position for Slip, Point, Third-man, Cover '. 47 W. Marlow's forward-cut with left leg across . 51 L. C. H. Palairet's drive to cover . -53 J. R. Mason driving to extra-cover . 55 T. Hayward in the attitude for the on-drive 58 W. L. Murdoch's under-leg stroke . 59 C. T. B. Turner, "The Terror" 73 Richardson in the act of delivery . 76 Richardson after delivery . 11 Townsend delivering the ball . 79 J. T. Hearne just before delivery (side delivery) . 82 XIV ILLUSTRATIONS. J. T. Hearne after delivery . . 83 Briggs bowling . . . 85 Davidson standing before taking his run to bowl . 87 Mold delivering the ball ..... 90 Mold after delivery . . 91 Trumble bowling . . 93 Peel in the act of delivery . . ■ 95 Walter Humphrey's lob-bowling in the act of delivery 98 J. J. Ferris in the act of delivery . . 99 R. C. Barlow in the act of delivery . . . .101 S. M. J. Woods in the act of delivery . . 105 Martin about to deliver the ball . . 108 Martin after delivery . . . 109 Attewell just before delivery . . . 1 11 A player illustrating a doubtful delivery . 139 F. R. Spofforth, the Demon Bowler . . . 143 The "Playfair Driver" Bat .... 147 K. S; Ranjitsinhji playing back . . 149 L. C. H. Palairet playing forward 151 J. R. Mason playing forward . 153 L. C. H. Palairet at the wicket — a model position . 157 J. A. Dixon at the wicket . . . 159 Chatterton's position at the wicket 163 G. H. S. Trott ... .166 Gunn's forward-drive between mid-off and extra-cover 167 W. G. Grace playing back (as a defensive stroke) . 170 W. G. Grace playing forward (as a defensive stroke) 171 Lord Hawke running out to drive . * -173 W. G. Grace pulling a ball 175 W. G. Grace playing half-cock . . 178 W. L. Murdoch's forward-cut with the left leg across 179 K. S. Ranjitsinhji cutting (late) ... 183 L. C. H. Palairet driving forward ... 185 F. S. Jackson making an on-drive . . 189 W. Newham'S square glance . . 191 J. T. Brown's short-arm hook-stroke ... 195 K. S. Ranjitsinhji glance-playing back, ball being near leg-stump . . . . . . .197 A. N. Hornby ....... 199 ILLUSTRATIONS. xv A. E. Stoddart'S forward-cut with left leg across . 201 K. S. Ranjitsinhji glance-playing forward . . . 207 Shrewsbury cutting (late) at a ball keeping low . . 211 A. E. Stoddart'S forward-drive, nearing the finish 213 Shrewsbury playing back . . . . .215 A. N. Hornby placing himself in position for an off-drive 217 T. Hayward's forward-drive . . . 221 Lord Hawke cutting . . . 223 S. M. J. Woods' pull-stroke . 227 Lord Harris .... 231 J. Shuter . . . . . 237 W. G. Grace cutting with the left leg -across at a wide ball 247 A. G. Steel ..... 259 K. J. Key cutting . 287 F. S. Jackson forcing ball to leg 293 H. T. Hewett . . 295 L. C. H. Palairet cutting . . 301 H. D. G. Leveson-Gower's push-stroke in the slips . 311 J. R. Mason forcing the ball off his legs . . 313 W. H. Patterson ... -335 K. J. Key's push-stroke in the slips . . 337 N. F. Druce playing to leg — glance . 341 N. F. Druce off-driving 351 W. M. Hemingway at the wicket . 361 H. E. Murray-Anderdon, Somersetshire . 364 Charles W. Alcock, Secretary of the Surrey C.C.C. . 364 Sir R. E. Webster, Q.C., M.P., President Surrey C.C.C. . 364 Capt. E. G. Wynyard, President Hampshire C.C.C. . 364 Lord Pembroke.. . . . 367 W. G. Grace forcing the ball on the on-side . -371 W. G. Grace cutting (square) 383 Dr R. Dencraft . . 387 W. Rashleigh cutting . . -393 W. Rashleigh's drive past extra-cover . 395 A. Ward cutting . . 399 A. W-\RD in the attitude to cut . . . 403 H. W. Bainbridge (Warwickshire) . 405 Pougher (Leicestershire) . . 405 C. W. Wright (Notts) . . . -405 XVI ILLUSTRATIONS. C. E. De Trafford (Leicestershire) A. E. Stoddart driving GUNN — stroke past point taking the ball on the rise S. M. J. Woods cutting with left foot forward Abel at the wicket .... W. Newham forcing the ball on the on-side . G. Brann cutting (late) Brown cutting (late) .... Pearce, the Groundsman of M.C.C. at Lord's W. Hearne, Celebrated Umpire Thoms, Chief of Ground Staff at Lord's Apted, the Oval Groundsman . P. S. Macdonnell G. GiFFEN .... 405 407 413 419 423 427 431 439 441 441 441 441 451 457 Plans of Fields 114-128 THE JUBILEE BOOK OF CRICKET. CHAPTER I. TRAINING AND OUTFIT. TRAINING — ELEMENTARY AND OTHERWISE. Cricket implies a certain amount of physical capacity, and cricket-matches are a pretty good test of physique. In order to make the body fit to undergo a severe season's work, men and boys alike must cultivate health and strength. With regard to boys, the discipline in vogue at all schools in England puts excess of almost every kind out of the question. A good night's rest and a perfect digestion are two of the chief foundations of success in cricket. In the words of the greatest of all cricketers : "Temperance in food and drink, regular sleep and exercise, I have laid down as a golden rule. From my earliest cricketing days I have carefully adhered to this rule, and to it I attribute in a great degree the measure of health and strength I still enjoy." To play cricket at school, and afterwards to retain one's phys- ical attributes at their best, it is necessary to keep in training all the year round. Luckily, cricket does not demand that severe course of training which is required by such athletic pur- suits as football or running. The ordinary pleasures of life, A 2 TRAINING AND OUTFIT. partaken of moderately, will not interfere with cricket ; but if a player does not live carefully, he cannot hope to be consistently successful, however exceptional his keenness of sight,' his supple- ness of limb, and his strength of wrist. Such natural gifts soon become neutralised by self-indulgence. A man must lead a regular life, especially in the matter of sleep, in order to play cricket satisfactorily. After a late night he usually presents a poor picture in the morning. Half asleep, with a bad head- ache, he is much to be pitied, for he cannot do himself justice in any department of the game. In bowling he cannot find his proper pitch or length ; in batting and fielding he often sees two or three balls, and invariably hits at or tries to catch the wrong one. Perhaps this is an exaggeration. An occasional departure from regular hours may not seriously interfere with your condition, but if you wish to play cricket really well, you must get into the habit of taking a due amount of rest, and be temperate in all things during the whole year. It is very important for a man who wishes to have a good season to take regular exercise during the winter months. Boys at school and men at the university play football, racquets, fives, and other games, in that part of the year. But there are many people who play first-class cricket during the summer, but during the winter take no'exercise at all worthy of the name. This is a great mistake, and leads to much bad form in the earlier part of the cricket season. Obedience to the laws of health is necessary for all athletic undertakings. Certainly no cricketer can afford to disregard them. Even in my short career I have seen many instances of decline of form simply due to careless living. I do not, of course, mean to say that cricket is the chief motive for keeping fit — to do so is a duty which every man owes to himself. But those who wish to do great things in batting or bowling must train on special lines. No' one expects to run well without practising running, or to jump well without practising jumping. How then can a cricketer expect to be able to make a lot of runs, or take many wickets, without careful training in batting and bowling? The fact is, that, before the season begins, a man ought to practise regularly at batting or bowling for several weeks ; for both batting and bowling call into play particular muscles which they alone can exercise. It is impossible to. train for long scores in a few days. It may be years before a man can combine enough proficiency with enough strength to play a really long innings. When the season is in full swing, he probably gets sufficient exercise in actual matches. It is the TRAINING — ELEMENTARY AND OTHERWISE. 3 few weeks before the season begins that people neglect. It is then that careful and regular practice is so important, for one of the fundamental requirements for good cricket is, that the move- ments and actions used in the game should by assiduous practice have become habits. Most matches imply a certain amount of travel. It may be well, therefore, to say a few words as to its influence on play. A fatiguing and wearisome journey exercises a certain strain on the eye, which to some extent injures one's play. Hence, in case of a match away from the home ground, go, if possible, to the spot the night previous, or in good time before the game begins, and get a couple of hours' rest. Another advan- tage to be derived from this rest is, that it will enable you to arrive on the ground in good time and have a few minutes' practice at the nets. Your eyes will thus become familiar with the light, and your judgment with the pace of the ground. The neglect of this few minutes' practice often leads to disaster. Different grounds have different paces and different kinds of light, and without practice you cannot be at home on the new venue for the first few minutes. Then as to eating on the ground. Cricket-lunches at school are, as a rule, plain and wholesome; but I have known places where a regular feast has been put on the table. Nothing is so apt to deaden activity and create sluggishness in the middle of the day. With regard to drinks, boys generally drink ginger- beer, lemonade, and, where they are allowed it, beer. I assert, although I fear there will be a great preponderance of opinion against my theory, that water is far and away the best : failing that, I advise non-alcoholic drinks. . Many players make a habit of taking a drink in the middle of a long innings. I do not advise them to take anything more than a little water, just to wet the throat and rinse the mouth. This is all that is neces- sary ; it will quench the thirst effectively. Train yourself never to deal carelessly with any ball or bowler. Bad balls, particularly when straight, ought not to be treated with contempt. So also in the case of a bowler when a change is put on ; he should be played carefully, and no liberties taken until his action, pace, and other peculiarities have become familiar. One thing that has often proved fatal to a batsman, through lack of this caution, is the inability to resist the tempta- tion of hitting a boundary after two or three have already been hit in the same over. A few hints to " coaches " on the training of boys may not be 4 TRAINING AND OUTFIT. out of place here. All boys require coaching in cricket at a very early date. Hardly any cricketer has reached a very high standard who has not had some early coaching. A coach should first impress upon his pupil the rudimentary elements of the game — how to stand at the wickets, how to watch the ball com- ing from the bowler, and how to make particular strokes off par- ticular balls. If a boy shows a tendency to play a stroke in an effective way but unlike others, he ought to be encouraged to do that stroke and not have his natural style cramped. Nothing is more detrimental than to check the natural strokes of a boy. Nor should a coach try to make a pupil too steady a bat if he shows an inclination to hit out. Let him make the best of his material, and not try to change the boy's natural style, attributes, or gifts by forcing them into a fixed groove. Far better results will thus be accomplished than if the coach impressed upon each boy a stereotyped style, however sound. This does not mean, however, that he will neglect to tell each student certain elementary things, such as to keep the ball down, not to move the right foot, and so on. One important part of his duty is to teach his pupil to gain confidence in himself : in doing this he will have to be careful that the pupil does not become afraid of the ball by batting to very fast bowling or join- ing full-grown men in their games. He should see also that the boys practise on good wickets — that is to say, on wickets that are neither fiery nor bumpy, nor such as are likely to injure their nerves or damage their bodies. Of course a boy's success will ultimately depend on his own natural abilities, his keenness and perseverance, and his temperament. Too much coaching is bad. Half an hour a-day once or twice a-week is quite sufficient, added to the practice which he gets at the nets by himself and in games. Some one should be on the look-out to see that he is not practis- ing so long as to become fatigued and careless. Many bad habits may be traced to such overwork. A coach should give his pupils a few pieces of general advice which apply to all. First, as to the batsman. After going to the wicket, he should watch the ball all the time, and not pre- meditate a stroke before the ball is delivered, a very common fault among boys. He should put himself into the right position to meet the various kinds of balls, either forward or back, as the case may be,^ Then as to the bowler. The coach must tell him to bowl straight, to vary his pace, to put on a spin, and try to find out the weak points of the batsman. Of course these gifts will only come one by one, but the great thing is to make him OUTFIT — ELEMENTARY. 5 think what he intends doing. In the case of fieldsmen, he must show them how to pick up balls, both when they are coming straight and when they have to be run after ; how to catch the ball ; how to pick it up ; the duty of running at top speed and returning it as quickly as possible ; and other things which help to make a man perfect in fielding. OUTFIT — ELEMENTARY. The subject of outfit in connection with school cricket must not be omitted. It will do much towards success. All dis- tinguished cricketers have been careful as to their costume and cricketing material. Every one will agree that we must suit our dress to the demands of ease, convenience, and comfort, as well as of health and cleanliness. The shirt ought to be of canvas, wool, or flannel. Flannel is always preferable if the wearer can put up with the irritation. In this respect the schools are well looked after by the masters. Both trousers and shirts must be made so as to fit loosely, but not flappingly. Boys are in the habit of putting on belts. This is a mistake, since the noise the belt makes may at times be mistaken for a catch at the wicket. I advise instead scarves or sashes, which also have a smarter ap- pearance. For the sake of discipline, too, boys will do well to wear their school uniform or colours in turning out for cricket games : it shows keenness and pride in the school. It is not necessary to speak of head-gear, as caps are in general use at schools. It would be better for boys when in the field or at the wickets always to keep them on, as it will render them less liable to sunstroke. I strongly condemn the practice of playing cricket in straw hats ; they are both cumbersome and uncomfortable. When the sun is too powerful for caps, felt or sun hats are the best. For cold days every one should be furnished with a jersey or sweater ; but it is not advisable to use the sweater while batting, as it tends to cramp the movements. Blazers also are very necessary when one is not actively pursuing the game — e.g., during the luncheon interval or while awaiting your turn to bat. Boots, not shoes, should be worn, as they give better support to the feet and ankles. They are generally white in colour, and ought always to be kept clean by the use of whitening or pipe- clay. Nothing is more disagreeable than to see a member of a team wearing a dirty pair of boots. It is not necessary for a batsman to have many nails in his boots, but for a bowler it is 6 TRAINING AND OUTFIT. essential on all sorts of wickets. All boys should keep a few nails of various sorts in case of an emergency, suited to the different kinds of wickets they are likely to meet. Always have a good-fitting pair of pads and gloves, to save the limbs pain or injury. They impart confidence in standing up to bowling, and will render your play stronger. Care of course must be taken in selecting these articles that they are of just the right size. Every one should have a bat of his own to suit his own particular style and taste, and it must always be kept in good condition. Fur- ther, a young player should reserve to himself, as much as pos- sible, the right of using it. Nearly all schools provide the boys with lockers for their materials, but I should further advise boys to have a comfortable bag in which to carry their materials for out-matches. Another useful hint to them is the duty of choos- ing all these articles for themselves, in order that they may gain experience in their selection. Nothing is more important than this knowledge, particularly in the selection of bats. Most cricketers use handles of either rubber or chamois-leather, but in this boys should consult their own tastes. My last piece of ad- vice in regard to outfit is. Do not think it necessary to give large prices, but choose well-fitting, suitable, and durable articles. CHAPTER II. FIELDING. Fielding is a department of the game much neglected at the Public Schools, more at the Universities, and more still in county cricket. As for ordinary club matches, fielding is re- garded as a necessary evil which must be tolerated, because without it batting and bowling are impossible. And yet for winning matches, fielding is not a jot less important than bat- ting and bowling. Curiously enough, few cricketers guide their conduct by this fact, though no one with even an elementary knowledge of the game would think of disputing it. Times without number during the cricket season one hears it remarked that such-and-such a match was lost owing to bad ground-fielding or uncertain catching, or slovenly fielding in general, or be- cause in the selection of the eleven insufficient attention was paid to the fielding ability of the candidates for places. And it is as a mild protest against the common and mistaken policy of giving undue prominence to the two more showy branches of the game that fielding holds the place of honour in this volume. Not that it is of much use protesting. Cricketers, being human, are not over-ready to do what is irksome or distasteful, even where they recognise that it is for their own good and that of others. Perhaps one of the reasons why fielding is neglected is, that its results are all but disregarded on the score-sheet and in other records of matches. It is different with bowlers and batsmen. They see their successes fully notified. A glance at the score is enough to discover who made runs and who got wickets. The figures speak for themselves, and eloquently. But there is nothing to indicate how many runs were saved by fine ground-fielding, or how many catches were badly muffed. 8 FIELDING. A yet more cogent reason is, that the scope for personal grati- fication is so much smaller in fielding. A man bats and bowls for his side, it is true ; but if he makes a large score or takes a number of wickets, he not only does his side a signal ser- ■ vice, but he affords himself an immense amount of satisfaction, f There is nothing wrong in this. Cricket is a game, and should be played for pleasure. But there is this to be noted : success,' in batting or bowling cannot fail to combine the advantage of the whole eleven with the pleasure of the individual. A bats- man or a bowler feels he is doing something by his own efforts and to his own credit. A fieldsman, on the contrary, has in a certain sense no individual existence ; he is a subordinate part of a whole. He is point or slip or mid-off, not Smith or Jones or Robinson. The conditions of the game practically make selfish fielding an impossibility. A man cannot field " on his own " as he can bat or bowl. The result is that there are many, far too many, cricketers who, being ambitious to succeed in the game, give any amount of time and trouble to batting or bowling, as the case may be, in order to excel in one or in both, but only pay just enough attention to fielding to ensure a comfortable mediocrity. They know that, unless they acquire a certain degree of skill, their deficiency will be noticeable and regarded as so much against their claims to be chosen as bats or bowlers. Further than that they do not go. Nearly every one can without much trouble become a moderately good fielder, because fielding is far easier than batting or bowling. In the same way, real excellence in fielding is within the reach of a great many more cricketers than is real excellence in batting and bowling. But whereas many are eager to excel as bats or bowlers, few care to aim at more than average excellence as fielders. In fact, few cricketers do their very best in the field. They satisfy certain requirements, but do not give their whole soul to this branch of the game. When I say that bad fielding is the rule rather than the ex- ception, I refer rather to what might be than to what is. Taking into consideration the amount of time devoted to cricket, and the respective difficulties of acquiring a high degree of skill in batting, bowling, and fielding, one cannot but recognise that the average results attained are not satisfactory in the case of the first two. And this is true, though the actual number of really fine fielders is larger than that of tiptop batsmen or bowlers. Take a dozen village cricket-teams : there is probably no bat or bowler among them all of more than fifth- or sixth-class merit FIELDING. 9 but almost certainly there are at least twelve fielders who would not disgrace the champion county of the year. As to the importance of good fielding, it is easy to prove it. Each catch that is missed simply adds another batsman to the opposing side. If five catches are dropped, the side that drops them has to all intents and purposes fifteen men to dispose of instead of ten ; and each man who thus receives a second innings starts with the advantage of having more or less got used to the light and the state of the wicket. Again, let us suppose that each man on a side gives away in each innings 3 runs which he might have saved by a little more dash and alertness. Not only has the opposite side 33 more runs .added to its score without the trouble of making them by its own efforts, but the side which gave the runs away has 33 more runs to get than it need have had, and consequently has given itself so much the greater chance of meeting with bad luck. A run saved is more than a run gained ; it is a run that need not be got. Runs vary in value. It is far more than three times harder for a side to get 150 runs than it is to get 50. It is far easier for an in- dividual to save 20 runs by good fielding than to make 20 by good batting. In a particular match the best batsman in the world may twice fail to score. Suppose he is a bad fielder, and gives away, as he may well do if fielding in the country, 2 5 runs each innings. Not only has he made no runs himself, but he has burdened the rest of his side with the necessity of making 50 runs more than they would otherwise have required. He has practically deducted 50 runs from the score of his side. Let us imagine that, but for his bad fielding, there would have been only 100 runs to get to win. As it is, there are 150. Clearly, as far as concerns him, 50 runs must be scored before one is counted. In a true sense, the strength of a fielding side must be measured by its weakest member, as that of a chain is measured by its weakest link. Then, again, when there is a really bad fielder on a side, more balls seem to go to him than to any one else. Put him where you will, he seems to attract the ball. If there is a catch to be caught that would win the match, it seems always to seek the hands of the weaker brother. If he misses it, the efforts of his side are all rendered futile. Mistakes can- not always be avoided, but with proper measures taken their frequency may be astonishingly diminished. Good fielding is as helpful as bad fielding is noxious. To a certain extent it turns bad bowling into good, and makes good bowling better. Backed by strong ground-fielding and sure catch- lO FIELDING. ing, quite moderate bowling can, as a rule, be relied upon to dispose of any side for a not unreasonably large score. Besides, bowlers who can trust their fielders to hold catches bowl with far more confidence and keenness. Nothing demoralises a bowler more than to see run after run scored off him when it might have been saved. As for missed catches, it is weary work for a bowler to lie in wait for a batsman's weak stroke for half an hour, to succeed in getting him into a carefully planned trap, and then to see the catch — such a baby one — muffed ridicu- lously, and have all his trouble over again. Besides, once bitten, twice shy. The bowler has shown his hand, and the batsman is now on the look-out. Many a bowler has tempted Bobby Abel to try, before he is well set, his placing stroke through the slips ; has seen slip fail to hold an easy catch, and has had to bowl and field for the Surrey giant's benefit a whole day or perhaps two. It is too much, no doubt, to expect every catch- to be caught ; but if more trouble were taken over fielding, far fewer catches would be missed. Even from the spectator's point of view, it is a pity that skill in fielding is not developed to the highest degree of which it is capable. There is no finer sight in cricket than that of a really good fielding side trying its level best to win or save a match. It is marvellous what can be done, and is done, in such circum- stances. Even the uninitiated can appreciate a magnificent catch or a hairbreadth save just on the boundary. And the impression given by the splendid unity of the eleven men, by their indi- vidual and collective energy, all concentrated on one end, can arouse as intense enthusiasm in a crowd of onlookers as the best batting imaginable. The finest exhibition of fielding it has been my good fortune to see was that given at Lord's by the Oxford University Eleven of 1892. They won a sensational victory partly by good batting and good bowling, but principally by their extraordinary dash, brilliancy, and accuracy in the field. Their fielding was superb. Had it been merely good, they would have had very nearly double the number of runs to make in the fourth innings of the match. There was no particular reason that this eleven should have been superior to other 'Varsity elevens. Mr M. R. Jardine was perhaps the best of the lot. He was perfect. The standard of excellence they reached, high as it was compared with what one usually sees, is not beyond the capacity of any eleven composed of men who have not lost speed of foot and elasticity of limb. With one or two brilliant exceptions, the county elevens do not field W MARLOW THROWING IX THE DALL— Action I From /Jivln /<;/ £. Ihjirkiti.i .(■ Cq., Brighton.. 12 FIELDING. nearly so well as they ought. There are some individual fine fielders in most of them, but it is fine fielding all through a team that is so desirable, so possible of attainment, and yet so rare. Perhaps Yorkshire of late years has shown the best field- ing in county fixtures. On the whole, the northern counties field better than the southern — probably because the spectators in the northern towns are such remorseless critics of anything like slovenliness in the field. They come not only to cheer but to jeer, and they do both with a will. It is surprising that the famous nurseries of amateur cricketers, the great English Public Schools, with all their advantages, so rarely produce fielders of more than average ability. In order to show that boys can be taught to take a zealous interest in this department of the game, and be brought to a high state of pro- ficiency without professional aid or good coaching, I may refer to the school at which I myself was educated. It is difficult to see why our fielding at the Raj Kumar College should have been so far superior to the batting and bowling, unless it was due to the prevailing idea there that fielding was just as im- portant as batting or bowling, and to the fact that a high degree of skill is most easily attained in fielding. I am quite sure that the fielding of this school from the years 1882 to 1888 was superior to that of an average English public school eleven. Yet there was no one to teach us much, and no fine fielders to excite in us a desire to excel. Perhaps one reason was that we had no net practice. Whenever we played, it was in a game. Very often there were fifteen boys on each side ; so if the field- ing side wanted an innings the same day, they had to hold every catch and save all the runs they could. Still it seems to me that we had a higher ideal of fielding than most English schools. Anyhow, fielding in school, university, and county matches could be improved enormously by the expenditure of a little more trouble. And the trouble would be amply repaid. Even from the point of view of personal pleasure, it is worth while to cultivate an interest in fielding, and to take pains to become good at it. What a man can do well, he likes doing. Batting and bowling occasionally cause a cricketer some disappointment. Fielding is a certainty. Once make yourself a good field, once learn to take a pleasure in fielding for its own sake, and every match must provide you with plenty of enjoyment, whether or not you get runs or wickets. If people would only recognise the importance of fielding, the standard would soon be raised all round. The truth is, that fielding can be scamped to a certain FIELDING. 13 point without retribution falling upon the sinner. From every point of view it is a pity that a higher standard is not somehow established and exacted. Before taking the various parts of fielding in detail, it may be well to say just a few words about the system of cricket manage- ment in English schools. At nearly all the larger schools it is nominally in the hands of the boys. The head-master, of course, reserves to himself the right of interfering in any way he may think proper. In most cases, however, the moving force in the school cricket is either one of the assistant masters or an old boy who takes interest in his former school, or the professional engaged as bowler and coach. The authority and influence of the adviser, whether amateur or professional, depend almost entirely upon his achievements, his reputation, or his personality in general. That boys require an adviser is obvious, for no schoolboy can in the nature of things be a really good judge of cricket or know much about the game. And usually those boys who know most understand best that without an experience more extensive than their own it is impossible to be a good judge ' of cricket. Perhaps a combination of amateur and pro- fessional coaching is the best. Most of the best coaches have been amateurs, for the simple reason that amateurs are usually better educated than professionals. The teaching of cricket requires an educated mind. In cricket, as in other things, it is necessary to observe and reflect upon one's observations. There are many good bats, bowlers, and fielders, but very few of them can explain how they bat, bowl, or field, and fewer still can teach another what they can do themselves. The essential qualification of a good coach is a sound knowledge of the game, and there is no reason why a very moderate player should not make a very competent coach, except that a poor player is unlikely to have -had much experience of cricket — real cricket as it should be played. But it is impossible for an amateur coach to be always on the ground, if indeed he is available in the first instance. So the professional can by no means be dispensed with. The professional is always on the spot, and should be able to give necessary instructions in the various branches of the game. The superintendence of the amateur gives the boys an incentive to work with zeal and ardour, and prevents humbug or loafing. Some people are afraid to give the professional too much power, no matter how good a coach he may be. They mistrust his influence from an educational and social point of view. Such ideas, however, are not in 14 FIELDING. accordance with facts. The leading professionals nowadays are for the most part excellent fellows. On the whole, boys benefit by having absolute faith in the teaching of a good coach. For nothing tends to improve a budding cricketer more than a belief in the infallibility of some one or other. Hero-w'orship is good in cricket. This does not mean that boys should not think for themselves, and try to see the why and wherefore of what their coach tells them. Perhaps they may differ from him in their opinions on some point. If they do, they should tell him what they think, and ask him to show them why he thinks otherwise. If he is a good coach, he will be able to give the reason at once. There are reasons for everything in cricket, and the longer a man plays the more chance he has of perceiving them. It is admitted on all hands that a tradition of good fielding in a school rarely fails to carry on its good effects from year to year. Certain schools gain a reputation for fielding better than their rivals and contemporaries, and this reputation continues to produce a high degree of proficiency in the field, however weak in batting and bowling power the eleven of a particular year may be. The great thing is to start a tradition, if one does not already exist. This can only be done by keeping the school eleven up to or above the mark for several years, and encouraging the feeling that bad fielding is a thorough disgrace. It is a disgrace. It shows an execrable attitude of mind. A slack, careless fielder needs the stick ; he cannot possibly have a right and proper spirit. Just as one good fielding eleven breeds another, so does one good individual fielder cause improvement in the rest of his side. Nothing promotes good fielding more than the influence of example, and the same may be said of bad fielding. One really enthusiastic fielder may regenerate, one slack loafer may de- moralise, a whole eleven. High praise and honour should be given to boys who care to field hard and well. Most of the larger and more important schools are lucky enough to have on their staff of masters prominent all-round athletes from the universities. Such men have merely to take enough trouble, and then they cannot fail to supply the boys with an adequate example of what fielding should be. But, unfortunately, even the universities do not devote proper attention to fielding. Proficiency in this respect is often woefully absent in the case of men who are otherwise excellent cricketers. However, any one, boy or man, with a genuine interest in cricket, decent r*"' W. MARLOW THROWING IX THE BALL— Action II J^rom pholo by E. llaickins li Co., Brigldoii, 1 6 FIELDING. health, and ordinary gifts of eye and hand, can, if he likes, become a very useful field. By this I mean that, although he may not acquire first-class form, he may become quite good enough for all ordinary purposes. Moderate success in fielding is within almost every cricketer's grasp. This opinion is, I know, contrary to that of many authorities on the game, but it seems to me it is sound. Catching, picking up, and throwing are quite natural actions, apart from the requirements of cricket. It is difficult to believe that any one who really tries to learn how to field can fail to become at any rate "a safe field." The term signifies that the fielder may be relied upon to stop hits that come within reasonable distance of him, and to hold practically all catches — in a word, not to disgrace himself in any way. It implies also, however, a certain degree of slowness, inasmuch as the fieldsman is supposed to be wanting in that dash and brilliancy which render possible such feats as, until performed, seem abso- lutely impossible. The '* safe " fieldsman does what can reason- ably be expected of a fielder, and no more — not because he does not care to exceed that limitation, but because he cannot. Such "safe" fields can, however, be made of considerable use to a side, if they assiduously practise catching, picking up, and throw- ing, and, above all, during actual matches stand always on the alert. In fielding, just as much as in the other parts of the game, great success is the result of experience and practice in addi- tion to gifts of nature. Brilliant fieldsmen are born, not made, and this in the same sense as are brilliant batsmen and bowlers. It is a case of great capacity highly cultivated. Suppleness of limb, speed of foot, and quickness of eye are trained on special lines to suit the particular end in view. The same qualities and much the same applications of them are requisite in all games of handball. The whole art of fielding consists of three parts — ground- fielding, throwing, and catching. It is necessary to be able with the utmost certainty and rapidity to gather in the hands a ball hit along or on to the ground, and to return it equally surely and swiftly to either wicket, in order that as few runs as possible may be scored and the batsman may be run out should a chance occur. Should the ball be hit into the air without touching the ground, every imaginable attempt should be made to bring it to hand and keep it there, in order that the batsman may be caught out. Every man in the field, without exception, should be able to carry out these requirements. The methods of picking up, throwing, and catching differ slightly, according to the position FIELDING. 17 of the fielder and the way the ball is hit towards him. But the main requirements are the same in every case. Let us consider the case of ground - fielding first. Strictly speaking, the term apphes to the gathering up of a ball so hit that it rolls along the ground till the fieldsman intercepts its course. But it is also used to denote the fielding of any ball that is not a catch. The action of fielding the ball, whether bounding or on the ground, is much the same, except that the hands in the former case do not touch the ground when the ball is received into them. The way a ball should be fielded depends entirely upon how it comes. A few broad hints may be of some use. Suppose the fielder be at long-on or long-off, and a ball is hit straight towards him. There are three things to be done — first, to stop it ; second, to pick it up ; and third, to throw it in to the wicket-keeper or the bowler. The first saves a boundary, the second and third should prevent more than one run being scored off the stroke. To stop the ball clean and true, so that it remains enclosed in the hands, much study and practice are required. The fielder is advised to face the ball fair and square with closed feet, and to pick it up with both his hands, as shown on the illustra- tion of S. M. J. Woods at "long-on." Nearer the wicket the ball naturally travels with more pace. But mid-on, mid-off, and all other fielders should gather up, as described above, a ball hit straight or nearly straight at them. Mark well that two hands, whenever possible, should be used to receive the ball. The hands should not be held stiff, but so as to " give " with the impact of the ball, and thus lessen the resistance. After having made sure of being able to pick the ball up properly in this manner, the fielder should practise throwing the ball in to the wicket with the least possible waste of time. Any time that is lost between the receipt of the ball and the return of it to the wicket is so much in favour of the batsman. The amount of runs that can be saved or given away during two long inningses by a fieldsman in the country, or indeed anywhere, is astonish- ing. Every one agrees on this point, though few act upon it. It would do no one any harm to write up a memorandum of the fact above his bed. Now the quickest, and therefore the best, way to return a ball after picking it up is different with various persons. Some throw above, some below, the shoulder, and no two have quite the same action in throwing. But all who excel in this gift have two characteristics in common — they pick up the ball in such a way B 1 8 FIELDING. that the action of picking up seems to be part of the subsequent action of throwing, and they throw the ball in without any pre- liminary hesitation. A wicket-keeper was once remonstrating with a fielder for not having run a man out. "Why, I threw it in like a book," retorted the latter. " Yes, you did," was the reply ; " but the preface and introduction were too long." Really smart throwers are very uncommon. The value of a run-out is sometimes incalculable. If fielders took these two facts to mind, and acted accordingly, runs would be harder to get than ever. It requires long and earnest practice to get the knack of a quick return, and quickness is of no use without SLCCuracy. The great thing, after all, is to throw in such a man- ner that the man at the wicket can take the ball easily and near the stumps. The three things to avoid are sending it in as a "yorker" or a half-volley, or what one may call a "good-length" ball — that is, difficult for the recipient to see and judge it. A return should come to the man at the wicket either on the long- hop or full-pitch, and about a foot above the bails. Fielders near the wicket should return the ball full-pitch. Long-fielders should aim at making the ball arrive first bound, and long- hop at its destination. With regard to throwing in from the country, the great fault is to throw the ball too high in the air. Clearly the lower its trajectory, the sooner will it reach the wicket. There is an exact height at which the ball should travel in order to combine rapidity in flight with accuracy of length. One reason why the throw-in requires so much practice is, that unless the muscles used be drilled to the point of mechanical accuracy — that is, till they almost act of themselves — the thrower has to stop to think what he is going to do, and thus loses time. A really good returner does not waste time in thinking what he is going to do or which wicket he had better aim at. All that is done while the ball is coming to him. His action in picking it up and throwing it in conforms to what he has already judged to be the best and quickest way of returning it. Sometimes the stroke and return are so quick that a spectator has scarcely time to perceive what has happened. Having thus learnt to stop the ball clean and return it quickly and accurately, a fieldsman should also learn to dash in to meet the ball, thus saving the time it would have taken to reach him if he had stayed where he was. The slower the ball is travelling, the more needful for him to run in to meet it. He should be continually on his toes, ready to start forwards or indeed in any direction. After a certain amount of practice he can pick up FIELDING. 19 as accurately on the move as if he were standing still. The actual method of gathering up the ball is the same as when he stands where he is and waits for it. There are many ways of practising fielding. Even two men can do a good deal together if they take it in turn to hit and to field. It is an excellent arrangement for a number of men or boys to scatter in a rough semicircle while another is hitting catches and ground balls to them. And it is capital exercise for the hitter. But apart from matches, scratch games afford the best fielding practice, because the fieldsmen have the ball hit to them in their various positions just as in real matches, and they can also practise returning the ball to the wicket. School elevens should take the trouble to drill in this way, with some competent adviser looking on and coaching them. It is a commonplace that all school elevens, whatever their batting and bowling, should field almost, if not quite, as well as a first- class team. Certainly this is true of the larger schools. Much improvement can be brought about in a boy's fielding if he is taken separately, fed with various kinds of catches and ground balls, and told each time whether he has fielded the ball pro- perly or not. Boys, and I am afraid men too, are in the habit of missing in matches catches that they would hold with perfect ease in practice. This is no doubt due to nervousness. Here, again, nothing but practice can do much good. Nervousness often disappears as experience grows. After all, courage and nerve are largely matters of habit. A sailor would fear to tackle a herd of unruly cattle just as much as a stockman would fear to run up a high rigging. But both may be brave and steady enough in positions to which they are accustomed. So with cricket. A steeple-high catch in the country begins to lose its terrors when one has caught a dozen such the evening before at fielding practice. With regard to catching, it is impossible to lay down any hard-and-fast rules as to the best methods, My own short ex- perience has shown me that catches may be well caught with the hands in all sorts of positions. Of these some are clearly better than others theoretically. But theories have a way of not meeting particular cases, so one can hardly afford to dogmatise. Here is an illustration of the position generally adopted with slight modifications by good fields, but a beginner must find out for himself the method that comes most natural and convenient to him. It must be confessed that more catches are missed when the 20 FIELDING. position of the hands is abnormal than when it conforms to what is considered correct. One hint worth remembering in catching, and in a less degree in fielding, is, as we said before on page 17, to let the hands give as the ball enters them, so that the resistance is less. It is a mistake to hold the arms and hands stiff. It only en- courages the ball to bounce out. Besides, if the ball is hit hard and meets with a pair of unrelenting hands, it usually hurts them. Some misguided fielders go one better than fixity. They seem to grab at the ball as one would catch flies, or hit at it as one would at a fives-ball. Neither of these methods is con- ducive to good catching. Fieldsmen should accustom them- selves to catch balls, both when running and standing still, with both hands and with either. If possible, it is best to get to a catch in time, and take it standing still with both hands. But sometimes, of course, this is impossible, and a really brilliant catch may be made by a fine fielder running hard and using only one hand. Unfortunately one often sees catches attempted in this brilliant manner which ought to have been made safe in the other and safer way. Remember, there is far more merit in making a catch easy by good judgment than in bringing off a very difficult catch rendered difficult by lateness in starting. A man can hardly be considered a really first-rate field until he can field well everywhere, except perhaps at the wicket. Most men have a favourite position in which they can do better than anywhere else. But it is a pity not to learn the require- ments of all the positions. A general education is good even for a specialist. One often has to go to four or five different places in a match to save another man a long walk every change of over, or to suit the other members of the side. I do not for a moment mean to suggest that fielders should be placed indiscriminately, without any reference to their special inclinations and capabilities. Quite the contrary. The arrange- ment to aim at is "every man in his right place." A man may be a magnificent fielder at mid-off, but quite moderate at short-slip. Clearly, if you have on your side an equally good slip but not an equally good mid-off, it is false economy to put the brilliant mid-off at slip because he happens to be a noted fielder and because slip is a diflScult position. It is strange, but true, that the moment a wrong man is put in a wrong place, a catch goes to him and he misses it. A thorough attention to detail pays at cricket, and, besides paying, is right and proper. •^mjm^^^.^w.fMSt S. M. J. WOODS SrOPPIXG A iiALL i:,' THE COUNTRY. Fromj_'hijlo hy E- Haivkiiis S: Co., Brifjhton. 22 FIELDING. The longer one plays, the more does it come home to one that matters which seem trifling in themselves are liable to make or mar a match. I once saw a man put short-slip in a university match who had never fielded there before, though elsewhere he was if anything above the average. He was only there one over, but he missed an easy catch given by a good bat, who took advantage of his escape to the tune of a century. There were four or five men on the side who would have caught that catch to a certainty. But " it didn't matter for one over." No ! but it mattered for a considerable number of overs afterwards. Every- thing matters in cricket, as in all other games worth playing. A noticeable characteristic of a high-class field is his consistent alertness. He gives one the idea that he expects every ball to come to him. When the ball is hit, he seems to get by instinct into the exact place to field it. Indeed he starts sometimes before the stroke is fully made. Dr E. M. Grace has often caught a man out from point literally off his bat, within a couple of feet of it. He could see by the way the batsman shaped that he was going to let the ball hit and drop off his bat. Quick starting is half the secret of covering a lot of ground. Even without much pace an attentive fielder can be here, there, and everywhere if he watches bowler and batsman with all his might. Whenever a fielder seems surprised that a ball has been hit near him, it may be inferred that he is thinking of something else — race-horses, stocks and shares, or lunch. It is sound advice to fielders, so to watch every ball bowled as if it were to be hit to them. The value of a quick start cannot be overestimated. Often an apparently impossible catch is easily secured because the fielder was ready to start. Surely it is not much to ask of a fieldsman always to be ready. Yet how few really are ! The difference in the behaviour of a side during the first innings of their opponents, and during the second when matters are approaching a crisis, is a study in human nature. In the former case, things are allowed to drift and arrange them- selves ; in the latter, matters have to be forced into one definite result — a win. Nothing shows the real grit of a side more than what is called "dash." "Dash" is difficult to define, but it is the characteristic of some individuals and some sides. "Dash" wins matches. It is unmistakable. Watch a fieldsman. You can tell in a moment whether or not he has this priceless quality. His expectant look, his eager watching of the bowler, indicate a determination to start at once. The very poise of FIELDING. 23 his body shows readiness. He seems asking for work — catches for choice. But every hit means for him a chance of helping his own side by stopping the ball at all hazards. Nothing is more desirable in a fieldsman than an earnest intention to do his best and no less. It is so easy to "skulk" in the field. Only the quick-sighted judge and the fielder himself know that the last four might have been saved by a trifle more alertness. It is a good cricketer who fields to win, whether fortune frowns or smiles. It is sometimes difficult to sustain this kind of ardour among boys. They are liable to be slack about fielding. Perhaps the best preventive is to make the games interesting by arranging matches between dormitories and houses, or against masters or past members — anything, in fact, for the sake of a match. " Pick-ups " rarely succeed. Slackness in the field is an abomin- ation, it is so absolutely unnecessary. Yet boys are sure to be slack unless their interest is aroused. So the more matches, such as those mentioned above, are played, the better for the school. Practice in actual games and matches does much more good than any other — partly because the exact conditions re- quired are present, partly because more real eagerness is called out. Excellence in cricket cannot be reached except through a strong love for the game. Anything in the shape of com- pulsory cricket at schools seems to me inimical to the best interests of cricket. Boys who go into the field against their own desire will make but little progress in the game. It ought not to be necessary to force cricket down boys' throats. It seems hard to believe that any boy, who was once shown what a splendid game it is, would have the least desire not to play on all possible, and some impossible, occasions. Perhaps it is argued to make the game compulsory does not touch those who would have played in any case, while those who would have shirked or loafed are forced to take exercise and become ener- getic members of school society. There may be much in this. But somehow compulsory cricket seems almost a contradiction in terms. Like every other thing worth doing, cricket entails a certain amount of drudgery during the earlier stages of learn- ing the game. But the pleasures inseparable from the use of bat and ball are surely a good enough set-off against this drudgery, especially as the reward of hard work is so apparent in the fine performances of those who have had patience to go through with the preliminary toils and troubles. One can 24 FIELDING. sympathise with the man who has had no opportunity of learn- ing cricket, and with the man who has done his best to become a cricketer but has failed ; but for him who has never cared for the game when he could have played, or has refused to regard it as worth any trouble, what words are adequate? There never was a genuine Englishman but played cricket or wished he did. Something must be very wrong with a boy or with the kind of cricket offered him if he does not care for the game. Decadence is bad enough in Bohemia, but at school — well, how does it get there? It always seems to me that boys require to be educated in cricket on lines rather different from those usually followed. There are many good coaches who teach them excellently and conscientiously the grammar of the game, but entirely fail to imbue them with its true spirit. The mistake is like that of making a lesson in Virgil nothing but a means whereby syntax and grammar may be crammed into the youthful brain. Of course grammar and syntax are necessary as a training for the mind. And the corresponding dry bones of cricket are equally important as a framework round which a knowledge of the game may be built. But would it not be possible to bring home to boys some of the intrinsic beauty of cricket ? All good things done well are beautiful. There is much more in a fine off-drive or a well- bowled ball than the resulting fourer or wicket. I am far from regarding cricket as the most important thing in life ; but it is the best game, and games are a very valuable part of life. If a boy were taken to a match in which Mr Lionel Palairet was making runs, and were shown the difference between his strokes and those of the more ordinary performers, he would, I think, go home with something in his mind that would tend to improve his cricket and increase his love of it. There is an element of the heroic in cricket which is not found in other games, at least so it strikes me. I can imagine Agamemnon, Achilles, and their peers not unbecomingly engaged in a cricket-match. There is nothing small or mean in the game itself, though it must be confessed that degrading elements are sometimes imported into it by its less high-minded exponents. Boys should try, too, of themselves to find out what there is in cricket besides runs and wickets. There is much indeed. There is a charm that is too subtle to be thought out and expressed, though it can be felt and enjoyed. But to return to fielding and its difficulties. At school there MOKDAUXT KEADV FUR A CATCH. Fro)/i photo hij E Hawkins 6: Co., Brighton.. 26 FIELDING. is nearly always trouble over the wicket-keeper. Wicket-keep- ing requires much practice, long continued and properly con- ducted. This will be explained when the position is criticised in detail. Here it may be mentioned that it is difficult to get proper wicket-keeping practice except in matches, and matches are sometimes few and far between. Perhaps it is a good thing to practise for a short time almost daily at a net while some one is batting. It is not much use practising wicket-keeping without a batsman at the wicket, though this may be done in the very early stage of learning the art. Care must be taken not to overdo practice. Boys should never practise wicket-keeping to fast bowlers on rough wickets. Hard knocks received during practice, without the compensating feeling that they are being incurred in the public service, as in a match, are very liable to bruise any capacity he may possess out of the beginner. It is always ad- visable in a school to put several boys to keep wicket. At the worst, their fielding will be much improved by it. Indeed, there is no better medicine for a really bad fielder than being made to keep wicket. The instinct of self-preservation will do much to make him use his hands better than is his wont. Besides, he will learn a good deal he did not know about batting and bowling from a fielder's point of view', for he will find out that certain things happen when certain balls are bowled or certain strokes attempted. He will also learn the habit of constant attention, and the desirability of making hand and eye work closely to- gether. Wicket-keepers are always good catchers, because they have learnt the knack of letting the ball come well into their hands. In arranging fielding practice, great pains should be taken not to overwork boys. Fatigue is fatal to keenness. One often sees boys giving in through sheer exhaustion in matches. Now, the way to gain stamina is not to get tired five days a-week with a view to being able to last on the sixth. The proper way is to have eager practices for very short spells. There are certain rules which apply to all fieldsmen, viz. : — 1. Keep the legs together when the ball is hit straight to you and while you are picking it up. 2. Always back up the man who is receiving the ball at the wicket, when it is thrown in, but not too close. 3. Always try for a catch, however impossible it may seem. 4. Always be on the look-out and ready to start. 5. Run at top speed, but not rashly, the moment the ball is hit. FIELDING. 27 6. Use both hands whenever possible. 7. Do not get nervous if you make a mistake. 8. Obey your captain cheerfully and promptly. 9. Never be slack about taking up the exact position assigned to you ; never move about in an aimless, fidgety manner. On one point there is a difference of opinion among the authorities. Where should the fieldsman look until the ball is played? At the bowler or at the batsman? The question cannot be answered ofifhand. It depends much upon the posi- tion of the fielder, and also to a certain extent upon the face of the bowler. My own opinion is, that the eye should follow the ball all the way from the bowler's hand to the fielder's. But many cricketers have told me that they have no time to do this when fielding near the wicket — at short slip, for instance — especi- ally when a fast bowler is on. Some look at the bowler until he is on the point of delivering the ball, and then transfer their attention to the batsman. Others glue their eyes on the bat until the stroke is made. Both these methods are open to the objection that the eye is taken off the ball, which is the real object that it ought to follow, because the body, hands, legs, and every limb have a tendency to act with the eye when it follows a moving object, and it is just this close co-operation of body and eye which is so necessary in fielding. Every one must work out this problem for himself. If his heart is in the work, if he is fielding in earnest, the best method will come to him naturally. Another question which requires the attention of fielders is that of backing-up. When ought a fielder to back up, and why is it necessary to do so ? Let us suppose that a three has been hit, and that the fieldsman in the country has thrown the ball in towards either the wicket-keeper or the bowler. Granted that the throw be accurate, many things may happen. The ball may bump or shoot so as to beat the man at the wicket, in which case, if no one is behind him backing him up, the ball will travel to the boundary on the opposite side to that towards which it was originally hit. In other words, an overthrow for four will result. Again, the ball sometimes twists away from the intended recip- ient, or the latter may make a blunder and miss it. Finally, the throw may be too wide or too high to reach, or difficult to take because of its length — i.e., it may come to the wicket as a half- volley or a "yorker." In all these cases runs are saved by ,..^- ,-.>-..-., ^ \^ S^^-i'^ ^ W. IMARLOW CATCHING THE BALL— A HOT DRIVE. From photo h'j E. Hawlnns i" Co., Brighton. W. MARLOW CATCHING THE EALL LOW DOWy. From photo hij F.. Hai'-khis , , l:ri,jlllo. S6 FIELDING. stands about 22 yards from the batsman's wicket, in a line with the bowler's wicket, a few yards on the right-hand side. He naturally moves wider when the bowler bowls round the wicket. Mid-on has to back-up the bowler when the batsman drives the ball straight down the pitch, and also when it is returned from the off-side fielders. Sometimes, when there is no short-leg and the ball has been played to third-man, mid-on is in a fix ; for he cannot tell whether the fielder will throw to the wicket-keeper or the bowler, yet he himself is the only fielder in a position to back-up either of them so as to save a run if it passes one of them. The only thing for him to do is to watch third-man's actions closely and use his judgment. Some men have made a specialty of mid-on with marked success, notably Mr H. F. Boyle, the Australian. SHORT-LEG. As a rule, one of the weaker fielders in a team is drafted into this position. This is a mistake. Great skill and activity are required from short-leg if it is worth having one at all. On a wicket where an off-break bowler can get much work on the ball, it is sure to be frequently played towards short-leg. On a good wicket first-class bowlers rarely have a short-leg, because the man is required somewhere else, and they can trust themselves not to bowl so that the ball can be played away to leg. When the bowling is at all erratic, a great many runs can be saved by a short-leg. Low hits and sharp catches with plenty of spin on the ball fall to the fieldsman's lot here. He must chase snicks or placing strokes on both sides of himself, and has a grand opportunity of saving runs if he is thoroughly brisk and eager. Should there be no long-leg, he will have to attempt to stop the ball before it gets to the boundary, thus turning fours into threes ; so he must be a good thrower and a long one. Many batsmen are weak in their leg play, being inclined to cock the ball up. Short-leg may often bring off a brilliant catch by edging up close to such a player. He can also make himself useful by backing-up the wicket- keeper when the ball is returned from the off-side. His position may vary from fine short-leg to forward short- leg ; he may be almost long-stop or almost mid-on. LONG-LEG. 57 LONG-LEG. Long-leg is sometimes necessary nowadays in school and second-class cricket, but is practically never used in first- class matches except for leg-break or lob bowlers. Sometimes for fast bowlers a fine long-leg is placed quite on the boundary to suit snicks and byes. He should be a strong runner, and a long, accurate thrower. He will not get catches with any frequency. When he does they will be very difficult. In the old days long-leg was a very important fielder. Now bowlers spend most of their time in trying to send down balls that cannot be hit or played to bye, so the place has lost some- what of its former interest. When, however, an erratic bowler is on, there is always plenty of work, what with leg-hits, glances, and snicks. An experienced long-leg can tell with some cer- tainty, by how a batsman shapes, where the ball is coming, and can start off in the right direction along the boundary -line. Wonderful tales are told of Mr G. F. Grace's fielding at long-leg to his greater brother's bowling. One can imagine W. Grace's chuckle when his brother caught out some dangerous bat high up with one hand off that enticing half-volley to leg. Remember that if a catch does come towards long-leg, the ball is nearly sure to curl more and more towards leg as it travels through the air. Long-leg should keep his eye on the bowler and captain, on the look-out for a sign to move this way or that, as indeed all fields should do from time to time. THE LONG-FIELD. There are two main positions in the long-field — one on the on- side called long-on, and one on the off called long-off As the duties of the two are very similar, there is no need to take them separately. Long-on may be placed anywhere from just on the on-side of the bowler, but of course far behind him, round to nearly square-leg ; and long-off may be moved round from just on the off-side of the bowler to almost behind extra-cover. When a man is put on the boundary behind extra-cover or cover, he is usually called deep-extra-cover or deep-cover. The amount of runs that a good long-field can save is sur- prising. The position requires a fast runner, strong thrower, and T. HAYWARD IN THE ATTITUDE FOR THE ON-DRIVE. Frum phtjlij bil E. Ihitelins it Co., nri,jhlon. W. L. JIURDOCH'S UNDER.LEG STROKE. Fnmi i'h,,l,i hi/ r.. ir.:irl-iiis .£■ Co., Bri,ihlmi. 6o FIELDING. safe catcher. It is a great mistake to put unqualified men in the country — in fact, it is suicidal. The question of picking the ball up and throwing it in has been considered earlier in this chapter. Catching in the country is rather different from catching nearer the wicket. In the latter case it is all over in a moment, and there is no time to think, except in the case of a Steepler near the wicket. In the long-field the ball comes a long way and has to be waited for. The fielder usually is in a position to receive the catch in good time, and is likely to let all sorts of matters enter his mind. These tend to make him nervous. Chief among them is the thought that the attention of the whole crowd of spectators as well as the players is centred upon him. He has plenty of time, and apparently no excuse for missing the catch. If he fails, he will not get much sympathy. Consequently nerve plays an important part in catching in the long-field. The virtue of much practice in giving confidence has been pointed out. All kinds of catches — high, low, straight, and crooked — should be tried. A little work of this description every day is good. Care must be taken not to bruise the hands. The ball should be allowed to fall well into the hands, which should yield with the ball as the fingers close over it. It is a case of " I bend and do not break." Nearly all good long- fielders take the ball, in catching, with their hands close to their bodies about chest -high. The theory is, that, thus held, the hands are most under control and the ball is nearer to the line of sight. Messrs P. Paravicini, A. S. Stoddart, J. Douglas, M. E.. Jardine, G. J. Mordaunt, Gunn, and F. Sugg of Lancashire are among the best long-fielders I have seen. It will be gathered from these remarks that all places in the field require the cultivation of various qualities to a very high degree, principally activity, the co-operation of eye with hand, ?.nd attentiveness. It is impossible to emphasise too strongly the necessity of learning to throw well — i.e., both strongly and accurately. It is an art much neglected in every kind of cricket. In the selection of elevens too little attention is paid to the fielding capacity of the players, and, as usual, demand has ruled supply. If com- mittees who select do not care for fielding, players naturally do not give so much attention to it as they otherwise would. In conclusion, pluck, perseverance, and dash, inspired by a genuine love of cricket, will soon turn a cricketer into a good THE LONG-FIELD. 6l field. A little forethought and common -sense are not out of place. The cricketer, if he can be called one, who does not care for fielding, and who only plays for the sake of enjoying batting and bowling, is a very poor sportsman indeed. Fielding is the only branch of the game in which, if one tries hard enough, one can be sure of success. A batsman may get bowled first ball, a bowler may be quilted all over the field without getting a wicket, but both can redeem themselves by good fielding, which is enough by itself to render a man worth his place on a side. A bad field is an eyesore to spectators and a millstone round the neck of his side. Out upon him for a nuisance to society ! 62 CHAPTER III BOWLING. Bowling is an art, or rather it is an art to bowl well ; and in a true sense, as all writers on the subject have agreed, it is an art that cannot be taught. " The art of bowling," says Mr Kemp- son, " is an incommunicable natural gift which can be perfected to almost any degree by practice." And this definition, though scarcely scientific, hits the nail on the head. Without a certain natural talent no one can be made into a bowler. Not that those who lack great capacity need despair of learning to bowl with ordinary skill and average success ; but they will never reach a high standard, never become great bowlers. Everybody by perseverance and energy can obtain a certain command over the ball, and up to a certain point become a bowler. An ex- perienced eye can detect in a very short time whether or not a young cricketer has the innate "something" that will enable him to make a name for himself as a bowler. However, without becoming famous, it is possible to become very useful. As much attention should be paid to bowling as to any other part of the game. Whether or not you have it in you to develop into a Peel or an Attewell is immaterial ; your duty is to make yourself as good a bowler as you can. Nothing is more noticeable in first-class cricket of the present day than the difference in quality between professional and amateur bowling. Practically all bowling in county matches is done by professionals, and the average professional is much superior to the average amateur bowler. In batting there is no such disparity ; in fact, the amateurs can quite if not more than hold their own, and for this reason : both at the public schools and at the universities far more time and attention are devoted to batting than to bowling. Nor is BOWLING. G^ this surprising, since tlie process of learning to bat is far more attractive than that of learning to bowl. There is drudgery in both for those who mean to succeed, but moments of pleasure cannot fail to relieve the batsman's early labours, whereas the bowler must be content "to scorn delights and live laborious days." The mere handling of a bat gives the crudest player a certain satisfaction, which can be transformed into positive enjoyment by a few well-timed strokes, however accidental. The pleasures of bowling do not he so near the surface, and indeed can be fully appreciated only by the finished artist. Many boys who might grow into fine .bowlers give up trying to become bowlers at all ; they find the earlier stages of the art dull and toilsome, while the result at which they are aiming seems far away. In the same manner, many young pianists give up music from disgust at the weary work of scales and exer- cises ; they are unwilling to endure the preliminary labour in order to arrive at the ultimate profit; they would like to be able to play well, but do not consider the game worth the candle. It is a great pity to give up trying to learn to bowl merely because the art cannot be acquired very quickly or easily. In matches most people are only too ready to accept an invitation to bowl, but few care to qualify themselves for the task they are so eager to undertake. They like bowling as a relief from the monotony of fielding, not for its own sake. It is curious that people do not reflect more seriously upon the fact that the best batsman sometimes receives only two balls in a match and hits neither of them, whereas a good bowler can nearly always rely upon at least half an hour's fun. Indeed, any bowler who is put on at all cannot be ousted from his proud position until he has sent down a full over. He has at least five balls where- with to achieve some measure of success, and each of them is bound to provide some pleasure, if only that of anticipation. So, even from a selfish point of view, it is advisable to learn to bowl. The right and proper thing would be for all cricketers to pay equal attention to bowling, batting, and fielding, especially in their young days. All are equally essential parts of the game. Why not regard them as equally valuable ? The doctrine of the division of labour holds good in cricket as elsewhere, but every cricketer should, as far as lies in him, qualify himself for every emergency. Most amateurs take no trouble whatever with their bowling, except in matches. It would be far better if bowling 64 BOWLING. were zealously cultivated during ordinary net-practice. The usual thing is to take up the ball in a lazy, careless fashion, without any attention to the length of run, or indeed to any of the requisites of bowling save sending the ball somehow towards the striker's wicket. Sometimes the bowler takes upon himself to demonstrate the peculiarities in the styles of various great bowlers in a manner which does infinite credit to his imagination but none at all to his power of imitation. Such useless mimicry is worse than profitless. A young amateur who has the interests of cricket at heart should do his best to make himself as good a bowler as he can, especially if he has some natural gift for it. Amateur cricket can only hold its own if the Gentlemen continue to prove themselves capable of meeting the Players on equal terms in the great annual matches. At present they can do so. But they can only muster just enough bowling talent for one team. When a bowler chosen to play for the Gentlemen cannot accept the invitation, it is generally very difificult to fill his place. With the Players the difficulty is to know whom not to include. They number among themselves enough good bowlers to furnish half-a-dozen elevens. High-class cricket nowadays is in danger of passing altogether into the hands of the professionals. Such a result would, in my judgment, be as bad for the game as if the reverse were to happen. Facts show that the majority of elevens composed entirely or even principally of professionals do not succeed. Judicious blends work much better. There is no doubt that, if the high standard of what may be called "sportsmanship" is to be maintained, amateurs must continue to form a fair proportion of the entire body of first-class cricketers. But they can only do this by continuing to justify by their skill their inclusion in first-class elevens. It is easy to see how the professional becomes a good bowler. He probably begins by showing promise as a lad of fifteen or sixteen in small club matches. Then, led either by his fondness for the game or because he sees a pleasant way of getting his living, he becomes ground-bowler at seventeen or eighteen to some better class club, or perhaps gets a situation as a "general utility" on some county ground. After bowling two or three years in club practice and matches, he may secure a berth as practice-bowler on a county ground. There he is sure to have plenty of bowling at all kinds of bats. He comes across good cricketers, watches their methods, and improves his own. Perhaps in two years he makes his mark in a Colts' match and attracts attention. Next year he may, if he is lucky, get a trial for the BOWLING. 65 County Eleven. At any rate, before taking his place in first- class cricket, he has gone through an apprenticeship, and no light one, of about seven years. And during all this time he has had to bowl for his livelihood. An amateur bowler never goes through these early years of toil and trouble. He cultivates his bowling talents for his own amusement, and more often than not in a rather dilettante manner. The fault in his education is the want of a sound grounding. He is handicapped later on in building up his bowling by the fact that he ■ has not gone through the indispensable drudgery early in his cricket career. Let us see, then, how the would-be bowler should set about his task. The first point to notice is, that there is a right and a wrong way of holding the ball. Good bowlers grip the ball as much as possible with their fingers — that is to say, they use the fingers and not the palm of the hand to work the ball. And now for a short digression — a few words as to the per- nicious practice of allowing boys to bowl with full-sized balls. A regulation match-ball is just as much out of proportion in a small hand as an Atlantic liner would be in the river Cam. Why do not the cricketing authorities in the various schools, especially preparatory schools, recommend the use of balls of different sizes so graduated as to suit boys of different ages ? Similarly, there should be, according to the strength of the boys, a variation in the distance between the wickets. Fancy a small lad, aged twelve, bowling with the same ball and at the same distance as Mold or Richardson ! What can be more absurd ? Some writers whose opinions deserve consideration do not think it advisable to shorten the distance between the wickets. My own opinion is, that the distance of 22 yards is fit only for grown-up men, and that younger frames cannot bear the strain of continually propelling the ball that distance. There are three great difficulties with which young boys have to cope — the regulation size of the ball, the full distance between the wickets, and the full size of the bat. Some attempt has been made to provide them with bats of a size that suits them, but, unfortunately, most small-sized bats are made of inferior wood and are badly shaped. All implements and conditions of the game should in every case be proportioned to the players. Surely the reasonableness of this contention is self-evident. Only too often, as it is, the burden of the young player is more than he can bear. If more sensible arrangements were made, E 66 BOWLING. we should hear less nonsense about schoolboys being over- worked at cricket. Any deterioration of boys in batting or bowling, but particularly in the latter, is almost invariably put down to overwork at school, but the people who express such opinions do not suggest any corrective methods, nor do they in any way attempt to lighten the burden of the youngsters. To return from this digression to the first principles of bow- ling. After understanding how the ball should be held, the next thing to learn is to bowl straight. This is not difiScult-^ it is a mere matter of practice. It does not simply mean the power of hitting an unguarded wicket nearly every time ; it means being able to bowl the ball in the exact direction desired, so that it can at will be made to pass the wicket 2 feet or 2 inches to the off, to hit the middle or the leg-stump. In fact, what is required is a complete mastery of direction. The line from wicket to wicket is a good guide for the beginner ; still he should acquire not only the power of bowling mechanically along one particular line, but that of bowling along any line whatsoever. Thirdly, and above all, it is necessary to bowl a " good length." What, then, is a " good-length " ball ? To begin with, it is not the same for all kinds of bowling. Let us deal ^*ith the question practically. There are three distinct paces recognised in bowling — fast, medium, and slow. For a fast bowler a ball that pitches on a spot within from 5 to 7 yards from the bats- man's wicket is "good-length"; for medium-pace the spot lies between 4 and 5 yards; for slow between 3 and 4 yards. Notice that the faster the bowling, the wider is the margin of " good-length." Of course the above estimate is rather rough. Later on it will be explained and refined upon. It is sufficient here to say that the secret of success in bowling lies in the power of commanding and maintaining a good-length. Consequently it is essential for the young cricketer to acquire proficiency in this respect. The pitches nowadays are so per- fect that, unless they are spoiled by rain or the wear and tear of several long inningses, the bowler has to depend upon " good- length " more than anything else in order to get Ihe batsmen out. Again, a bowler must learn to vary his pitch — that is, he must be able to apply his command of direction and length. For in- stance, supposing he has bowled a good -length straight ball on the wicket, let the next one be 6 inches wider towards the off-side. Again, he may pitch the ball a good-length but rather BOWLING. 6j wider still. Or if he be a fast bowler, he may put in first a ball pitching on a spot 7 yards from the striker's wicket, but outside the wicket on the off, and then one at S or 5^ yards either in the same line or upon the wicket. The power of thus varying his pitch with dexterity is well worth cultivating. Next we come to a more subtle point. Before a bowler is fully equipped, he must have learnt the art of changing his pace. Thanks to the excellence of present-day wickets, sheer pace and even mechanical accuracy are often futile. Hence the power of deceiving the batsman in the pace of the ball contributes to- wards success. Suppose our bowler belongs to the "medium" class, how ought he to proceed to vary his pace ? A medium-pace bowler, as he has two directions in which to vary, can make more changes in his deliveries than either the fast or the slow ; at least, in my short experience I have found this to be the case. Change of pace means bowling occasionally either slower or faster than the pace usually employed. The methods and objects of this device will be treated more fully later on. Here it is sufiScient to remark that the bowler, in putting the theory into practice in actual games, will have to depend upon his own discretion and be guided by the result of his own observations. Finally, there is the "break'' to be mastered — that is to say, the bowler must learn to manipulate and deliver the ball in such a way that, after pitching, it deviates from its original line of flight. It may break either from right to left or vice versa. Very few bowlers can command both breaks. Those who can arc very useful to a side. When the ball deviates from right to left, it is said to break from leg ; when from left to right, to break from the off. Both breaks are produced by the manner in which the ball is held and caused to spin by finger-and-wrist work at the moment of delivery. It is customary, in speaking of " break," to regard all batsmen and all bowlers as right-handed. From a left-hand batsman's point of view what is called off-break is really leg-break. Further, when a left-hand bowler puts on off- break — that is, causes the ball to deviate from his left to his right after pitching — he uses the same sort of finger -work as the right-hand bowler does in putting on leg-break. For the sake of clearness the various elements of good bowling have been enumerated one by one. But of course, in practising, a bowler may keep all of them in mind at once when he delivers the ball. He must remember that in a match the best ball he can bowl is, perhaps, one that combines good length, break, and 68 BOWLING. change of pace. Still, on the principle of doing one thing at a time, it is- admissible in practice, especially at first, to concentrate the attention upon each requirement separately. He ought to do the one, but not leave the others undone. Let us now review the several heads touched upon above, examining what difficulties they present and the best way to surmount them. About bowling straight, perhaps enough has been said. There is no great difficulty here. One can soon learn to be fairly accurate as to direction. What is not quite so easily gained is the power of bowling straight at will, which implies a complete command of direction and the power of keeping on without becoming fatigued. Practice and hard work, however, will enable the bowler to do both, provided he be moderately strong and healthy. " Keeping on " is largely a matter of muscular development, and is acquired incidentally in the process of prac- tising with a view to " command of direction." In the initial stages a good plan is to bowl a certain length of time each day, and to increase this gradually. When a bowler can continue for an hour on end without flagging, he need have no fear of being done up in a match. Care must be taken, however, that the practice spells be not lengthened too suddenly. The wise course is to practise a little every day until the required strength and endurance for a long effort is acquired. It is very notice- able that many really fine amateur bowlers cannot in matches maintain their best form for more than three - quarters of an hour or so. For that period they bowl admirably — as well, in fact, as any professional ; but afterwards they fall off, and their deliveries lose sting, length, and every other desirable quality. Nearly all professionals, on the other hand, can keep pegging away for the greater part of a day without appreciably deteriorat- ing. The reason is, that the professional has gone through an apprenticeship of hard grind, the amateur has not. There is no royal road to success Though none can become first-rate bowlers unless they have a certain inborn capacity, neither can those who have this capacity reach the top of the tree without assiduous practice and unflagging perseverance. After having learnt to bowl straight, and having cultivated some stamina, the bowler must learn the next and perhaps the most important secret of his art — the acquisition of a perfect command of length. Enough has been said to indicate that "good length" is the keystone of bowling. The soundness of the whole fabric depends upon it. Good wickets, as already pointed out, are BOWLING. 6g now almost universal ; so mere pace and attempts at break are rendered more or less harmless. But the bowler who can keep up his length is sure to have his reward sooner or later. Several different things are implied in the expression "good length." It may mean that the ball is so pitched that the bats- man cannot score off it easily though he see it and judge it well ; if he tries to score, he must play a forcing stroke, which involves a certain amount of risk. It may mean, again, that he can only partially see and judge the ball, and is liable to hesitate whether to play back or forward ; in other words, he may be caught in two minds. Once more, it may mean that the ball lights upon that indescribable place called " the blind spot," when he loses sight of it altogether, and has nothing save good luck to help him to play it. So, then, there are three degrees of good length, of which, from the bowler's point of view, the last is the best. Again, the same ball may be good length for one batsman, but not for another. Batsmen vary greatly as to their " reach " — that is, the distance they can safely play forward or advance the bat in making a drive. What is a half-volley to Gunn may be a good-length ball to Abel. A bowler must bear this in mind when trying to get a good length. Indeed the question of length is very subtle, and demands much study and thought. The great thing is to acquire by constant practice the mechanical power of pitching the ball on any spot whatever. This, of course, implies a nicety in judgment of distance, and, what we have called before, a close co-operation between hand and eye. The bowler may rest assured that, when he has acquired the art of bowling good-length balls, even mechanically, he has practically laid the foundation of an excellent style. Nothing in bowling is so difficult as to keep the pitch of one's deliveries at the uniform good length calculated to wear out the patience of most batsmen, particularly young ones. " Non vi sed saepe cadendo " is the bowler's .notto, and let me add that the requisite degree of skill comes only by the sweat of the brow. The next desideratum is so to vary the pitch of good-length balls that the good length itself is not spoiled. The object is to be able, within the limits of good length, to drop the ball where one likes, and the difficulty is to get such a complete command over the ball that, in attempting this variation, loose or bad-length balls do not result. Granted, for example, that, for a fast bowler, any ball pitched within from 7 to 5 yards from the striker's wicket is good length, the bowler has a margin of 2 yards within which yo BOWLING to ring his changes. If he were to continue pitching every ball exactly 7 yards from the wicket, the batsman would have no difficulties, for the same stroke would meet and dispose of every ball. He must try, then, to unsettle the batsman by pitching one ball at 7 yards, another at 6, another at 6;^, another at 5, and so on. This variation of pitch may, and that very effectively, be combined with variation of direction One ball may be on the off-stump, another on the middle, another six inches outside the off-stump. Here the limits are the leg-stump on the one side and the batsman's reach on the other — that is, it is a mistake to bowl to leg or to bowl wides. Mutatis mutandis, these remarks apply also to medium and slow bowling. But remember that the slower the bowHng, the smaller is the space within which balls are good length. Difference of pace, however, does not affect the margin within which direction may be varied. A consum- mate command of both pitch and direction implies a very high degree of bowling skill. We now come to the consideration of change of pace. This art, in its perfection, belongs only to the master-hand. It con- sists in diminishing or increasing the usual pace of the ball without allowing the batsman to perceive the change. The power to do this successfully is by no means easily acquired. But first let me say a few words about delivery. By delivery is meant not only the attitude adopted by the bowler at the moment that the ball is despatched but all his action from the moment that he starts for his run. Let him take a con- venient run such as he has found to be suitable to his methods. A long run seems to be the more generally successful. For as the batsman has to wait some time before the ball is actually despatched, many thoughts may pass through his mind tending to distract his attention, and his sight becomes wearied by the strain of watching. With few exceptions, the best bowlers of the present day adopt the long run, but on no account should a bowler take a run likely to tire him. His action after the start for the run up to the point of letting go the ball should be perfectly natural. It is obviously a mistake to copy the idiosyncrasies of a favourite bowler at the sacrifice of your own effectiveness. But it is worth while to observe and digest the style and methods of the great bowlers of the day, and then see how far that which in them seems to be most telling can be in- corporated with your own natural style. Beware of imitating mere mannerisms that are not essential factors of success ; you might just as well grow whiskers in order the better to approxi- BOWLING. 71 mate to Bobby Peel's style. Never mind his whiskers ; watch how he changes his pace and tosses one ball higher than another. Nor should it be forgotten that the power of imitating and adopting the excellences of others varies much in different per- sons. He who can copy successfully may allow himself a freer hand in this respect. Needless to say, in bowling, as in other arts, there are geniuses who work entirely on their own lines, and who compel success by sheer force. These should be imitated with great caution. While we are on this subject, it may be pointed out that there is virtue in cultivating a puzzHng and distracting delivery, provided only we do not lose sight of more solid merits ; not, of course, in order to handicap the batsman by the use of unfair means at the time of bowling, but the bowler should try to make his delivery as difficult as possible for the batsman's sight. Nearly all the greatest bowlers have had some distracting pecuharity. At the moment of letting go the ball some bowlers present a full face to the batsman, others deliver it sideways. It is universally acknowledged that the sideways delivery is the more baffling, inasmuch as the batsman loses sight of the hand holding the ball until it comes out over the bowler's body, and consequently he has less time to gauge the latter's intentions. I have often heard batsmen say of eminent bowlers, " Oh, So-and-so is very easy ; you can see him all the way ; " whereas of others it is remarked, " So-and-so puzzles me ; he delivers the ball so curiously that he puts one off." It stands to reason that a bowler who hides his hand till the very last moment prevents the batsman from seeing as well as he otherwise would do whether a slow or a fast ball, an off-break or a leg-break, is coming. At the same time, there have been some very deceptive bowlers who have presented a full front in delivering the ball. No one could face the batsman more squarely than Dr AV. G. Grace does, yet he was without doubt a few years ago the best change bowler in the world, chiefly by reason of the curiously deceptive flight he imparted to the ball. I found this out to my cost in 1895 in my first county match. I was well set when he went on, but he completely beat me with what seemed a simple, straight, good-length ball. Among others, Mr C. T. B. Turner, the Australian bowler, who met with such astonishing success in England, had a similar full-front delivery. Few bowlers have been more deceptive than he. Generally speaking, however, the sideways delivery is far the more difficult to judge. Whether the bowler should try to alter his natural 72 BOWLING. style in order to gain this point is very questionable, but those who have a tendency towards such a manner of delivering the ball may safely be advised to make the most of their advantage. There is another word to be said with regard to delivery. Every cricketer agrees that a bowler should have his hand as high as possible when he brings his arm over to deliver the ball. Have we not all heard W. G.'s reiterated exhortation to Roberts, the Gloucestershire bowler, " Keep your arm up, Fred ; keep your arm up " ? The reason is that, coming from a high eleva- tion, a ball is more difificult to judge in its flight ; it has more fire or " devil " in it ; it is more apt to rise or bump, and spins up more quickly from the pitch. It is usually, and, I think, with reason regarded as a sign of a bowler's decline when his action becomes lower. Again, there should be no hesitation or stopping in the run up before actually despatching the ball, otherwise the advantage of the impetus gained by the run is lost. Equally important is a smooth free action in the swing of the arm ; without this there is likely to be a lack of sting. Nearly all the great bowlers, especially the fast bowlers, have had high free deliveries. To return to change of pace. My advice to bowlers is, that in attempting to alter their pace they should take great pains to avoid altering their style or delivery. The whole object of the move is to deceive the batsman. If he has the slightest hint that something different is coming, he is on the look-out and ready to meet the trick. If he is thoroughly taken in, he will probably make the same stroke as he did to the last ball bowled him, and play too soon or too late, as the case may be. It is unwise to exaggerate the change. A very slight alteration is enough. The change of pace should in no way affect the appearance of the ball in the air. If the change is too pro- nounced, the batsman is almost sure to detect it. Nor should the trick be tried too often, otherwise he will be continually on the qui vive. We will suppose now that our bowler is medium-pace, that he has acquired the art of changing his pace without altering his action or style of delivery, and that he is able also to bowl straight at will with a good length, and with variation of pitch. How ought he to apply this power of changing his pace ? Sometimes he should bowl three balls of the five in an over at his normal pace, one of the five faster, and another of the five slower. Another over might consist of two medium, two slow, and one fast. It would be a good plan sometimes to bowl two or C. T. B. TURNER, "THE 'I'ERROR.' Fr.u<, ri:',!oh>i ;■;, ;/.„';,/«« .( o. . /::■!, ii,i,, 74 BOWLING. three overs in succession consisting entirely of medium-pace balls. Occasionally an entire over of slows might be delivered. An excessive use of fast balls should be avoided, because the extra effort required to increase pace is a considerable strain upon a bowler's strength. This caution is particularly necessary in the case of boys. Boys are very fond of bowling beyond their strength — anything for pace. And this is frequently the cause of the early deterioration and failure of many a promising youngster. Boys cannot be too strongly advised never to bowl beyond their strength. If they want to practise change of pace, let them rely chiefly on balls slower than their ordinary ones. The faster balls should be few and far between. Even men, by thus husbanding their strength, will be able to bowl for a much longer time. It is for this reason that I advise the medium-pace bowler never to try more than one fast ball in an over. I once asked Tom Richardson why he did not bowl "yorkers" more frequently. He replied, "The extra yard or so is too much effort. I want to last the season out, sir." Now the extra effort Richardson has to make to turn a good-length ball into a "yorker" exactly corresponds to that required of a medium-pace bowler in order to bowl a fast ball. When a bowler wants to send down a ball slower than usual, he holds the ball less tightly, and in such a way that, in delivering it, much of the action, instead of taking effect on the ball, is wasted on the air ; or else he checks his action imper- ceptibly, in a way impossible to describe. Mr S. M. J. Woods, before he took to making his looo runs a-year, used to change his pace in a most marvellous manner. I,ohmann, too, had reduced the trick to a fine art. Some bowlers in changing their pace raise the arm above, or drop it below, its usual height. This was a favourite device of Alfred Shaw, which frequently made the batsman wonder what was going to happen, and thus put him into two minds. Every bowler must work out the idea for him- self. If he masters the art of changing his pace, his side will have frequent cause to bless him when the sky is brazen and the wicket smooth and hard as vulcanite. Now we come to "break," and how it is effected. The ac- cepted meanings of the terms off-break and leg-break have been explained. For the sake of convenience, all bowlers are regarded as right-hand. There is no difficulty in applying to left-handers what is said about right-handers. " Break " is the result of a spin which, previously imparted to the ball, takes effect when the ball meets the ground. It is analogous to the " side " on a billiard- BOWLING. 75 ball. Off-break is put on by making the ball spin outwards from left to right. When a ball thus spinning meets the ground, the friction causes it to break from left to right — that is, although continuing its onward course after pitching, it changes its direc- tion rather in favour of the outward spin. All spin is directly and ultimately produced by the friction of the ball against the fingers. But there are two kinds of break, known as "finger- break " and " action-break." The former is used by slow bowlers, the latter by fast. Medium-pace bowlers seem to employ a combination of the two. The difference is hard to explain, but any experienced bowler will recognise that it exists. A slow bowler, in putting on off-break, gives the ball a distinct twist with his fingers and wrist, using chiefly his first, second, and third fingers. But the fast bowler lets the ball fly from his hand without consciously giving it a twist; the result of his body, arm, and wrist action imparts to the ball an outward left- to-right spin. There is a certain amount of "flick" from the fingers, but this is quite different from the twist of the slow bowler. It is instructive to note that fast bowlers often strain the muscles of their backs and sides in attempting to make the ball break from the off What I have called " action-break " is sometimes called " body-break." It is more or less natural, whereas " finger- break " is mainly artificial. The manner in which " action- break " or " body-break " is imparted to the ball seems to be of this kind. When, after a fairly long and rapid run, a fast right-hand bowler delivers the ball, he plants his left foot in front of him, and then, just as he lets go the ball, flings his body, right arm, shoulder, and leg forward, but rather across towards the left. This action gives the hand a sweep across the ball, making it spin in its flight outwards from left to right. However this may be, right-hand bowlers break naturally from left to right, left-handers from right to left. Indeed, unless the ball be very loosely held, it is practically impossible to bowl a ball which, after pitching, goes on in exactly the same straight line as that of its flight. If the ball is tightly held, "body- action " at once operates. As to " finger-break,'' it is fairly easily effected by slow or slow-medium bowlers. The only difficulty is to combine it with good length. A slow can obtain more break than a medium, a medium more than a fast bowler, and for this reason : the more rapid the flight of the ball, the less time is it in contact with the ground ; but the longer it is in contact with the ground, the more chance has the spin of operating by means of RICHARDSON IN THE ACT OF DELIVERY. Frnui j-li.'/o h,i K. Ihiul-iiis 1- ('".. Brl'jhfrm. KlCllARUbON AFiXK JJ^LU'EKV. Fi\»ii j'lf'l.j hij E. Ihiirkin^s a-- Cu., Bnijhion. 78 BOWLING. friction against the ground. The amount of break that can be effected depends much upon how far the ground is in a state receptive of the spin — how much, that is, it allows the ball to "bite." But it is a curious fact that sometimes, when the ground is very hard and smooth, a fast bowler's " action-break " is oper- ative, while " finger-break " is wholly ineffective. Why this should be so is a mystery to me. There must be some difference in quality between " finger-break" and " action-break." Leg-break is artificial rather than natural, and is much more difficult to produce than off-break. Hence it is not surprising that exponents of it are rare, at least successful exponents. AVhatever the reason, it is exceedingly difficult to combine leg - break with precision of length or accuracy of direction. Even the best leg-break bowlers are in the habit of sending down a considerable number of loose balls. However well they bowl, they are liable at times to unmerciful punishment. Some- times they are extraordinarily successful. Of late years, Mr Charles Townsend has been the only bowler of this kind who has done exceptionally good work. His effectiveness makes one wonder that more do not try to follow in his footsteps. The leg-break is obtained by holding the ball with all the fingers, and at the moment of delivery turning the fingers as well as the wrist over the ball from right to left. This turn is artificial and difficult to acquire, which is probably the reason why it is so rarely combined with good length and straightness. There is no such thing as " action-break " from leg. Nothing but finger-work imparts leg-break. This is the reason why there is no fast leg- break bowling. Some fast bowlers, by holding the ball loosely, can make it swing across the wicket ; but this is not leg-break ; the ball merely " goes with the arm '' — that is, continues the direction of its previous flight instead of breaking, however slightly, from the off. Difficult as it is to the bowler, the leg-break, if well bowled, is very difficult to play. This is due not so much to any special devilry in the bowling as to the limitations of the batsman. It is true that some leg-break bowlers get a surprising amount of work on the ball, but that hardly affects the question, as even a moderate amount is nearly as hard to deal with. In the first place, the ball spins off the ground quite differently from the off-break. It does not come straight from the pitch at a certain angle to its previous line of flight ; on the contrary, it describes a kind of curve after pitching, or, in other words, curls off the ground. While the ball is behaving thus, it is rather difficult to judge it TowNSi':Ni) !iI':livi::rix(; thk i;ai,l ;,y,„„ , /„i/Hl.;/ /;. "•'"■'' 8o BOWLING. and to meet it with the bat. Directly a leg-break bowler can keep a fair length, he can cause most batsmen to scrape forward aim- lessly at the pitch of the ball ; and then, unless they are favourite sons of fortune, he has them in his bag. Besides this peculiar quality in the break, most deliveries of this kind have a curious dropping flight. That the leg-break does not operate in the same way as the off-break is proved by the fact that the deliveries of a right-hand and a left-hand bowler, though they may pitch on the same spot, and break across or on to the wicket from leg the same number of inches, are found by right-hand batsmen to be entirely different. A left-hander's break from leg to a right-hand bat is, of course, imparted to the ball by the same " finger-work " or " action-work " which is used by the right-hander to produce his break from the off. But besides its curly spin from the pitch, which it is hard to judge and play, leg-break bowling is difficult for two reasons. First, when a man stands ready to receive the ball, he is facing the off, and can move much more readily in that direction than towards the leg-side ; to do the latter he has to alter his position considerably. He can indeed easily take a blind sweep round the leg, but in order to meet accurately and scientifically a ball pitching on the leg-side "and breaking on to the wicket, he must shift his feet partially and the balance of his body completely. Secondly, he cannot see a ball pitched on the leg-side as well as one that is straight or on the off. His eyes are turned rather towards the off. To see a ball on the leg-side, which may be called his blind side, he has to twist his head round. A good-length ball pitching on or just outside the leg-stump is the most likely of all to light upon the " blind spot.'' Of course if it has no break on it, or if it goes away towards the leg-side, it is generally easy to punish or stop ; but if it come in from leg, it requires a lot of playing. From these considera- tions it will be seen that good-length leg-break bowHng can be very deadly. Its weak point is that even its best exponents send down many bad-length balls, which being on the leg-side are fruitful in runs ; for, curiously enough, though a good-length ball on the leg-side breaking in is perhaps the most difficult of all to play, an over-pitched or short ball on that side, with or without break, is certainly the easiest to punish. Besides the spins that can be imparted to the ball with the results described above, there are two others possible but more difficult to master. These are rarely attempted save by a few experts, but they are worth describing. The ball may be given a twist with the fingers and wrist, so that, in its flight towards the BOWLING. SI batsman, it revolves outwards from the bowler with an over-and- over motion like that of a carriage-wheel travelling away from him. This spin, which corresponds with "top" put on albilliard- ball to make it " follow through," causes the ball to bound forward after pitching with increased rapidity. The other motion is just the reverse of this, with the opposite result. The ball is made to rotate in the same way as a lawn-tennis ball which, under-cut by the racquet, reverts to the striker's side of the net after pitching on the other side. By a spin corresponding to " drag " on a billiard-ball, the ball is made to hug the ground when it pitches, and to rise slowly afterwards, or "hang," as it is called by cricketers. Both these spins are very likely to cause a mistimed stroke, because the ball comes off the pitch at a pace different from that of its flight. With some bowlers it either " hangs " or m.ore often comes fast off the pitch owing to something in their regular action. The power to produce either of the spins artificially is confined to slow or medium-pace bowlers. Most good fast bowlers come quickly off the pitch by nature ; in fact, it is this quality chiefly that distinguishes them from the ordinary "slinger." Both Briggs and Jack Hearne, when helped by the wicket, are very skilful at making balls of apparently similar flights either " stop and look at you " or whip along like lightning. Mold's deliveries, though less rapid in their flight than Richard- son's, come off the pitch as fast if not faster. The two former produce their results by finger-and-wrist-work, the two latter by some natural quality of their action. Thus there are four kinds of spin that can be put on a ball. The ideal bowler should be master of them all. And inasmuch as every bowler should set before himself and try to reach the highest standard, he should do his best to acquire a command of off-break and leg-break, "top" and "hang." The two first are the more important, as they are the more generally useful ; the two others are rather refinements. For practical purposes a bowler, unless he has a natural turn for the leg-break, had better thoroughly master the off"-break first, then try to learn the leg-break, and finally, after perfecting these two, see what he can do with the others. On no account should a new break be attempted if it at all spoils the power acquired over that which is most natural and is mastered first. A bird in the hand is worth two or even three in the bush. As may be gathered from previous remarks, great bowling skill is not attained even by the most gifted in one season nor yet in three seasons. It is an affair of years. The best plan is to learn F J. T. HEARNE JUST LJilORE DELIVERY tSIDE DEL1\'ERV). Fri,i,i j.hnio hij E. ItnicJiiiia X Co., Briu/ilu; J. T. hp:arxe after delivers I'lvhl iJlaf.. h„ /■ I!, ,,<'};,.-.• . 84 BOWLING. to walk before trying to run — to learn to bowl straight and a good length before attempting much in the way of break or the higher branches of the art. But there is another side to the question. Even when a bowler has acquired mechanical accuracy and considerable com- mand of pace and break, his education is by no means complete. He has to learn to apply all this — to adapt his skill to cir- cumstances. In order to do this successfully he must use his wits. He must know all about his own bowling, its possibilities and limitations. He must understand the different kinds of wickets on which he will have to bowl at different times. He must also be able to place his fielders suitably for different batsmen under various conditions of wicket, and learn the art of laying siege to batsmen's weak points. Wickets may be divided into those in favour of the batsmen and those in favour of the bowler. The former consist of three sorts — the fast dry, the fast wet, and the slow wet wicket ; the latter also of three — the fiery, the crumbling, and the caked or sticky wicket. There are, of course, innumerable gradations in the pace and quality of various wickets, but the above classi- fication is accurate enough for present purposes. On a good "fast dry" wicket it is almost impossible to put any break on the ball ; you must trust to good length and varia- tion of pace and pitch. On a good slow wicket some break can be effected, but the ball comes so dully off the pitch that, unless it hangs a bit, there is no difficulty in playing it. When the ball hangs, a " catch and bowl " is often the result. On such a wicket it is a good plan to bowl rather faster than usual — that is, if you are a medium-pace or slow bowler — in order to put as much sting into the delivery as the wicket will allow of. As to a hard wet wicket, an ordinary good wicket after a brief shower, to make the ball break at all is next to impossible. The ground is hard and slippery, and the ball simply skids along after pitching. On such a wicket, however, the ball always comes very quickly off the pitch, and is liable to keep low, or even to shoot. There is nothing more in favour of the batsman than rain falling often and in small quantities, whatever the previous state of the wicket ; for when recently watered by rain the wicket is bound to play easily — the ball either whips along quite straight or cuts through. Moreover, the ball is slippery and cannot be properly grasped by the bowler, who is likewise handicapped by being unable to get a good foothold. There is little doubt that a hard fast wicket, made greasy on the top by rain, is the best of all from the point URIGG.S 1;0\\L1NG. yi\i:,l l'l,,.U- Ini E. Ililirl.nis A' l\.., V.n.jhk; 86 BOWLING. of view of a batsman who knows how to utilise the opportunity. Fast bowlers occasionally get wickets under such conditions through the pace with which their deliveries come from the pitch ; but as they depend upon stance and, perhaps, grip of the ball more than medium or slow bowlers, the latter are generally more useful when there is any wet on the surface of the pitch. Whenever the wicket favours run-getting, good length tells above all else, especially if supplemented by skilful change of pace and pitch. There are wickets of an intermediate sort which cannot be said to be distinctly to the advantage of either party. On such the bowler should try every device he can think of. Remember that when things in general are on the batsman's side, nothing but good length can be consistently successful, though occa- sionally, when two batsmen are set and seem to require "lined- ferrets and a spade to get them out,'' it pays to put on the wildest and worst bowler on the side. AVhen things look really black, a captain would often do well to ask his stiffest comrade to bowl, and to tell his fieldsmen to scatter where they like. However unorthodox and unscientific such proceedings would be, they might be successful ; for there is nothing like a change of some sort, and the more pronounced it is the better. The " fiery " wicket has been included among those that favour the bowler, in spite of the fact that many large scores have been compiled upon such. At any rate, there is something to be done with the ball when, though apparently sound and true, the wicket has fire in it. The ball bumps and rises quickly ; hence catches at the wicket or in the slips. Often, too, a good deal of break can be put on. Fast bowlers are generally very effective on wickets of this kind. " Crumbhng " results either from the nature of the turf and soil or from the wear and tear of long inningses. When the pitch looks cracked and dust begins to fly, the bowler's heart rejoices. Often a wicket that has been perfect, hitherto, suddenly goes wrong in the fourth innings of a match because rough usage has made the turf ragged and loose. All capable bowlers can make wonderfully good use of such wickets ; but perhaps medium- pace and slow bowlers have a slight advantage over fast bowlers, as the latter are more liable to be snicked and mis-hit without the ball going to hand. The ball can be made to break extra- ordinarily and very quickly ; it is apt both to bump and keep low. Batsmen have an uncomfortable time of it. Turner, " the Terror," and George Lohmann simply revel in such wickets. 88 BOWLING. A sticky "wicket — a real piece of birdlime — is usually the result of a heavy night's rain followed by a strong morning sun. This also affords medium and slow bowlers a rich harvest of wickets. It is under such conditions that most wonderful bowl- ing performances are done. The bowler can do what he likes with the ball. And at times not even the bowler, though a good one, has the slightest idea what the ball will do. It may rise with a huge break over the batsman's head ; it may shoot or keep uncommonly low ; it may, wonderful to relate, break from leg after receiving an emphatic off-spin from the bowler's hand. In fact, such a wicket is liable to bring about the ignominious downfall of the most powerful batting side imaginable, and that though opposed to bowling which under ordinary conditions would be quite mediocre. Those batsmen who have had the melancholy pleasure of trying to keep up their wickets for a minute or two against such bowlers as Briggs, Peel, Trumble, or Jack Hearne on a sticky wicket, will realise fully the truth of these remarks. Until a bowler thoroughly understands the various kinds of wickets, he cannot know how to employ to the best advantage any skill he may have. He is liable to miss opportunities and to 'waste energy; not to bowl as well as he might, both when they favour him and when they do not. It is clearly bad policy to I make prodigious efforts at break when the ground will not take it, or to try refined and difficult devices when the simpler anci easier would be more telling. Wickets should be carefully studied in general and in particular. Before a match a bowler ou^ht to go and look at the pitch in order to find out all about it. He is justified in taking advantage not only of the state of i the wicket, but of trees or houses that may happen to be behind his arm and obscure his delivery. Any unfair device is, of course, to be condemned — such, for instance, as a needlessly flapping sleeve, intended to distract or annoy the batsman. But that is quite a different matter from making the most of things as , they are. There may be a slight slope at one end just suited to a particular bowler's deliveries, or one end may take his fancy rather than the other. There may be a rough spot on the wicket at one end exactly in his length that will materially help him. All such things should be discovered and considered before a match actually begins, and every means should be taken to get all possible help from them. A bowler who follows such methods_is much more likely to be successful than the ordinary unobservant being who bowls haphazard. As "Sammy" Woods BOWLING. 89 says, " A cove isn't bowling because he sends down five balls an over." A facetious cricketer of my acquaintance divides all bowling into two kinds — that which gets wickets, and that which does not. He adds that there are many who are bowlers but do not get batsmen out, and many who are not bowlers but do. The first point is clear enough ; the second requires some thought. In any case his lines of division are rather broad for our pur- poses. Perhaps it will be best to follow the old order and divide bowlers into classes, according as they are slow, medium, or fast, and according as they are under-arm, round-arm, or over-arm, and again, according as they are right-hand or left-hand. These divisions, though accurate enough, cross one another in every direction. So it is impossible to keep to them without falling into many intricacies and much repetition. Slow bowlers of every description depend upon their skill in varying pace and pitch and in making the ball break. They must be very resourceful, full of tricks and devices, but at the same time extremely accurate and steady. Of all bad bowlers a bad slow bowler is the worst, because a batsman has ample time to see his deliveries and deal with them according to taste. But a good slow bowler — one who has a perfect command of the ball and knows how to apply it — has many advantages. In the first place, he can go on bowling much longer than a fast or even a medium. There is nothing in his action to tire him. He can continue changing pace and pitch without much trouble. For it must be remembered that in the case of fast and medium bowlers it requires far more exertion to bowl a ball either above or below their normal pace than it does to keep up that pace mechanically. The change to a slower ball requires a repressive effort; that to a faster naturally implies extra exertion. A slow bowler is affected in the same way, but in an infinitely less degree. Again, most slow bowlers, especially if they are what may be called natural bowlers, are aided by the fact that the flight of their balls is inclined to be deceptive. The ball hangs in the air on account of its slow pace, and thus is more liable to atmospheric effects, if the phrase may be used. For instance, if there is a wind blowing, the ball is apt to deviate in the air one way or the other from its course, and thus beat the batsman. Furthermore, slow bowlers can command variation of trajectory. They can toss the ball much higher in the air than faster bowlers without over-pitching it. There is something curiously deceptive about a high dropping ball. The exact MOLD DKLIVEKINU THE BALL. I-ra,i, pluil.j hij R n:urkiii.i S. Cl. Bii.jI, f.,,! MULL) AFTER Li1:L1VI;KV. Fr^.i:: I'h.ilo I'il E. U.t:rl;,i,, A C-. iJrfjhIvi 92 BOWLING. length is often difficult to judge. Some first-class bowlers have done wonders by means of this device— among others, A. G. Steel, W. G. Grace, C. M. Wells, Briggs, Peel, and Tyler. Fast bowlers, on the other hand, depend in the first instance upon sheer pace to get wickets. They cannot expect to make the ball break more than a few inches, inasmuch as the pace they put on the ball prevents, as already explained, the operation of finger-work. If their actions naturally cause the ball to break, so much the better. But only few are gifted with much action- break. A fast bowler may vary his pace ; but not too frequently, otherwise he is liable to become a medium -pace bowler with a fast ball instead of what he ought to be— a fast bowler with an occasional slower or medium-pace ball. His great aim should be to keep a good length with plenty of pace. The faster he can make the ball come from the pitch, the more deadly will he be. Pace from the pitch does not always result from extra exertion in delivering the ball ; it comes from spin imparted by wrist " flick," and from freedom of swing. Mold is an excellent example of this point. Medium-pace bowlers are in a very happy position. They are able to a great extent to unite in their bowling the powers and advantages of the two other kinds. They have enough pure pace to justify their relying to a certain extent upon it — that is, they bowl fast enough to be formidable on that account alone. At the same time, they are not so fast but that they can use wrist- and finger-break. They can change their pace to faster or slower with ease and effect. But, on the whole, medium and slow bowlers have to exercise more head-work and judgment than fast bowlers, to whom within reasonable limits pace is everything. A bowler must find out for himself whether nature intended him to be fast, medium, or slow ; and having decided upon the pace that suits him best, he must stick to his choice. It is never quite easy to gauge nature's intentions correctly, so some care and thought must be exercised. It is a good plan to consult an experienced cricketer on the subject. Boys have a decided inclination to be fast bowlers. Pace is evident, and more or less tangible. They naturally devote more attention to that kind of bowling than to slower medium. School authorities are strongly urged to have an eye upon young bowlers and keep them in the way they should go. Good slow and medium-pace bowling is rare among amateurs, and should be encouraged accordingly. It is a long time since a really good slow bowler came from the TRUMELK ];OWLTNG. Frnni ,■>'"''■'•■' I' //""■'.'"■■^f- ''" . !'ri•,■„„. ,J,.:(h I,.. ;:. II, nil:' g6 BOWLING. got out or extremely bothered by it. Slow over-arm, or indeed any bowlers, may occasionally try this ball with advantage. As his deliveries are about the slowest to be met with, the lob-bowler should cultivate the power of making the ball twist an immense amount from both the off- and leg-side. He should also try to get the knack, described above, of making the ball go quickly off the pitch. This is almost entirely a natural gift ; but perhaps of all bowlers he is most likely to be able to acquire it by practice. Equally and in common with all others, he will have to depend considerably upon the accuracy of his pitch. He must be able to command a good length, even though part of his art is to bowl full-pitches to leg and other tempting balls. A ball bad in itself, in a certain sense becomes a good one when bowled exactly as desired with a definite object ; but the art of bowling balls good in themselves should be thoroughly mastered before such tricks are tried. The chances are that a young bowler will have a good deal to contend against if he takes up lob-bowling. It stands to reason that he will not meet with much success at first. He will not be very skilful ; batsmen, especially his companions, will not be in the least afraid of his bowling ; he will not know how to place his field to receive catches ; the fieldsmen, probably, like himself, inexperienced cricketers, will not hold catches when the batsmen make mistakes ; he will lack judgment in changing pace and pitch, and have no power of imparting a deceptive flight to the ball. And all these things are more essential for his style of bowling than for any other except very slow over- or round-arm^ which is practically the same as lob-bowling. If he does not get wickets, he will be sure to come in for a lot of chaff from the rest of his side for bowling " donkey-drops." Of course he will take no notice of this, but devote a certain amount of time every day to practice, with a view to turning the scale in favour of his side some day in the Inter-'Varsity match or the Gentlemen and Players. I am convinced that most batsmen fall victims to lobs, not so much by reason of the intrinsic difficulty or merit of the bowling, but on account of their own nervousness or anxiety to score. A notable instance of what a moderate lob- bowler can do is furnished by the Inter-'Varsity of 1892, when a very strong Cambridge side got out on a perfect wicket for a ridiculously small score under the circumstances. In matches where nerve plays an important part, even bad lobs are extra- ordinarily successful. At such times batsmen are at high tension. Nervousness affects them in two ways — they are either over- cautious and hit half-heartedly, or else they play wildly and dash BOWLING. gy at the wrong ball. Blunders result either way ; and this is the lob-bowler's opportunity. When a hitter comes in he is generally very anxious to hit these apparently harmless slows ; perhaps he feels it a good chance of demonstrating his prowess to the " gallery " or to his partisans. " Quem deus vult perdere prius dementat." And the god, whoever he may be, pays peculiar attention in this respect to school - batsmen. He finds an excellent instrument of his will in lob-bowling. Nearly every school meets a rival school in one particular match, the winning of which makes the season's work satisfactory. In such matches there is nothing so effective as lobs ; so it is curious that they are not more frequently encouraged and cultivated — they well repay the trouble. The boy who has most cheek and is least sensitive to chaff will probably make the best bowler in the lob line. With practice and perseverance — it is the same story all through cricket — he will make surprising progress, but must not expect improvement to be noticeable in a short space of time. There is a great deal to learn and to endure. To suggest to the beginner how he should bowl to different kinds of bats is not easy. A firm- or fast-footed batsman plays lob in exactly the same way as he would any other — forward and back, as the case may be— without leaving his ground. He is not unlikely to be an easy victim. Still Mr Charles Fry has in this way taken innumerable runs off Humphrey, the Sussex lob-bowler, and possibly the best of his kind. Variation of pace often meets this case. A faster ball than usual, either on the leg-side with an off-break, or on the off-side with a leg-break, is a good change. Catches at short-leg, or at the wicket or short-slip, may result. If there is any chance of wearing out such a batsman's patience, very slow twisters, repeatedly bowled, may tempt him to despera- tion and suicide. There is a class of batsmen who consider their honour seriously at stake unless they hit a lob-bowler over the ropes once every over. These are generally fair game. The slow careful bat is a more difficult subject. He has a knack of remaining and scoring a couple of singles every over until further notice. The Sussex Eleven have several times during the last few years fielded for days while Gunn and Shrewsbury have been thus toying with Humphrey. If the batsman goes in for what may be called extended forward-play to smother good-length lobs, it is a good plan to try for a " catch and bowl " by tossing him up a higher, slower, and slightly shorter one. In dealing with a determined hitter, the main object is to bowl so that he cannot get at the ball on the full-pitch and drive it along the G WALTER HUMPHREY'S LOB-BOWLING IN THE ACT OF DELIVERY. Fmmpholo till E. rifivkins i Co., BrUjMoru J. J. FERRIS IX Till: ACT OF DELIVERV. From jihof" hn E. J[„i i>h,jhjh,j K ir,i„l;i„s,i r.... J!n„l,u.„. I lO BOWLING. explained the baseball curl scientifically, but why only certain bowlers can impart it to a cricket-ball is a problem as yet un- solved. When a bowler has made himself thoroughly conversant with all the tricks of his trade, so that he can do almost anything he likes with the ball, he has accomplished much ; but he is not yet an ideal bowler. He must put a crown upon all his art by making a complete study of batsmen. No one can do this for him. It is almost impossible to give any practical hints on the subject. If he has the intelligence to see such points as can be suggested, in all probability he is capable of working out on his own lines this and similar problems of cricket for himself, and is already beyond the stage where advice from other people is profitable. Without some power of thought it is impossible to go far in the art of bowling ; and the more original, the more individual the idea, the more likely is it to bear fruit. Most cricketers know by ex- perience when they are really being bowled at. There is a world of difference between a series of unconsidered deliveries and a systematic intelligent attack. The former makes a batsman feel at once that he has nothing to fear, that all is plain sailing ; the latter unsettles him, and takes aWay the pleasant feeling of superiority that above all else gives confidence. After all, cricket is warfare in miniature. It is man against man, general against general. Between the bowler who not only is master of his art but knows how to apply it, who is thinking hard all the time he is bowling, who is trying to get the batsman out every ball he bowls, and the bowler who in a mechanical, non-thinking manner sends down ball after ball with no definite intention, and without any reference to what the wicket is and who the batsman, the difference is the same, in due proportion, as that between a Napoleon and a Xerxes. There are bowlers who, for some reason or other, seem to fascinate the batsman, and make him do what they want in spite of himself. They appear to divine what is passing in his mind, and to make him carry out not his programme but theirs. The batsman has to fight not only against the par- ticular ball bowled, but against a mysterious unseen influence. There are " demon '' bowlers in more senses than one. They are few and far between ; but when they come, they win matches by their own individual might. It is hopeless to try to reproduce on paper the superhuman power of the truly great bowlers. One can appreciate but not explain. But there is no reason whatever why every one should not follow them as far as possible in practical matters. I have tried to show how necessary it is to ATTEWELL JUST BEFORE DELIVERY. I'ronijJ'u'D ''." '■'■ Ciihhrjl. ,V,./(ni[j^.r«;. 1 1 2 BOWLING. study wickets just as a general studies a map of the country where he has to fight. A general must also study the enemy, become acquainted with the number and arrangement of the opposing troops, and discover their points of strength and weak- ness, whether material or moral. A bowler must act likewise. He must know the men at whom he is bowling before he can bowl his best at them. He must sum up their powers and limita- tions, their good strokes and bad ; and last, but not least, he must put himself in touch with their temperaments. Sometimes it pays to attack a man's good strokes, to feed them until he gets himself out ; sometimes to go straight for his weak ones and carry the position by assault. Sometimes it pays to humour, sometirhes to force. Perhaps it may be instructive to work, however sketchily, through a typical side of batsmen — taking, of course, the bats- man's point of view. But, before doing this, a few words must be said about the placing of fieldsmen. It is the greatest mis- take in the world to think that there is one fixed arrangement which is the best in all circumstances. Every man in the field must be put into position with due regard to three points — the particular kind of bowling that is being employed, the particular kind of batsman who is at the wicket, and the particular state of the ground. Nearly every bowler ought to have his field placed differently, however slightly, from every other one. It is easy enough to give plans of the arrangements of fieldsmen to suit typical fast, medium, and slow bowlers ; but it must be remem- bered that each fast bowler requires some alteration to suit his individual style and methods, and again must admit modifications to meet the idiosyncrasies of each batsman and the peculiarities of certain conditions of wicket. It is the slight changes that make all the difference between a well and a badly placed field. Some sides which are weak in bowling have to live by their wits. With a champion bowler to put on at each end, matters are con- siderably simplified. The only chance for a side that has but moderate bowling at its command, is to make that bowling as good as possible by having every fieldsman in exactly the right place. No opportunity must be missed. Catches must be caught when they come to hand, and every means must be taken to bring them to hand. A really good fieldsman makes catches that an ordinary fieldsman would not attempt ; he seems to turn strokes that are out of his reach into easy chances. He helps himself, and does not wait to be provided with catches straight into his hands. A good bowler — good in this particular point — BOWLING. 113 aids his fieldsmen by so placing them that they have the best possible chance of fielding to the greatest advantage of his side. He fixes their sphere, and their duty is to work their utmost therein. A good captain tries to identify himself so completely with his side, as a whole and in all its parts, that he fields with every fieldsman and bowls every ball with his bowlers. He is, in truth, the soul of his side. He helps and directs it as well as ever he can, and is at the same time its absolute commander. To return to typical arrangements of fields. The following plans are intended to give general ideas, and not to be regarded as unalterably right. [Plans of Fields. 114 BOWLING. PLATE A. Plan of the Field for a Fast Right-hand Bowler {e.g., Richardson), (i.) On a good, fast, dry wicket ; (ii.) on a fast wicket wet on the surface ; (iii.) on a fiery wicket. • fll*^) (Uc) X. Bowler. ^. Wicket- keeper. 5 4< 3 3j 4. 5- Slips. 6. Third-man. 2 x-r\ 7- Point. JL 3. Cover-point. 9. Mid -off. 10. Mid-on. iia. Long-off, or lib. Long-on, or ,A uc. Fine long- leg, or ffl: 10 lid. Fine deep- slip. Note. — In cases (ii.) and (iii.) shps should be deeper. In (iii.) dis- pense with iia or I lb and put him at I id. PLANS OF FIELDS. PLATE B. "5 Plan of a Field for a Fast Right-hand Bowler {e.g., Richardson), (i.) On a slow easy wicket ; (ii.) on a sticky wicket ; (iii.) on a crumbling wicket. ^43 JH 10 a ffl: lib. 1. Bowler. ii. Wicket- keeper. 3- Slip. 4- Slip. 5- Third- man. 6. Point. 7- Cover- point. 8. Mid-off. 9- Mid-on. loa. Short- leg. lob. Extra- slip. IOC ;. Fine long-leg. 11. Long- on. lib. Extra long-on. 11 Note. — In case (i.) either short-leg or a third slip may be used according to the batsman. In case (ii.) a short-leg is indispensable, and usually extra long-on may be used instead of third-man, point being slightly behind the wicket, or mid-on may be moved towards umpire and short-leg moved back to extra long-on. In case (iii.) slips must be deeper and lob or 5 moved to fine long-leg, point being behind Il6 BOWLING. PLATE C. Plan of the Field tor a Medium Right-hand Bowler {e.g., Attewell or Davidson), (i.) On a good, fast, dry wicket ; (ii.) on a fast wicket wet on the surface ; (iii.) on a fiery wicket. 4. 3 iHL ffl: 10 J.. Bowler. >=. Wicket-keeper. 3. 4. Slips. S- Third -man. 6. Point. 7- Cover-point. 8. Extra-cover. 9- Mid-off. 10. Mid-on. iia .. Long-oif, or lib. Long-on. 11a lib Note. — In case (ii.) both slips should be deeper, as also in case (iii.) PLANS OF FIELDS. 117 PLATE D. Plan of the Field for a Medium Right-hand Bowler {e.g., Attewell or Davidson), (i.) On a slow easy wicket ; (ii.) on a sticky wicket ; (iii.) on a crumbling wicket. 4- 3 SL •7 10 -Ml 6 lib. 11 1. Bowler. 2. Wicket-keeper. 3. 4. Slips. 5. Third-man. 6. Point. 7. Cover-point 8. Mid-off. 9. Mid-on. 10. Short-leg. 11. Long-on. Note. — In case (ii.) extra-slip (4) should be moved to extra long-on, lib. Mid-on (g) moved round towards the umpire and nearer the batsman. Short-leg (10) nearer the batsman but behind the wicket. In case (iii.) both slips should be deeper. Il8 BOWLING. PLATE E. Plan of the Field for a Slow Right-hand Bowler {e.g., Wainwright). (i.) On- a good, fast, dry wicket; (ii.) on a fast wicket wet on the surface, except that slip should in this case be deeper than in (i.) 3 HI ifOz ji. Bqwler. 2. Wicket- keeper. 3- Slip. 4. Third-man. \ 5. Point. 6. Cover- point. 7. Extra- cover. 8. Mid-oif. 9. Mid-on. 10. Long-off. 11. Long-on. 10 11 Note. — This plan is also correct for the above bowler on a fieiy wicket, except that (i) slip may be put deeper, and (2), if considered advisable, extra-cover may be moved to extra-slip. PLANS OF FIELDS. II9 PLATE F. Plan of the Field for a Slow Right-hand Bowler [e.g., Wainwright). (i.) On a slow easy wicket ; (ii.) on a sticky wicket ; (iii.) on a crumbling wicket. UH :ffli {lO"^)* 10 a • 11 I. Bowler. 7. Mid-off. ^. Wicket-keeper. 8. Mid-on. 3. Slip. 9. Short-leg. 4. Third-man. loa. Long-off, or 5. Point. lob. Extra long-on. 6. Cover-point. II. Long-on. Note. — In case (iii.) it would perhaps be a good plan to put point behind the wicket and move third-man up to e.xtra-slip. Both slips should be a shade deeper. I20 BOWLING. PLATE G. Plan for a Slow Right-hand Leg -break Bowler {e.g.^ C. L. Townsend). (i.) On a good, fixst, dry wicket ; (ii.) on a good fast wicket wet on the surface ; (iii.) on a fiery wicket. 5 iQL 1SL 1 (4bj 8 I. Bowler. 6. Cover-point. li. Wicket-keeper. 7, Mid-off. 3. Slip. 8. Long-on. 4a. Third-man. 9. Extra long-on. 4b. Long-off. 10. Deep square-leg. 4c. Short-leg. 11. Mid-on. S. Point. Note. — In case of a strong ofF-hitter, point may be put behind the wicket and the man released put at long-off. To a good leg-place third-man may be brought over to short-leg. PLANS OF FIELDS. 121 PLATE H. Plan for a Slow Right-hand Leg-break Bowler {e.g., C. L. Townsend). On (i.) a slow easy wicket ; (ii.) on a sticky wicket ; (iii.) on a crumbling wicket. Ua 3 "IIL % ' 2 10« •6 Ui* I. Bowler. 7. Mid-off. 2. Wicket-keeper. 8. jVIid-on. 3- Slip. 9. Long-on. 4- Tliird-man (short). 10. Forward square-leg (deep). S- Point (close in). iia. Fine short-leg, or 6. Cover-point. lib. Long-off. Note. — I la and lib interchangeable, according to batsmen. 122 BOWLING. PLATE K. Plan of the Field for a Fast Left-hand Bowler {e.g., Hirst), (i.) On a good, fast, dry wicket ; (ii.) on a fast wicket wet on the surface; (iii.) on a fiery wicket. fii<=) ail") 5 4-3 2 f-pi 1. Bowler. iDL :.;. Wicket-keeper. 3, 4, 5. Slips. 6. Third-man. 7. Point. 8. Cover-point. • 9. Mid-off. 10. Mid-on. irt iia. Long-off. I I I lib. Fine long-leg. • lie. Deep third-man. u « Note. — In case (iii.) it may be advisable to bring in long-off to mid-off, or put mid-off in the slips, and put the released slips either at fine long-leg or deep third-man. PLANS OF FIELDS. I23 PLATE L. Plan of the Field for a Fast Left-hand Bowler {e.^^.. Hirst), (i.) On a slow easy wicket; (ii.) on a sticky wicket; (iii.) on a crumblinaf wicket. 4. 3 2 • m 3 I- Bowler. « ■^. Wicket-keeper, ~fft~ 10 3, 4, 5. Slips. (5b) 6. Third-man. 7. Point. 8. Cover-point. 9. Mid-off. 10. Mid-on. 11. Long-oif. 11 Note. — In case (i.) the third slip (5) may be moved to extra-cover, in which case cover must be square — i.e., must be moved towards third-man. 124 BOWLING. PLATE M. Plan of the Field for a Medium Left-hand Bowler {e.g., Martin), (i.) On a good, fast, dry wicket ; (ii.) on a fast wicket wet on the surface ; (iii.) on a fiery wicket. 4 3 iKL Iffl 10 • ? 9 1 I. Bowler. 'J.. Wicket- keeper. 3, 4. Slips. 5- Third-man. 6. Point. 7- Cover-point. 8. Extra-cover. 9- Mid-off. lO. Mid-on. II. Long-off. 11 Note — That for left-hand bowlers the slips should perhaps not be so fine as for right-hand bowlers. In case (iii.) both slips should be deeper than in (i.) and (ii.) PLANS OF FIELDS. 1 25 PLATE N. Plan of the Field for a Medium Left-hand Bowler {e.g., Martin), (i.) On a slow easy wicket ; (ii.) on a sticky wicket ; (iii.) on a crumbling wicket. 4"* 3 6 im- (41 I. Bowler. 10* i:. Wicket- 8 -- m - keeper. -LL'- 3, 4- Slips. T K. Third-man. 9 6. Point. 7. Cover- point. 8. Extra- cover. 9. Mid-off. 10. Mid-on. 11. Long-off. •11 Note. — The field is placed for case (ii.) or (iii.) In case (i.) long-off must be much straighter — i.e., more behind the bowler — and extra-slip •(4) be moved to short-leg (4b). 126 BOWLING. PLATE O. Plan of a Field for a Slow Left-hand Bowler {e.g., Peel), (i.) On a good fast wicket ; (ii.) on a fast wicket wet on the sur- face ; (iii.) on a fiery wicket. im. •6 JDQ: 1 • o 10 u 1. Bowler, 7. Extra-cover. 2. Wicket-keeper, 8. Mid-off. 3. Slip. 9. Mid-on. 4. Third-man. 10. Long-off. 5. Point. II. Long-on. 6. Cover-point. PLANS OF FIELDS. 12/ PLATE P. Plan of the Field for a Slow Left-hand Bowler {e.g., Peel), (i.) On a slow easy wicket ; (ii.) on a sticky wicket ; (iii.) on a crumbling wicket. 7 8a 4a 3 • • 1 2^ (lb) s 1 10 11 (8'') 1. Bowler. 7. Cover-point. 2. Wicket-keeper. 8a. Extra-cover. 3. Short-slip. 8b. Long-on. 4a. E.\tra-sUp. 9. Afid-off. 4b. Forward short-leg. 10. Mid-on. 5. Third-man. 11. Long-off. 6. Point. Note. — In case (i.) extra-slip should be moved to forward short-leg, and extra-cover moved to long-on. A really good slow left-hander on a really difficult vv'icket only needs one man in the country. 128 BOWLING. PLATE Q. Plan of a Field for a Lob-Bowler {e.g., Humphreys) on any wicket. Subject to many alterations to suit various batsmen 11" 10 • lia 8 ffl: •4 BOWLING. 129 Let us now, rather from the bowler's point of view, work through an innings of a typical side. Here is the " Order of going in " as written out and posted by the captain : — 1. Stockwell. 5. H. H. Rush. 9. G. Altmann. 2. Cain. 6. Hareless. 10. Forrest. 3. Netherland. 7. L. J. Lock. 11. Dickson. 4. Strawyard. 8. Keywood. Stockwell and Cain leave the pavilion, and are greeted with cheers appreciative of what they have done and are going to do. Stockwell looks like a soldier — bronzed, upright, and manly. He holds his head up with an air that means business. Cain is a curious little fellow with a slow, jerky gait, and a serio-comic cast of countenance. But he is all there — a tough nut to crack, and a general favourite. He takes block. " Does it cover 'em both, Tom ? Thank you." He looks round to see where the fieldsmen are placed, finds them in normal positions, settles himself, and indicates by his manner that he is ready. " Play ! " The bowler, fast right-hand with a long run, sends down four good-length balls on the off-stump, to which Cain plays carefully forward without scoring. The fifth ball of the over is a full-pitch — evidently an attempt at a yorker — -which is forced gently but firmly past the bowler. One run only, as there is a long-field almost straight behind the wicket. The bowler at the other end is medium-pace left-hand. His first two balls are good-length pitching, rather outside the off- stump, and breaking away ever so little. Cain shapes twice for a cut, but lets both pass without making a stroke. He snicks the third ball off his leg-stump for three. Stockwell then takes his guard, and stands in his own determined attitude to receive his first ball. It is slightly over-pitched on the off-stump, and is driven hard and clean to the boundary. The last ball of the over is a yorker, well bowled and just stopped in time. Both batsmen continue scoring, each in his own style, for several overs. By this time both have found out something. Cain is a slow, patient, steady bat, with not the remotest intention of risking his wicket. Nothing can tempt him to have a go. But he is apt to lunge out at good-length balls rather prematurely, has a weak half-hearted stroke between the slips, and does not find a fast, short, quick-rising ball much to his taste. He is inclined to retire slightly towards short-leg, and " spar " at fast, straight balls. So the fast bowler decides to try him with an over or two of his fastest balls, rather short of good-length, and vary- I I30 BOWLING. ing in direction from the middle-stump to a foot outside the off- stump. His idea is to make Cain fidgety, and get him caught at the wicket or at slip. Should that plan fail, he intends to see whether by bowling a series of pitched-up balls, not quits half-volleys, he can get Cain to play forward mechanically. Then without any change of action he will send one a little shorter and a little slower, in the hope that the batsman will lunge out too soon and give an easy catch in front of the wicket. The left- hand bowler does not quite see what is to be done with Cain, who is too careful to fall into a medium-pace bowler's traps ; so he decides to play " diamond cut diamond." He keeps a per- fect length on and just outside the off-stump, in order, if possible, to get the batsman to feel at the ball — to grope forward on faith without watching the ball closely. By keeping this up and slightly changing his pace he may get Cain stumped in over- reaching, or caught at the wicket or at slip. He has already tossed up one or two half-volleys, but Cain has played them, if possible, more carefully than the good-length balls. Stockwell plays a different game, and requires different treatment. He cracks an over-pitched ball to the boundary without any hesita- tion. He is not exactly rash, but seems, if anything, too keen to score. He has a fine free drive on the off, of which he is very fond — so fond, indeed, that he is inclined to play the stroke at unsuitable balls, with the result that he sometimes makes a bad uppish hit towards cover-point or third-man As the wicket is good the left-hander cannot get much break on the ball, so he determines to feed Stockwell's off-drive judici- ously. He first gives him a couple of straight good-length balls, then a beauty to drive on the off, which flies past extra-cover to the boundary. Then he bowls one rather wider and rather faster, at which Stockwell tries the same stroke, mistimes it, and sends the ball spinning straight at third-man's head. Third-man gets his hands in the right place, but fails to let them yield to the ball. Consequently it bounces out of his hands on to the ground. Hard luck on the bowler ! Stockwell steadies himself after this and will not pick another " wrong 'un." The fast bowler tries yorkers and change of pace in vain. Stockwell cuts hard and true, and has no idea of being frightened by a short, bumping ball. The captain takes off the left-hand bowler, as the fast bowler seems to trouble Cain somewhat. Instead he puts on a slow leg-break bowler and alters the field accordingly. The new bowler's first ball is a short bad one, and Stockwell pulls it to the on-boundary ; the second is pitched well up 6 inches out- BOWLING. 131 side the off-stump. Stockwell sees another fourer under his hand and tries to drive it in his most approved style ; but he fails to get to the pitch of the ball and does not allow for the breakaway. The ball is skied and falls plumb into cover-point's hands — the safest pair in the kingdom. The batsman retires, prompt and^ good-humoured as ever, amid well-deserved applause. He has played a bright, interesting innings. His place is filled by Netherland, a young player of much promise — essentially a stylist, with brilliant strokes all round the wicket when set, but a nervous, indecisive starter. Obviously every effort must be made to get rid of him before he settles down. The leg-break bowler decides to try a good-length ball on the leg-stump with not too much break on it. He wants to make the new-comer either feel for the ball or have a wild hit at it. His manoeuvre is successful. Netherland plays forward half-heartedly, misses the ball, and is clean bowled. The next on the list is Strawyard, the best and soundest bat on the side. He is not impatient, but can punish almost any bowling when he is set. He soon shows that he is quite at his best. He either plays the slow bowler right back or smothers his balls at the pitch. He watches the fast bowler well ; turns his yorkers into full-pitches ; times his changes of pace, and cuts without mercy his short balls outside the off-stump. The cap- tain now tries a double change. For the fast bowler he sub- stitutes the medium left-hander who began, and for the leg- break bowler a medium right-hander who can keep a good length and knows a trick or two. Now the left-hander remem- bers that Strawyard has a curious stroke of his own — a drive in the air over extra-cover's head, sometimes just out of reach, sometimes much higher ; so he decides to see whether he can- not feed this stroke. Extra-cover and cover are unostentatiously warned to stand farther back and look out. He is careful not to show his hand too soon. His first four balls are straight good-length balls. The fifth is a well-pitched-up ball about a foot outside the off-stump. Strawyard promptly drives it just as expected — a real " skimmer " 6 feet over extra-cover's head. The bowler then tries to bowl variations of this ball in order to cause the batsman to make a mis-hit. Not a bit of it. Straw- yard remembers what happened the last time he met this bowler, and is very careful to pick the right balls for the stroke. Mean- while the right-hander has noticed that in playing forward to good-length balls just off the wicket Strawyard is inclined to drag his foot across the crease. Now how is a chance of stump- 132 BOWLING. ing to be compassed ? He bowls two good-length balls just on the ofT-stump, which are pushed away skilfully for two runs each. Then he bowls a ball slower, shorter, and wider, deliver- ing it a yard behind the bowling-crease— a well-known trick .that rarely succeeds in deceiving the batsman ; but this time it does. Strawyard tries the same forward push-stroke, plays too soon, drags his foot in an attempt to smother the ball, and is smartly stumped. A good piece of bowling and a good man gone. All this time Cain has been playing as steadily as ever. He has been badly missed once by short-slip, and since then has shaped much better. Without forcing the game he is scoring consistently on both sides of the wicket. He is now joined by H. H. Rush, a very dangerous bat; not always a good starter, but a terror if he once gets settled. Most bowlers dislike bowling to him. He treats them all with the scantest courtesy. The better they bowl, the harder he hits. He is particularly strong on the on-side, and applies a marvellous pull- stroke to good-length balls just outside the off-stump. He hits such a ball as if it were a half-volley to leg — a beautiful stroke if it comes off ; when it does not, the critics shake their heads and say " Shocking." But perhaps bowlers with a sticky wicket and everything to favour them have been shocked by this stroke to better purpose. It has turned the tide in many a match. Its very unorthodoxy is half its merit. However, there is no tide to turn just now, no particular need for anything unor- thodox. The great man takes his stand at the wicket with an expression half grim, half twinkle, in his cunning eyes. What is he going to do ? What ball shall we give him ? He seems to have come to stay to-day. During the first over or two he does not appear quite at home ; he is playing with a concentrated carefulness that seems rather unnatural to him. Suddenly his air of restraint vanishes : a shortish ball from the right-hander is cracked between cover and extra-cover with terrific force. Then the fun begins. In spite of two fielders in the country on the on-side, good-length balls outside the off-stump are remorse- lessly pulled. They travel to taste — some high, some low, but none come to hand — and they travel often. One drops clean over the ropes — a gigantic hit. Square-cuts, off-drives, and placings-to-leg almost jostle one another to the boundary. This will not do. Both bowlers try all their devices in vain. They feed the pull, and the food is thankfully received. The batsman takes no notice of the long-fields ; he seems to say to himself every time he hits, " Let 'em catch that, and welcome BOWLING. 133 if they can." Both bowlers are taken ofif: the fast right-hander goes on at one end, the leg-break bowler at the other. Cain has not had much to do lately : his partner seems to be batting both ends. Cain does not mind ; he looks on comically, undisturbed. All the same, he is well on the way to a century. Cain often gets 100 runs, sometimes 200. He has to take the fast bowler's first over, and plays it as carefully as ever. The last ball of the over — a very fast one, as the bowler meant it to be — bumps unexpectedly. Cain flinches ever so slightly, just touches the ball, and is caught by short-slip. He cocks his eye thoughtfully at the spot where the ball pitched, walks out and pats the slight roughness there for the benefit of his successor, and then waddles off to the pavilion amid cheers. He acknowledges his reception by lifting his faded chocolate cap in a way entirely peculiar to himself. Meanwhile the fast bowler is doing up his boot-lace and congratulating himself he noticed that rough patch on the pitch. It took five balls to plant the ball exactly upon it, but the attempt succeeded. Hareless now comes to the wicket. He is a bigger but cheaper edition of the last player. He gives the impression of being an imitator rather than an original. He has, however, been known to make runs. Rush has now to face the leg-break bowler. He watches him closely, playing back to his good- length balls, and punishing those that are short or over-pitched. The fast bowler has by no means forgotten that spot. He pegs away at it, and occasionally makes a ball bump nastily. He has three slips for Hareless, who dislikes a bumping ball as much as Cain does. The leg-break bowler rather bothers Hareless, but fails to get him to hit out. The scoring goes on for some twenty minutes much as it did before Cain got out. Rush completes his century, amid the vociferous con- gratulations of the huge ring of spectators. Some old fellows nod their heads, and hazard the remark that it is quite like old times. After this Rush hits harder than ever for an over or two, pulling even the fast bowler round to the on. But he tries it once too often, hits a trifle too soon at a well-bowled slower ball, which towers high up over the wicket-keeper's head. Several fieldsmen begin circling about under the ball, but the " stumper,'' with a decided " Mine ! " claims and secures the catch. The great man goes away, delighted at having found his skill as yet unabated. What a good answer this will be to the critics who have been questioning his value as a member 1 34 BOWLING. of the eleven ! But he ought not to have been taken in by that change of pace : he knew the trick was being tried. Still, he did not let that slow curly chap diddle him this time. L. J. Lock now joins Hareless. The new-comer is captain of his side, and looks the part. He is deliberate solidity in- carnate — a magnificent bat in his time. Nowadays he does not time the ball quite so well as he used, nor are his move- ments quite as quick and sure as of old. But he still has the clearest of eyes and the strongest of wrists. The very sight of him forbids the thought of champagne or cigars. He is a splendid man at a pinch, a very Viking. When matters are going well he does not seem to care much for his own success. Both bowlers know his weak stroke — a half chop, half push, that is meant to be a late cut, — an attempt to guide the ball through the slips. Each bowler at once sets about getting him caught at slip. Ball after ball is bowled outside the off- stump. The leg-break bowler gives him plenty of rather wide balls on the off. The fast bowler tries to send down a ball that swings away with his arm among others that break, however little, from the off. It is not long before Hareless scrapes forward to a slow ball from the fast bowler. He misjudges the flight, and is caught easily by mid-off". Keywood now joins his captain. Keywood is a fine bat out of form. He begins by glancing the first bowler to leg — a beautiful stroke. He then drives him for two fours to the off and on boundaries. The fast bowler is trying to clean bowl him, and nearly does so with a yorker that just misses the off- stump. The leg-break bowler is too much for Keywood. He swipes wildly at the first ball, and it beats both bat and wicket. The next one, which pitches on the leg-stump and breaks an inch or two, he feels for weakly, lifts his foot, and is promptly stumped. His place is taken by George Altmann, a really good bat when he wants to be so, but one who, as a rule, goes in for a firework display. The leg-break bowler has got him caught in the long-field several times, and tries to do so now. The result is three successive fours, and then a fine catch by long-on. Next comes Forrest, a tricky little bat with no particular strokes, and a marvellous power of snicking the ball. He needs clean bowling with a fast straight ball. The leg-break bowler actually tries to do this — a thing quite out of his line. He bowls a straight fast-medium ball, and is promptly snicked for four between the wicket and the batsman's legs. Forrest sue- BOWLING. 13s ceeds in compiling 20 runs before being caught at the wicket. He retires leaving an impression that at last a master of the genuine cut-to-leg has been discovered. The last man is now at the wicket. He is a bowler of splendid physique, grand good-humour, and a most elementary idea of batting. He may be relied on to get himself out. A man is put to catch him between where square-leg might be and where long-on is. Dickson slashes the air once or twice, makes two mighty drives, and is then caught at extra-cover off a mis- hit. The captain has succeeded in not being caught at slip, and is "not out" with a useful 30 to his credit. Dickson apologises in a very cheery voice for having got out, and departs in wonder- ful spirits to get ready for a long spell of hard bowling. An attentive observer would have learnt a good deal during this innings about the way a field should be arranged and changed to suit various circumstances. For instance, at the beginning of the match the captain of the fielding side, after consulting his best bowler, the fast right-hander, as to which end the latter would prefer, asked him to place his field. This he did exactly as shown on Plate A — long-off being nearly straight. When he found that Cain was going to take first ball, he motioned to long-off to come rather nearer the wicket and to short-slip to go rather finer. He also moved mid-on a yard and mid-off 2 yards nearer the batsman. Obviously he im- agined that Cain was not capable of a hard hit in the air, but was likely to snick a ball fine to short-slip or push one gently up towards mid-on or mid-off. When Stockwell was batting to him, he sent long-off back to his original position and put short- slip rather wider. Subsequently, when Stockwell began to get set, the bowler asked the captain whether the third-slip had not better be moved to extra-cover, where no man was yet placed. After a short consultation the alteration was made. For all the other batsmen except Rush and Forrest he had his field arranged as he placed them originally. For Rush long-off was moved across to long-on ; for Forrest long-on was moved to fine long- leg. The bowler evidently knew that Rush's best hits were on the on-side, and that Forrest was an adept at the obsolete draw, an intentional stroke, or its present-day. equivalent, the snick- to-leg. The medium-pace left-hander had his field placed normally as in Plate M, for all the batsmen he opposed except Rush, in whose case long-off was moved to long-on and extra-cover to 136 BOWLING. extra long-on — that is, about half-way between long-on and where square-leg would be. For Altmann long-on and long-off were in their normal positions. For the rest of the side long-on was brought in again to extra-cover. For Stockwell, Strawyard, Rush, and Altmann, cover-point, mid-off, and mid-on were a yard or two deeper than for the steadier batsmen. The leg -break bowler had his field placed as in Plate G. For the hitting batsmen, Rush, Stockwell, and Altmann, point was moved behind the wicket, and third - man put at mid - off, and mid-off moved back to long-off. For the steadier but still fairly free bats, Strawyard, Netherland, Lock, and Keywood, long-off was not used, and the man thus released put at third- man. For the snickers and stickers, point was again moved behind the wicket, and third-man placed at short-leg beside the umpire. The medium right-hander followed the plan suggested in Plate C, except that for Rush long-off was moved to long-on and long-on to extra-long-on. But apart from more obvious alterations, the bowlers were continually slightly changing the fieldsmen to suit each batsman, and several times fieldsmen who unwittingly failed to resume the exact position the bowlers thought requisite were moved a yard this way or that. The general impression left on the ob- server was, that the fielding system was a pliable machine made to fit in as far as possible with the batsmen's strokes and the bowlers' requirements. There was nothing fixed or mechanical about the arrangements. Every move seemed to meet a need, and every change to be suggested by careful thought. There is one more point that must be touched upon. No .chapter on bowling would be complete without some discussion of the vexed question of " Throwing." It is a question about which it is exceedingly difficult to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion — partly because the precise point at issue is often entirely missed, partly because even those who understand it are in the habit of talking wildly and vaguely on the subject. Quite apart from anything to do with cricket, there are two distinct ways of propelling to some distance an object grasped in the hand and lifted from the ground. One is bowling ; the other throwing. Any method of thus propelling an object that is not bowling is throwing. Together the two methods cover every possible modification of such propulsion ; but the distinc- tion between them is absolute ; there is, in reality, no such BOWLING. 137 thing as a half bowl, half throw. I maintain that no one can mistake the two methods in his own case. The line of demarca- tion is clean and sharp. A man knows at once which he is using. But a looker-on cannot always be sure which of the two methods of propulsion is being employed. The eye is not quick enough to follow the instantaneous movements of the propeller's arm. Every one propels in a particular manner quite peculiar to himself, and often one individual propels in a way which to himself is genuine bowling, but looks to another like throwing. The second party knows that if he himself moved his arm as the iirst party seems to do, he himself would at once feel that the motion produced a throw, not a bowl. The second party, then, is liable to say unhesitatingly, " That man is throwing." He may be correct or he may not, but he can have no possible ground for being absolutely sure one way or the other unless the throw is absolutely deliberate and pronounced. The result is, that the distinction between bowling and throwing is subjectively certain, objectively uncertain. Subjectively, there can be no doubt which of the two methods is being employed in a particu- lar instance ; objectively, there may be much doubt. If this is true, the reason is at once apparent why as yet no proper and conclusive definition of throwing as distinguished from bowling has been formulated. I am afraid I cannot supply the deficiency, though in my own mind I have a perfectly clear idea as to what is throwing and what is not. It is the elbow- work that makes the whole difference. In bowling, all the arm from the shoulder-joint to the wrist-joint is, no matter whether the arm be straight or bent at the elbow, purely a connecting medium between the hand and the body. In throwing, the elbow is not only a connecting-link, but actively participates in the propulsion. The elbow, at the very last moment before the ejection of the object from the hand, is shot forward in front of the rest of the arm, which is then instantaneously straightened in the very act of ejection. There is something distinctly jerky and flicky in this projection of the elbow and straightening of the arm, but the jerkiness must not be confused with the jerky motion that may be imparted by a quick turn or sudden stopping of the body to a genuine bowl with an absolutely straight arm. The great thing is to clearly understand that when the arm is kept perfectly straightened during the action of ejecting there cannot be any throwing in the case at all. But when during the action the arm is bent at the elbow, the method of ejection may or may not be a throw, according to whether the elbow is used directly 138 BOWLING. to propel the object as described above or is not. It does not make any difference what the wrist is doing. Wrist-action in conjunction with elbow-action may form part of a throw ; apart from elbow-action it cannot. It is possible to throw with very slight elbow-action combined with much wrist-action, but it is the elbow-action that makes or unmakes the throw. A minor point must be added. Sometimes a third method of propelling an object from the hand is taken into consideration. This is tech- nically called a jerk. A jerk is a kind of modified throw in which the ball is made to leave the hand by a sudden stoppage of the arm's swing almost as soon as the swing begins. There are various kinds of jerks, but for practical purposes all are throws. Sometimes the swing is broken against the body, in which case the object is ejected in the same way as an apple im- paled on a walking-stick flies off if the stick be hit against a tree-stem. Now, contrary to the general idea, such considerations as these affect only indirectly the question of " throwing '' as regards bowl- ing in cricket. The rules on the point are these : — Law 10. — " The ball must be bowled; if thrown or jerked, the umpire shall call ' No ball.' " Law 48 (a). — " If the umpire at the bowler's end be not satis- fied of the absolute fairness of the delivery of any ball, he shall call ' No ball.' " Instructions to Umpires. Law 48. — " The special attention of umpires is called to this law, which directs them to call ' No ball,' unless absolutely satisfied of the fairness of the delivery." There are no definitions in the ' Laws of Cricket ' of either bowHng or jerking or throwing. It is presupposed that all umpires know that a ball must, in being propelled, be either bowled or not. The Laws direct an umpire to call " No ball" whenever he sees a ball so propelled that any question arises in his mind as to whether it is bowled or not. What could be more simple ? And yet ninety-nine umpires out of a hundred entirely misunderstand their duty on the point. Nothing will make them " no-ball " a bowler until they are absolutely satisfied that he is throwing or jerking. A jerk in the technical sense of the word is unmistakable, and, hence does not really affect the question. But a throw is mistakable ; and umpires think they have got to decide between what is a throw and what is a bowl. That is not the law at all. The law tells them to say " No ball" every time a ball is so delivered that any doubt, however slight. A PLAYER ILLUSTRATING A DOUBTFUL DliLIVERY, J^roni t'hul,, hil E. Ihnrkius ,t C,:, ISrhihhiii. I40 BOWLING. occurs to them as to whether the bowler is really bowling. The point he has to decide is not whether the ball is bowled or not, but whether he himself has or has not any doubt on the subject. He has not got to decide whether or not a bowler's action in general is or is not suspicious, but whether each particular ball is or is not so delivered that he himself is quite free from doubt about its fairness. There never was so much confusion as on this point. Nothing touches the question except the umpire's attitude of mind towards a particular ball. If an umpire cannot perceive his own attitude of mind, he is unfit to stand. Surely no one who has had it pointed out to him that there is such a thing as throwing and such a thing as bowling, can fail to know whether or not he himself is absolutely satisfied beyond any suspicion of doubt that a particular ball is fairly bowled. The curious thing is, that the very best umpire will come in to the pavilion and say, " I'm not quite sure whether So-and-so's action is quite right." If asked why he did not " no-ball " him, he answers, " I was not quite sure." He thinks he is giving a reason for not having " no-balled " him, whereas he is giving the only reason for doing so as laid down in the Laws. But there is something further. Even supposing umpires were interpreting the Laws correctly in thinking that they have not to " no-ball " a bowler until they are quite sure he is throwing, they do not do their duty. They are very disinclined to " no-ball " any bowler for what is called throw- ing. Most umpires have been professional players themselves, and are naturally very loath to handicap, if not ruin, a brother professional's career. To " no-ball " a professional for throwing is to take his bread from his mouth. As to amateurs, for the sake of consistency, or perhaps for fear of seeming to impugn their honour, no umpire cares to "no-ball" them. As they do not understand the rule, umpires imagine that in " no-balling " a man on account of his action they are doing tantamount to saying, "You are bowling unfairly, and you know it." As a matter of fact, to "no-ball" a man for his action merely means, "Your action raises doubt in my mind, though no doubt you are quite sure yourself that you are bowling fairly. By the Laws I have no course but to ' no-ball ' you each time you bowl a ball that raises this doubt in my mind." When spectators say of a bowler, " That man ought to be ' no-balled ' for throwing," they may mean two things : either that they consider the bowler is intentionally using unfair means to get wickets by wittingly throwing ; or that the bowler's action raises doubt in their minds, even though the man himself may be quite sure of the fairness of his action, and BOWLING. 141 consequently, if they were umpires, they would "no-ball" him. That is a different matter. No bowler, in the light of the Laws, has any right to regard his honour as impugned when he is " no- balled " for his action. All he has a right to think is, that his action has caused the umpire to doubt its mechanical fairness. The umpire is here not a judge of the bowler's motives or inten- tions, but of his own impressions. The aim of the law is to ensure that bowlers do bowl and not throw. And its aim is good. Throwing is bad, because it is dangerous owing to the terrific pace and bumping power it makes possible, because it simplifies the act of getting batsmen out, and requires far less skill than bowling. It puts batsmen at a disad- vantage, just as the use of bats a foot broad would handicap bowlers. Any one can throw with some effect ; few become good bowlers. As a matter of fact, the prevalence of the evil is grossly exaggerated. There are very few bowlers whose actions are suspicious, and none that I know of who throw deliberately. The absurdity of the fuss about throwing is, that no one ever thinks of accusing slow bowling of it ; yet there are, and always have been, as many slow as fast bowlers with doubtful actions. If the umpires cannot be got to act on the laws, the only way to eradicate the evil, such as it is, is for every influential cricketer to tell boys and young players directly he sees anything suspicious in their actions, and to discourage generally all doubtful deliveries. If once the right opinion could be widely established, captains would be careful not to use any bowler whose delivery could raise any doubts of any kind whatever. For some reason the Australian conscience is more tender than ours upon this question- of cricket morality. This is one of the many grand examples in cricket conduct that Australia has given us, and we would do well to follow it. It would be a great pity if our laxness in any way influenced Australian cricket. In the last team that came to us — in 1896 — there were two bowlers with doubtful actions, Jones and M'Kibbin. This was a pity. From an umpire's point of view their deliveries were, unfair. Neither of them threw pur- posely, nor even suspected others of thinking they did. But why should we alone be allowed, and allow ourselves, licence in this respect ? Certainly we have no right to cast the first nor yet the thirty-first stone. In conclusion, a few stray hints. A bowler should take care to be properly shod, and to have nails in his boots suitable to the kind of ground he has to bowl on. Small short spikes are better when the ground is hard ; long ones when it is soft. It is most 142 BOWLING. important — in fact, it is absolutely essential — that the bowler be able to grip the ground well with his foot as he delivers the ball. Unless he does so he has no purchase, no points d'appui. It is advisable to make the fingers as pliable and muscular as possible, so that they may be able to put spin on the ball. There is much virtue in learning to bowl on either side of the wicket — that is, both round or over the wicket. First, because a change from the one to the other is almost as good as a change from one bowler to another ; and secondly, because the ground is liable to become so worn that the bowler can no longer get a proper footing on the one side, whereas the ground is intact on the other. One of the best pieces of advice that can be given to a bowler is to keep in mind always the advantage of inducing the batsman to play forward. It is impossible for forward play to be quite as safe as back play, because there must be a moment when the ball is out of sight. Part of the stroke is made on faith, and a mistake cannot be corrected in most cases. F. R. Spofforth, the great Australian bowler, believed in this theory thoroughly, and always acted in accordance with it. He attributed much of his success to this. He was a bowler who thought, and to some purpose. W. L. Murdoch has many amusing stories of how "Spoff" used to lie awake at night wrestling with bowling problems, and trying to think how best to get rid of certain batsmen. A bowler must understand that he owes implicit obedience to his captain, under whose guidance he has voluntarily placed himself He may, in his mind, dissent from the captain's views or disapprove of his generalship, but he must not show the slightest sign of open disobedience. On the contrary, he must make the very best of things as they are. It has been proved beyond dispute that every side should be led by one man, and one man Only, and that it is far better to accept without a murmur any mistakes entailed by the fallibility of one man, than to introduce any form of co-operative captaincy. The captain, of course, should consult the bowler, and do all he can to work with him. But, in any case, the bowler must take everything as done for the best. He should take plenty of time between each ball and the next, because this affords him some rest, and enables him to keep on longer, and also because he has thus a better chance of thinking what he is going to do towards besieging the batsman's defence. On no account ought he to appeal unnecessarily. It is bad F. K. SPOKFORTH, THE UEMUX j;0\\"LEK, Frulii J'holu h:j E. Ihtirl.iKS ct- Oj., Drnjhhjii. 144 BOWLING. form, of which no cricketer should be guilty, and also is likely to prejudice the umpire against right and proper appeals. A bowler ought to take care not to cut up the wicket more than he can help in following through after delivering the ball. I have seen and heard of instances of such things being done with the intention of increasing the opposing batsman's diffi- culties. Needless to say, such practices are entirely foreign to the spirit in which the game should be played. Nothing is more upsetting to an entire side than a bowler's loss of temper or tendency to sulk. The sulky bowler may be known by various signs. He takes a long time to get into his place in the field when not bowling ; after fielding the ball, he throws it in needlessly hard, to the detriment of some one's hands, and at the risk of overthrows ; if he misses the ball, he will be reluctant to run after it ; often he bowls too fast and too short, and generally gives the impression that he does not care. Bowling misfortunes often test a man's temper ; but he must remember that, as a mere matter of expediency, it is essential that he should keep a complete control over himself, and also that an even temper is an indispensable qualification of a good sportsman. He must show no open dissatisfaction when catches are missed off his bowling, or his analysis spoiled in other ways : first, because presumably the fieldsman has tried his best, and is still more annoyed than the bowler ; secondly, because such misfortunes ought to be regarded by no individual on a side as affecting himself in particular, but as affecting the entire side. Indeed he must learn to regard himself as part of an organism for whose ■good as a whole he, in his sphere, is working. He is playing for his side, and not for himself When every man in an eleven fosters this spirit of mutual cohesion between himself and his comrades, the side is bound to be a good one to meet and a bad one^to beat — a joy to itself and all the world besides. 145 CHAPTER IV. BATTING. The subject to be dealt with in this chapter is the most fascina- ting and dehghtful part of cricket. No persuasion will be re- quired on my part to induce any one who has once handled a bat to devote himself heart and soul to the art of batting. A boy or man who needs urging to take a delight in batting is hardly the kind ever to have touched the game at all. The first thing that strikes one is, that in order to bat well a player must provide himself with a suitable instrument in the shape of a bat. It makes all the difference in the world whether he has or has not an instrument made in the proper way and of proper materials, and one which is entirely suitable for him. A cricketer cannot be too careful in this respect. Experience teaches how much advantage there is in the pos- session of a good bat. And it also teaches the result of using a bad or unsuitable article : such a weapon is very liable to take away completely that confidence which is a necessary con- dition of good batting. In the case of a gun, a horse, or a fishing-rod, the fit is the thing ; and this fit is quite independent of the intrinsic merits of the article. In a similar manner the virtue of a bat is not merely absolute but relative. My first piece of advice, then, is for every player to choose a bat duly proportioned to his size and strength. In order to make a proper choice, several points must be borne in mind, the chief of which are balance and weight. The breadth of a bat and the length of its blade are prescribed by law. There is a hmit laid down in each respect. The handle may be as long as an individual cares to have it. Besides weight and balance, some attention must be paid to the grain of the wood. The grain, though sometimes misleading, usually gives a very fair idea of K 146 BATTING. the quality of the wood. Of course, it is quite impossible for a beginner to know intuitively the various properties of bat-blades. Nothing but experience can teach him what to choose and what to avoid ; so he had better make himself familiar with the points in a good bat as soon as possible. It ought not to take long to find out the kinds of wood and the kinds of grain which are likely to constitute a good driver and a good laster. Too much attention cannot be given to the choice of a bat, inasmuch as whether or not the article used is a good one makes a great deal of difference in the pleasure of playing. The delicious thrill of a good stroke is deadened or even entirely destroyed by a hard jarring bat. With regard to size, boys are strongly advised to use under- sized bats. No one should ever use a bat which he cannot wield quite comfortably. The balance of a bat, too, is a very important point. A bat varies in balance according to the distribution of wood in the blade. By holding a bat by the handle with both hands, and lifting it up and down just as when .actually playing, any one can feel for himself whether it comes up well or badly. The difference between the feel of a well- and a badly-balanced bat is most distinct. Cricketers would be wise to acquire the habit of testing the balance of a bat ; familiarity with the feel of good bats helps them to make a suitable choice. A player's style is sure to be affected by using unsuitable bats. A small man who uses a full-sized bat is very likely to cramp his play or fall into ungainly positions, such as materially handicap attempts at good strokes. The use of a bat too heavy for one's strength is also injurious. A bat of this kind tires a player out much sooner than one that suits him ; and it also prevents good timing of the ball — that is to say, it makes it difficult for the player to bring the bat into the desired spot at the desired moment. It causes the fault of playing too late. A long innings means a continuous physical strain ; so the less labour it is to wield the bat the better. Two or three ounces more or less do not make much difference to the driving qualities of a bat, but they do make a difference to the ease and comfort with which it may be wielded. The use of heavy bats usually leads not only to mistiming, but to weak strokes, a feeble style, and small scores. The wood of which cricket-bats are made may be divided ac- cording to colour. There are intermediate shades, but most bats are either white or red. It will generally be found that white wood is softer than red ; but it is not so durable. A soft bat, if %•. t/!ew r'lf ' i3/ J/e THE '-rLAVFAIR riRlN'EI-L" EAT. 148 BATTING. not too soft, is much the pleasanter to use when new. There are many good bats made of dark wood, but these need to be played with before they can be used with much pleasure. I prefer the light wood or the happy medium. Bats, too, differ in respect of grain. For some reason or other willow with straight grain is the best. Bat-blades with about eight straight grains showing on the face are generally the best. Willow of very close grain has a tendency to chip. A very broad grain generally means hardness. Care must be taken that there are no knots in the blade. A knot is said to strengthen wood and make it durable ; but it forms a very hard spot in a bat, and is liable to produce a jarring feeling. At any rate, there should be no knots in the lower half of the blade. The driving part of the bat is that which lies from 6 inches to i foot from the bottom. It will be found that a good player, when in form, brings this part of the bat in contact with the ball whatever stroke he happens to make. There are many different kinds of handles of a resilient nature made nowadays. It is difficult to recommend any one in par- ticular. All the well-known makers supply good bats with good handles. But it is desirable to know how to choose a bat, since all makers produce bad bats as well as good ones. Personally I use Wisden's, Odd's, and Nichol's articles. In the choice of a handle attention should be paid to its elasticity; for if the handle gives a bit when the blade strikes the ball, the jar resulting from the impact is considerably diminished. Stiff-handled bats some- times sting horribly. Those with good blades and fairly elastic handles make the feeling of striking the ball perfectly delici- ous. But a handle should not be too springy, or it is liable to break and strain after it has been used once or twice. A weak, springy handle is a mistake. A handle should bend like the butt- end of a good fly-rod and not like an aspen stick. Most players nowadays use indiarubber covers for their handles, or sometimes wrappings of wash-leather. Both are good: a young player should find out which he likes best. Indiarubber handle-covers certainly give a good grip, and seem to prevent blisters. They are also cool and comfortable to hold. Leather is rather liable to get very hard and dry, and to slip through the hands. It is a good thing to have two or three bats, all as nearly alike as possible, in use at the same time. If this is done, there is always a familiar article to hand in case of accidents. It is a mistake not to use in practice the same bats which you are going to use in a match. At any rate, it is safer to have two or three f, 1 H 1 ) L ...,^..,. ifj "^"-m^ ,]^ 1^ *'" ".— ,— ' -,". J •" , ■ ^Hi '1^ ' ■ •■ vS^^^^^ : :... ' HI ^:! ^-,TF.ni™CTin-^™, ^''jj^igjfefeglMMB S. RANJITSINHJI PLAYING BACK. 1 50 BATTING. practice knocks with a bat before going in with it in a match. A perfectly new bat sometimes makes a player feel uncomfortable, and so diminishes his usual confidence. Want of confidence leads to the half-hearted play which so often loses a man his wicket. A bat should be kept well oiled, but too much oil should not be put on at once. A well-soaked rag rubbed over the bat two or three times a-week during the summer and twice a-month during the winter is quite sufficient to keep wood in perfect order. Most bats crack to a certain extent through constant contact with the ball. The best way to mend cracked bats is to have the loose wood on the surface glued down and then whipped round with strings. But unless this is skilfully done the weight of the string is apt to spoil the balance of the bat. Pegging is not of much use. The insertion of the pegs injures the wood, and simply makes it more liable to split up. Still, pegging is good enough if the bat is only required to be used once or twice more. Keen cricketers take great care of their bats, treating them almost as objects of art. And quite rightly : a really good bat is a work of art. In a similar way a good shot or a good billiard-player or a good horseman has a great regard for his gun or his cue or his horse. The bat is of course by far the most important instrument an individual cricketer has to select. It must be remembered that no two players are exactly alike, and that consequently nearly every cricketer reauires a particular make of bat to suit him. But care should be taken also to secure comfortable, well- fitting pads and gloves. On the whole, it certainly pays to have both these requisites made for you. An ill-fitting pair of pads prevents a batsman moving about easily, and consequently helps to tire him out. Toy-shop batting-gloves are perfectly useless. I recommend gloves fitted with thick black indiarubber, such as are supplied by Wisden. Cricket instruments should be care- fully packed, especially bats. It is a good plan to have brown- paper covers for bats, so that they do not get scratched or dented by contact with other articles, or, on the other hand, make flannel clothes or buckskin boots greasy and oily by rubbing against them. These directions are rather indiscriminate, but I think that a young cricketer who follows them will soon be able to select a good bat and fake care of it. Remember, good tools do not necessarily mean a good workman ; but good workmen usually have good tools, and, what is more, take care of them. L. C. H. PALAIRET PLAYING FORWARD. Fromplwlo by E. Hawkins d: Co., Brighton. 152 BATTING. Well, then, let us suppose a player to be supplied with a suit- able bat. The next point is to learn how to use it. To begin with, there are several things to understand. A batsman as such is, first of all, playing in order to make runs for his side, and in order to do this he must both stay in and also score as many runs as he can while he is in. This is the aspect of a batsman as a member of a side. Perhaps a few general remarks upon batting may be found interesting and useful. From what has just been said it may be gathered that the art of batting combines both attack and defence. A batsman is required to keep up his wicket and also to score runs for his side. It is possible to do the former with- out doing the latter, but not the latter without the former. A batsman must be able to work his eyes, hands, legs, and body in perfect unison. To make 50 or even 20 runs, no small amount of pluck, patience, resource, physical strength, and condition is needed. This applies to any ordinary game of cricket. In first- class cricket a batsman is put to an even more exacting test ; for the higher the standard of skill, the more is required in every way of the performer. The great desire of every beginner is to score runs in good style. This means the cultivation of certain actions which he will find at first are not natural to him. But by continual prac- tice the artificial actions of cricket become second nature. Of course even the most artificial stroke in cricket implies the development of certain natural gifts. That a considerable part of batting consists of unnatural movements of the body can very easily be seen. An absolute beginner, when a bat is first put into his hands, follows the promptings of nature. Almost every stroke he attempts is some form of a pull with a cross bat. Now, the fundamental principle of good safe batting is playing with a straight bat. So that the beginner has to overcome at the outset certain natural tendencies which, though perhaps good in themselves, do not make for good cricket. The necessity of playing with a straight bat is the first lesson that a good coach drills into a young batsman. To master it, time and practice are required. Straight play must be acquired as a habit. The lesson must be so well learnt that the necessary movements of the arms and the body become perfectly natural instead of laborious and difficult. Nature must give way to art till, to quote the Hon. Edward Lyttelton's words, "art becomes nature." Again, uninitiated nature prompts a player to lift the ball in J. K. .MAbOX PLAYING FORWARD. fruin j.h'jio hn E. Ihid-l.ina i Cu., Brighlun. 1 54 BATTING. the air rather than hit it along the ground. But to be able to make large scores with any consistency, the knack of keeping the ball down must be acquired as a habit, and become so habitual as to be practically natural. The making of nearly all strokes in cricket requires the man to put himself into certain positions if the strokes are to be properly made. And these positions have nearly all to be learnt ; they do not come naturally to the large majority of mankind. What makes batting so hard is the neces- sity of teaching the body to assume these positions unconsciously but with perfect certainty. Good style, then, practically consists of the power of making easily and rapidly such movements of the limbs as are necessary for the effective making of various strokes. There is a certain class of batsmen nowadays who sacrifice effectiveness in order to attain what is called a pretty style. But a style which is not so effective as it might be can hardly claim to be either good or beautiful. Of course a good style is often beautiful — in fact, more often so than not. When a stroke is made with ease and grace, it usually means that the batsman has acquired a complete mastery of the art. But it is a great mistake to get into the habit of putting the bat where there is no ball, simply with a view to making strokes that are pretty. The fault is by no means an uncommon one. Such play would be excellent if it were not for the fact that the bowler bowls the ball not to suit the batsmen, but to get their wickets. Right from the beginning, then, every batsman ought to make it his aim and object to acquire a style that is, whatever else it may be, safe, sound, and effective. In order to attain this end, a beginner will require an efficient coach. To find one ought not to be very difficult nowadays. A coach is as essential to a student of cricket as he is to a student of any other scientific game or pursuit. One sometimes hears a considerable amount of criticism levelled against the modern style of coaching. It is urged that boys ought not to be taught too early or too much, and that the great players of olden times were almost without exception self-taught. The idea is, that as it is quite natural for English boys to go on to a piece of turf and play cricket, the game will come to them naturally and without extraneous assist- ance. At any rate, it is suggested that better cricketers are pro- duced by leaving boys to their own devices up to a certain age than by taking them in hand early. As to the great players of olden days, it may be remarked that their skill was probably due to extraordinary natural aptitude. No doubt they were geniuses, and did not require coaching. But there is nothing to prove BATTING. 155 that they would not have been even greater players than they were if they had been coached when they were boys. Ordinary mortals are certainly the better for coaching, and I am inclined to think that even great players who have never been coached have attained their eminence in spite of, rather than because of, the lack of it. It is quite natural for an English boy to take to some kind of cricket with great avidity. But it is also quite natural for him to take to the wrong kind of cricket. It has already been men- tioned that most good strokes in cricket are in a sense artificial — that is to say, nature does not suggest them herself. A boy who learns cricket entirely on his own lines generally has to unlearn a considerable amount before he can even begin to play properly. If he has spent five or six years in acquiring bad strokes, he must begin all over again at an age when he might have been fairly proficient. Unlearning is always far more troublesome than learning ; so I think the sooner a boy is put in the way he should go the better. Less time is wasted, and there is a greater chance of producing a good result. As to cramping the style of the young batsman, I am quite sure a good coach — one who understands cricket and how to teach it — is not at all likely to do that. But the criticism is not altogether unjustifiable, because there is a tendency among modern coaches to lay down fixed rules and advise all beginners to follow them without discrimination. This of course is wrong. Batsmen cannot be made in moulds like blancmanges. A coach ought to distinguish between players, and individualise them. My meaning is this. Suppose there are at school three beginners, each having different styles of play. One shows signs of de- veloping into a very steady batsman ; the second is by nature a hitter; the third has a tendency towards sound, fast-scoring methods. It would be absurd to try to make them all play alike. A good hitter educated into steady play rarely succeeds ; neither is a steady player improved by being made to follow general methods that are not natural to him. What a coach ought to do is to take each one separately and make the best of individual tendencies. He ought to aim at developing rather than at altering. If coaches followed up this idea, I think they would be more universally successful. I have often seen hitters being taught to play a steady game, with the result that they have lost their hitting power without strengthening their defence in any marked degree. Again, a player may show an aptitude for a certain stroke 156 BATTING. which in the opinion of the coach is dangerous or unsound. Instead of showing the beginner the safest method of making that stroke, many coaches try to eradicate it altogether. This, I think, is a mistake. For instance, there are players who can pull with great effect. Coaches usually advise such players to leave the stroke alone altogether. The result is that the bats- man gradually loses the power of making the stroke. It would be far better in a case of that kind to teach the batsman what kind of balls ought to be pulled and what ought not ; to show him the right and the wrong use of the stroke. The reason why a pull is considered bad style is, that bad batsmen use it in- discriminately, no matter what ball is bowled ; in fact, they play with a cross bat when they ought to be playing with a straight one. It is quite true that few except finished batsmen make the stroke — a very effective stroke, indeed, -when applied to the right ball — with safety and certainty. But I think the reason of this is, that coaches universally discourage any use of the pull whatsoever ; so that the average batsman never learns how to do it properly. It is a much easier stroke if the right ball is picked than the off-drive, and I fail to see that it is any more difficult to choose the right ball in the one case than in the other. Of course it is absolutely essential not to mistake the ordinary rustic cross-bat stroke for the scientific pull. In former days, when wickets were not nearly so good as they are now, it would perhaps have been a mistake to let small boys practise at professional and fast bowling. Nowadays things are quite different. A decent practice-wicket can be found almost everywhere. Boys do not now play on rough-and-tumble wickets, on which only those possessing exceptional natural gifts are likely to come successfully out of the ordeal. Great care should be taken that boys be not put to play upon bad wickets. It is quite easy nowadays, what with the increase of knowledge about grounds and the improvement of implements, to secure a really good cricket-pitch. To do so ought to be the aim and object of all school authorities. Nothing is so apt to take the zeal and pluck out of a boy as being knocked about on bad wickets. It is customary at some schools to allow boys to play football during the winter months on the same ground on which cricket is played during the summer. Even if football is not played over the match-pitches, a cricket-ground is certainly not benefited by such rough usage. The out-fielding and practice-wickets are sure to suffer. Every attempt ought to be made to separate football- and cricket-grounds. L. C. H. PALAIRET AT THE WICKET— A MODEL POSETIOX. Fr,;„ yhult, I. It F. Hairkini J' Cu., Bri.jhluti. 158 BATTING. Much may be done in the way of self-coaching. A boy should always remember, when practising without his coach, those points to which his attention has been called. Some authorities think there is great virtue in practising strokes and positions without a ball or bowler. It can be done in the bedroom, in fact. The idea is, that such practice gets the body used to the movements required on the field, so that when the strokes are tried in games the necessary positions are more readily assumed. I have never tried this kind of practice myself, ^ut there is certainly no harm in it. Looking-glasses and wash-hand-basins are the only things Ukely to suffer by bedroom practice. The great Harry Jupp is said to have practised daily in front of a looking-glass in order to make sure of playing with a straight bat. He had a chalk line on the floor, and used to swing his bat up and down it. They tell me Bobby Abel does this too nowadays ; and yet they say he does not play with a straight bat. At any rate, such practice shows a proper feeling about the game. No stone should be left unturned in order to improve and develop one's batting. It must be remembered that a great amount of labour, and even drudgery, is required before a man can become a really good player. The greater and more consistent the effort after improvement, the sooner will a fair degree of skill be acquired. At the same time, playing cricket ought not to be turned into a weariness of the flesh. Boys should be taught to work at it, but they should also be taught to love it. Young players should always be encouraged to bring their imitative faculties to bear upon cricket. They should be advised to watch good players, and to absorb into their own play every- thing that is good in that of others. But they should be careful not to try and imitate strokes which do not fit in with their own peculiarities. It would obviously be a mistake for a small thick- set boy to try and imitate certain of William Gunn's strokes. On the whole, I think more cricket can be learnt by watching good performers than in any other way. But it must not be forgotten that, in order to imitate with good results, a consider- able amount of common-sense and hard thought is required. Cricket is worth working at and thinking about. There are few pleasures in the world greater than that of making runs and making them well. A well-timed late cut is as sweet a thing as there is. A big drive, clean and true, gives a satisfaction that cannot be expressed in words. J. A. DIXON AT THE WICKET. Frornjtlwto by E. ffaickins tC" Co., Brightwi. l6o BATTING. POSITION. The first point to consider in giving practical advice about batting is the position in which a player ought to stand at the wicket. It is quite impossible to lay down any fixed rules on the subject, or to give a distinct and definite answer to the question, How ought one to stand at the wicket ? A player should take up the position which is most natural and convenient to him. At the same time, I think many players have somewhat spoiled their styles by assuming positions which do not fit in with the requirements of the game. It is a good thing for a boy to be shown some of the subsequent positions he will have to assume before being allowed to contract the habit of standing in some particular way. For obviously the best position to assume while waiting for the ball is that one from which the body can pass with the greatest ease into the positions required by the various strokes. The most popular way of standing, and the one most generally adopted by good players, is to place the right foot a few inches inside the popping-crease, with the left just outside it, pointing slightly in the direction of the bowler. The bat is held with the left hand gripping it at the top, and the right hand almost immediately underneath it. The bat is grounded in the block-hole, which is usually made close to the toe of the right foot. The bend of the body in standing thus should be as slight as possible. It is a mistake to stand with the legs far away from the bat in the direction of square-leg, as this not only takes the batsman away from his work, but affords the bowler an oppor- tunity of bowhng him off his legs. But this primary position, except as far as regards the legs, is not nearly of such consequence as that assumed just at the time that the ball is delivered. Good players differ from one another greatly in what I have called the primary position. In fact, no two stand exactly alike ; but nearly all of them pass from their various primary positions into a very similar attitude just before playing the ball. There is a difference of opinion as to whether a player should stand with his weight equally distributed on both legs, or let all of it fall upon the right leg. I think the weight should be almost entirely upon the right leg. At the same time, some very fine players believe in 'the other method of standing. The reason why the weight should be on the right leg is, that it is the leg on which the body pivots in making nearly every stroke there is — at POSITION. l6l any rate, in making any kind of drive or any kind of forward- stroke. Dr W. G. Grace is very strong on this point, and he ought to know. Apart from making strokes, if the weight of the body is kept on the right leg the batsman is prevented from a tendency to drag it over the crease. It is worth noticing that in every kind of exercise where the legs are used, the leg which it is necessary to move forward ought not to have any weight upon it at the time of bedng moved. This canon holds good, I believe, in boxing, fencing, and dancing. The theory is, that in order to preserve the balance in making a movement the weight should be on the disengaged leg. In any kind of forward-stroke or drive, the right leg is of course the disengaged leg. If a man stands with much weight on his left leg he has to transfer the weight to' his right leg before making a forward-stroke, if he is to make the stroke without overbalancing himself Clearly the time spent in transferring the weight back to the right leg is wasted. And there is not much time to waste in making a stroke at cricket. By resting principally upon the right leg a player is in no way pre- vented from running out. Any one who doubts this had better experiment for himself. Let him try the two positions and see which gives him the greater ease of movement. It seems to me that there can be no doubt which is the better of the two. It is a curious thing that by keeping' the weight on the right leg a player can move forward more readily than from the alternative position, and yet he can move backwards if he wishes to do so without the slightest difficulty. That is to say, the position re- commended facilitates forward-playing, and is no hindrance in playing back or cutting. In fact, experiment has proved to me that by standing with most of the weight upon the left leg back- strokes are actually weakened. Why this is so I cannot under- stand ; perhaps it may be explained as follows : whether a man is playing back or forward, his stroke is strengthened if he gets into it some of the weight of his body ; for in each case the ball is played away from him and in front of him. Now, the weight of the body cannot be brought to bear on the stroke unless the body moves in the direction in which the ball is going from the bat. Obviously, therefore, the weight must come from the back leg towards the front leg, and not vice versa. Notice that in making a cut, what body-work there is in the stroke comes from a stooping motion from the hips upwards — that is, from a kind of bow. So cutting does not affect the question. In speaking of the position of the legs, I advised players not to stand too wide of the wicket. But care should be taken that 1 62 BATTING. no part of the legs or feet is actually in front of the wicket, even whilst standing to receive the ball. Umpires are naturally more inclined to give decisions against batsmen who cover the stumps before the ball is bowled. Nearly every authority advises begin- ners to stand just clear of the stumps. As for taking block, it really does not matter whether you take middle, middle-and-leg, or leg-stump. In this detail every one should consult his own comfort. Just before the ball is bowled the bat should be raised and lifted slightly backwards, so as to be ready to swing forward or move in any direction whatever. But any kind of flourish is useless to the last degree. It certainly does not look well. All coaches should eradicate from their pupils as far as possible all preliminary flourishes. Such twirls of the bat are bad enough when they come naturally to a player ; when affected they are execrable. Anything in a stroke that is not essential to its effectiveness cannot possibly be good. Besides, if a batsman is thinking of how he is flourishing his bat, he cannot possibly be concentrating all his attention upon playing the ball. It is absolutely essential to concentrate the attention upon the ball and upon the playing of it. STANDING STILL. The impulse of every beginner is to draw back when the ball is coming at him — that is to say, his instinct is to remove his body well out of the probable course of the ball. This he does by moving his right leg backwards in the direction of short-leg. Such a movement is fatal to good play. The young player should be impressed with the necessity of keeping his right foot firmly fixed in its original position. When it is moved back- wards to facilitate back-play, it is moved in the direction of the wicket, which is quite a different thing from running away. A cricket-ball is hard enough, in all conscience ; but any one who wishes to make a player must make up his mind to stand his ground, trusting to his bat to defend his body. It is wonderful what a useful shield that narrow strip of willow can be if properly manipulated. Remember, it is fatal to run away. Until he has mastered this point no one can begin to make much progress. If the right leg is moved backwards towards square-leg it is impossible to play with a straight bat. If a young player either will not or cannot keep his right foot still, the only thing to do is CHATTERTONS TOSITION AT THK WICKET. 1 64 BATTING. to peg it down. I had to have my right leg pegged down almost every time I practised during my first two years at serious cricket. I did not learn to stand still when I was a small boy, so I had to start learning how to do it after having contracted bad habits. A boy who starts fair and is told exactly what he ought to do should have no difficulty in learning to stand still. I have never yet seen any one who began cricket late in life able to keep his right leg where it ought to be. PLAYING THE BALL. All strokes are of one of two kinds — back and forward. In both of these the foundation of good play is making the bat meet the ball instead of letting the ball merely hit the bat, whether the stroke be offensive or defensive. Back- and forward-play may be subdivided into back- and forward-play for defensive purposes, and back- and forward-play for offensive purposes. Every one, on first beginning to learn to bat, plays back to a certain extent ; forward-play is almost entirely an acquired and cultivated style. Having said this much by way of being methodical, I am going to ask to be allowed to abandon method altogether. Somehow batting will not allow itself to be reduced to method in my mind. Let us begin by considering some aspects of forward-play as a defensive and offensive method. Let us suppose, for instance, that a good-length ball well pitched up has been delivered on a good hard wicket. To meet this the player should move his left foot forward as far as he conveniently can in the direction of the ball as it comes towards him, and should play the ball with a perfectly upright bat swinging along a straight line between the wicket and the point of contact of bat and ball. In ex- tending the left foot great care must be taken not to overbalance or overreach oneself. The result of overreaching is, that the player draws his right foot over the popping-crease so as to run a chance of being stumped if the ball beats the bat. Nor must balance be lost, as with it goes the power of making an effective stroke. The action of extending the left foot forward and bring- ing the bat after it to meet the ball should be even and precise. This evenness and precision mean force and effectiveness. Mark, then : in playing the ball the bat should be as close as possible to the left leg, or, what comes to the same thing, the left leg should be planted within an inch or two of the line of the ball's flight. A couple of minutes' actual demonstration by a good player PLAYING THE BALL. 165 would give a beginner a far better idea of what I mean than three volumes full of words. It will be seen from the illustrations that the position of the hands is changed during the forward-stroke. Some players do not turn the left hand round the bat as they play forward, but most of the best and freest exponents of the stroke do so. Before making the stroke the left wrist is on the side of the bat away from the wicket-keeper, whereas in the making of the stroke it gradually turns round till it is on the opposite side. One of the great points to bear in mind, whether playing back or forward, is that the ball must be kept down. In order to do this effectively, the bat at the time it comes in con- tact with the ball must be slanting forwards — that is to say, the blade of the bat should slope over the ball, the top being nearer to the bowler than the bottom. In order to make the stroke in this way, the left shoulder must be kept well forward, pointing in the direction towards which the stroke is played. In playing forward, the batsman must make the most of his weight, height, and reach. The whole weight of his body should be brought to bear upon the ball. The more the weight of the body comes into the stroke just when the bat meets the ball, the greater will be the power of the stroke. Reach depends upon height and length of limb. The longer reach the batsman has, the better will he be able to smother the ball — that is to say, play it almost as soon as it has pitched. The great thing, however, in making a forward-stroke is, that the whole action be smooth and uniform. It should be essentially one action, not two or three separate ones. The moving of the left foot forward, the swinging of the bat into line with the foot, the forward motion of the body after the bat, should be, as it were, one action. The whole thing should be done at one and the same moment, and in one and the same motion. If the batsman cuts up the action of the stroke into separate parts, something must be sacrificed ; either the weight is not brought to bear on the ball, or balance is lost. The result is an emasculated stroke. The difference in the power with which various players make their forward-stroke is extraordinary. Those who have brought the stroke to perfection can make it with almost the same force as they can a full drive. A bad forward-player scarcely pushes the ball past mid-off. A batsman should accustom himself by constant practice to the movement and action necessary for the forward-stroke. He should ask the bowler with whom he practises to send him down ball after ball suited to forward-playing. The necessary action should be made into a habit. G. H. S. TROTT. Ii F. Ilmvkim J.' Co., Bn'ffhlon. 200 BATTING. getting a run somehow : if he tries to get it off an unsuitable ball he very likely loses his wicket. One point in which many otherwise excellent cricketers fail is in the matter of judging runs. Every player should take trouble to master the few points to be followed in judging and calling runs. Ignorance of how to run his own runs and to call his partner to run is almost sure to upset a man's batting. A player who is a bad runner, one who does not judge his own runs properly, not only upsets himself, but may very well upset his partner too. Directly two batsmen lose confidence in each other, one of them is almost sure sooner or later to run the other one out. I myself have seen very many instances of run- outs due to nothing else than carelessness. And I know what an uncomfortable thing it is to have confidence neither in one- self nor one's partner in judging runs. There are no set rules as to how to run or as to which batsman ought to shout " Yes " or " No,'' but there are certain points pretty generally accepted and followed. One of these is, that the non-striker calls for the run whenever the ball has been played behind the wicket. When the ball is hit in front of the wicket the striker calls. I am not quite sure how far it is a good thing to have a definite arrangement on this point. Both batsmen have to use plenty of discretion when calling for runs, and they should be thoroughly in touch with one another. I think it is a mistake to believe that after a call has once been made by a player his partner should run and chance all consequences. However, many ex- perienced players and many authoritative writers advocate this unhesitating acceptance of a call. There are one or two things that ought always to be borne in mind. First, not to back up before the ball has left the bowler ; secondly, to make a few yards down the pitch as soon as the ball has been delivered, without getting so far from your own wicket as not to be able to return safely should something unexpected happen ; thirdly, if you intend calling for a run, call at once, and loudly. Do not start running too wildly, as your partner may want to send you back. Again, in the event of your partner calling you for a run, make up your mind at once what you are going to do, and let him know your decision on the spot loudly and clearly. Two batsmen who know each other well, and also know exactly what they want to do when they see their own stroke or their partner's stroke played, are not likely to get into a muddle. There is no use, and there may be harm, in running past the wickets instead of just grounding the bat within the crease. If you only go as A E. STOUUARTS FORWARD-CUT WITH LEFT LEG ACROSS. Fiuin I'lujto bij E. llatflUHS JJ Cu., Lii'jhlun 202 BATTING. far as the crease you save time, and are less liable to take your attention off the ball. It is very common for players to rush towards the other wicket and pass several yards beyond it. Many a chance of stealing a second run is lost in this way, for it is impossible to take advantage of a slight overthrow or a piece of misfielding unless both batsmen are ready to start and have not more than 20 yards to go. It is important for each of the bats- men to keep his own side of the wicket when running — that is to say, there must be a mutual understanding between them, so that any chance of a collision is obviated. Remember, on no account should you run down the pitch — that is to say, on any part of the ground where the ball is likely to be pitched by the bowler. If you do, you simply cut up the turf and spoil the pitch for the rest of your team. There are stories told of various occasions on which batsmen, after their side had gained a considerable advantage, deliberately tried to cut up the pitch with a view to helping their bowlers. This is quite contrary to the proper spirit of cricket. Such occurrences should of course be impossible in first-class cricket. A batsman who is nearing his 50 or his 100 often risks the most ridiculous runs. He^pften attempts runs which ordinarily he would not look at. There is naturally a great charm in reaching 50 or 100. But a batsman has no right to risk his own or his partner's wicket for the sake of- one run. The institution of talent-money has cost many a professional his wicket in county cricket. Most counties give their representa- tives a sovereign for every 50 runs they make. Naturally this makes them all the more anxious when they approach the re- quired totals. That sovereign causes innumerable run-outs and rash strokes. It should be remembered that the sacrifice of one wicket may mean the loss of a match, and no one has a right to risk the match even to get a sovereign. It would be far better if the club authorities entirely altered their procedure. Talent- money should be distributed by no fixed rules, and quite inde- pendently of round figures. Performances of real merit, whether 30, 40, or 50 runs be got, should be recognised and encouraged. If this were done, most of the bustling for that odd run or two would disappear. There is a maxim, " Always run for a catch." This requires some qualifying, for no run ought to be attempted unless it is a safe one. The point in the maxim is, that it is a mistake to stand looking on when the ball is in the air if there is time for a run : it does not mean that one should play a hard stroke into mid-ofPs hands, and immediately leg it down the pitch. One more word as to running. There are times when PLAYING THE BALL. 203 the batsman is justified in attempting short runs and risking his wicket. When the bowling is very good and runs are very diffi- cult to get, running short runs is often useful ; it demoralises sometimes not only the bowlers, but the v/hole fielding side. The Australians have demonstrated this very usefully once or twice. In some of the earlier matches during their tour in 1896 their first batsmen failed before good bowling, and nothing but the desperate tactics adopted by some of the middle batsmen of their team, who literally played tip-and-run, saved the side from getting out for very small totals. When time is short, and runs have to be made as quickly as possible, the shorter the runs are the better. Batsmen, besides learning the various strokes, must study the relation of strokes to the wickets. The stroke which is excellent to use on a good hard wicket is not always equally so under other conditions. Most of the strokes already described have been treated rather with the idea that the wicket be good and hard. This kind of wicket is the one which batsmen, as a rule, like best. They can play forward as much as they like, and back if the case requires it. Most of the large scores made now- adays are compiled on wickets of this kind. On such wickets batsmen usually defend their wicket as well as make their forcing- strokes by forward-play. Another wicket which is in the bats- man's favour is a hard wicket wet on the surface. He can play forward on it as much as he likes with perfect safety, provided he looks out for balls that shoot or keep low. When the surface of a pitch is greasy with rain that has not made it in the very least soft, the ball is liable to skid along with extraordinary rapidity. It is rather amusing to hear what people say when, after a break of a few minutes owing to a shower, a player on resuming his batting is unfortunate enough to get out. The usual remark is, that interruption has put his eye out — he was well set before the rain. This, I think, is usually an incorrect explanation of what has happened. The reason why a man gets out in such circumstances is not because his eye is upset, but because it is set too well. Having got into the pace of the wicket before the rain came, he does not take into consideration the extra speed at which the ball travels when the wicket is wet on top. He probably plays too late and misses the ball. So after a shower has fallen on a hard wicket, batsmen should look out for the ball coming very fast and keeping rather low. It is a mistake on a wicket like this to set yourself either for a pull or a hook. Note, by the way, that the faster the ball comes the harder it is to make a well-timed pull or hook. 204 BATTING. A slow good wicket — that is to say, one made soft by rain and not subsequently caked by the sun — sometimes causes batsmen trouble ; and yet it is a very easy wicket. The only difficulty is, that a rather different style of play is required. Whenever a forward-stroke is used on such a wicket, great care should be taken not to play too soon, as the ball is apt to hang. It is best to rely chiefly upon back-play and hard hitting. The push-stroke is not of much use. If the wicket is very wet so that the ball cuts through, forward-strokes can be used with fair effect if the ball is closely watched so as to make certain of proper timing. When the ball breaks at all — and on most wet wickets, however easy, the bowler can usually get some work on the ball — a bats- man can play back with ease and effect. But the deviation of the ball from its original line of flight makes forward-strokes rather unsafe unless the ball is completely smothered at the pitch. The hook-stroke is particularly useful on slow wickets, for a player can step back and have plenty of time to watch the ball as it comes from the ground. It is sometimes necessary and profitable to use the high drive when the wicket is in this state. The strokes along the ground are apt to travel so slowly that they can be very readily fielded. A batsman must use his own discretion in such matters. A crumbly wicket — that is, one more or less broken on the surface — enables the bowler to make the ball break prodigiously. To make runs on such a wicket the batsman must have an exceedingly quick eye, and an almost quicker wrist, if he is to show to advantage. The ball takes a break very rapidly after pitching : in order to extricate himself from a difficulty, a bats- man must rely upon an instantaneous co-operation of eye and wrist. The ball breaks so much that it is impossible to play forward-strokes at the rising ball with any success ; the ball is nearly sure to beat the bat. Unless a batsman can get right to the pitch of a ball, he ought to play it back. If, however, he is weak in his back-play, the best thing he can do for his side is to have a dash. He is far more likely to make a few runs by going for the bowling with all his might than by any other procedure. As to sticky wickets, they are rather a problem. A batsman is really almost helpless on such wickets before good bowling. The ball does everything the bowler intends it to do, and some- times more, and sometimes quite the reverse. Unless a batsman has an almost superhuman power of watching the ball, the best thing he can do is "to take the long handle" and hit as hard as ever he can, chancing where the ball goes. This is the unscien- PLAYING THE BALL. 20S tific science of making runs upon birdlime wickets. Forcing tactics of this kind are liable to upset a bowler and cause him to bowl bad-length balls. By playing a quiet game and merely trying to keep his wicket up, a batsman simply shows the bowler how extremely well he is bowling. There are some players who are so strong in their back -play that they can afford to play a patient game, only scoring off an occasional loose ball. Still, few save geniuses can play this game with any success upon a really sticky wicket. Arthur Shrewsbury, Mr F. S. Jackson, and Mr W. H. Patterson are geniuses in this line. The ordinary player can hardly hope to adopt their method successfully. The methods of genius are justified by success, but it is dangerous to copy them without having the necessary qualification in the shape of eye-and-wrist power. No one would be foolish enough to suggest that Arthur Shrewsbury would have met with greater success upon sticky wickets if he had abandoned his back-play in favour of desperate hitting. My advice to a player of any but the highest capacity is to go in to hit whenever the wicket is at all sticky. But if possible, he should always try to give himself the odds in favour of not getting out. Every hit should have a five-to-three chance of being executed and not being caught. The fiery wicket has fewer terrors for the batsman than crumbled or sticky wickets. But when there is fire in the ground the ball comes very fast off the pitch and is liable to bump. So it requires very careful watching. In playing forward on such a wicket, it is advisable to get as near the pitch of the ball as possible. It is rather dangerous to lunge out to the rising ball ; for if the ball bumps, such a stroke is nearly sure to result in a catch by the bowler or one of the fielders on the off-side. At the same time, a player will have to rely principally upon forward- play ; the ball comes so quickly from the pitch that back-play is very difficult. Of course the batsman must find out by experi- ment how far he can rely upon his quickness of wrist ; for re- member that if a man can play back, it is always the safest method when there is any chance of the ball coming up from the pitch otherwise than would be expected. One of the great advantages of turning out to have ten minutes' knock before the match begins is, that some idea can be obtained as to the pace and quality of the wicket. Care should be taken to find out how far the practice-wickets and the match-wickets are similar. On many grounds they are differently laid. It is as well that a player should know how many ways there are of getting out. Cricketers sometimes have had to pay the 2o6 ' • BATTING. penalty for ignorance on this point. In a North v. South match, Barlow, the Lancashire player, was given out for wilfully hitting a ball twice. Presumably he did not know the rule on the subject in spite of a long experience. In cricket, as in a court of law, the plea of ignorance is not accepted as a good excuse. Instances are continually occurring to show that a few hints may not be out of place. As a matter of fact, there are nine ways of getting out. There is a story, however, which goes to show that this number may be increased. Tom Emmett was one day listening to one player examining another upon a knowledge of the rules of cricket. The point under discussion was the number of ways of getting out. Neither party seemed quite certain on the subject, but they finally worked out and enumerated the nine usually accepted ways. " You are wrong," chimed in Tom. " There is another, making ten." The disputants spent some time trying to find out what this was, and finally gave it up as a bad job. Then Tom explained himself. "My tenth," said' he, "is being umpired out." The moral of this little story, by the bye, is that batsmen are well advised to give umpires as few chances as possible of having to give any decision with regard to their being out or not out. I heard the other day of another way of getting out— viz., being talked out by the wicket-keeper. Batsmen are quite within their rights in requesting conversational fieldsmen to hold their tongues. The nine ways of getting out are — 1. Being clean bowled; the most satisfactory way of all, and one which is seldom disputed. 2. Being caught out; sometimes disputed, sometimes not. 3. Being stumped out ; disputed more often than not. 4. Being run out ; the batsman generally has some doubts. 5. Hit-wicket ; nothing to be said usually. 6. Leg-before-wicket ; always disputed. 7. Wilfully hitting the ball twice except in defence of the wicket. 8. Handling the ball. 9. Obstructing the field. Having touched upon most of the important points in batting, I shall proceed to pick some of them up, and, as far as possible, elaborate those that require it. Net-practice is almost universal nowadays. Most players begin their cricket education in the net. It is not necessary to be coached by a person behind the net as well as by the bowler, if K. S. KANJITSIXHJI L^LANCE-PLAVING FORWARD. Fn.t,, rh,,l,> \,,i K. ll,nrliiiit S: Cm.. Uritjhlon. 208 BATTING. the latter is a capable coach. The difficulty is to find a man who is a good enough bowler to bowl the exact balls required, and is at the same time fully versed in the theory of batting and able to impart it. Nevertheless, a man behind a net can sec almost better than the bowler how a player is shaping. There is, too, a great waste of time if the bowler has to stop in order to talk and demonstrate. I believe strongly in net-practice, and I do not think a player can have too much of it, if practice is carried out carefully and studiously. Directly one gets fatigued and loses keenness, it is best to stop at once : it is a mistake to take too much of a good thing at a time. About half an hour with either one or two bowlers is sufficient for a person eighteen years old and upwards : for younger players, from fifteen to twenty minutes is enough. There is no need for me to re-examine the duties of a coach, but I should like to insist again that it is a mistake for him to try to change the natural tendencies of his pupils. The great thing is to develop the student's abilities to their best and fullest extent. It has been explained how cricket may be learned by imitation. Young players cannot do better than watch the different players for whom they have a fancy, and try to learn from them such strokes as are best adapted for their own build, temperament, and style. There are certain things which experience teaches better than anything else. One often finds out a new. stroke by a fluke. It is the same thing with billiards : new strokes are learnt by accident some- times. In cricket an unintentional movement of the body or bat may suggest quite a new way of playing some ball. Such chance revelations should be made the most of. People tell me that the strongest part of my game is my manner of playing leg-strokes. I found out how to play to leg in the way I do from a chance stroke I once made in practice. Whether my method is good or bad is beside the question. There are occasions when a player is asked to change his tactics. Sometimes a captain requests a side either to play with extreme caution or to force the game as much as they can. In practice, therefore, it is a good thing to adopt one method at one time and another at another time. A man who can play both games equally well is sure to be very useful to his side. When time is short and a considerable number of runs have to be made, a captain often asks his men to force the game. This means that batsmen will have not only to hit the balls as they would ordinarily, but try to force those which they would be inclined to treat defensively. Or, again, PLAYING THE BALL. 209 when the game has to be saved or the fall of a wicket avoided, a captain naturally asks his men to play cautiously. All batsmen should try to grasp for themselves the right thing to do accord- ing to circumstances. It would take a lot of worry from the captain's shoulders, and make him feel very grateful. The question as to whether a batsman is born or made is somewhat difficult to answer. My own idea is that, except for certain natural acquirements, batting is to be learnt. I can hardly imagine a player to be born such beyond a certain point. He must learn to apply his natural gifts, however good they may be. His success depends upon how far he does this. As an example of what may be done by practice and perseverance, in spite of being handicapped by nature in the matter of height and strength, one need only mention Robert Abel. Arthur Shrewsbury, too, has no particular physique, though he does possess an exceptional wrist. Abel owes his position in the cricket world almost entirely to his determination and perse- verance. So does Arthur Shrewsbury, wrist and all. A player must not be discouraged by repeated failures at the outset of his career. He must take heart from the fact that even the greatest players at the zenith of their careers have runs of ill- luck. If a player keeps on steadily and enthusiastically in spite of misfortune, his reward will come sooner or later. Playing with a straight bat is to batting what good length is to bowling. This point should be impressed on the minds of all players. Any one who looks into the matter at all cannot miss seeing the advantage of playing in this way. Mark that a straight bat means that the two outside edges of the bat are kept at right angles to the ground, from the point of view of any one looking straight at its face. The two reasons that underlie the straight-bat theory are these : If held straight, in the cricket sense of course, the bat gives the ball less chance of hitting the wicket, and also allows a considerable margin for error. The simplest way of illustrating the truth of the first of these points is, to hold the bat in front of the wickets first perpendicularly and then crosswise. If held in the first way, the bat hides all the wicket, except the outside edges of the off- and leg-stumps ; if held in the second way, most of the wicket is disclosed, for part of the bat protrudes beyond the wicket on either side. Again, if the bat is upright, there is the w^hole length of it up- and down- ways to meet the ball, in case an error be made in judging the exact height the ball rises from the ground after pitching. Play- ing with a straight bat is not natural — it must be acquired. One o 2IO BATTING. of the great difficulties in learning to bat consists in adapting the motion of the body and the swing of the arms to the condition of the bat being held straight. It must not be understood, however, that the bat should be held straight for every stroke. This is impossible in. the case of the cut, the pull, the hook, and some of the drive-strokes. The old-fashioned theory that any stroke played with a cross- bat must be bad cricket does not hold water, A stroke which is safe and effective cannot be bad cricket. Of course, cross- bat strokes should only be used to play such balls as are begt played with a cross-bat. Such strokes are only bad style when badly used. It would be absurd to play a straight half-volley or good-length ball with a cross-bat, just as it would be to attempt to cut in the same way as a drive is made. Hooks and pulls should only be used when the batsman feels absolutely certain that he can hit the ball in this manner with perfect safety. Neither of them should be, in any sense of the word, a gamble. The whole art of scoring by the pull or the hook is to select the right ball. When a batsman has grasped the theory and practice of straight- bat play, he may turn his attention to timing. Now, what is timing ? As used by cricketers, the word covers a lot of ground. It seems to me that timing is not only hitting the ball at exactly the right moment, in exactly the right attitude, and with the right action, but also the preceding mental resolve formed while the ball is in the air as to how the. ball shall be played. The mental process is sometimes distinguished from timing by the term "judging the flight of the ball." But I think it is better to treat the judgment of the ball in the air, the mental resolve, and the accurate co-operation of hand, arm, body, and eye at the time of playing as forming one whole pro- cess. When all the elements of the process are combined in the best possible way, the stroke will be made with the greatest effect and with the least exertion. The first thing to avoid is making up your mind what to do before the ball has left the bowler's hands. A previous resolve of this kind is formed absolutely without any data. If the ball expected is bowled, well and good ; otherwise the stroke has to be corrected. Men lose their wickets by having to correct their strokes more often than for any other reason. Obviously all the time spent in making the first and wrong part of a corrected stroke is wasted. The fault of judging the ball before it is bowled is very common among young players. When the bowl- SHREWSBURY CUTTING (LATE) AT A BALL KEEPrNO LOW. From photo hi) C. Clhliivll. Sotlhirihnm. 212 BATTING. ing is perfectly mechanical, its consequences are not very fatal ; but against the bowler who changes his pace and his length skil- fully, a batsman cannot possibly know beforehand what kind of ball is coming. If he plays on faith, he is sure to make similar strokes at absolutely dissimilar balls. It is, of course, a good thing to watch the bowler closely in order to find out if possible what bowl he is going to bowl ; but doing so must not prevent a batsman from watching the ball itself while in the air. By constant practice and attention a player will find himself enabled to make watching the ball and resolving how to play it, as it were, one and the same thing. The sight of the ball in the air will cause him to make the right stroke without conscious re- solve. The sooner the resolve as to how you are going to play is made, the longer time is there to get into the attitude most suitable for the execution of the stroke. An early and correct judgment of the ball obviates hurry or bustle. The reason why some players make their strokes with more force and effect than others is very largely due to their having acquired the habit of judging the ball very early in its flight. Of course the secondary part of timing, which consists in meeting the ball at the right moment and in the right spot, is the gist of the matter; but this depends very largely on the primary part of timing — early and correct judgment of the ball. The timing of the ball is, in every stroke, the secret of hard hitting. For this reason, a small and apparently weak man often makes the ball travel with more force than does a very big one. Even such great hitters as Mr Percy Macdonald, Mr Lyons, Sir Timothy O'Brien, Mr Stoddart, and Maurice Read owe the power of their strokes more to timing than to strength. It is rather difificult to explain the exact method by which all available force is brought to bear upon a stroke. There is a great difference in this respect between strokes in front of and strokes behind the wicket. After putting himself into the correct position, all a batsman has to do, in order to make a good crisp cut, is to hit the ball from the top at the right moment without the use of much force. The pace already imparted to the ball by the bowler is helped on and added to by a flick of the bat, executed either with the wrist or some movement of the arms. Consequently, the faster the bowler the easier is it to make hard cuts and glances. Putting "beef" into strokes in front of the wicket is a different matter. Besides hitting the ball at exactly the right moment and in the right way, it is necessary to utilise the weight of the body, the swing of the arms, and the flick of the wrist. Timing, in the more restricted A. E. STODDARTS KORWARD-DKIVK NEARING THE FINISH. From phvlii bij E. UaiLkius J.* Co., Bn'yhlon. 214 BATTING. sense of the word, means bringing all these means of propulsion to bear on the ball in combination, and at the highest point in their efficiency, at the moment when the ball is in the most con- venient spot for so doing. Wrist-work is not essential for forcing strokes in front of the wicket, but it adds very considerably to their effectiveness. There are batsmen who hit the ball very hard in front of the wicket almost entirely by a use of the wrist. For strokes behind the wicket, the more wrist-work is employed the more effectively and easily will the desired result be attained. The enormous amount of force which a proper application of the weight of the body can impart to a stroke 'may be realised by standing within a yard of a brick wall and allowing yourself to fall against it without moving your feet from their position. One advantage of wrist-strokes, such as cutting over-drives, is, as has already been mentioned, that they entail less exertion, and consequently exhaust the player less. Iti makirtg strokes in front of the wicket any waste of power, is disadvantageous in two ways. Force wasted does not come into the stroke so as to increase its effectiveness, and at the same time implies an effort which must help to tire the batsman. Incorrect timing exhausts the batsman without producing any corresponding result. It is not easy to express in words the sensation that ought to be felt, the satisfactory feelings afforded, by a correctly timed and correctly executed stroke. The prevailing feeling is, that the maximum of result has been attained with the minimum of effort. The necessity of watching the ball has already been emphasised. No man can be a good batsman if he has not learnt to watch the ball with attention and concentration. When one comes to think of it, the flight of the ball commences the moment the bowler begins to run up towards the wicket to deliver the ball. From this moment a batsman must keep his eyes fixed, first of all, upon the bowler's hand and what it is doing with the ball, then upon the ball itself as it leaves the bowler's hands and travels towards him. There should be no break in the batsman's watchful attention from the time the bowler starts to run until the ball is actually struck by the bat ; nor should the batsman feel that there is a break in the continuity of events at the time when the ball leaves the bowler's hands. If from carelessness or some other cause the batsman takes his eyes off the ball, the bowler at once has him at a disadvantage. A good bowler can soon get an inattentive batsman into two minds. He will bowl in such a way that the batsman is not quite sure whether he ought to play back or forward. However closely he watches the SHKEWSLiURY PLAYING BACK. Fronij'liuto by G. Calduxll, Nuttingham. 2l6 BATTING. ball, a batsman is liable to be deceived in his sight. At best the sense of sight is fallible, so it is a great mistake to increase this fallibility by inattention. It is possible to acquire such a habit of attention as that there is no conscious effort in watching the bowler and the ball with concentration. But it is also possible to acquire a habit of inattention by careless play in practice, and herein lies one of the chief evils that result from humbugging at nets. There is much in the advice given to young players by many authorities, always to play at nets just as they would in a match. As far as watching the ball attentively goes, this is very sound advice ; but I would qualify it by saying that it is at net- practice where strokes should be learnt, and at a match where they should be put into execution. Not but that much may be learnt in a match, especially if you happen to be in with a good batsman. But net-practice is more suitable than match-play for experiments. Right at the beginning of this chapter players were recom- mended in all their strokes to make the bat meet the ball rather than let the ball meet the bat. There are certain strokes, such as the half-cock stroke, in which it is impossible to carry this out — at any rate, when such strokes are used to extricate oneself from errors in judging the ball. I believe in the theory of making the bat meet the ball so far as to say that even defen- sive strokes should be played in such a manner as to contain latent scoring power, even if this scoring power is not always brought out. The only parallel I can think of in this respect is a move at chess. When your opponent attacks you by a certain move, and you counteract that move by one of your own, your aim should always be that your own move be not only defen- sive, but have an attacking force of its own. Very few players cultivate their back-play upon such lines as to give them this latent scoring power. Mr Jackson and Mr MacLaren are in- stances of those who have, and their back-play is proportion- ately admirable. Earlier in the chapter a division was made of batting into for- ward- and back-play, and each of these divisions was subdivided into play for aggressive and for defensive purposes. Just as there should always be a latent aggressive element in back-play, so there should be a latent defensive element in all forward-play. As a batsman must avoid getting out in order to get runs, the defensive element in forward-strokes must be regarded as im- portant. The usual idea is that back-play is for defence and forward-play for aggression. I think the better way of looking at A. X. IIORNDV PLACING HLMbELF IN POSITlUN POR AN OFF-DKIVE. Froin photo hij E. Hawkins tt Co . Brighton. 2l8 BATTING. the case is, that every stroke made in cricket should contain both elements. Perhaps, however, a beginner ought to aim at perfecting the defensive side of such strokes as he attempts before paying too much attention to scoring with them. In order to make forward- strokes safely defensive, the player should aim at smothering the ball as much as possible — that is to say, in making a forward-stroke he should get as near the pitch of the ball as he can without stretching his leg out too far or playing the ball in front of his leg. If this is done, and the full face of the bat presented to the ball, the forward-stroke should be fairly straight. One great advantage of getting as near as possible to the pitch of the ball in playing forward is, that the angle of the break is proportionately diminished. The less distance there is between the spot where the ball pitches and the spot where it is played by the bat, the less will it have deviated from its original Hne of flight. This means that the nearer you play to the pitch of the ball, the less chance is there of the ball beating the bat. There is always a portion of a forward-stroke which is played on faith, for there is a time during it when the batsman cannot pos- sibly see the ball — at least, so it seems to me. For in playing forward, however closely the ball is watched, the stroke is made rather where the batsman expects the ball to come than where he knows it will come. In order to make a forward-stroke effec- tively aggressive, the batsman must throw himself into the correct attitude. And he will have to time the ball accurately in the way described above. Here, again, the nearer he gets to the pitch of the ball, the better chance will he have of getting over it and despatching it safely along the ground. Let us suppose that a good-length ball suitable for forward- play has been bowled pitching on the middle stump and continuing straight towards it. In order to play the stroke correctly, the left leg should be thrown forward straight down the wicket in a line to the off-stump at the other end. It should not be advanced too far, otherwise the right foot may be pulled forward over the popping-crease. The left shoulder and the left elbow should point in the direction in which the ball is being played, which normally would be straight back at the bowler. Unless the left shoulder is kept forward the bat cannot be kept absolutely straight, as it should be from the beginning of the swing to the end. At the same time, there should be nothing stiff or tied-up about the shoulder. In mak- ing the stroke the batsman's chest should face towards mid-off or extra-cover rather than towards the bowler. In striking the ball PLAYING THE BALL. 219 and following through after it, the bat should pass within i or I y^ inch of the left leg. If the same ball is bowled pitching on the off-stump, the stroke is precisely the same, except that the left leg is thrown slightly across the wicket. When the ball is outside the oflf-stump, the left leg should be thrown still farther across. Notice that when playing forward at a straight ball the bat swings down the same line as that down which the ball is coming, only exactly in an opposite direction ; but directly a ball is bowled outside the wicket, whether to the off or to the on, the bat no longer swings down the line along which the ball is coming, but along another line which crosses the flight of the ball at an angle. And the wider the ball is from the wicket, the less does the line of the bat's swing coincide with the line of the flight of the ball. Consequently, the wider the ball is outside the wicket, the smaller is the margin of error for the stroke. This sounds rather intricate, but an illustration makes it quite plain. The wider the ball is, therefore, the more difficult it is to play as well as to reach. The mistake most beginners make in playing forward is that, no matter in what line the ball may be, they advance the left leg straight down the wicket. It will be found on experiment that if this is done, the wider the ball is from the wicket the more crooked will be the bat. Experi- ence proves also that if the left leg be not thrown across so as to be almost in a line with the flight of the ball, there is a tendency to make an uppish stroke. Again, if the left leg be advanced down the wicket while the bat is making a stroke towards extra-cover, a considerable portion of the weight of the body must be sent in a direction that is by no means the direc- tion of the stroke, and consequently must be more or less wasted. The deduction is, that unless the leg be moved out close to the spot where the bat is to meet the ball, the stroke is likely to be weak and feeble. Perhaps a beginner is prevented from throw- ing his leg across by a feeling that he is likely to be leg-before. He must get over this idea at once, for it is a mere delusion. He begins by not moving his leg across when a ball is pitched on or immediately outside the off-stump, and finally he is led into not moving it across even when the ball is much wider. One great advantage of playing a forward - stroke with the leg near to the bat is that, if the ball breaks enough to beat the bat, there is no room for it to pass between the bat and the leg; consequently, for defensive purposes the breadth of the leg as well as of the bat, to say nothing of the small space in between them, is available for purposes of defence. 220 BATTING. A very common fault in players who otherwise execute the forward-stroke correctly is the habit of bending the right knee. The effect of this is to weaken the stroke considerably, as it is conducive to a stooping attitude. It also causes, as is mentioned above, a dropping of the right shoulder and a bending back of the body in exactly the opposite direction to that in which the weight ought to be thrown. The fault is one which coaches very rarely notice, if indeed they understand that it is a fault at all. My chief feeling about back-play is, that very few cricketers pay proper attention to it. It can, I believe, be made almost, if not quite, as effective for scoring purposes as forward-play is. Any one who has seen Arthur Shrewsbury, Mr Jackson, and Mr MacLaren play an innings on a slow wicket, or indeed on any wicket, will agree with me on this point. There can be no doubt that for defensive purposes back-play is the better, for the ball can be watched right on to the bat. Most players, after acquir- ing some facility in forward-play, take no trouble to improve their back-play. One sees every year in iirst-class cricket players 'whose forward-strokes have improved almost beyond recognition during a single season, but whose back-play remains in the same state at the end of three seasons as it was at the beginning. Without sacrificing forward-play in the very least, proper attention should be given to the cultivation of back-play. Nearly every one has his own natural method of playing back, which he ought to develop to its highest pitch. It is dangerous to play back at any ball which is not, either of itself or because it is made so by the batsman having stepped back, somewhat short of good- length. Cutting is essentially an aggressive stroke. No ball that could possibly hit the wicket should be cut. The two commonest faults in cutting are getting under the ball and playing the stroke when the line of flight of the ball is too near the wicket. It has already been explained how necessary it is to bring the bat down on the top of the ball in attempting to cut it. The stroke played in this way ought to be perfectly safe. Players who make too much of a hit of their cutting usually have a tendency to get under the ball. Some players, too, are inclined to drop the right shoulder in cutting. This fault is also likely to make the stroke uppish. Cutting at balls too close to the wicket is apt to get you out in three ways,^ — by knocking your wicket down ; by a catch at the wicket ; by a catch at short-slip. A man needs a little room in which to cut ; without it his action is rather T. HAVWARD'S FORWARD-DRIVE. From j'holo by E. Hawkins .t Co., BrUjhton. 222 BATTING. cramped. A ball which would pass close to the wicket should be played otherwise than by cutting. It is advisable, in bending over the ball to cut, to lean forward from the waist rather than to bend the knees. It was in connection with cutting that the desirability of learn- ing the art of placing was mentioned. Unless a batsman, after reaching a certain stage in batting skill, devotes himself to learning how to place, he is sure to find that many of the strokes he has been at such pains to perfect are rendered useless by the fact that they always go to fieldsmen. By cultivating placing, a batsman makes his game pliable and versatile. He also gains in confidence by feeling that he has resource. There is no possible way of teaching a batsman how to place. The only thing to do is always to bear in mind, in making any stroke, the direction in which one desires it to go. In some strokes, such as the cut or the glance, very little practice will give a man a certain facility in placing the ball, and as soon as he gets this his scoring-power will have increased 25 per cent. There is a refinement, or at least I consider it to be one, of the art of batting which a writer must approach rather delicately. It is the much-abused art of using the legs to defend the wicket. During the last few years the methods of certain players of indis- putable ability have been severely criticised in some quarters, on the ground that it is unsportsmanlike to play with the legs. If the critics understood the point more thoroughly, they would not be so ready with blame. Most of them are, I think, players who are unable themselves to use their legs to any effect, and behave after the manner of the dog in the manger. The great point raised against the practice is, that the bat and not the legs is the proper instrument for defending the wicket. This objection is purely sentimental and requires to be looked into. It must be admitted at the outset that the habit of using the legs when occasion does not demand it is absurd. It does not bring runs, and it does annoy the spectators. On the other hand, when circumstances make it advisable to use them there seems to be no sufficient reason why batsmen should not play with their legs. It is to be remarked that no one objects to a man playing for- ward with his leg close to his bat ; it is generally understood that by so doing he makes his forward-strokes safer. It is only, when the legs are utilised in such a manner as to obstruct the ball and prevent it hitting the wicket that any outcry is raised. It appears to me that this use of the legs is more or less parallel to the push- stroke in billiards. Many players, for no other reason than that LORD HAWKE CUTTING. From photo h>i 1l. ITinrkins d- Co.. Brighton. 224 BATTING. they themselves are incapable of playing it, criticise the push- stroke as being unfair. On certain kinds of wickets — such as, for instance, a very sticky wicket — the bowlers have everything their own way. In such circumstances a batsman has two courses open to him. He may either hit hard and high and trust to luck, or he may play a strictly defensive game. Now, some men cannot hit, so the careful game is the only one open to them. These players are surely justified in making their defence as strong as possible by every available means. The scientific use of the legs is of material help to them. But to master the art is extremely difficult; it requires great quickness of judgment and movement, as well as considerable discrimination. Anything in the shape of unscientific leg-play is worse than useless. A man must be master of the art or it will do him no good. Any one who has tried experiments in this class of play will know that there is much more in it than meets the eye. Arthur Shrewsbury is a great exponent of the method. The skill with which he uses his legs on treacherous wickets is nothing short of miraculous. His comrade in arms, William Gunn, can also play this game very ably ; so can Mr Stoddart and Mr Jackson — a fact not generally known. The difference between the play of the two amateuis and the two professionals is, that the former make use of the method when it is not necessary to resort to it, whereas Mr Stoddart and Mr Jackson only do so when there is no other course open save wild slogging. It is not the use of the method, but the abuse of it, that can with any fairness be adversely criti- cised. The instant the method becomes useless and unnecessary I do not advocate it for one moment. When circumstances make it useful it is, I think, perfectly justifiable. What is more, I strongly advise any players who find they can make good use of their legs to use them whenever they think they can strengthen theif game by so doing. It is not conducive to elegance or to rapid scoring, but it is very effective for all that : its justification is expediency ; when not expedient it is waste of time. In any case, the skill required to do it with effect exempts it from any charge of being unsportsmanlike. Some batsmen show a want of consideration for the captain and other members of their side by allowing themselves to be- come victims of fads and superstitions. They believe, or affect to believe, that they cannot get runs if they go in to bat at the fall of a certain number of wickets, or when a certain number of runs are on the scoring-board, or because they have seen an omen or dreamed a dream. They turn up after the order of PLAYING THE BALL. 225 going in has been made out, and request a change to be made that upsets the entire arrangement. Sometimes it is the par- ticular period of the day that causes them qualms of confidence ; and the frequency with which their innings coincide with an un- favourable hour is extraordinary. It would be just as well to re- mark that batsmen should be satisfied with the position allotted to them by the captain and abide by his arrangements, unless something more than mere fancy makes them demand an altera- tion. From the captain's point of view, it is sometimes expedient to make allowances for such fancies, but batsmen ought to eschew or overcome them. As a general rule, a little firmness on the captain's part has a good effect. A friend of mine, I remember, on a certain occasion declared that he could not possibly make runs if he went in first. The captain insisted upon his doing so. The batsman went in so disgusted that he knocked the bowling all over the field, only narrowly missing a century. Ever since then he has liked going in first — in fact, he objects strongly to going in anywhere else. In the course of nearly every season a time comes to most batsmen when they are not so successful as they wish and are expected to be. A sudden failure of a good batsman to get his customary quota of runs is usually attributed to so-called staleness. Before inquiring what staleness is, it would be well to repeat the advice not to lose heart at a period such as this, but to play on, if possible, with the same keenness and confidence as before. All batsmen, from the top of the tree downwards, have their ups and downs, and sometimes the downs come all of a heap. There is no remedy that can be recommended, as far as one can see. When a cricketer is not making runs, he is usually said to be stale. The facts of the case may be, that he is having ill-luck, or is playing badly, or is in love; but the elastic and mysterious word staleness covers all this. In athletic circles the term is usually regarded as meaning loss of form through excessive exercise. In other words, the muscles used in this or that athletic pursuit are for the time being worn out. But a cricketer finds the term a convenient answer to all questions as to why he is not scoring, and it is usually accepted as a sufficient explanation. Some- times whole elevens are said to be stale, and the advice usually given them by those interested is to rest and give themselves the chance of recovering. The Hon. Ed. Lyttelton seems to me to have said the last word on the subject of staleness. He points out that monotony is the secret of p 226 BATTING. failure of nerve-power. He shows this by citing examples of staleness in runners and racehorses. In the case of a runner certain muscles are utilised every day during training in order that they may be developed as highly as possible, so as to enable him to do his best on the day of the race. This continual strain on the body to develop particular muscles undoubtedly tends to strengthen these up to a certain point. But the process cannot be carried on indefinitely. The time comes when the system refuses to be drained any more in favour of the particular muscles. It is just before this refusal that a man is at his best : he is literally trained to a turn. But after this point is reached the athlete begins going down the hill. If there were no turning-point, it might be fairly argued that the more practice and the severer the training an individual is subjected to, the better performer will he become. Experience proves that this is not the case. The whole art of a good trainer consists in bringing his man or his horse to the race precisely at the time when the particular muscles required have got all they can out of the rest of the body. After the zenith has been reached, staleness sets in. But how far does this apply to cricket ? In cricket there is no monot- onous exercise of one particular set of muscles. The several parts of the game — batting, bowling, and fielding — call different muscles into play. In batting, almost every stroke is effected by the use of different muscles. In bowling, a man who changes his pace and length and height of delivery does not rely entirely upon a single set of muscles. In fielding, the whole body comes into play. So it seems very unlikely that a cricketer can get stale in the same sense as a runner or an oar. There is no monotony to induce this kind of staleness in a cricketer. Too much net - practice, whether batting or bowling, may in a certain sense be called monotonous ; but the word ought not to be applicable -to anything that happens in actual matches. The presence of the spectators, the keen desire to master the bowling and defy the fielding, should make it impossible for a batsman to find cricket monotonous. Similar arguments apply to the case of the batsman or the fielder. Cricket is an inspiriting game ; and anything which raises the spirits and cheers the heart relieves to a great ex- tent any strain on the muscles, just as dulness and monotony increase or exaggerate fatigue. Staleness, in the athletic or restricted meaning of the word, does not seem possible in cricket. As a term of wide application, including bad health, bad luck. S. JI. J. WOODS' PUI.L-STROKE. Fru«t j'hol,' h.j E. IbiwIdHS i C,:, li.i.jhl.m. 228 BATTING. bad play — ^in fact, bad everything — it is a very convenient expression. If the truth were told, staleness would be recognised as meaning what the Hon. Ed. Lyttelton calls the " dumps " — due to a lack of success by reason of some specific cause. A man in low spirits lacks confidence, and cannot succeed. I have never come across a cricketer who was downcast or over- fatigued through having been successful in scoring a large num- ber of runs, or capturing many wickets, in a continuous string of matches. For though the exertion may have been great, the nerve stimulus has been great also. The keen enjoyment of success will in itself make a man no fit vessel to harbour stale- ness. Mr Lyttelton sets forth this point of view admirably. A cricketer, instead of calling himself stale, had better inquire for the real reason of his want of form, and remove it if he can. A player who is consistently unsuccessful for several weeks ought to be able to find out the cause of his inability to get runs. If a man fails to keep himself in good health and condition, he cannot expect to get runs. Self-indulgence in the matter of food and drink cannot fail to affect his eye. A man who is engaged in heavy brain-work, such as writing a book on cricket or trying to matriculate at a Cambridge college, cannot expect to be at his best in the cricket-field. As regards a run of bad luck, it may be a blessing in disguise. It certainly is a good test of temper and character. Misfortune is proverbially good for people, if not taken in too large quantities. There is a great deal of nonsense talked sometimes when a whole eleven collapses in a particular match. The probable causes of such failure are freely discussed and readily invented. In nine cases out of ten the reasons found are wrong. The law of averages, to which all human beings are subject in cricket as in other things, is quite enough explanation. Every man fails on an average once out of every six or seven times he goes to the wicket. There is no mathematical reason why it should not happen that five or six batsmen on the same side take their inevitable nought or one in the same innings of the same match. Such a series of coincidences is more often, I believe, the explana- tion of collapses than nervousness or similar suggested causes. 229 CHAPTER V. CAPTAINCY. CAPrAiNiNG an eleven is nothing more nor less than leading men in a particular sphere — the cricket-field. And to be a good captain, a man must first of all have the natural gift for leader- ship — which is probably an inborn quality synonymous with force of character — and then be able to apply this gift to the require- ments of cricket. It has often been remarked that the ideal captain has yet to appear. No wonder ; for something more than human is needed to discharge all the duties of the post. They are many-sided and complex — -social, moral, intellectual, and practical. No one can fulfil them adequately without being a good man and a good cricketer — a good cricketer not so much in the sense of being able to do great feats with bat and ball, as in that of having a thorough knowledge of the game and a proper feehng towards it. A captain, too, should be a judge of nature as well as of cricket, for he has to deal with men as well as with the game. He must have a discriminating eye for physique and temperament as well as for weather and wickets. Tact, resource, readiness, decision, an even temper, enthusiasm, and the power of inspiring it in others — all are necessary. And a captain must have that confidence in himself which, founded on fact, compels the confidence of those under his command. Above all, he must lead and not be led ; otherwise he is no captain at all, but a figurehead. That the post is no sinecure may readily be understood. It involves much responsibility and many cares and annoyances. When things go well people take it as a matter of course ; when they go badly the captain is the butt of all criticism : one hears it said so often during a cricket season that this or that match was lost by bad captaincy, but very seldom that a match was won 230 CAPTAINCY. by good captaincy. To a certain extent this is in accordance with facts, for bad captains are as common as good ones are rare. But there are many very fair captains who deserve much more credit than they get for conducting the affairs under their charge satisfactorily. Those who feel disappointed at not being appreciated must console themselves by remembering that ingrati- tude is the way of the world, and with the consciousness of having done their duty by themselves and their side. Every time they bring their ship safely to harbour they must be content with the satisfaction of having accomplished what was required of them. The troubles and anxieties of the voyage being known only to those who have suffered them, naturally do not strike others very forcibly. When all dangers are safely passed people are inclined to forget that the sea is not always smooth nor entirely free from rocks and shoals. For obvious reasons many of the qualities most desirable in a captain are the result of experience of cricket and the world. But the possession of them depends less upon the time a man has lived and played cricket than upon how much he has ob- served and thought. Given two men with equal powers of observation and thought, the one who has played the longest will naturally know the most. But there are many cricketers who have grown grey in the service of the game who are astonish- ingly ignorant about it. For there are many people who have eyes to see and do not see Of course it is remarkably easy to criticise, and exceedingly difficult to do as well as those whom one criticises. What needs emphasising is, that more may be learnt in one match with the eyes open than in a hundred with them shut. As a matter of fact, most good captains are cricketers of some standing, but it is worth noticing that many of the very best have been comparatively young. It would be absurd to expect a boy at school to be a really good captain, for he cannot in the nature of things have had enough experience. But no more can he be expected to be a finished batsman or bowler. Yet there is no reason why a boy should not set about acquiring such qualifications for captaincy as he can, just in the same way as he learns the art of batting and bowling ; especially since many of the qualities essential for captaincy will stand him in good stead in other departments of life than the cricket-field. A school captain is generally chosen by the authorities of the school from among the elder boys. At the larger schools he is frequently the senior member of the eleven of the year before, provided he be sufficiently high in the school. LORD HARRIS. Fn^ui ]>h,:liJ hij K. Iliirlihis .!■ r.i., I:,itlhluti. 232 CAPTAINCY. Usually some boy stands out pre-eminently as the right one to be captain, and nothing is more essential to the success of a school eleven than that the right captain should be chosen. This applies almost equally to all elevens, but especially to school elevens. You can tell from the way a side plays, par- ticularly by the way it fields, exactly what manner of man the captain is ; and if you know the captain, you can generally tell what kind of team he will produce by the end of a season. The captain is the keynote of the side, the source from which it takes its colour. It is practically impossible for a side to rise superior to its captain. He makes or mars everything. He can nullify the strength of a good eleven, or he can make a weak one stronger than it really is. At the same time, there is an enormous differ- ence between captaining a good side and captaining a bad one. With two or three fine bowlers, backed by good fielding, a captain has in ordinary circumstances merely to set things in motion and wait results. Not that this succeeds so well as proper captaincy, but it does fairly well. With a weak side the case is different. Such a side has to live by its wits, which means the captain's. Incessant forethought and management are necessary to make both ends meet : every shift and device must be used, and any good that is available turned to the very best account. In cricket, as in other phases of life, the true tests of merit are difficulties and adversity. It is in his leadership of a weak side or of a side whose fortunes are down for the time being that a captain's worth is proved. A captain who by pure good manage- ment succeeds in struggling through a season with fair results must find a melancholy pleasure in watching the efforts of strong elevens neutralised by the incompetency of their leaders. The duties of a captain vary somewhat according to the kind of match in which his side is engaged, and to the kind of club which has elected him. To begin with, first-class cricket, including representative M.C.C., county, and university matches, is quite different from any other — partly because the results are universally regarded as more important, partly because certain obligations towards the spectators have to be taken into con- sideration. The last point applies equally to any match which people pay to come to see. Again, school cricket is quite different from ordinary club cricket, and both of them from country-house cricket. With regard to gate-money matches. The captains of the two sides engaged are during the match responsible for everything in connection with it. They are under an obligation to the CAPTAINCY. 233 public to see that the match is played in such a way as the public has a reasonable right to expect. Play should begin punctually at the advertised hour ; the luncheon interval, and the interval between the innings, should not exceed the orthodox length of time ; and stumps should not be drawn or the match abandoned before the time arranged, unless circumstances make it absolutely necessary. In all matches the results of which are' regarded as important by a large number of people, the captains, as responsible for the conduct of the matches, ought to see that every effort is made to bring the games to a right and proper conclusion. For instance, in a county match it might easily happen that by stretching a point an eleven which had no chance of being champion county might give a much-needed victory to an eleven which had an excellent chance of being top. Before stretching this point, a captain ought to consider very carefully how far he is under an obligation to the other counties interested not to give away a match that could be saved, even though his own sportsmanlike instincts impel him to allow a side which has out- played his to have an actual instead of a merely moral victory. A school captain is concerned not only with the conduct of a particular match, as an ordinary club captain is, but with the cricket welfare of the whole school. He has to see that cricket is played properly, and with a view to the production of good cricketers, not only in the upper but in the lower games. He should know exactly what is going on everywhere ; and as he cannot possibly be continually on a round of visits, he should be very careful to delegate authority to fit persons. He receives the traditions of the school as a trust for a year, or perhaps two, and his duty is to hand them on brighter than before, or at least unsullied. A university captain has a similar trust, and is under like obliga- tions to regard himself not only as the captain for the year, but as responsible in certain ways to the past and future members of the university club. He also has the very important duty of selecting the eleven to represent the university in their great match ; whereas in most cases a captain is aided by a selection committee, who share with him the responsibility of choosing be- tween rival candidates for places. An ordinary club captain may or may not have various responsibilities, but they are usually confined to winning matches as they come. In country-house cricket a captain's chief duty is to let every one have a bowl and make the match a social success. 234 CAPTAINCY. Let us, then, take a broad and typical view of what a captain has to do in order to fulfil the requirements of his position. His duties may be divided under three heads : his duty to himself, his duty to his opponents, and his duty to his own side. The first two heads do not need much elaboration. A captain's duty to himself consists mainly in being the captain, and not one of several. He may ask advice, and follow it or not, as he thinks fit. But he ought to make it clear that gratuitous advice is not wanted. It only hampers and muddles him : three men make a hash of driving if two hold one rein each and another manages the whip. Variegated suggestions coming from all quarters are as likely as anything to completely ruin all chances of victory. As for listening to the criticisms of irresponsible spectators or pavilion cricketers, or giving a single thought to them, it is out of the question. A captain must have confidence in himself, must merit it from his side, and insist on receiving it. With regard to his opponents. On his own ground a captain, as the highest executive officer of the club, is to a certain extent in the position of a host. He should see that the visiting side is properly treated, and their comfort consulted as far as possible. He should show a regard for them by welcoming them on their arrival, and bidding them good-bye when they go. And he should take every means in small ways to make the match as pleasant as possible for them. But, above all, he should do as he would be done by. He should remember that the liberty of his own side ends when that of the other begins. He need not abate one jot or tittle of his legal rights, but he certainly ought not to take an unfair advantage in any way. I would even go so far as to say that a captain should disclose any peculiarities of his ground that might handicap the adversaries if ignorant of them. For instance, if he knows that a heavy roller is bad for the particular wicket, he ought to tell the opposing captain his opinion on the subject, so that the latter may not act in the dark. This may be going rather far ; but at any rate he should be open and above-board in all his dealings. It is a sad sight to see one captain watching another as a cat does a mouse, for fear of his being up to some trick or other. At the same time, no captain should allow himself to be put upon or humbugged. Here his duty to his own side begins ; for he is, among other things, the guardian of their rights and interests. It has already been hinted that a captain's duty towards his club depends upon what kind of club it is. It also varies some- v,-hat according to what other officials, such as secretaries and CAPTAINCY. 235 managers, are associated with the captain, what departments they are deputed to look after, and how far they carry out what they are supposed to do. Circumstances differ considerably. In some cases a captain finds that he need not trouble his head about anything but the management of his eleven during matches ; in others, that unless he is continually supervising all matters connected with the ground, pavilion, and players, much that ought to be done is left undone. In either case, the captain should have a working knowledge of all that is going on, so that he may be always in a position to observe and correct what is not as it should be. Strictly speaking, a captain ought to have nothing to do except lead the eleven in the match; but at the same time it is quite impossible to lead an eleven satis- factorily unless the many matters outside matches, but distinctly accessory to them, are properly arranged and adequately carried out. If other people manage such things properly, well and good ; otherwise the captain must see that they are done, be- cause they affect the side that plays under him and for which he is responsible. The attendance and care of dressing-rooms and the pavilion generally, the luncheon arrangements, the press accommodation, the scoring-boxes, the roping off the ground, the placing of screens, the preparation of match- and practice-wickets, the fixing of nets, the marking out of creases, and numerous other details, must be looked after by some central authority. Such matters are rarely properly attended to unless the subor- dinates who have the care of them are fully aware that there is some one who knows how and when each thing ought to be done, and who will notice if anything is not done as it ought to be. Now, whether some other official actually sees to such things or not, the captain ought to be in a position to deal with them if need be, because he is the representative both of the eleven which takes part in matches and of the committee or club management, which is the general executive and administrative power of the club as a club. He is somewhat in the position of a general commanding in the field between the army and the A\'ar Office. However, it is time to consider the duties of a captain purely as a leader of ten cricketers in a cricket - match. But before treating this in detail there is one point to mention. It is abso- lutely essential that in whatever way his eleven are chosen, whether by a deputy committee or by a separate selection com- mittee or otherwise, the captain should have a very large share — in fact, the chief share — in the selection of men to play under 236 CAPTAINCY. him in matches. In the first place, he is the person most directly affected by the selection ; and in the second, he is in by far the best position to know what is required. Onlookers may see most of the game in one sense, but it is quite impossible for the best judge of the game to know exactly what is going on in the field unless he himself is playing. A good captain has his eyes continually open, and is in close contact with his side. He ought to know the ins and outs of matters far better than any one else, and does if he is worth his salt. What is more, he is continually on the spot ; his chain of observations is unbroken : whereas an ordinary committee may be sometimes on the spot, sometimes not ; and even if they see all that happens while they are on the spot, which is morally impossible from the pavilion, they only have partial data on which to form judgments. Selec- tion committees are useful institutions, because discussion often throws new light upon things, comparisons of opinion frequently extract the truth, and in many ways several heads are better than one. But in cases where a captain has decided views, for which he can give good reasons, upon the inclusion or ex- clusion of a player or players from the eleven, his position should be accepted as the last word in the matter. A captain can hardly be expected to do the best for and with his side if it includes men whom he is sure ought not to be playing, while 6thers who ought are condemned to be spectators. A captain's duties during a match may be divided into those which precede the actual commencement of the game, those which fall to him when his side is fielding, and those of which he should be mindful while his side is batting. The second division is by far the most considerable, important, and difficult. The three together, apart from the mere question of the power of leading men, which has already been touched upon, involve a complete knowledge of the game of cricket as a whole and in its parts. Perhaps the best way to deal with the subject is to take the various points in the chronological order of an actual match. Let us, then, suppose that the eleven has been selected, and each member precisely instructed as to the time and place of the match. It is always advisable for every one to turn up in good time before play begins, especially on the first day of a match ; for nothing is more liable to upset a man and put him off his stroke than being bustled or hurried. But a captain should make a particular point of being on the ground, if he can, at least an hour before the time of starting. On the first day of a match this is J. SHUTER Frumi'lwto bij E. Htuikins J,' Co.. Driiihlvii. 23S CAPTAINCY. imperative. To begin with, he will have to change and find his various implements, and probably will like to have a few minutes' practice. Then there are several points to which he must attend before play begins. Now, it usually happens that innumerable things turn up unexpectedly to claim his attention. He is re- quired to consult on a point, or interview a man, or send tele- grams, or help to choose a player instead of one who has failed at the last moment, and so on. Consequently, unless he has plenty of time, he is almost sure to be hurried and worried, and either be unable or forget to do something which is of importance. He ought to have time to change in comfort, have his few minutes' practice, attend fortuitous matters, think over things in general, and see to the indispensable preliminaries. Of these preliminary duties of the home captain, the first is to cast an eye round with a view to being quite sure that all neces- • sary arrangements have been made. At first this may be rather troublesome, but after a little experience a captain soon learns to know exactly where to expect deficiencies. He ought to take particular notice that everything has been done for the comfort of the members of the visiting side, whether amateur or pro- fessional, and for the other members of his own side. Such forethought oils the wheels, and helps much towards matters running smoothly. A very little attention and trouble can entirely obviate the many small annoyances which are liable to mar the pleasure of a cricket-match. It requires only a mere glance to see that a sufficient number of chairs are in the chang- ing-room, and that there are sponges and towels in the lavatory ; and less than half a glance to see whether the room is tidy and habitable. Later on, it is advisable for him to see the visiting captain and some members of his side, welcome them, and show them any small courtesies that may come to mind. It is a most charming thing for a visiting side to feel that it has been expected, and its wellbeing taken into consideration. Then it is well for him to see that all the members of his own side arc on the ground ready to start play at the proper time, and to give any of them who may desire it a chance of speaking to him. ' Nothing makes more for the harmony and good feeling between his side and the captain, which are the best guarantee of corporate efficiency, than that he should show a personal interest in them all, amateur and professional alike. It is a fundamental error in handling and leading men to regard and treat them as mere automatons. Men are no automatons, and should not be treated as such. To treat a man as an automaton is the best way to make him one, and CAPTAINCY. 239 an automaton is precisely what is not required as a cricketer, A criclcet eleven at variance internally or with its captain is a miser- able affair, and sure to play quite a different game from one which is unanimous and works together. Cohesion between the members of a team depends largely upon the captain's wise and tactful sympathy. The next point is more practical, and has a decided bearing upon the for- tunes of particular matches. A captain, whether on his own ground or another, should make it a rule to go and inspect thoroughly the wicket on which the match is to be played, in order that he may be in a position, should he win the toss, to decide whether to take first innings or give it to his op- ponents. A not too hastily formed judgment about the state of the wicket will also help him considerably in his choice of bowlers. It may be remarked incidentally that the more points a captain thinks out calmly before a match begins, the better is he likely to succeed in his management. A preconcerted plan of action is exceedingly helpful, even though circumstances may arise that make alterations and modifications advisable. It is a mistake to go into the field with only vague ideas as to the best course to pursue : to trust to the inspiration of the moment, as a guide to action, generally leads to blunders and omissions. A piece of well-rolled, closely mown turf, such as forms the area where wickets are pitched on good cricket-grounds, looks very innocent and guileless. As a matter of fact, few things in the world are more deceptive. No two pieces of turf are exactly alike, however similar tbcy may appear. The quality of the undersoil and drainage, as well as that of the tuff itself, differs in almost every case. The result is that, given absolutely similar conditions of weather, no two grounds behave in exactly the same way. Moreover, it is by no means easy to be sure of the behaviour of a particular piece of turf on separate occasions, under con- ditions that apparently are absolutely identical. The external circumstances which affect the state of a cricket - ground are chiefly rain and sun. And it is difficult to calculate exactly what damp or heat is doing. Nothing but experience and observation can qualify a captain to be a judge of the states of grounds. He should make a point of studying this ques- tion as thoroughly as he can. The chief difficulty to deal with is the effect of rain upon wickets. Wet grounds are the puzzle. When the ground is 240 CAPTAINCY. hard, a captain has no alternative but to take first innings ; for whether hard and true, rough, fiery, or crumbled, a dry wicket will almost certainly not improve, and is very nearly sure to deteriorate. The only case where an improvement is likely to take place is when the ground starts by being fiery or crumbled, and exactly the right amount of rain falls to take out the fire, so that it rolls out smooth and true. But it is quite impossible for a captain to know beforehand to a nicety what the weather is going to do, so he cannot afford to expect such improvement. A dry wicket must always be regarded as at its best in the first innings of a match, and as likely to deteriorate with the wear and tear of the play upon it. In calculating the effect of rain upon a wicket, three points must be taken into consideration : first, the state of the ground previous to the fall ; secondly, and in connection with this, the amount of rain and sunshine that comes subsequently ; and thirdly, the usual behaviour of the particular ground under cer- tain conditions. About the last point nothing can be learned except by con- tinually observing particular grounds or consulting those who are in the best position to give advice — groundmen, for instance, or experienced professionals engaged at the ground. Advice from similar sources may also be useful on the first point. Yet a captain, if he has not had personal experience of the state of the ground by playing on it during the few days preceding a match, can generally find some one who has either played a game on part of it or practised at the nets. It is, however, worth while remarking that very frequently the centre of a ground where match-wickets are pitched is quite different from the side parts where smaller matches and net - practice take place. The state of a wicket at the time of a match depends, as has been pointed out, upon the prevailing conditions of weather acting upon the previous condition of the ground. Dry wickets do not concern us at present Wet wickets are of several kinds. After rain has fallen, a wicket must in the course of nature be becoming dryer. Only, if there is no sun or wind to help in the process, a wicket once thoroughly soaked dries so slowly that, as far as a cricket-match is concerned, it may be regarded as in a fixed state of dampness. But before considering wickets that are thoroughly soaked, a few words are necessary on the subject of those that are merely damp on the surface. These are of two kinds. The first is when the ground is CAPTAINCY. 241 merely greasy on the top, like a slab of slate swilled over with a mop ; the second when the turf is wet for a couple of inches or so on the top, but quite dry underneath. A wicket that is greasy on the top does not cause the captain much difficulty. It is essentially a batsman's wicket, for it is in a way more true than one that is hard and dry. The ball keeps quite straight upon it, since it cannot possibly bite the ground, which offers the least possible frictional resistance. In addition to this, the bowler is probably much handicapped by the fact that the ball soon becomes wet and greasy- itself, so that he can- not get a proper grasp of it to impart spin. The ball, perhaps, comes along faster from the pitch than when the wicket is in any other state, and this is all that the batsman need fear. Notice that bowlers can get a perfectly good foothold on such a wicket. It is the result of a shower or a very slight drizzle upon a wicket that was previously hard, dry, and true. The process of drying, which, as will be shown, is the disturbing element in states of wicket, does not in any way affect the batsman. As the top dampness disappears, the wicket resumes its former state. A wicket that is wet to the depth of a few inches is different. It is the result of a somewhat heavier fall of rain upon a hard, dry wicket. Usually a sudden downpour which lasts long enough to soak in a few inches, but not to thoroughly sink into the ground, produces such a wicket. The water suffices to make the wicket damp and soft to a very slight depth, and is then ex- hausted. While this wicket is still damp the ball usually cuts through, and consequently keeps quite straight and simple. Occa- sionally, however, the ball will bump somewhat. If the sun shines strongly directly after the rain, the ground may be very sticky and difficult for a short time, but only for a short time, as the moisture is very quickly absorbed, and the ground be- comes hard and true again. On the other hand, if it dries slowly, without the sun's emphatic aid, the ground passes from the cutting-through stage to a slow stage, and then gradually back to a dry state. During this slow-drying process the ball is liable to come at different paces off the pitch, sometimes cutting through and whipping along first, sometimes hurrying or rising slowly. But the transitional state is in any case brief, and two good batsmen are quite likely to last out until the danger is past. So it is not a wicket to put the other side in upon, except as a daring experiment. A captain with a strong bowling and weak batting side, opposed to a side strong in both respects, may be inclined to agree that as he cannot win by his batting, his bowlers Q 24^ CAptaiNcV. ought to have every chance. If he can let his bowlers have a go upon the wicket during its brief stage of difficulty, they may get rid of three or four dangerous batsmen ; but the experiment is hazardous, because if the other side manage to tide over the difificult stage their position becomes doubly strong, in that they have the first and third innings, instead of the second and fourth — a great advantage, as will be shown later. However, it would be absurd to say that the risk should never be taken by a side that may win thus, but is extremely unlikely to win anyhow else. A bold policy so often meets with its reward that one can hardly bring oneself to discourage it. In any case, a captain must make quite sure of his facts and exactly understand what he is doing. He must be certain of his bowlers, and certain that they will have a distinct chance of getting wickets rapidly should things go well. Otherwise it is foolhardy rather than bold to relinquish first innings, especially as bowlers are likely to be bothered by not being able to get a proper foothold, and by having to use a wet, heavy ball. Really wet wickets are the result either of heavy and con- tinuous rain upon any kind of wicket, or of frequent showers upon a ground already fundamentally damp. Some grounds are famous for their dryness and the rapidity with which they harden after rain ; others are notorious for their constitutional dampness and the length of time they take to recover from a sodden state. These differences must always be taken into consideration in dealing with them. A wicket that has been thoroughly soaked may do three thing.s. It may remain wet and sodden for three whole days or longer, owing to the general dampness of the atmosphere, its own reaction upon itself, and the absence of sunshine or a wind. Remember, nothing dries a ground more rapidly and equally than a wind. Or it may grow dry gradually but surely all through by the aid of wind, gentle sunshine, and general atmospheric dryness. Or it may dry with extraordinary rapidity on the top owing to bright, strong sunshine, so that the top becomes first sticky, then baked, while the ground underneath remains wet. As long as the ground remains wet and sodden all through, it is very difficult to bowl on and very easy to bat on. In fact, it is probably the easiest, though not the pleasantest, to bat on. Some batsmen prefer such wickets to any others. Big scores are not frequent on grounds in this state, simply because the ball comes rather dully off the pitch, and is consequently not so easy to hit hard, and because when hit it travels slowly and with difficulty CAPTAINCY. 243 along the dead ground, and the fieldsman can easily get to it to prevent boundaries. Hence a run is worth more on such a wicket than on a hard one. But the ball is very easy for a good batsman to control and keep from the wicket under these con- ditions. There is no doubt that they favour batsmen, though sometimes sides- collapse when a wet wicket suddenly occurs after a series of dry ones. It is not the wicket that causes this, but the change. A wicket that dries slowly and equally may be described as neutral. It does not favour either batting or bowling. But it may be described as easy rather than otherwise. The bowler can get a fair foothold, hold the ball fairly well, and get a moderate, even large, amount of break on the ball. But the ball does its work so slowly that a batsman can easily watch and play it, even if he cannot score with rapidity. The point to see is, that it is not a bowler's wicket, though it is frequently mis- taken as such both by captain and others, simply because they see that the ball can be made to break. It is the sticky or caked wicket that is the bowler's paradise. The ball can be made almost to speak on such a one by a skil- ful bowler, and even a moderate performer can prove very de- structive. When a wicket is in this state, a captain's point of view is that it cannot get more difficult and may get easier ; so he has a very good excuse for putting the other side in. The only draw- back is, that this condition of ground is very likely to prevail for some time — long enough for four short innings — so that by put- ting the other side in, a captain takes away from his own the advantage of batting first and second instead of third and fourth, without gaining any compensating advantage. So, even with a sticky wicket, it is advisable not to be too ready to give up first innings. It will be seen that the whole question of whether it is better to go in or let the other side do so hinges on the understanding that it is distinctly advantageous to bat first. That it is advan- tageous is regarded as an axiom of cricket. No one thinks of disputing it. A few considerations are sufficient to establish the point. The two chief are, that the side which goes in first is almost sure to get the best of the wicket, and that it is much easier to prevent runs than to make them. With regard to the first consideration, it is quite obvious that unless the weather plays tricks a wicket cannot but be truer and better in the first than in the second, and in the third than in the fourth, innings of a match. Now, the weather plays extraordinary pranks some- 244 CAPTAINCY. times, so that there are occasions when it proves an advantage to have lost the toss, and bat second. But this consideration is absolutely beside the point, as no captain can divine the future, and has to decide before the match is played, not during it, whether to take the innings or not. There is no course open to him except to regard present circumstances as they are, and take it for granted that the weather will not prove contrary. The reason why wickets gradually deteriorate during matches is mani- fest. Every ball that is bowled knocks the turf about in a greater or lesser degree, and every time a batsman or bowler plants his foot on the actual pitch some damage is done to it. This is what is meant by the wear and tear of a match. But there is another reason, which is sometimes forgotten. Match-wickets are very carefully prepared for some time before they are used. A wicket to be used on Monday has probably received attention — judicious watering and rolling — since the Monday before, and that daily. But after the first ball has been bowled the wicket may not be touched again till the match is over, except for the slight rolling it receives just before each innings, which rarely makes much difference to it. Consequently it does not get its daily treatment either on the first, second, or third day of a match, and it misses this treatment much in the same way that a human being would miss his proper amount of food and drink for three successive days. In any case, it is a matter of experience that wickets do deteriorate in a greater or lesser degree during matches. Given normal conditions, the first innings affords the best, the fourth the worst, chance of getting runs. It is no exaggeration to say that three out of four games between fairly equal sides are won by the one that goes in first, through the score made in their first innings. And, what comes to the same thing, the average number of runs made in the second innings in matches is considerably lower than that made in the first. The same holds good with regard to the relative scores in fourth and third innings. The second consideration that makes it advantageous to bat first is, that runs are harder to make than to save. And the case is this. A run is more difficult to make than to save, because batting is in its nature a far less certain and reliable thing than bowling and fielding. A man who really makes up his mind to bowl or field as well as ever he can, is able to do so with some- thing like certainty, whereas the best bat in the world cannot make sure of scoring a single run. In other words, batting is, besides being more difficult in itself than bowling and fielding, CAPTAINCY. 245 far more subject to chance. A bowler may bowl a bad ball or a fielder drop a catch without losing all chance of retrieving him- self. One bad stroke, and a batsman is out once and for all. Of course batsmen often have good luck in being missed in the field or being beaten by the ball without being bowled ; but this does not — at any rate on the average — equalise the chances. A bowler can without doubt be much surer of bowling a good ball, a fielder of catching a catch, than can a batsman of keeping a ball out of his wicket or scoring a run off it. Now the dis- proportionate value of a run in hand and a run to be made is greater in the fourth innings than in any other, for the simple reason that batsmen on the one hand, and bowlers and fielders on the other, have a definite undertaking before them. The definite knowledge that unless the batsmen are all got out under a certain number of runs the match will be lost makes bowlers and fielders doubly efficient, for it makes them realise the absolute necessity of saving every run and getting every wicket. It is almost a truism that, in most cases, the more definite is the object a man has before himself, the better means is he likely to take to achieve it. But in the particular case of a cricket- match this tells more favourably for bowlers than batsmen. It is true that some batsmen have the gift of rising to the occasion, and never bat so well as when their side dearly needs their best work ; but, as a general rule, batsmen do not do well when they have to play against bogey as it were — against a fixed number of runs. Nervousness, anxiety, and keenness to do well, sometimes militate terribly against good batting. And there is always the fact that a bad stroke generally means " out " ; and once out, a batsman never may return. That it is a big thing to go in to make a score on a bad wicket in the fourth innings of a match is sufficiently obvious. There is no surer proof of this than that it has time after time proved advantageous for a side to have to follow on, which means starting with a deficit of 120 runs to wipe off in the second innings ; because if the second innings prove really fruitful, and the side which won the toss is set a fair number of runs, to get the disadvantage of the fourth innings has finally proved more than equal to the deficit. Another advantage of taking first innings is, that it is the only one of the four where each man goes in to bat absolutely fresh. In the other innings of a match all the batsmen have had some bowling and fielding work to take the edge off their efficiency — that is, unless the first innings exactly coincide with the day's play, which it rarely does. Moreover, it not unfrequently happens that the 246 CAPTAINCY. side which bats second has to go in when the light is bad in the late afternoon of the first day, loses several good wickets, and is all out by lunch-time on the second. The fact is, that in most cases the side that bats first has the best of the bargain in every way. The gist of the whole matter, as far as the captain is concerned, is, that there is only one case where it pays to put the other side in. This is when the wicket is drying under a hot sun, and is sticky, and is likely to remain so just long enough to get the batting side or a good part of it out ; in other words, when the wicket is as difficult as it ever can be, but may perhaps get easier. Even when the wicket is sticky it is not always good policy to put the other side in ; for if there are reasonable prospects of its remain- ing difficult for a considerable time, it pays to go in first and avoid the fourth innings. My advice is : if in doubt, take first innings. Here we may leave the captain to go and toss with his opponent for choice of innings. He should be in a position to decide directly the result of the spin of the coin is ascertained, so that if lie wins he can give his first two batsmen enough time to get ready in comfort, or, should he put the other side in, can collect his men ready to take the field punctually. Just before tossing, the home captain should, if he has not done it already, come to a definite agreement with the visiting captain as to the precise time for luncheon, for drawing stumps, and for beginning play the next day. The value of boundaries, too, should be settled. Even when there are fixed rules or , customs peculiar to the ground, and generally known and accepted, it is as well to make quite sure that all the points are clearly understood. The umpire, too, should be informed of what the two captains have decided on such points. There is a humorous saying, that a captain's supreme duty is to win the toss. Unfortunately no coin can be made to con- sistently behave as desired, so there is nothing to do but go and toss and accept your luck. People have tales about lucky six- pences and lucky ways of tossing, but the fact remains that the chances are even. The only fact with a glimmer of science about it is to call tails, because the head-side of most coins is slightly the heavier, and therefore the more likely to fall under- most. In practice the coin seems to be fairly impartial as to vhether it falls on its head or on its tail. It is customary for the home captain to spin the coin, and the visiting captain to call. W. G. GRACE CUTTING WITH THE LEFT LEG ACROSS AT A WIDE BALL. Frfm j'l,ol„ 6;/ K. llaifl.iN^ it' Cr,.. Ilriuhton. 248 CAPTAINCY. Let us now follow the captain who has won the toss, and see what he has to do about his side's batting. The moment he has decided to take the innings there is a small matter to be attended to. It is a rule that the wicket be not rolled till ten minutes before the innings begins. As a corollary, the toss should be decided in time to allow the full use of this ten ipinutes. On most good grounds two rollers are kept — one heavy, the other light. A captain should give precise instructions which he desires to be used. His choice will be guided by the knowledge he already has acquired as to the state of the wicket. When the wicket is hard and true, it does not make the slightest difference which roller is requisitioned. When the wicket is inclined to crumble, it is a mistake to put on the heavy roller, because it is very likely to break up the wicket still further, and make little cracks where the ground was sound before. The action of a heavy roller on a ground that is damp or soaked is to squeeze the water up to the surface. If, there- fore, the ground is sticky, the heavy roller should be used, as it causes the water to well up and turn the stickiness into mere soddenness, so that for a few overs at any rate it plays more easily. A caking wicket is likely to be damaged by the heavy roller somewhat in the same way as a crumbly one. On a ground that is drying slowly but surely, the best thing to do is to dispense with rolling altogether, as the wicket is fairly easy, and the captain hopes that his side will last over the drying process till the ground is hard again. Such a wicket dries more readily without being rolled. When the wicket is really soaked, either roller or none may be employed. As a matter of practice, most captains leave the rolling to the groundman, who may usually be trusted to know what is best, and act accordingly. But the captain should observe what is being done, so as to prevent the making of any obvious mistake. Groundmen sometimes use the roller that is nearest to hand, without troubling about the probable result. There is nothing to prevent a captain personally con- sulting the groundman and asking his advice. The value of the advice depends upon the value of the groundman. The captain of the ingoing side has two duties to perform in connection with the batting of his side. The first is, to arrange the order in which his eleven goes to the wicket ; the second, to keep an eye on the progress of events. He ought to have thought out the best order some time before, so that he may be quite ready to write it out directly after tossing, should he win and take the innings, or lose and CAPTAINCY. 249 be put in by the other captain. Most sides remain substantially the same for several consecutive matches, at any rate in first- class cricket. So the captain soon has a stereotyped order which only needs slight modification to suit each match. In arranging the order of the going in, the captain should be guided by a desire to make the very best use of the material at his command, with a view to getting as many runs as possible. With slight reservations it may be taken for granted that the order should represent the respective abilities of the successive players. This is the fundamental line which must be taken in arranging a batting side. The reasons for this are, that the earlier a man goes in the better does he find the wicket, and the greater chance has he of finding some one to stay with him while he makes his runs. It often happens that a good bat who goes in late is left " not out " with a moderate score, which he might have increased to any extent if some one had remained to stay in at the other end. Again, the earlier the bowling is well taken in hand, and, if possible, collared, the more likely are subsequent batsmen to realise a large total. Clearly, the better a batsman the more likely is he to effect this. Again, the bowl- ing is sure to be stronger and fuller of sting at the commence- ment of an innings ; hence the more skilful batsman is the better qualified to withstand it at this stage. Further, the more that runs are made early in an innings, the more will be made towards the end. As a matter of fact, the drder of merit is frequently constituted the order of going in, and *ith good results. But there are the reservations to be considered. A good start is so valuable, that it is advisable to choose two sound bats to go in first. The best combination is a sound steady player and a sound forcing player, whether stylist or hitter. If one of them is a left-hander so much the better, for few bowlers bowl as well to a left- as to a right-hander. A brilliant uncertain batsman had better be kept to go in second or third wicket down, unless he be. the only really good bat on the side, in which case he should go in first. After choosing the first two, the order of merit holds good. But there are still one or two points to meet — the placing of hitters, of bowlers, and fanciful players. If there are two hitters on a side, there is much to be said for sending in one first and the other sixth or seventh. They are kept apart so as not to be liable to hit against one another. The first, if he gets runs, probably upsets the bowlers and makes them good food for the succeeding batsmen. The second, by going in rather late, is doubly useful. He is in a 2SO CAPTAINCY. position where he may find the bowHng rather slack, and con- sequently just to his taste; while if matters go wrong through a bad wicket or bad luck, he is just the man for the desperate measures required to set things right, and he goes in at a time when such requirements can be realised. On the whole, when a side possesses only one hitter he had better go in sixth or seventh. Here it may be pointed out that when a wicket is really difficult, good hitting pays better than good play of either sort ; indeed on a real bowler wicket the more hitting is done the better. So under such conditions all the forcing bats should be moved rather higher up in the order. Bowlers affect the arrangement in this way. If they are good for runs the sooner they go in the better, so that they may get in their runs and then have plenty of time to rest and recover before they have to bowl. Care must be taken, however, not with the point in. view to force better bats down too low. With regard to fanciful players. Some men like a particular place in the order, and feel that they are less likely to make runs if not allowed to get this. It is a mistake to disregard such fancies entirely, for though they may be unreasonable they do un- doubtedly affect their possessors' play. Unless, then, the captain feels quite certain that he is muddling his order or making his batting strength materially less effective, he does well to humour them. The original order is of course subject to such modifications as circumstances may require during the progress of the game. For instance, it sometimes pays to send in an inferior bat, who can still bat a bit, as a stop-gap for a few minutes before time, to avoid the chance of losing a valuable player. Just before the close of play a good player going in has everything to lose and nothing to gain. His batting for a few minutes does not help to get him well s6t, and his desire not to lose his wicket is likely to make him nervous and put him off his game. A steady player who usually goes in late is the best stop-gap. Again, if a player feels unwell he should be put in later than usual, because he has time to recover somewhat, and in any case is less efficient than he is usually. As a general rule, however, it does not pay to make alterations in the first order. Indeed it is very often fatal sud- denly to upset the usual arrangement. The batsmen feel like fish out of water, and go in thinking — as they ought not to be doing — about other things than playing the ball. The order should not be altered without good reason. A captain should keep an eye on matters while the other men CAPTAINCY. 251 on his side are batting, because it is his duty to identify himself entirely with the whole play of his side. Later on'we shall see the great importance of this when his side are fielding. But the same thing holds good with regard to its batting. Besides, he cannot make any necessary alteration in the order unless he is following the game. Neither can he give that useful shout of " Steady, old chap ! " which has saved so many cricketers. Again, he ought to be on the spot and well informed of matters in order to be able to give any advice that may occur to him as useful to the batsmen who go in later. Many a player has got 50 runs instead of none owing to a word of advice of this kind. In any case, it is a very usual thing for matters to go wrong directly the person in authority relaxes his attention ; so the captain should be wide-awake and accessible in the pavilion or some obvious spot while his side are in. From what has been said, some of the duties and difificulties of captaincy can be realised. I do not think that people under- stand what a great tribute is paid to a man by his fellow-men when among cricketers — good cricketers who know what they are talking about — he is recognised as a good captain. But as yet the most difficult, and in a way the most important, part of his duty has scarcely been more than mentioned in this chapter. That part is the leading and management of his side in the field. It is here that he has the widest scope, that his omissions and commissions tell most, and that he has the greatest influence upon his side for good or evil — as far, at any rate, as their cricket is concerned. If he fails in his general or preliminary duties to his side and his club, he is not a really good captain ; but such duties may possibly be carried out by some other member of the club — perhaps by the secretary. Similarly, his social duties may be performed by proxy. If he lacks the ability or the energy to find out about wickets and attend to other details, good fortune may help matters along. With regard to the order of batting, it may arrange itself with fair results or be settled by rule of thumb. Besides, the captain can get endless advice on such points. In the actual batting, even if the captain pays no attention, things may go well ; for, after all, each man has to do his own batting for himself, as an individual, and is for the time being a separate unit acting for himself — though the more each batsman realises that he is part of the side the better it is. But directly an eleven goes out to field, it becomes, as it were, an organism of which each man is a member, incapable 252 CAPTAINCY. beyond a certain point of acting independently of the whole and the other parts. The captain represents the linity of this whole, and also its active principle. He bears the same relation to his side as the brain does to the body. If he is dead, the side is dead ; if he works wrongly, the side works wrongly. An qrganism must have a central principle to make it efficient, and a captain ought to be this central principle to his side. When the captain is a mere figurehead, a merely nominal captain, the side works much as does an animal with most of its brain removed by a vivisectionist. When the captain is bad or inefficient, the side works like a body that is ruled by a bad or inefficient brain. The captain creates the moral atmosphere of his side. If he is slack and indifferent, so are the other ten ; if he is keen and enthusiastic, so are they. Unconsciously the side as a whole assuhies the captain's attitude towards cricket and towards a par- ticular cricket-match. So his duties in the field involve a good deal besides the actual management of bowling and arrangement of fieldsmen. If his side is to play the game in the right spirit, and in the spirit that wins matches, he must be kind, cheerful, and enthusiastic, and must always try his very best. It is impos- sible to give advice upon such points. The only thing is for a captain to realise what it is that is required, and to see the im- portance of fulfilling this to the utmost of his ability. The practical management of a side in the field involves a knowledge of the whole game of cricket, and a power to apply this knowledge to particular circumstances. It is better to lead a side by rule of thumb than not do so at all ; but this is not genuine good captaincy, for no two cricket-matches are exactly alike. Different circumstances are continually arising which should be met in different ways. A captain's knowledge of the game, to be really useful, must be pliable and capable of accom- modating itself. He must be able to think as well as to know. Perhaps some of these points may be illustrated incidentally when we are discussing the practical duties of a captain in the field. These duties may be grouped under two heads — management of bowling and arrangement of fielders. And the proper fulfil- ment of the duties implied in these two undertakings involves a knowledge of the whole game of cricket — that is, a knowledge of batting, bowling, and fielding, not only separately but in relation to one another. This is a large order. But unless a captain recognises the truth of it, he can never hope to become a really good one. CAPTAINCY 253 In the chapters on Batting, Bowling, and Fielding, these three departments of the game are considered, as far as possible, from the point of view of a cricketer separately engaged in each. Here they must be treated from another point of view — that of the captain in the field. Now, the first point to understand is how a knowledge of oatting comes into the question. A moment's thought will show that it is the key to the whole situation. Batting is the object- matter of bowling and fielding. A side bowls and fields in order to get the other side out for as few runs as possible. A side bats in order to get enough runs to win the match, which comes to very much the same thing as all the runs they can. Since, then, batting is the object of attack, it is quite clear that bowlers and fieldsmen, and above all the captain, should understand the exact nature of this object, otherwise they cannot possibly use their power to the best effect. A general may have fine artillery and soldiery at his command, but accurate shooting and splendid discipline cannot possibly be used with real effectiveness unless the object against which they are being employed is thoroughly known to him. Ignorance of it is almost sure to entail waste of power. Unless he knows the arrangement of the hostile troops and the ins and outs of their position, his shells will be dropped in the wrong place and his method of attack generally be at fault. The same applies to a captain in the cricket-field. Bowlers must be chosen and put on, fielders arranged with reference to the batsmen who are in, as well as to other considerations. There is only one way to arrive at a knowledge of batting, and that is by continual observation. The kind of knowledge re- quired relates to how particular batsmen or kinds of batsmen play ; what are their strong and weak strokes ; how they score most of their runs ; how they generally get out, or, what is much the, same, are likely to get out. With regard to batsmen he has seen play frequently^ a captain should not have much difficulty. He should have observed their game each time for future pur- poses. And by continually observing particular batsmen he will soon get into the habit of classing certain kinds of players in groups, so that when unknown players have to be dealt with he can fix them in one of these classes after an over or two of ob- servation, and can act accordingly. Though no two batsmen play identically alike, there are certain fairly well-marked classes into which they fall. There are forcing bats and defensive bats ; some strong on the on -side, some on the off; some whose strength lies in their forward-play, others whose strength lies in 254 CAPTAINCY. their back-play ; some, again, though not many, who are strong in every direction. Again, batsmen differ in ternperament, some being impetuous and hasty, others dogged ' and patient. All these points must be noticed and studied, and every piece of information used against the batsmen, — for each style of batting has certain inherent weaknesses. Forcing bats are liable to be bowled out in attempting their usual strokes at good-length balls, or may often be got rid of by judicious feeding of their best strokes. Defensive players are often best treated with a tricky slow bowler, for they can be frequently " diddled " or humbugged out. Forward - players are naturally weakest at those bowlers who should be played back — for instance, at slow left-handers, leg-breakers, or lob-bowlers ; back-players should be plied with bowlers who should be played forward, and so on. But it must not be forgotten that a captain has to work with a limited amount of material. He has only a certain number of bowlers at his command in a match. What he has to do is to make the best possible use of what bowling he has. When the innings begins, the first question he has to decide is, with which two bowlers to commence the attack. He should be guided by one or two considerations. As the main object is to get a wicket as soon as possible, he should choose those two bowlers who are most likely on the particular wicket to get one or both of the two incoming batsmen out. With regard to the batsmen, enough has been said to show the kind of reasoning to adopt. As to the wicket, certain bowlers are more suitable than others on certain wickets. For instance, a fast bowler cannot do him- self any justice unless he can get a foothold. He is best suited for hard wickets. On' dead wickets slow bowlers are generally easy, because their deliveries come so slowly off the pitch that the batsmen can watch them. Medium -pace bowlers are the best upon dead and upon wet wickets, because they can gener- ally manage to stand, and because they have enough pace' to prevent the batsman stepping back and doing what he likes with good -length balls. On sticky or difficult wickets, in general, good slow or medium -pace bowlers are the most suitable, be- cause they can bowl difficult balls with plenty of break, without sending down loose deliveries that give the batsmen chances of scoring without having to endanger their wickets. It is a great mistake to use a leg-break bowler much on a sticky wicket for this very reason. In any case, the two bowlers to go on first are the two that are most likely to bowl best under the existing conditions. Now, in most cases they will be the two recognised CAPTAINCY. 255 Stock-bowlers of the side ; and provided there is nothing to render a stock first-bowler less likely to get wickets than some other on the side, by all means let him begin. Still, I am in- clined to think that captains are in the habit of taking it for granted that the two bowlers who are known by results to be the most proficient, taking the whole season through, are also the two best in all circumstances. Results only prove them to be the best in average circumstances. It is sometimes a good plan to give up the usual lines of commencing operations in favour of another. For instance, supposing the two stock first-bowlers are a fast and a medium, but one of the two first batsmen is known to be a poor hand at slows, — should the captain have a slow bowler, he had far better put him on at once to have a go at the batsman in question, before the latter gets his eye in. Remember it is a great mistake to have a hard-and-fast line of action, and to stick to it always. The proper thing is to adapt means to ends, and to use the bowlers that are most likely to prove destructive under the existing conditions. There is another point to notice in choosing the first two bowlers. They should not only be good bowlers individually, but a good combination. The more of a contrast they are in style the better. When two bowlers of similar styles are on together, the batsman who is at home at one end is at home at the other. The same bowler might almost be bowling at both ends, as far as the batsman is concerned. If he has to play fast bowling one over and slow the next, or right-hand one over and left-hand the next, a batsman cannot get set nearly so readily. The contrast of pace and delivery is likely to cause him to misjudge the ball. It is often forgotten that the bowler who is credited on the score-sheet with the-wicket is not necessarily the one who really got it. A man is often bowled out at one end because he has been unsettled at the other. The best combination is to have a right-hand bowler at one end and a left-hand at the other, especially if they differ in pace. It sometimes happens that a side has only two good bowlers. In this case they ought to be put on first; or if an inferior bowler is substituted for one of them with some special object in view, he should be removed in favour of the stock-bowler, unless the object is effected in the course of a few overs, or there is some definite indication that it is likely to be effected. It is very desirable to begin with a fast bowler if you have one, and the wicket is such that he can bowl upon it ; for, owing to his pace, he is very liable to get batsmen out when 256 CAPTAINCY. they first come in, and are not used to the light and the wicket. As far as is consistent with other and more essential require- ments, it is a good thing to let the two first-bowlers, and indeed even the change-bowlers, have a choice in the matter of which end they go on. Bowlers often have a distinct feeling that one end or the other is the better for their purposes ; and it is as well to humour them on such points, for fancies and feelings often represent facts. Certainly, when there is a slope in the ground — as at Lord's, for instance — a bowler should be put on at the end that admits of the slope helping his break. There is one more point with regard to first-bowlers. Bowlers fall into two classes, which may be distinguished from one another as first-bowlers and change-bowlers. The former class are those who can keep an end' up for some time, artd indeed bowl all through an innings if things go well for them. The second class are those who are very likely to get a wicket or two, but, either through lack of steadiness or stamina, or by reason of their style, are better fitted to go on as change-bowlers for a short time. Curiously enough, there is a kind of cross between the two — a bowler who cannot bowl properly if put on first, but who, if put on as a change, bowls for all the world as though he were by nature a first-bowler. There are also certain bowlers who are qua bowlers excellent, but who cannot do themselves justice unless they are allowed to start the attack. It seems to put them off their stroke if they cannot begin at the beginning of things. All these idiosyncrasies should be taken into account by a captain in his management of the bowling ; but he must never lose sight of the main point, which, is to use his bowling to the best effect with the object of getting the other side out. Before going on to make some remarks about how to change the bowlers on a side to the best advantage, it may be pardonable to digress shortly on the subject of selecting bowlers for an eleven, representative or otherwise. A side ought to include four abso- lutely first-rate bowlers of different styles. These are essential. And if it is impossible to find one or two all-round men of suffi- cient bowling ability, four bowlers must be selected with no reference to anything but their bowling qualifications. It is taken for granted that they are good fields. A common and mistaken idea is, that for an England Eleven the four best bowlers, on performances, should be selected. Now this might easily result in the side comprising four bowlers exactly alike — say, medium- CAPTAINCY. 257 pace right-hand. This is, of course, absurd. The proper pro- cedure is to select the best man of four totally different kinds, provided there is in each kind a bowler who comes up to a cer- tain standard. I think that an eleven ought always to contain two medium-pace bowlers — one right-hand, the other left — for medium-pace bowlers are the most generally useful. Then it should contain the best available fast right-hand bowler, and the best available slow bowler, either right or left. These four should be selected without any reference to their batting, if their bowling reaches a certain standard of excellence. When the choice lies between two men of equal bowling but unequal batting or field- ing ability, the choice would naturally fall upon the better bat or field. In making up an eleven where the limited area of selection precludes the possibility of getting a first-rater of each class, the aim should be to supply the deficiency in one class or the other by including the best bat who can bowl fairly well in the style that is lacking. By this means the required variety in the attack is secured without weakening the batting of the side too much. It sometimes happens that no really good bowlers are available. Under these circumstances selection committees often make the mistake of including purely as bowlers players who are really no better bowlers than several already selected as bats. It is far better to strengthen the batting than to include as bowlers men who are not really bowlers, but who by a curious process of mis- judgment are regarded as such simply because they cannot bat. But to return. The changing of bowling is one of the most difficult duties of the captain. It requires great judgment and the closest attention to the game. Anything more useless than for the captain to put on bowlers for . equal intervals without any reference to the game is inconceivable. The very virtue of a change is to meet some observed requirement. Consequently, if a captain retires to the long-field, leaves things to take care ot themselves, amuses himself with extraneous thoughts, or goes to sleep, he is scarcely likely, when he does think fit to order a change, to choose the right one. The object of changing the bowling is twofold : first, to rest the stock-bowlers or the bowlers who are for the occasion doing most of the work ; secondly, to try what a new kind of bowling will do towards getting rid of a batsman who seems at home with that being employed at the time. A change of bowling should be rather differently made in each of these cases. Supposing a captain has only two good bowlers upon whom he can rely to get the opposing side out, he must R 258 CAPTAINCY. use them very carefully. Though they have to get all the wickets, they cannot possibly bowl all the innings unless it is a short one. Yet he cannot afford to dispense with any work that they can do. In fact, the problem is how to get the best out of them. Perhaps the wisest course is to take one off at a time at suitable intervals, and substitute for him the steadiest available change-bowler, in order that the resting of the wicket- getting bowler may not cost the side too dear in runs. A fast bowler naturally requires more frequent spells of rest than a medium or slow. If the hope of getting wickets depends chiefly on a fast bowler, he must be very carefully used. He should always be allowed a chance at new batsmen, as his pace is likely to beat them at first. But he should be taken off directly runs begin to come freely off him, and then put on again for a bit. A fast bowler is especially valuable for knock- ing out the tail of a side, so he should not be exhausted too much by being kept on when he is obviously doing no good. It pays to take any bowler off directly he shows signs of losing his "devil." It is a mistake to allow him to bowl himself out ; for, in the first place, he is nearly sure to be- expensive in the process of getting thoroughly tired, and when once thoroughly tired, he is liable not to recover his sting at all. If, on the other hand, he is given a rest directly he begins to tire, he will probably be as fit as ever after twenty minutes or so. By judicious management three hours of good work during an innings may be got out of a bowler who cannot bowl for three- quarters of an hour on end without tiring. A bowler usually tires much less quickly when he is getting wickets than when he is not. With regard to changing the bowling in order to get wickets. First, it is advisable not to take a bowler off too soon, for some bowlers require time to get going. But it is far better to take a bowler off too soon than too late. He can always be put on again, but the piece of " too much " he has done is so much pure loss that cannot be made up. Secondly/ a change ought to be a real change — that is to say, the bowler put on should, if possible, be quite different from the one taken off, in order that the batsman may be more likely to misjudge his deliveries. At the same time, care should be taken not to spoil the contrast between the bowlers at either end. The aim should be always to have two dissimilar bowlers on together. The limitations of a side often prevent this, but it should be kept in mind. Lob-bowling is always an excellent A. G. STEEL. Fr>mi j:l:olo !.;/ E. nhn/o hy K, JfuivKin^ JJ Co., Brighton, 302 PUBLIC SCHOOL CRICKET. RESULTS OF REPTON -v. MALVERN MATCHES. WON BY WON BY I87I. Drawn. 1885. Repton . an innings and 1872. Malvern . . 42 runs. S runs. 1873- Repton . . 104 II 1886. II an innings and 1874. M • 3 " 246 runs. i87S' Malvern . S vvickets. 1887. Drawn. 1876. Repton . an innings and 1888. Repton . 8 wickets. 13 runs. 1889. II an inns, and 55 runs. 1877. 11 . 176 11 1890. n an inns, and 141 runs. 1878. Malvern . 3 wickets. 1891. Malvern . S wickets. 1879. Repton . . 15 runs. 1892. II an inns, and 4 runs. 1880. II . 189 „ 1893. 11 8 wickets. 1881. „ . 10 II 1S94. Drawn. 1882. 11 ■ S7 H 1895. Malvern . . 10 wickets. 1883. II 5 wickets. 1896. II . 10 II 1884. II . 67 runs. 1897. II . 9 II X. ROSSALL SCHOOL. (Colours — Dark-blue blazer, bound with white ; dark-blue cap, with vertical white stripes, and sash to correspond.) The Rossall ground, which is close to the " sounding sea," covers about 14 acres. It has a clay subsoil, is well drained, and fairly fast, while good wickets are always to be found on it. The most important body, from a cricket point of view, is the Upper Club, to which about twenty of the best cricketers belong, selected by the captain of the eleven. These have regular hours of net -practice and fielding on whole-school days, with games or foreign matches on holidays and half-holidays. The rest of the school plays by houses — there are eight houses — on the League system, members of the Upper Club being excluded, though in the Cock-House matches, on the " knock-out " principle, every house plays its full available strength. It is needless to add that the cricket -loving masters — and Rossall has many — assist the regular professional in coaching. Without being a great cricketing centre, Rossall has produced its fair share of great cricketers, and few schools can boast of a boy like F. W. Wright, who in 1862 played for North v. South, while still at school, and scored 49 runs. Nor is the following story inappropriate. Some time ago the Fleetwood garrison was engaged for a match with the school, and being weak in bowling, had secured the services of Watson, the Lancashire professional, then in his finest form, to support them. That his name might not frighten the boys out, he played as Corporal Jinks, with the RUGBY SCHOOL. 303 result that one boy scored over 200 runs, and the garrison never got an innings ! Among great Rossalhan cricketers may be mentioned, in ad- dition to F. W. Wright, W. Townshend, G. Savile, Rev. V. Royle, P. H. Morton, Rev. W. H. Bathez, F. A. Phillips, A. B. Rowley, E. B. Rowley. The chief matches are with Liverpool, Preston, and M.C.C. ; the schools encountered are Loretto and Shrewsbury. In the inter-school matches the scores are as follows : Against Loretto, Rossall has won 4 matches and lost 4 — 6 being drawn. Against Shrewsbury, Rossall has won 6 and lost 2 — 3 being drawn. With Malvern (i 886-1 891), Rossall has won 4 and lost 2 : the match is now discontinued. XI. RUGBY SCHOOL. (Colours — Light-blue shirt and cap ; white blazer, trimmed with light blue.) Few schools can point to finer cricketing records than the big Midland school, though, curiously enough, there are very few Rugby men who, at the time of writing, are playing in first-class cricket. For all that, the Rugby teams are still tough customers, and are generally strong throughout. " Big-Side," where the school-matches are played, is perhaps a little small ; but it is a picturesque ground, and provides very good wickets, which, however, are apt to be fiery in dry weather. The row of beautiful elms which separated " Big-Side " from the rest of the ground suffered so severely in a recent gale that it is hardly a row any longer ; but from a cricketer's point of view the loss is not great. " Big-Side " is the extreme end of a long oblong, the rest of which is devoted to cricket, and, unfortunately, to football as well, with the result that for the junior games the wickets are apt to be rough, which is a genuine misfortune, though common to most schools. Adequate space for both games is, in almost every case, a luxury too expensive for attainment. The system of training and selection is as follows : Likely youngsters are carefully " spotted " by the cricket-loving masters, and are drafted into the so-called "Young Guard," to which special nets are assigned and a steady old professional, while a watch is kept on their style and improvement. After about a couple of years in the " Young Guard " the youngster gets less professional training, but is under more immediate supervision, 304 PUBLIC SCHOOL CRICKET. until he is promoted to the eleven or twenty-two, at whose nets special professionals and special coaching are provided. Each house has also its own nets for less promising aspirants. Most of the games are conducted on the house system, be- tween the senior and junior elevens, or else each house arranges elevens of its own. The only school-game is played on " Big- Side," though two such games often take place simultaneously ; but of course these games have to be postponed on the occasion of a school-match. The most important fixtures at Rugby are those with the M.C.C., the Foresters, Butterflies, and Old Rug- beians, the final match being played at Lord's against Marl- borough. Hitherto no " out-matches " — the Marlborough match comes in the holidays — have been played, though in honour of the Jubilee year a match, which is not to be annual, was played with Uppingham. It always seems unfortunate, if only for the purposes of comparison, that the big schools play, in many cases, so few inter-school matches. Here are some names of great Rugby cricketers : D. Buchanan, W. Yardley, B. Pauncefote, F. W. Tobin, C. K. Francis, C. F. H. Leslie, E. T. Hirst, T. S. Pearson, P. F. Warner, G. F. Vernon, W. O. Moberley. RESULTS OF RUGBY v. MARLBOROUGH MATCHES. WON BY WON BY i85S- Rugby . 10 wickets. 1876. Marlborough . S wickets. 1856. 11 • -5, 11 1877. II . 196 runs. 1857. 11 an innings and 83 runs. 1878. Rugby . an innings and 24 runs. 1858. No match. 1879. II • 97 II 1859. II 1880. II an innings and i860. Rugby . an innings and I20 runs. 50 runs. 1881. II . , 2 wickets. 1861. No match. 1882. Marlborough . 5 11 1862. Marlborough an innings and 1883. Drawn. 17 runs. 18S4. Marlborough . 8 wickets. 1863. Rugby . . 83 11 1885. Drawn. 1864. 11 an innings and 1886. Rugby . . 30 runs. 33 runs. 1887. Marlborough . . 217 1, 1865. 1! 9 wickets. 1888. Rain prevented play. 1866. Drawn. 1889. Marlborough . 6 wickets. 1867. Rugby . 6 wickets. 1890. II . 145 runs. 1868. II an innings and 1891. Drawn. 133 runs. 1892. Marlborough . an innings and i86g. 11 179 11 78 runs. 1870. M S wickets. 1893. Drawn. 1871. Marlborough . . 68 runs. 1894. Rugby . an innings and 1872. n 9 wickets. 82 runs. 1873- Rugby . . 8 1895- n . 70 II 1874. II • S 11 1896. 11 an innings and 1875- 11 . an inns, and 35 runs. 3S ™ns. Rugby has won 22 matches, Marlborough 10, and 5 have been dfawn. SHERBORNE SCHOOL. 305 XII. SHERBORNE SCHOOL. {Caiours —Blae blazer trimmed with gold, and school arms on pocket ; blue cap piped with gold. ) Few schools, probably no schools, have a better ground than Sherborne, so ample is its space and so perfect its wickets. It is somewhat surprising, therefore, that more good cricketers have not been produced by the school ; but it may be remembered that internal troubles have militated against its progress in every way, and that the process of recovery is slow. Excellent as the ground is, it possesses one disadvantage — it is some distance from the school-buildings and houses ; and only those who have a knowledge of schoolboys and their ways know how much time is wasted by them when they have some distance to go. Still, as said before, the ground, when once it is reached, is second to none. The arrangements for practice are as follows : There are three distinct sets of nets used on whole-school days, one for the first eleven and one for the second eleven, while the third is appor- tioned among the houses. For the general conduct of the first two sets the captain of the eleven is responsible, and he is supported by the school professional and his assistant bowlers, as well as by those masters who are enthusiastic and skilful cricketers. The house-nets are managed by the various captains of houses, but in all points the captain of the eleven is, very properly, supreme, and owes allegiance to none save the Head- master. The treasurer, it may be added, is always a master. On half-holidays there is an upper game and a lower game, as well as house games, and a " pick-up " is arranged for all those who are not posted for any of these, so that every one, however small and unskilful, has a chance of amusing and improving himself. At one time Sherborne regularly encountered Clifton ; but the latter school, owing to its superior numbers, carried too many guns for the Dorsetshire boys, and the match was aban- doned. At present Bradfield College and St Paul's School are met, one at home and the other away. Besides these, the In- cogniti and M.C.C. visit Sherborne yearly, and there is a goodly list of matches with more local sides. Among the better known Sherburnians are — W. H. Game, A. F. E. Forman, E. Wallington, F. E. Lacey, E. W. Bastard, E. A. Nepean, A. O. Whiting, Capt. C. G. Barton, A. W. F. Rutty. U 306 i?UBLIC SCHOOL CklCiCEt. XIII. UPPINGHAM SCHOOL. (Colours — White flannel cnp and blazer, trimmed with blue ; blue sash.) Uppingham has taught the cricket world one thing — -the value of a really first-class coach and instructor. This is no place to discuss the character of the late H. H. Stephenson, who was as fine a man as he was a cricketer, but one may be allowed to say that his high character lent an efficiency and weight to his high cricketing abilities, practical and theoretical, which it would be hard to equal. At any rate, on his arrival Uppingham cricket, already of a high class, sprang at once to the highest class, and the school may well be grateful to the foresight of its first great cricketer, C. E. Green, who enabled it to secure the services of so valuable an instructor. Uppingham is blessed in its grounds — two enclosures on which some fifteen games can be played simultaneously, with a little dovetailing. The Upper ground is reserved exclusively for cricket, and winter games are not allowed to desecrate the light soil, well drained and quickly drying, on which the Upper games and school-matches are played. As a matter of space, all the school can be playing cricket at once. On the Upper ground three games take place every half- holiday, when there is no foreign match, and the members of these games can also find excellent practice-wickets there. On the Lower ground the games are arranged strictly according to cricket merit, irrespective of houses or position in the school. There are house-games, as opposed to the regular house-matches, on whole-school days. As to coaching, Stephenson's principle was that " net-practice gets rid of faults, but an innings in a game was the highroad to learning cricket," and he used to coach assiduously from his post as umpire during these games. Bowlers and possible wicket- keepers were trained at first without a batsman, and with excellent results. His system is still being pursued, and in addition to this there is plenty of house-practice, with coaching and inspec- tion by masters, so that a promising " colt " can hardly evade observation. Cricket, by the way, is not compulsory by the school rules, but the keenness of house -competitions makes it practically obligatory. Two masters have a general superinten- dence of the cricket, and as all elevens — Upper, Middle, and Lower, six in each — are decided by sheer merit, competition is vigorous and the games full of life and reality. Add to this the UPPINGHAM SCHOOL. 307 element of house-feeling, and it is not hard to understand why Uppingham cricket is, has been, and probably will be, a great reality in the cricket world. Certainly the system reads as if it were little short of perfection. The chief school-match is against Repton, and, being now an old institution, is eagerly anticipated and keenly fought. The balance of power has of late been with Uppingham, but in earlier years Repton had the best of it : the score now stands Repton 8 wins, Uppingham lo wins, drawn 11. Against Haileybury, Uppingham has been generally victorious, as witness the score : Uppingham 13 wins, Haileybury 3 wins, drawn i. The other chief matches are against the Quidnuncs, Incogniti, and War- wickshire Gentlemen. The "Old Boys'" Club, the Uppingham Rovers, carefully nursed and fostered by C. E. Green, is deservedly famous for the powerful eleven it can put into the field. Here follow a few names of Uppingham's most famous sons : C. E. Green, J. G. Beevor, A. P. Lucas, D. Q. Steel, G. Mac- Gregor, W. S. Patterson, S. S. Schultz, W. M'G. Hemingway, H. Rotherham, G. R. Bardswell, C. E. M. Wilson, S. Christopherson, F. B. Whitfeld, H. T. Luddington, J. A. Turner, J. H. M. Hare, J. F. Whitwell, C. C. Stone, W. F. Whitwell. RESULTS OF REPTON v. UPPINGHAM MATCHES. WON BY WON BY 1865. Repton. 1882. Drawn. 1866. Uppingham . 7 wickets. 1883. Repton , 7 wickets. 1867. Drawn. 1B84. II an innings and 1868. Repton . 22 runs. 141 runs. 1869. II . 24 ,1 1885. II 8 wickets. 1870. ti 49 " 1886. Uppingham 9 runs. I87I. Uppingham . . 100 II 1B87. Not played. 1872. II . 27 1, 1888. Drawn. 1873- Drawn. 1889. II 1874. Not played. 1890. II 1875- Uppingham . an innings and 1891. II 120 runs. 1892. Uppingham . an innings and 1876. Repton . . 31 " 39 runs. 1877. Uppingham . 9 wickets. 1893. II an innings and 1878. II ■ 7. " 154 runs. 1879. " an innmgs and 13 runs. 1894. 1895. Drawn. 1880. Drawn. 1896. Uppingham . an innings and I88I. II 276 runs. Uppingham has won 10 matches, Repton 8, and 11 have been drawn. 308 PUBLIC SCHOOL CRICKET. XIV. WELLINGTON COLLEGE. (Colours — Light-blue cap, piped with yellow ; light-blue blazer and sash, trimmed with yellow ribbon.) For size and position and convenience of access, the Wellington ground yields place probably to none •; and as it falls away slightly from the centre, big hits are many on the hard though sandy soil. A "first game" is played on half- holidays among the presumably best cricketers, when there is no foreign match, and the games of the next series are known as " Belows.'' Here some fifteen sides, representing as many houses or dormitories, play for a challenge cup on the county championship system once or twice a-week, and the captain of the eleven keeps his eyes open for rising talent and likely material. A second game, which has long been existing, is now being abolished by way of experiment, it being found that a series of scratch games gets very monotonous for those who are not actually playing for their colours. " Belows '' are played whenever there is a "first game." For other boys games are arranged, known as " Second Belows." The selection of the elevens, of which there are three, is left to the captain, who promotes from time to time, publishing and posting a final list at the end of term. The "Cock- House" matches are played on the " bumping " system, as follows : the houses start in the order of the previous year, last year's cock- house having a bye first week. No. 2 playing No. 3, No. 4 playing No. 5, and so on. Those who win go up a place. In the second week the bottom house does not play, but No. i plays No. 2, and so on, the rounds continuing, if possible, till every house has beaten the one above it, or has been beaten by it. Foreign matches are played every Saturday : there are no games that day, and every one is expected to look on. For practice there are plenty of nets and three professionals for "first game," all members of which get plenty of training and coaching. The " Belows " nets are looked after by two or three masters, who coach and detect rising talent. Every house or dormitory — for house -matches the terms are synonymous — has also its special net assigned to it and reserved for it. The schools played are Charterhouse and Haileybury. The Haileybury match was instituted in 1866, but on four occasions it has not taken place, owing to illness. The present state of the poll is — 16 wins to Wellington, 4 to Haileybury, and 7 drawn WESTMINSTER SCHOOL. 309 matches. The score with Charterhouse is given under Charter- house. Other matches are with I Zingari, the Free Foresters, the M.C.C., and the Staff College. The following are among famous Wellington cricketers : Prince Christian Victor, G. F. H. Berkeley, G. J. Mordaunt, R. O'H. Livesay, G. J. V. Weigall, H. M. Braybrooke, A. C. M. Croome, E. C. Mordaunt. XV. WESTMINSTER SCHOOL. {Colours — Pink blazer, cap, and sash.) A history of the Westminster cricket-ground, now known as " Vincent's Square," would be too long for this work, though full of interest : suffice it to say that it has belonged to St Peter's College, Westminster, for over two centuries, and, known origin- ally as Tuttle (Tot-hill) Fields, received its present name from William Vincent, Dean of Westminster early in the present cen- tury, and Head-master of St Peter's College, who insisted that the present plot of ground should be reserved for recreation at a time when the surrounding fields were sold for building pur- poses. The total area is about 10 acres, and has been steadily improved, so that at the present day, instead of a piece of rough meadow-land, the Westminster boys have a good tract of turf, part of which is never desecrated by football, whereon to play cricket, and this tract is known in the school argot as " Fields " or "Up-Fields." It is now one of the driest grounds in England, and rapidly recovers after rain. Time was when Westminster produced her full share of great cricketers, but in later days competition has somewhat crowded her out, and not merely competition but the fact that she is largely a day-school as opposed to a boarding-school ; and all those who have any knowledge of boy-life know how hard it is to inspire day-boys, full of home interests, with the zealous keenness which alone leads to that persistent practice from which true cricketers are bred. When "water" — Westminster for "rowing" — was abolished, it was hoped that cricket would have a larger amount of prosperity in consequence, and there are now signs that the wished-for improvement is not far off, and that Westminster cricket may rise once more to its old level; but till the " Home-boarders " show the same enthusiasm as the " Queen's Scholars " and " Boarders,'' no great things are pos- 310 PUBLIC SCHOOL CRICKET. sible, and at present few " Home-boarders " qualify for their colours. On the four whole-school days about two hours and a half are devoted to practice at the nets or to practice-games, three professionals being employed for the education of the eleven and other promising players : other nets are set apart for the houses. On half-holidays there is "Big-game" for the pro- ficient, and " form-matches," each controlled by a captain, for the rest of the school, the "forms" being drawn against each other on the League system. On two evenings in every week house- games take place, a professional being engaged on either side ; and regular house-matches, on the " knock-out " principle, are also played for a challenge shield. The chief matches of the Westminster season are against the Lords-and-Commons, Incogniti, I Zingari, M.C.C., and Char- terhouse, the only school-match. Charterhouse has of late years proved itself far too strong for the London school, and the score stands at — Charterhouse 19 wins, Westminster 12 wins, drawn games 3. Among well-known Westminster cricketers may be quoted J. L. Baldwin, H. M. Curteis, E. T. Drake, R. M. Curteis, C. G. Lane, H. E. Bull, R. D. Balfour, E. Bray, C. J. M. Fox, S. C. Probyn, L. J. Moon, W. R. Moon, W. E. Roller, F. T. Higgins. XVL WINCHESTER COLLEGE. (Colours — White flannel blazer, trimmed with dark blue, with brass buttons stamped with arms ; dark-blue cap and sash. ) No school possesses, from the batsman's point of view, a more delightful ground than Winchester does in " New Field," where wickets of wonderful excellence are provided, and scoring in consequence is consistently high. The system of training, too, is one of high excellence, and is calculated to make the very most of all available talent. Most important of all is the incessant attention paid to fielding, in which department Win- chester men have always been famous for their ability. The organisation of practice is as follows : on ordinary after- noons the professionals' nets are occupied by the best players for an hour. At the end of that time fielding-practice is indulged in for some three-quarters of an hour, while the second class bat and bowl at the nets. These latter go to " house -fielding" later on in the day, when the nets are reserved for promising colts H. D. G. LEVESON-GOWER'S PUSH-STROKE IN THE SLIPS. Fnm ,.hul,i hil E. lluirkhis A O:, l;riijhh,n. 312 PUBLIC SCHOOL CRICKET. under sixteen. All this practice is under careful supervision. In addition to this every house has its own nets, and as all these are in one long row, patrolled by those who delight in supervising the school cricket, it is almost impossible for any cricketer, how- ever young, who shows promise, to escape the observation of the powers that be. It is not surprising that, when organisation is so good and overlooking so complete, Winchester cricket should have reached such a high general standard. On half-holidays a match of some kind is provided for the first eleven. For the rest of the school — those who are over sixteen — games are provided by a senior club and two middle clubs ; while for the improvement and amusement of the juniors, a system of League matches between the different houses has been instituted, each house playing the other in turn. As a challenge cup is given, to be held by the winning house, it is not surprising that the competition is keen and the excitement intense — all the more so that the competition runs on steadily throughout the term, which is not the case when the "knock-out" system is adopted. Even lower down in the scale games are provided, known as the " Junior junior," in which each house plays the same house as its League team is encountering. There are consequently at least fifteen games in course of decision every half-holiday afternoon, in addition to the first eleven match, and, needless to say, such an admirable scheme of organisation is largely dependent on the time given to it by those who devote their leisure to fostering the game. Winchester plays only one school match — with its ancient rival, Eton. At one time an inter-school week used to be held at Lord's, in which Eton, Harrow, and Winchester met each the other. However, this " week " has fallen into desuetude, and the Harrow - Winchester match has been abandoned. The Eton- Winchester fixture takes place at either school in alternate years, and is, to Winchester at least, the great event of the year, while the immigration of large numbers of boys from the visiting school prevents any possibility of lop-sidedness, to any great extent, in the enthusiasm and applause. Outside the Eton match the chief Winchester fixtures are with A. J. Webbe's XL, the Free Foresters, I Zingari, the M.C.C., and the Butterflies. Among later Wykehamist cricketers may be mentioned J. Shuter, J. R. Mason, H. R. Webbe, F. A. G. Leveson-Gower, H. D. G. Leveson-Gower, Rev. J. H. Savory, R. P. Lewis, G. W. Ricketts, V. T. Hill, A. H. Trevor, W. Lindsay, L. S. Howell. J. R. MASON FORCING THE EALL OFF HIS LEGS. Prom phot L' by K. IlLiivJ:iji^ 1: Co.. Bri(jhton. 314 CHAPTER VIII. OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. By Thomas Case. I. EARLY HISTORY OF THE CLUB, AND UNIVERSITY MATCHES DOWN TO 1 862. The first Oxford and Cambridge match was played at Lord's in 1827, but was drawn owing to wet ; the second was played on the Magdalen ground, Oxford, in 1829, when Oxford won by 115 runs; the third was played at Lord's in 1836, and Oxford again won by 121 runs; the fourth was played at Lord's in 1838, with the result that Oxford won for the third time by 98 runs. From that year the match has been played every year, and at the present moment Cambridge has won 31 and Oxford 28 times. From the beginning only three matches have been drawn — in 1827, 1844, and 1888 — all on account of wet. The fact that the match was played only thrice in the first ten years (1827-36), shows that at first the contest between the uni- versities was rather of a haphazard kind. There are other proofs that it had not then gained anything like its present importance. In the early matches we sometimes find men absent. Thus in 1836 two Cambridge men were absent in the second innings ; in 1838 one man was absent in the second innings of Oxford, and one absent in each innings of Cambridge. In 1839, when Cam- bridge won in one innings, Oxford played with ten men only. Fancy a man nowadays daring to be absent, or only ten men on a side present, in a university match ! Another curious indication of carelessness is the multitude of extras. In 1846, in Oxford's second innings of 200 runs there were 36 byes, 21 wides, and 6 no-balls, making 63 extras; and EARLY HISTORY OF THE CLUB. 315 in Cambridge's first innings of 127 runs there were 45 byes, 9 wides, and i no-ball, or 55 extras — nearly half the runs. In 1839 there were 108 extras in the 449 runs scored in the match. In 1842 Oxford gave Cambridge 24 byes and 17 wides in the first innings of 139, and 20 byes and 14 wides in the second innings of 180 runs. The bowling must have been erratic, the wicket- keeping and long-stopping not first-rate ; but as far as byes go, the ground was no doubt a main cause, for in old days, as long as the wicket was fairly good, the part behind the wicket was often neglected. The most convincing proof that the Oxford and Cambridge was at first rather a friendly game than a serious contest is afforded by the indifference to the locality of the match. The first match, it is true, was at Lord's, but the second was at Oxford ; and, while no match ever occurred at Cambridge, no less than five were played at Oxford, as follows : on the Magdalen ground in 1829, on the Bullingdon ground in 1843, on the Magdalen ground in 1846 and in 1848, on Cowley Marsh in 1850. Four of these were won by Oxford, yet we never hear of any complaint of Cam- bridge being at a disadvantage through playing on Oxford grounds. It is difficult from our point of view to realise what cricket at Oxford must once have been ; perhaps pleasanter as a game, but certainly conducted at a disadvantage. Most lovers of cricket are aware that about a mile southwards from Magdalen Bridge along the Cowley Road, having passed between uninteresting rows of houses, we suddenly come on the right to the Magdalen ground, the original university cricket-ground, from the beginning of the Oxford and Cambridge matches down to 1881, when the O.U.C.C. moved to the University Park on the north. But the Magdalen ground has itself a history, or, rather, is part of a wider history of early cricket. The Magdalen ground was the beginning of a very extensive open common, extending on both sides of the Cowley Road right away up the hill past Cowley and Bullingdon, and as far as Horspath at the foot of Shotover. It was partly grass and partly furze. The rights of feeding belonged to the parish of Cowley ; but the parishioners encouraged university men to go ,and play on the patches of the common, for the very good reason that they thus gave employment of a lucrative, if lazy, kind to a number of Cowley men and boys. Thus was gradually formed that singular type of humanity, well known to and well bemoaned by Oxford cricketers — I mean the Cowley groundman and professional. 3l6 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. In those times of George IV. and William IV. there was very little college cricket. The earliest ground specially set aside for a portion of the university was the BuUingdon ground of the Bullingdon Club, which was on the hill where the Barracks now are, about two miles farther from Oxford than the Magdalen ground, and which is still, since the building of the Barracks, replaced by a ground near the old spot. The old ground was a very good one. On it, in 1843, the university match was played, because it was too wet to play on the Magdalen ground below. Lillywhite is said to have pronounced the Bullingdon turf to be the finest he ever played on, finer even than his own Sussex ground at Brighton. Near Bullingdon, Brasenose and St John's are said to have played. But these were the only approaches to college grounds. How different from our age, when every college has its own ground, club, professional, and list of matches ! One naturally asks oneself the question, Why did cricket go so far off as Bullingdon, when in those days there were plenty of fields in the near vicinity of Oxford ? The. answer is to be found in the former life of Oxford, still reflected in the Bullingdon Club as it was when I was an undergraduate. Cricket was connected with riding, the amusement par excellence of those days. One must picture to oneself undergraduates riding or driving out across the Cowley Common undeterred by fences, and on their arrival at Bullingdon Green partly playing cricket in the middle, partly riding races round the match, and finally eating and drinking in a manner adapted to youth, health, and exercise. Happy Elysium, how different from the haste and hurry of our modern life, even when we say we are at play ! The modern undergraduate does not even lunch or dine on his college ground. By these considerations, and only thereby, we can understand why even the University Cricket Club used to play a mile from Magdalen Bridge, when they could have played, so to say, in Oxford itself. They did not think they were far off, partly because they were so used to horses, arid partly because they were so much nearer than Bullingdon cricket. In fact, the common of Cowley was the place for riding and cricket, and the University Club thought itself lucky because it played on the part of the common place for cricket nearest to Oxford. Even now, some of the colleges, like cats, have a lingering affection for the old locality, and though the university and some of the colleges have moved closer to Oxford, the rest still prefer to remain on Cowley Marsh. But why was the university cricket-ground called the Magdalen EARLY HISTORY OF THE CLUB. 317 ground? Attached to Magdalen College is a school for the choir-boys, and the Rev. H. Jenkins, a Kent cricketer. Fellow of Magdalen, and master of the school, used to take his choir-boys to play on the common. An enthusiastic cricketer, he handed the part he had used, the first part you come to from Oxford, over to the University Eleven, merely reserving a corner for his choir-boys. Hence the Magdalen ground ; and for many years after, the Magdalen College School continued to play on the same field as the University Cricket Club, which was actually called the Magdalen Cricket Club. Though it got the name of the Magdalen ground, it was still part of the common belonging to Cowley. The University Cricket Club did not own it, and their right to it must have been comparable to the right of the University Boat Club over the river. The right is peculiar. The Cricket Club did not own the ground, and the Boat Club does not own the river. But anybody who interferes with the sole use of these things when these clubs are using them — well, he does not feel exactly comfortable. So it went on ,for many years on the part of Cowley Common called the Magdalen ground ; so it goes on to this day on the part of the river Thames between Iffley and Oxford. We may leave the exact description of this peculiar right to the ingenuity of lawyers. Under an Enclosure Act, the time came when the parish of Cowley began to part with its common. When Dr Plumptre, Master of University (famous for his height, for the story of F.P. in ' Verdant Green,' and for his refusal to support Thackeray's candidature as member for Oxford on the ground that he sub- scribed to "that ribald publication 'Punch'"), was Vice-Chan- cellor, the Magdalen ground was put up to auction in the Claren- don Rooms, and bought by the University. The Act of Convocation, dated May 30, 1851, authorising this purchase for the special purpose of enabling members of the university to play cricket, runs as follows : — Proponente Domino Vice - Cancellario ut Universitatis Sigillo muniendse sint tabulae quasdam quibus e pecuniis ab Academia in sortibus publicis fcEnore positis summa duo millia Librarum impend- antur ad coemendum prata qusedam apud Cowley juxta Oxoniam in quibus prout hue usque consuetum est pila, vulgo vocata Cricket, sese exerceant Academici juniores, placuit Ven. Ccetui consentire, at ad mandatum Domini Vice-Cancellarii iisdem Sigillum commune affixum est. Thereupon, by an agreement dated June 7, 1851, and signed 3l8 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. by Frederick Charles Plumptre, Vice-Chancellor, on the one part, and William Ridding, steward of the University Cricket Club, on the other part, the Magdalen ground was let to the University Club, which thus for the first time became practically permanent lessees of an enclosed ground. This advantage was due to the forethought of Dr Plumptre, and it is a pleasing reflection that throughout the history of cricket at Oxford, as at Cambridge, there have always been seniors who have taken care for the games played by junior members of the university. The same tendency to enclosure formed the college cricket- grounds at Cowley. Brasenose and St John's came down from BuUingdon to a field, which they shared with Exeter and Wad- ham, as lessees under the university. In another field Balliol, Trinity, Queen's, New College, C.C.C., Pembroke, &c., became lessees of Christ Church. Part of the university ground was sub- let by the University Cricket Club to University College by the agreement of 7th June 1851. Later on, in i860, another part, between the university ground and the University College ground, was let to Oriel, "on condition that the Oriel Club does not play a match on any day when there may be a match on the Magdalen ground." Finally, Christ Church, which had had a ground not far from the Old White House, and on the right of the Great Western Railway as one goes towards London, made a new ground on the Iffley Road, the nearest to Oxford, the finest up to the time, and even now one of the finest grounds in Oxford. Thus college cricket, which had in 1827 scarcely existed, gradu- ally grew. Starting from BuUingdon, it came closer and closer to Oxford, and by about 1862 was furnished with a series of college grounds, the nearest of which was Christ Church, but all on the Cowley side of Oxford. Now that we have traced the rise and first development of Oxford cricket, we may pause to notice the early university matches down to 1862, when an important change took place, to be noticed hereafter. At this point a debt of gratitude must be paid to Mr Knight for his work on ' Cricket. Oxford v. Cambridge from 1827 to 1876' (Wisden and Co., 1877), with- out which the following account of the early matches would have been a task of some difficulty. It is our duty to keep a special eye for Oxford successes. I. It has already been noticed that the first match was in 1827, and was drawn owing to wet. It was greatly in favour of Oxford, which made 258, while Cambridge made 92 in the first innings. Among the players for Oxford was the Right Rev. Charles EARLY HISTORY OF THE CLUB. 319 Wordsworth, Bishop of St Andrews, as he afterwards became. He clean bowled for only 2 5 runs seven Cambridge wickets with his fast left-handed under-hand, twisting from the off. Herbert Jenner, the famous wicket-keeper, alone withstood him, scoring 47, or more than half the runs on the Cambridge side. The Bishop has contributed two accounts of the first university match — one, dated January 18, 1887, in 'Inter-University Records between Oxford and Cambridge, 1827-87 ' (London, Wright & Co., 1887); the other, dated May 16, 1888, in 'The Badminton Library. Cricket.' From these accounts it appears that he was instrumental in getting up the match, and had peculiar facili- ties for doing so, because his father was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, while he himself was at Christ Church, Oxford. One feels, in reading what he says, how difificult it was before railways to organise any concerted action between the universities. After this first drawn match Oxford won the next three, in 1829, 1836, and 1838. In the match of 1829, which was played at Oxford, Oxford won by 1 1 5 runs. H. E. Knatchbull, the Kent cricketer, made 7 and 36, the highest score on either side. As in 1827 he had made 43, his average was 2 8* 2. He was the first on the Oxford side to play in the Gentlemen v. Players. In the interval between 1829 and 1836 Oxford began to play the M.C.C., and the first match, which took place on the Magdalen ground, Oxford, in May 1832, under the title "Maryle- bone, with Lillywhite, Broadbridge, and Wenman, v. Oxford Undergraduates," ended in a victory for Marylebone by 14 runs. In the match of 1836 against Cambridge at Lord's, Oxford won by 121 runs. The Rev. G. Rawlinson, now Canon of Canter- bury, and celebrated for his work on Herodotus and many other books, made 12 and 2 for Oxford. The most striking feature was the number of extras — 87 given by Cambridge in the Oxford score of 300, and 62 by Oxford in the Cambridge score of 179 runs ! In the match of 1838 Oxford scored her third victory by 98 runs. 2. From 1839 onwards the match has been annually played. Cambridge then scored no less than six victories in succession, only interrupted by the drawn match of 1844. The most remarkable of these matches was that of 1841, when each side scored 103 in the first innings, and Cambridge, having scored 120 in the second, got Oxford out for 112. Close as this finish was, it might have been still closer had not Lord Ward, on the Oxford side, been absent at the crisis. 320 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. 3. After 1845 Oxford began to look up again. She had at this time a great bowler, very fast round-arm, Mr G. E. Yonge, whose performances are thus recorded : — Wickets. Bowled. In 1S44 4 3 In 1845 9 7 In 1846 II 6 In 1847 . 10 6 In 1848 9 8 Also 1845 saw the first appearance of a great family of Oxford cricketers, the Riddings, three brothers, all good in batting and fielding. The eldest, Mr C. H. Ridding, who played from 1845 to 1849, was a famous long-stop as well as a good bat, and when we remember the large number of byes that had been let in the earlier matches from the state of the grounds, and perhaps from the erratic nature of the bowling, when we are told that in 1844 Mr Marcon of Oxford bowled so fast as tS require two long-stops to keep the byes under, and when we think of the importance of having a first-rate long-stop to the bowling of Mr G. E. Yonge, we cannot but feel the value of Mr C. H. Ridding. From his time byes begin to diminish. The second brother, Mr A. Ridding, who played from 1846 to 1850, for his batting and fielding was a useful man, scoring double figures in all his five matches. The third brother, Mr W. Ridding, who played in 1849, 1850, 1852, 1853 (being prevented by illness in 1851), was a famous wicket-keeper as well as a good bat. Old lovers of the game speak with enthusiasm of the time when Mr W. Ridding was wicket-keeper, and Mr C. H. Ridding long-stop behind him ; and they were both played for the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord's in 1849. In these improved cir- cumstances Oxford won in 1846 by 3 wickets, in 1848 by 23 runs, and in 1850 by 127 runs. In this last match, the last ever played at Oxford and away from Lord's, Oxford had not only two Riddings, but also two Coleridges, who together got 93 runs, and secured 11 Cambridge wickets. Mr C. Coleridge played two years, 1849 and 1850, and scored 109 runs, with an average of 2 7"i. From 1846 to 1851, then, Oxford and Cambridge divided the honours, each winning in alternate years. 4. From 1852 to 1858 Oxford began to go ahead. Three years in succession she beat Cambridge in one innings ; in 1852 in one innings and 77 runs ; in 1853 in one innings and 19 runs ; EARLY HISTORY OF THE CLUB. 32 1 in 1854 in one innings and 8 runs. In 1855 Oxford again won by 3 wickets. In 1856 Cambridge won by 3 wickets; but in 1857 Oxford returned to the charge, winning by 81 runs; and in 1858 overwhelmed her opponent by once more winning" in one innings and 38 runs. That must have been an exciting era : for at its beginning Oxford started three behind ; the three Oxford victories from 1852 to 1854 made the two universities equal; in 1855 Oxford was one ahead of Cambridge; in 1856 they were again equal; and at last, by winning in 1857 and 1858, Oxford had scored two victories more than Cambridge. Oxford had at that time a fine generation of batsmen on the Magdalen ground, which, it must be remembered, was since 1 85 1 enclosed, regularly leased from the university, and no doubt improved by the lessees, who, for example, built them- selves a pavilion. In the match of 1852 they made an innings of 273, and in that of 1853 an innings of 297, — high scores in a single innings on Lord's as it was in the middle of the century, and, in fact, 297 was the largest innings in university matches down to 1872. In 1853 Mr Reginald Hankey appeared for Oxford, as well as in Gentlemen against Players, destined to be celebrated among the exponents of the free style of batting. Later on, in 1856, came Mr C. G. Lane, equally renowned in the correct style, and for his services to Surrey cricket as captain in the palmy days of the old Surrey Eleven : — " You may join with me in wishing that the Oval once again May resound with hearty plaudits to the praise of Mr Lane.'' In 1857 came Mr A. P. Law (Infelix) and Mr W. PL Bullock, and in 1858 Mr K. E. Digby. In the latter year Mr Digby's innings of 5 7 was remembered for its leg-hitting ; while Mr Bullock's 78 was the largest innings in university matches down to 1870. If Oxford at that time produced great batsmen, what shall we say of her cricketers who excelled both with bat and ball? In 1852 Mr A. Payne, a very fast left-hand bowler and successful bat, appeared. In 1854 followed Mr Walter Fellows, terrific both for fast bowHng and for far hitting. In the very same year came Mr C. D. Marsham, who stands out as one of the very best Oxford cricketers. He was one of three Marshams, worthy suc- cessors of the three Riddings. Mr Charles Marsham, the eldest, and now the president of the Harlequins, batted and bowled in 1851, and Mr Robert Marsham played in 1856. Mr C. D. X Wickets. Bowled 9 6 5 3 7 4 8 6 II 8 322 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. Marsham played five times, and, like Mr G. E. Yonge, achieved a series of fine performances with the ball : — In 1S54 In iSss In 1856 In 1857 In 1858 5. No sooner had " Mynn Marsham," as he was called, disap- peared than the tide again turned in favour of Cambridge, who proceeded to win four matches (1859-62) in succession, and thus ended the period of the development of Oxford cricket by a balance of two victories on the side of Cambridge. This misfor- tune no doubt had some share in producing the reforms of 1862, to which we now come, and must pay special attention. II. REFORMED CONSTITUTION OF THE CLUB, AND UNIVERSITY MATCHES FROM 1 862 TO 1880. The most astonishing fact in the whole history of the Oxford University Cricket Club, and at the same time the clearest indi- cation of the haphazard way in which at first and for a long time university cricket was played, is the plan on which not only the club but also the eleven itself was managed. From the beginning in 1827 down to 1862 there were three treasurers and no one definite captain. In 1827 Charles Wordsworth was, as he says in his letter of January 18, 1887, "one of the three managers (treasurers we called them — there was no president) of the prin- cipal, indeed the only, real playing club in those days at Oxford, called the Magdalen." In 1851 W. Ridding is called steward, not captain, in the agreement for leasing the ground. In the spring of 1862 this rudimentary organisation still continued, for it is graphically described and criticised by a committee of the club, which comprised the following distinguished cricketers : A. H. Faber, K. E. Digby, E. G. Sandford, H. Reade, F. G. Inge, T. P. Garnier, R. D. Walker. The first paragraph of this report is worth quoting : — The affairs of the Magdalen Club are at present conducted by three treasurers, each of whom has equal authority, and whose collec- tive duty it is to carry on the whole management of the club, while at the same time no one of the three is directly or individually respon- sible for anything that may be done. That this system has not beerj REFORMED CONSTITUTION OF THE CLUB. 323 successful in the conduct of the finances is sufficiently proved by the details submitted below ; and the experience of present and former members of the University Eleven and others seems to be in tolerable accordance as to the fact that divided responsibility has not conduced to the efficient management of the cricket in the field. There is fre- quently an uncertainty as to whose business it is to collect the eleven: there are often two captains directing the field or changing the bowl- ing ; to say nothing of the more important fact that the choice of the eleven is not always satisfactory. There is also this further objection to the present system, that each of the three treasurers has a sort of ex officio right to play in the eleven, and thus there is always a possibility that the eleven may be weakened by the exclusion of one or even two better players. In accordance with the recommendations contained in the sequel of the same report, the constitution of the club was re- organised in 1862. Instead of three coequal treasurers, three different officers were henceforth to be appointed — the captain as sole head of the eleven, the treasurer as solely responsible for the finances, and the secretary for the correspondence. The captain was to be chosen by the eleven of the previous year, and he was then to appoint a treasurer and a secretary. Under this reformed constitution the three officers of 1862 were H. S. Reade (captain), F. G. Inge (treasurer), and S. Linton (secretary). Ever afterwards the club maintained this constitution, with the exception that since 1879 the office of treasurer has become triennial, and is held by a Master of Arts. To have one responsible captain is the essential point. It was a much-needed reform when the Triumvirate of the three treasurers became the Cassarism of the captain. As this will hardly be disputed, let us now return to the matches played under the new constitution. I. From 1862 to 1865 Mr R. A. H. Mitchell marked the new era of the club by his masterly batting. He was probably the greatest university bat down to this moment, and before the appearance of Mr Grace the best gentleman bat in England. Though not quite so safe in dealing with slows, he was, on the whole, the greatest amateur master of the commanding style. He seemed never to play the ball without making a stroke. His strokes, too, went everywhere on the ground, and sometimes out of it. His forward-play, his drives, his cuts, and, above all, his leg-hits, were a study and a delight. At the university he played so well in his first year that he was made captain in the second, and for two more years : a captain in every sense he was. I may perhaps mention from my own experience two instances of his judgment. In 1864, in the second innings of Cambridge, 324 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. Mr Maitland was bowling his round-arm slows from the far end ; I was long-on ; and when Mr C. G. Lyttelton (now Viscount Cobham) came in, Mr Mitchell sent that good all-round cricketer, Mr Voules, into the country between long-on and square-leg. Immediately Mr Lyttelton hit a tremendous skier. I felt my heart beat, but to my great relief the ball fell into the safe hands of Mr Voules, placed in exactly the right spot by our captain. Similarly, in 1865, in the second innings of Cambridge, when Mr E. P. Ash, a hard hitter on the off-side, came in, Mr Mitchell sent Mr R. D. Walker between cover-point and mid-off where I was standing, to what was then a novel place in the field but is now the familiar extra-cover. The result soon followed : E. P. Ash, c R. D. Walker, b Maitland, 8. It was a hard hit, and a good catch by a field exactly placed by a real captain. With such a cricketer and captain as Mr Mitchell on the Oxford side, it was lucky for Cambridge that Mr R. D. Walker in 1865 was the last man who played five matches for his university, while Mr Mitchell only played four. Here are his batting performances : — 1ST INNINGS. SCORE. 2SD INNINGS. SCORE. In 1862, b Plowden . 37 b R. Lang ■ 53 In 1863, c Daniel, b Collins 2 In 1864, c and b Curteis ■ 15 not out ■ 55 In 1865, c and b Pelham . • 57 c Booth, b Pelham . • 35 His average therefore was, in 7 innings (i not out) yielding 254 runs, 42 '2, a long way the greatest achievement in the Oxford and Cambridge match up to his time. He was the fore- runner, and to some extent the founder, of an improved school of university batting, at once safe and brilliant. Also it must be noticed that he pulled Oxford out of the fire. For four years she had been beaten by Cambridge. In the last of these years Mr Mitchell played for the first time. Cambridge had a first-rate slow round-arm bowler in Mr Plowden, and a very fast bowler in Mr Lang, who was then at his best. On Lord's, as it then was, it was no trifle for Mr H. M. Marshall of Cambridge to back-stop, or for Mr R. A. H. Mitchell of Ox- ford to play, Mr Lang. But, while there was only i bye in the first and 4 in the second innings, Mr Mitchell in the first innings made 37 out of 64, and in the second 53 out of 158. This was a fine thing for a Freshman : he saved Oxford not from defeat, but from disgraceful defeat. But Mr Mitchell did even a finer thing as captain : he won Oxford the match. In my first year, 1864, when the ground was bad from wet, and REFORMED CONSTITUTION OF THE CLUB. 325 Oxford, going in the second time to make 125, had lost three wickets for 17, Mr Mitchell went in, and after, it must be con- fessed, having been almost bowled by the slow round-arm bowler, the Hon. F. G. Pelham, won the match by his splendid not-out innings of 55. In short, Mr Mitchell was captain for three years (1863-65), led Oxford to victory every time, and when he went down took with him the proud memory of having once more placed Oxford one victory ahead of Cambridge. 2. In the following year, 1866, Oxford won again, partly by the 5 1 of that good bat and bowler, Mr W. F. Maitland, who had an average of 26.1 in these university matches, but mainly by the fine bowling of Mr E. L. Fellowes (recently dead), who in the second innings of Cambridge took 7 wickets, 4 bowled, for 46 runs, and by a narrow margin of 1 2 runs changed the prospect of defeat into victory. Oxford then, by her four successive victories (1863-66), was two ahead. But these were followed by four successive defeats (1867-70) at the hands of Cambridge. As one of the sufferers in 1867, and as having many friends in the subsequent inglorious years, the author of this history begs to pass over these misfortunes in silence, except the last, the downright disaster of 1870 — one of the most extraordinary of the curiosities of cricket. In the second innings of Cambridge Mr Yardley had scored exactly 100, the very first century in university matches, and Mr Dale had scored 67, and been splendidly caught at long-leg by Mr Ottaway with the right hand and over the ropes. Oxford were left to get 178, but by ar. incredible error of judgment it had been arranged to play up to 7.30 ! At 7.10 Mr Ottaway was out for 69, but Oxford had still 5 wickets to get 19 runs, and, after losing 2 more wickets, had still 3 wickets to get 3 to tie and 4 to win. Then Mr F. C Cobden, the Cambridge fast bowler, bowled the Cobden over. The first ball gave Mr Hill a run, which would have been 4 but for the fielding of Mr Bourne ; the second got Mr Butler caught by Mr Bourne for o ; the third bowled Mr Belcher for o ; and the fourth bowled Mr Stewart for o. It is true that these gentle- men were two bowlers and a wicket-keeper ; nevertheless, the conclusion is that Oxford threw the match away by playing in the dark, and, instead of equalising matters, put Cambridge two victories ahead. 3. Oxford after the disaster of 1870 began to recover lost ground. In the five years from 1871 to 1875, though badly beaten in 1872, she won four times. In truth, there were at this time many good Oxford players, and they were needed to 326 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. beat their Cambridge rivals. With the bat Mr C. J. Ottaway, who played from 1870 to 1873, was one of the very best. If Mr Hankey was a master of the free, Mr Lane of the finished, Mr Mitchell of the commanding style, Mr Ottaway was in his turn a master of the defensive. His cool patience made his runs all the more valuable to his own because it tired and exasperated the other side. His scores were 16 and 69 in 1870, 21 and 13 (not out) in 1871, 11 and 41 in 1872, 41 and 52 in 1873, with the fine average of 3 7 '5, or only 2 less than that of his great Cambridge contemporary Mr Yardley, who, more brilliant but less safe, scored 100 in 1870 and 130 in 1872, the two first centuries in University matches. Next to Mr Ottaway in merit came Mr B. Pauncefote, a stylish bat (1868-71), and Mr E. F. S. Tylecote, a sure run-getter (1869-72). A little later, in 1871, came Lord Harris, who, however, was not so good a bat at Oxford as he became afterwards for Kent; later still, in 1873, the great hitter, Mr W. H. Game; and finally, in 1875, Mr A. J. Webbe. Since that year, for now nearly a quarter of a century, the name of " Webbie " has become a household word in cricket. He has devoted himself with untiring energy to Oxford cricket, not forgetting that of Cambridge. He is the kind friend of every young school and university cricketer. From his Harrow days he has been a first-rate bat and field. In 1875, as a Freshman against Cambridge, he scored 55 and 2 1, and at a critical moment, in the final innings of Cambridge, caught the Hon. E. Lyttelton off Mr Buckland at the top of the ground, close to the ropes, by a memorable running catch, which contributed greatly to the close victory of Oxford. Never was a more deservedly popular cricketer. Long life to you, dear old fellow 1 At this time Oxford also boasted several fine fast bowlers, such as Mr C. K. Francis and Mr S. E. Butler. To the latter more than to any other single man must be imputed the first victory of Oxford in this period, that of 1871. Oxford having got 170 in the first innings, Mr S. E. Butler got all ten wickets of Cam- bridge, no less than 8 clean bowled, for 65, and made them follow on. In their second innings he clean bowled 4 wickets and got a fifth caught, and thus ably assisted in getting Cambridge out for 129, leaving Oxford only 25 to win, which they accomplished after the loss of 2 wickets. Mr Butler got 1 5 wickets in all for 95 runs. This is acknowledged to be the greatest single bowling performance of the university matches. It is this sort of thing' which throws light on the difference between cricket then and now. The ground was not so true. Bowled at a great pac^ REFORMED CONSTITUTION OF THE CLUB. 327 many of Mr Butler's balls shot and broke in that day, whereas those of a similar bowler now seem comparatively harmless. Then to play wrong was to be out : now many a bowler, if he has not the commanding height of a Richardson, may be played almost anyhow. At any rate, the new stroke of playing a straight ball of a fast bowler round to square-leg could not have been practised formerly, because what the ball might do after the pitch was too uncertain. Out of the three other victories of Oxford at this time, the first, in 1873, when Oxford won by 3 wickets, was mainly due to the batsmen, and especially to Mr Ottaway and to Mr C. E. B. Nepean, who was most unlucky in not having played for Oxford before : in this, his only match, however, he revenged himself by scoring 22 and 50. The second, in 1874, when Oxford scored 265, and won by one innings and 92 runs, also showed the ex- cellence of the Oxford batsmen. The third, in 1875, brings us to another remarkable bowling performance, and another curiosity in cricket. The two elevens were very evenly matched. In the end Cambridge went in to make 174 runs, and got as far as 161 for 7 wickets, with Mr W. S. Patterson and Mr H. M. Sims well set. Thereupon the Oxford captain, Mr A. W. Ridley, went on to bowl his under-hand slows. He bowled Mr Patterson, who had made 18, with his first ball. Mr Macan now joined Mr Sims, and made a single, which Mr Sims followed up with a four over Mr Ridley's head. Then a leg-bye and a no-ball were obtained from Mr T. W. Lang, the Oxford bowler at the other end. The score now stood at 168, when Mr Sims, who had made 39, was finely caught off Mr Lang by Mr Pulman, fielding at long-on, in the direction of the Members' gate. Mr A. F. Smith was last man, and played two of Mr Ridley's slows ; but the third beat him. Oxford thus won by 6 runs. This third exciting victory also gave her one victory in hand against Cambridge. 4. As usual, Cambridge again began to come to the front. It is curious that as Oxford in the five years from 187 1 to 1875, so Cambridge in the five years from 1876 to 1880 won four vic- tories, interrupted by one defeat, and that defeat, too, following after the first victory in each case. In 1876, in spite of Mr W. H. Game's 109, whereby he scored the first century ever made for Oxford, and saved his side from being beaten in one innings, Cambridge won by 9 wickets, and once more equalised the vic- tories. Then in 1877 Oxford again went ahead, winning by 10 wickets in a match distinguished by the 117 (not out) of Mr F. M. Buckland, and by the happy ease with which the brothers 328 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. Webbe knocked off the runs, Mr A. J. scoring (not out) 27, and Mr H. R. (now unfortunately dead) (not out) 19, in the final innings of Oxford. But after this brilliant success, which placed Oxford once more in the van, Cambridge achieved three succes- sive victories, by 238 runs in 1878, by 9 wickets in 1879, and by 115 runs in 1880. Cambridge at that time sent up splendid elevens, boasting well-known names, such as those of Lucas and the Lytteltons, of Steel and the Studds. Oxford was overmatched. Hence in 1878 Cambridge again drew level with Oxford, each having won 21 matches. By 1880 Cambridge had two victories to the good ; or to the bad for Oxford, which has been struggling ever since for equality, in vain. Alas ! 1878 was the last year in which Oxford was on a level with Cambridge. III. REMOVAL OF THE CLUB FROM THE MAGDALEN GROUND TO THE UNIVERSITY PARKS, AND UNI- VERSITY MATCHES FROM 1 88 1 TO 1 896. We now come to an event in Oxford cricket on which I happen to have some right to speak, because I was treasurer of the O.U.C.C. in the ten years between 1879 and 1888. I allude to the migration of the club in 1881 from the Magdalen ground, a mile south of Magdalen Bridge, to the University Parks in the north of Oxford. As this change has led, and will lead, to momentous consequences, the history of Oxford University cricket would be incomplete without some account of its nature and reasons. We have already seen how Oxford cricket arose at a riding distance on Bullingdon Green and the common of Cowley, and gradually came nearer to Oxford without being exactly in Oxford. The Magdalen ground was inconveniently distant for the students of the university. It was a good ground, with a magnificent turf, but it required fine weather; and, as the Oxford cricket season is essentially the spring, it was often slow, and sometimes wet and even flooded. We have referred to an occasion in 1843 when the Oxford and Cambridge match itself was played on June 8 and 9 at Oxford, but could not be played on the Mag- dalen ground on account of wet, and had to be played on Bullingdon Green. Again, the pavilion and general arrange- ments on the Magdalen ground dated from earlier days, and did not afford the conveniences and comforts expected in modern cricket. In all these respects Oxford was very much behind REMOVAL FROM THE MAGDALEN GROUND. 329 Cambridge, which for a long time .had possessed at Fenner's an exceptionally good and convenient ground, and had later on built a very comfortable pavilion. The idea of making cricket-grounds in the University Parks, in order to prevent the waste of time entailed by playing at Cowley, was in the air when I was an undergraduate, 1863-67, and was keenly supported by the Rev. Edwin Palmer, afterwards Professor of Latin and Archdeacon of Oxford, and by Mr R. A. H. Mitchell as captain of the University Eleven. But it failed to be realised, partly because its supporters wanted to bring all cricket whatever into the parks, where there was hardly room, and where the Dons did not like the prospect of a number of pavilions, and partly because some of the undergraduates, look- ing to the present rather than to the future, preferred to retain their cricket-grounds on the slow and distant marshes of Cowley. There can be no doubt, however, that, had all cricketers combined at that time, the University Parks would now have been the playground of the university, and what temporary inconveniences might have been incurred from want of space in the Parks would long ago have been remedied by annexing fields in the neigh- bourhood, many of which are now covered with buildings that do not concern ih^ university. Many years afterwards, the Vice-Chancellor, the Rev. Dr Evans, Master of Pembroke College, suggested to me that we should get up a petition to the university, signed by resident Masters of Arts, asking for a ground for the university, not for the college clubs ; and the shrewd old gentleman added, with a twinkle in his eye, " Don't give any reasons, or you will not get so many names." Accordingly, we drew up the following memorial : — " The undersigned members of Convocation, having been informed that the University Cricket Club has applied for a ground in the Parks, desire to support the application." I then undertook the task of getting signatures, with the satisfactory result that 158 resident masters showed their devotion to the interests of the undergraduates by signing their names. This practically decided the matter. Yet we must not forget to record our debt of obligation, for carrying the proposal through, to two men now dead — Jowett, whom all the world knows, and especially Alfred Robinson of New College, than whom no more generous-hearted man ever breathed. After the university had made the ground, it was finally let by Decree of Convocation on May 3, 1881, to the treasurer of the University Club, which thus has become lessee of the ground, hold- 330 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. ing directly of the whole university, resident and non-resident — a privileged position from which it could be dislodged by nothing but another decree of the whole university in Convocation. This was not the only advantage to the O.U.C.C. They had now a ground close at hand. They had lo acres of cricket- ground in the middle of the Parks, containing a match-ground, with a practice-ground always available. Had they waited much longer they would not have got so much, because planting, football which has immensely increased since 1881, and other interests, would have been too strong. They had what is wanted for the early Oxford season — a hard, fast ground, much more fitted to prepare them for Lord's. They had a pavilion worthy of the club, exactly behind the wicket as at Lord's, and exactly at the same distance from the wickets as at Lord's. This was one advantage which I obtained with great difficulty, in opposi- tion to those who wanted to put the pavilion in every corner of the ground, and everywhere but where every cricketer wants to see the match, and in opposition to those who wished to have it farther behind, in which case much fewer spectators would have cared to sit in it. The club had further the financial success of the step, an advantage which proves all the rest. The club had incurred an expense of about _;,^iooo, besides ;£^ioo a-year additional rent. Yet such was the improvement in the finances that the whole thing was done without that most odious of all things, sending the hat round for subscriptions. Perhaps the best way of showing this new prosperity of the club is to quote the Preface to the Accounts from 1879 to 1882, premising that in 1879-80 we were on the Magdalen, and in 1881-82 on the Parks. It is as follows: — The accounts of the O.U.C.C. from 1879 to 1882 have been printed together, because a comparison of these four years exhibits the whole financial history of the removal of the club from the Magdalen ground to the University Park. The university paid for laying dov/n the Park ground, and voted ^2000 to build the pavilion. But this university expenditure was not of the nature of a grant ; it was an outlay of capital, subject to rent. The club pays a rent of ^30 for the use of ten acres of ground to the curators of the Park, and another rent of ;^ioo to the curators of the chest for the capital expended on laying down the ground and build- ing the pavilion. Further, the club itself spent, from 1880 to 1882, ^164, 3s. 5d. on the improvement of the ground ; and in 1881 added an extra expenditure of .£835, js- to the ^2000 expended by the university on the pavilion, which has therefore cost on the whole ;^2835, 5s- Again, since 1882 the club has rented from the curators of the Park the pasturage of thirty additional acres, together with the REMOVAL FROM THE MAGDALEN GROUND. 33 1 right of letting football-grounds at rents which the Football Clubs have loyally consented to pay. The club at once ran a railing across the part of the Park thus secured for games, at a cost of ;^ioi, 8s. 3d.; but the further results cannot appear till the accounts for 1883 are published. The items just taken from the payments up to 1882 show that the club, besides paying a rent to the university of ^130 a-year, has also spent capital to the amount of ^l 100, i6s. 8d. It is a matter of con- gratulation that, though such liabilities have been incurred and dis- charged, the club has not appealed for private subscriptions, and is out of debt. The explanation of this financial success is to be found in the improved revenue of the club. In the first place, the club came to the Park with a balance of ^319, 8s. gd. Secondly, the M.C.C., recognising the value of the university match at Lord's, has agreed to make an annual grant to both university clubs, according to their necessities. ;£45o have been received by the O.U.C.C. from this source. Thirdly, the subscriptions to the club have very largely increased. In 1880, the last year of the Marsh, they had fallen to ;^i62. In i88r, the first year of the Park, they rose to ;£328, los. In 1882 they again rose to C^^T, 12s. 6d. This is the most satisfactory point in the accounts, because it means not mere financial success, but the renewed popularity of the University Cricket Club. In such circumstances, the committee can with confidence appeal for support in the measures which are from time to time necessary in order to ensure the advantages of the club to its members. Another document of the time may amuse the reader. The officers of the Cricket and Football Clubs dined with me at Corpus Christi College, and after dinner we signed the following agreement between the Cricket Club and the Football Clubs as its lessees : — Meeting in C.C.C, i%th April 1882. The Football Clubs agree to pay £,i) per ground per season — the maximum rent fixed by the curators of the Park. The committee of the Cricket Club agrees to secure the Football Clubs as many and as good grounds, in the opinion of the football officials (unless the university takes their ground for building), as they have had in the season 1881-82; and when the Cricket Club wishes to level a ground, it agrees to secure the Football Club which had that ground in the previous year, another ground as good within the enclosure let to the Cricket Club. Norman M'Lachlan, Captain. \ Thomas Case, Treasurer. > O.U.C.C. G. Crawford Harrison, Hon Sec. ) Harry Vassall, Captain. \ ]. G.V7p.i.Ti.^^, Hon. Sec. >R.U.F.C. Norman M'Lachlan, Treasurer. ) P. C. Parr, Captain. \ C. Murray Smith, Treasurer. VA.F.C. Bertram M. Heron Rogers, Hon. Sec. ) 332 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. In 1884-86 I brought forward a scheme for bringing part of the college cricket to the Parks, under the above agreement. The scheme received support from most of the colleges, but in presence of the complicated difficulties, especially of finance, I thought better not to press it, but to await further developments. Time has shown that there are two opposed tendencies going for- ward in Oxford : on the one hand, unfortunately and unneces- sarily, the town is constantly growing ; but, on the other hand, the colleges rightly become more anxious to play cricket as near as possible to their work. Even before the O.U.C.C. came to the Parks, Merton had made a ground hard by. Since that time Hertford uses the athletic ground next to Christ Church, and Keble has made a ground to the north of Oxford. Brasenose has — unwisely, I fear — made a ground on the marshy river-bank opposite the Barges. But the most important new grounds are in the vicinity of the Parks. Jowett, who always said that bring- ing the university ground to the Parks was one of the best things which had been done for Oxford, imitated the policy by founding the new Balliol ground at the back of Holywell Street. Alfred Robinson, in the same spirit, brought the New College ground to the same neighbourhood. The result is, that the university ground in the Parks is becoming a nucleus about which college cricket is slowly gathering. Meanwhile, Oxford cricket suffers one disadvantage, too considerable to be over- looked. When Cowley was the common place for cricket all the cricket was together, and the captain of the O.U.C.C. was able to go about from ground to ground to see promising college cricketers who might be drafted into the University Eleven. Nowadays Oxford cricket is, it must be confessed, too scattered. Further, as colleges get nearer grounds, their members do not subscribe so much to the O.U.C.C. as they did in 1881. What is really wanted is a determined and com- bined effort of all Oxford cricketers to induce all the colleges, which still linger at Cowley or have not satisfactory grounds near Oxford, to gather under the wing of the O.U.C.C, and as far as possible in the Parks, with such a financial scheme as will satisfy the colleges without impoverishing the University Cricket Club. Returning now to the university matches, for which since 188 1 Oxford Elevens have been trained on the new ground in the Parks, we find that Oxford has, on the whole, made a gallant, though not altogether successful, fight to recover the equality REMOVAL FROM THE MAGDALEN GROUND. 333 lost since 1878. In 1880 Cambridge had got two victories ahead of Oxford. From 1881 to 1896 we can distinguish three periods: the first from 1881 to 1887, during which Oxford reduced its disadvantage from 2 to i ; the second from 1888 to 1 89 1, in which she fell back to 4 behind; the third from 1892 to 1896, during which she has now reduced the disadvan- tage from 4 to 3. At this moment Oxford remains 3 behind — Cambridge having won 31, Oxford 28 times. If Oxford were to win every remaining match this century, she would still be only on her old equality with Cambridge. I. In the first period (1881-87) Oxford began with a very good eleven, who in 1881 made a great many runs on the new ground in the Parks, and ended up by defeating a very good Cambridge Eleven, containing Mr A. G. Steel and three brothers Studd, Mr C. T. among them. Mr A. H. Evans was the Oxford captain — a man of great character and determination. He had been the fast bowler against the three victorious Cambridge Elevens of 1878, 1879, and 1880, in the last of which years, by the way, he had a curious bit of luck in getting Mr Steel stumped in the second innings off the wicket-keeper's pads. But nothing daunted, though thrice defeated, he wound up his fourth year, 1 88 1, by a magnificent bowling performance, which was the main cause of Oxford's victory. The summary of his four years' bowling is as follows : — Wickets. Cowled. In 1878 ... 12 8 In 1879 ... I o In 1880 . 10 7 In 1881 . . 13 6 In his victory of 1881 Mr Evans had under him that finished bat, Mr W. H. Patterson, and that dashing bat, Mr A. H. Trevor, both playing for the second time, and two distinguished Fresh- men, Mr C. F. H. Leslie, well known to Middlesex, and Mr M. C. Kemp, the Kent wicket-keeper. The second innings of Oxford has become historical on account of two incidents. Mr Patterson had his finger ripped open, but with great courage continued his innings, and made 107 not out. Mr Leslie, soon after he went in, batting at the pavilion end, sent a ball hard into Mr Ford's hands at mid - on. It appeared to be a catch, and Mr Leslie began to walk away. But Mr Patterson appealed; Mr Leslie was given not out, and played a grand innings of 70. In the end, Oxford left Cambridge to get 258 runs ; but the determined 334 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. deliveries of Mr Evans disposed of Mr Steel, the Messrs Studd, and the whole Cambridge Eleven for 123. Oxford by this victory was now only one behind. It was a momentous but momentary success. In 1882-83 Cambridge again won. But in 1884 Oxford came again under another good captain, Mr M. C Kemp — a man of spirit. Early in the year Oxford had played the Australians for the second time, and beaten them by thoroughly good cricket. Nothing could have been better than Mr Whitby's bowling — 8 wickets for 82 runs in the first innings of the Australians ; nothing grander than Mr (now Sir. Timothy) O'Brien's hitting for his 92 in the first innings of Oxford; nothing more spirited than Mr Kemp's 63 not out in knocking off the runs in the second innings. Mr Kemp's year is memorable in Oxford annals as that in which Oxford beat first the Australians and afterwards Cambridge, and both by 7 wickets. In 1885 Cambridge won again, and thereby had three victories in hand. But in 1886-87 Oxford won twice in succession, and thus came within one of Cambridge, where they have never been since. Thus, beginning with Mr Evans's great victory in 1881, there had been an oscillation of success between the two uni- versities. This oscillation was due to many causes, one of them the batting performances of two men, Mr C. W. Wright on the Cambridge and Mr K. J. Key on the Oxford side. Mr Wright (1882-85) ^°^ Cambridge made 17, 102 and 29 (not out), 16 and 34, 78 and 15, or in all 291, with an average of 48'3 — the highest aggregate and the highest average in Oxford and Cambridge matches down to 1885. Mr Key (1884-87) for Oxford scored 17, 5 and 51, 6 and 143, 64 and 8 (not out), or in all 294, with an average of 49 ; and he was warmly con- gratulated when he thus obtained the highest aggregate and average up to 1887. Both these gentlemen may perhaps be called exponents of the useful style, encouraged by the increas- ing keenness of competition to win the match rather than to play the game. But there can be no doubt of Mr Wright's im- portance in Cambridge's victory of 1883, and with Mr Bain- bridge in Cambridge's victory of 1885. Similarly, Mr Key's 143 with Mr Rashleigh's 107 in the second innings decided the victory for Oxford in 1886, and his 64 in the first innings came at the right moment in 1887. At the same time, in the latter match a still more important factor in Oxford's victory was the performance of Lord George Scott, who, although he only got his colours at the last moment before the match, scored 100 in \\-. H PATIERSON. FruiiU'liolo by E. JIairkuis i Cv., Biu.jlilon. 336 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. the first and 66 in the second innings. One of the inevitable drawbacks of university elevens is that a man who ought to play is accidentally left out, or played by a kind of after- thought. 2. By the victory of 1889, Oxford had crept up to within one of Cambridge. But she was destined to be disappointed in her hopes of equality by the accession of one man to the Cambridge side. From the moment that that great athlete, Mr S. M. J. Woods, went up to Cambridge, what one constantly heard from Oxford men was the mournful complaint, " So long as Sammy Woods bowls against them, Oxford has no chance.'' Let us pass over this time as quickly as possible, merely remarking that in 1888 Oxford was lucky in having the match drawn by the clerk of the weather, while in 1889-91 she suffered three suc- cessive defeats. Mr Woods has the chief honour of having placed Cambridge in the advantageous position of being in 1891 four victories ahead of Oxford. 3. From 1892 to 1896, since Mr Woods has left Cambridge, Oxford has done well, and on the whole better than Cambridge. Oxford has won 3 to 2 matches, and reduced the advantage, of Cambridge from 4 to 3 victories in hand. These matches are so recent that it is hardly necessary to recall them. They have been most interesting. There has been high scoring ; first one university has won and then the other ; and the matches of 1892 and 1896 have never been surpassed in interest. In 1892, Oxford going in first, Mr M. R. Jardine, the splendid fieldsman, played a very good innings of 140, and Mr V. T. Hill a very hard-hitting, somewhat lucky, innings of 114. Against Oxford's 365 Cambridge compiled 160 only, but following on scored 388. Then Oxford hit off the required 187 with 5 wickets to spare, Mr L. C. H. Palairet making 71 (not out) and Mr Jardine 39, so that he alone scored 179 runs in the match. In 1893 Cam- bridge won by 266 runs. In 1894 Oxford, thanks to Mr C. B. Fry's 100 (not out), won by 8 wickets. In 1895, in spite of Mr H. K. Foster's 121 out of a total of 196 in the second innings of Oxford, Cambridge won by 134 runs. In 1896 Ox- ford won once more by 4 wickets, after a match memorable for fine weather, very high scoring, some good bowling, sustained interest, and great excitement. Cambridge led off with 319. Oxford made 202. Cambridge added 212. Then Oxford achieved a victory without a parallel in Oxford and Cambridge matches for the large number of runs the side had to make to win with the small number of wickets lost in rhaking them. As this Oxford second innings is also the last innings made in the K. J. KEY'S PUSH-STROKE IN THE SLIPS. From photo hy E. Hau'ldns S: Co., Brighton. 338 OXFORD UNIVERSITY CRICKET. Oxford and Cambridge up to the present moment, it is a matter of pride to an Oxford man to write it out in full : — P. F. Warner, run out . . 17 | G. R. Bardswell, not out . . 33 G. J. Mordaunt, b Jessop . 9 i P. S. Waddy, not out . . i H. K. Foster, c and b Cobbold . 34 I Byes, &c. . . 19 G. O. Smith, c Mitchell, b Cobbold 132 C- C. Pillcington, c and b Jessop . 44 I Total . 330 H. D. G. Leveson-Gower, c Bray, | ^^ b Shine 41 ' Unfortunately, this imperfect sketch would be still more defective if all mention were omitted of two events in the matches of 1893 and 1896. In 1893 the bowling analysis of Cambridge contains the statement that " Mr Wells bowled 4 wides and 4 no-balls.'' Oxford in its first innings, when the last man came in, had to make 8 runs or follow on. The two Oxford batsmen, Mr Wilson and Mr Brain, were seen to converse, and Mr Wilson was supposed to be playing carelessly on purpose that Oxford might follow on. On this supposition the Cam- bridge bowler, Mr C. M. Wells, purposely bowled a no - ball, which went to the boundary, then a ball which would have been wide had not Mr Brain exerted himself to stop it, and finally a wide to the boundary which prevented Oxford following on. Again, in 1896 the bowling analysis of Cambridge contains the statement that " Mr Shine bowled 8 no-balls." Oxford in its first innings, when the last man came in, had 12 to make or follow on. Mr Shine bowled 2 no-balls to the boundary, and then a ball which went for 4 byes, and prevented Oxford following on. The hypothesis of these exceptional devices in both cases was, that it was the interest of Oxford to follow on and the interest of Cambridge to prevent it. Opinions differed on this question of policy. But they differed still more on the question whether it was right to purposely play bad cricket as a means to such ends. There can be no doubt that it was within the laws of cricket. But the real doubt is whether it was within the ethics of cricket. Is it to the advantage of the game to play it in this way ? It is a mistake to suppose that whatever is not forbidden in written laws may be done without self-condemnation. Nor does it follow that what is felt to be contrary to the advantage of cricket ought to be made matter of legislation. If good cricket consists in batting as well as you can, and bowling as well as you can, then, in the interests of the game, the Oxford men in 1893 had no business to bat badly in order to follow on, and REMOVAL FROM THE MAGDALEN GROUND. 339 the Cambridge men in 1893 and in 1896 had no business to bowl badly to prevent them, whether it was in the written laws of cricket or not. Opinions, however, will differ about this matter. It is for the historian rather to point out that these events were really effects of a general cause at work in recent cricket — the growing keenness of competition, which is slowly changing a pleasant game into a serious business. The Oxford and Cambridge match was at first, perhaps, too much of the former : it is now tending in the direction of the latter. No human institution is perfect : it will always tend to excess or defect. But how nearly perfect in its own way is cricket, and especially Oxford and Cambridge cricket ! It is a game which keeps boys out of mischief. It is a tr3ining of youth for a manly life. It lays up a store of strength and health against old age. It makes individual men lifelong friends. It unites whole schools and universities. Learning itself has gradually learnt to take up a different attitude towards cricket. It has discovered that the waste of time formerly imputed to cricket is really due to frivolity, that cricket is consistent with study, and that the cricketer makes a good schoolmaster. The truth is, that athletics are an integral part and a powerful support of all education : they make it popular. Oxford and Cambridge are like twin stars shedding the light of learning from a distance. The Oxford and Cam- bridge boat-race and cricket-match are the two anchors of the universities in the heart of the English people. 340 CHAPTER IX. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. By W. J. Ford. There is no more entrancing sport than cricket, and nowhere does cricket present itself in a more entrancing form than at Cambridge, The best of grounds, the snuggest of pavilions, and the most charming sociality are to be found everywhere; and there is cricket of every kind, whether for the crack 'Varsity bat or bowler, whose county is sighing for the Long Vac, or for the fifth-rate cricketer, who never achieved any greater distinction than getting his " house " cap at school : every class and kind is amply catered for. There are clubs innumerable, outside the college and 'Varsity clubs, with magnificent colours, and no sub- scriptions- Indeed Cambridge cricket is a remarkably cheap sport ; and as the grounds are all within a short distance, or at least a reasonable walking distance, from the colleges, even the expense of a cab does not occur. And then the festive lunches, and yet more festive suppers which follow a match ! The thought of them makes the writer sigh for perpetual youth and a reintroduction to their pleasures, even though the " blue," actual or possible, was generally hustled good - humouredly away by eleven o'clock, that his eye might not be dim or un- certain when he stood up at the wicket on " Fenner's " next morning. Fenner's was, is, and probably ever will be, a prince among cricket-grounds. Still, though five Inter-University matches were played in early years on different Oxford grounds, no such match is recorded to have taken place at Cambridge ; yet Fenner had opened his ground in 1846, while in that year, in 1848, and in 1850 the Light Blues paid a visit to Oxford. Since the ground N, F. DKUCE PLAYING TO LEG-GLANCE. From photo hy Messrs Steam, Camhridgt. 342 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITV CRICKET. was first laid out, many changes have taken place : the old orchard, where practice took place on match -days, has been handed over to the builders, and part of an adjacent field has been secured in its stead ; the gaol, a notable mark for a square- leg hit, has given way to a row of trim villas ; the old shanty — it really was little better — which was the only shelter for 'Varsity cricketers and athletes, has been replaced by a charming and commodious pavilion. But in one point there is no change — i.e., in that close, smooth turf, and that beautifully level sheet of ground on which, as has been rightly said, the wickets might be pitched anywhere without previous notice to the groundman, and a three-day match played without the pitch wearing or a batsman being hurt. It is no small debt that Cambridge cricketers and their visitors owe to F. P. Fenner, and to Walter Watts, who for thirty-six years has had the management of the ground and run- ning-track, and seems as full of vigour as he was a quarter of a century ago. It was not till 1875 that the Cambridge Cricket and Athlet'c Clubs obtained a long lease of the ground from Caius College, and felt justified in erecting a proper pavilion, the whole business being managed by the Rev. A. R. Ward, the father and devoted friend of Cambridge cricket, of whom more will be said hereafter. This pavilion was paid for by the subscriptions of numerous friends and patrons of cricket, including the Prince of Wales. In 1892 a still more important step was taken, and the freehold of the ground purchased from Caius College, which foundation behaved most generously and handsomely in matters financial. Hence what was once "Fenner's" is now "The Cambridge University Cricket-Ground,'' though for two terms in the year it is handed over, with its superb running-track, to the Athletic Club, which worked shoulder to shoulder with its cricketing brethren to secure its acquisition, and uses it for its own and for college sports! Before the days of " Fenner's," the famous green known as "Parker's Piece" was the playground of the University and colleges. The fact that this was the only available ground in early days may supply the reason that no Inter-University match has been played at Cambridge : an open public space, intersected with many paths, was scarcely suitable. Yet excellent wickets were to be obtained on this great and level area, where every- thing was run out, and hits for 8 and 9 were not uncommon. Five-and-twenty years ago few colleges had grounds of their own — Trinity, St John's, Jesus, and Caius being the lucky ones, though the " Amalgamation " ground was opened by three or CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. 343 four colleges jointly, but at first for practice only. Hence two or three college matches were generally being played on " The Piece " every afternoon ; and it may be added that even the University played its Rugby football there: "Association" was hardly known in those days. There also haunted "The Piece'' a class, which has perhaps died out, of rather seedy-looking pro- fessionals, provided with bat, ball, and stumps — no net — ready and anxious to bowl to any passer-by for a casual shilling ; and often was he who journeyed up to Fenner's for athletics invited to stop and " 'Ave a few balls," if a specially bright and warm day accidentally appeared during the rigours of a Cambridge March. Of the grounds belonging to the various colleges only a few words need be said. They are grouped at the rear of "The Backs," and a very pleasant afternoon may be spent in strolling from ground to ground, watching the play and chatting with one's friends. The Trinity and St John's grounds are good enough for any county match, with ample room, good wickets, and comfort- able pavilions. Jesus has a pretty little ground, overlooked by one of the courts of the college, and hence the most convenient ground, from a Jesus man's point of view, in Cambridge. Of the other college grounds it need only be said that they are all well kept, that each has its own professional or professionals, and that two or more of the smaller colleges often combine to support a ground which would be too large or too expensive for them individually. At Fenner's — the name still sticks to the ground — are engaged some dozen professionals, many of them the pick of the bowling talent of England ; and on a fine day the long row of nets is fully occupied, while the " fags " in the out-field have their hands full indeed. In regard to Cambridge cricket, it used to be considered that the excellence of Fenner's was really a disadvantage when the time came to meet Oxford at Lord's ; for of Lord's it was said that " a man who can get runs at Lord's can get them anywhere." Certainly both " rib-roasters " and shooters were frequent at headquarters, and many a lion on the Cam- bridge lawn (we have to thank the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton for the phrase) has proved a veritable lamb when placed on a fiery Lord's wicket. Oxford were supposed to be more (less ?) favoured, with a view to the great match, in having a wicket less like a billiard- table ; but this may have only been a Cambridge canard. One thing is certain, that many men who scored freely and frequently at Cambridge failed to " come off" in the 'Varsity match. Now things are somewhat changed, and if a man fails to score at Lord's ^44 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET, under ordinary conditions of weather, it is not the fault of that classic ground. Thanks to the abundant supply of cricket literature generally, the young cricketer who has made his mark at school, whether a big school or a little school, will find that his fame has preceded him, and that not only will his chances of a " blue " be freely discussed, but he will be given reasonable opportunities of showing what he is good for. Still, it need hardly be premised that a good start early in the season is all-important, as this is the surest way of catching the authorities' eye. He will, of course, join his college club, and will perhaps soon hear that he has been elected to some of the many wandering clubs with which Cambridge abounds, and which go about playing different colleges, having no grounds of their own, but probably a very gaudy ribbon or blazer by way of compensation. He will also join Fenner's for an entrance fee and subscription of a guinea, or can compound and become a life member for ^^, 5s. — not a very ruinous extra- vagance. It is wise to go up to Cambridge as soon as term begins, so as to get as much practice as possible before the Freshmen's match, as a good deiuf is most important, and it is only good school credentials or most persistent scoring in college matches which will cover the multitude of sins implied by a failure in the " Freshers' '' match. For practice there is no time like the morning, though somehow deans, tutors, lecturers, and " coaches " look askance, and something more than askance, on the habit : but the facts remain, that the bowlers are fresh, that there is no distraction such as a long line of batsmen necessarily causes, and that a few quiet hints from the bowler are more readily given and more easily conveyed when the scene is comparatively private. A little hitting practice at college nets, where the professional is not likely to be very first- class, often passes away a stray hour ; but the first introduction to Cambridge cricket, unless a casual college match has occurred, will probably be in the Freshmen's match, when the sides are captained by the 'Varsity captain and secretary respectively, and are, as far as is possible, chosen so as to be equally balanced. Success here will probably be followed by another trial, perhaps in such a match as the Eleven v. the Next Sixteen, or in a foreign match. But it is not enough to get runs or bowl wickets : the runs must be got in good style — bad style often excludes a man — and the lynx-eyed captain will soon see whether the capture of wickets is a fluke, or whether it is due to genuine skill, such as may foster the hope that other and doughtier batsmen than the opposing Freshmen may fall victims. It is the rule, by the way, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. 345 in Freshmen's matches, for the captain to go in last, as being likely to stay while some hitherto unknown and unsuspected batsman piles up runs. The fixtures of the season at Cambridge are generally started with teams captained by the old hard-hitting Cantab,. C. I. Thorn- ton, and by A. J. Webbe, of Oxford and Middlesex renown. The M.C.C. pays an annual visit, as do several of the first-class counties, so that ample opportunities occur for trial at Cambridge, to say nothing of the matches played at other places when the vacation has commenced, terminating with the M.C.C. match at Lord's precisely one week before the 'Varsity match itself If the Fresh- man — or senior, for that matter — has been properly tried and has come well through the ordeal, he may fairly hope that a week or two before term is over the captain will say to him, " You may order your 'blue,' old fellow," and a large cloud of anxiety will be dispelled. It is only in exceptional cases that the award is made early in term, and some captains like to leave the promo- tions to the very last moment, under the idea that as long as any uncertainty exists, so long will the candidate get the last ounce out of himself in the hope of reaping his reward. Other captains hold that anxiety and suspense are a bad thing for a candidate's cricket, and that it is better to put him out of his misery and give him his place in the eleven as soon as it is practically assured. Needless to say, if a real loss of form occurs before the great match, such promotion is held to be null and void, and the " blue " is resigned. Even in the case of an old " blue," the resignation is always placed in the captain's hands by the man who feels that he is not up to the mark : it would be a grievous breach of etiquette on his, not the captain's part, had he to be asked to stand out of the team. The supreme joy is still left, the joy of a triumph at Lord's. No man who has not been through the burning fiery furnace of a '"Varsity match can understand the anxiety, often more physical than mental, of a young man's debut in that game. One " fourer " — and all the anxiety is over; a big score — and a sensation supervenes, as one walks from the wickets, which only those who have succeeded in the presence of thousands can understand. There are also the infinite possibilities of the future, — the prospect of playing for one's county or for the Gentlemen, to say nothing of what is even more precious nowadays, an early admission into the M.C.C. "as a cricketer." It will be seen from what has preceded that the " blue," or prospective " blue," is so much occupied with University cricket 346 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. — he may perhaps even do some " reading " as well — that he has but little time to devote to club and college cricket. If he does happen to read, as is sometimes the case, his spare time for such cricket will be very short, and it is, or was, the rule in most colleges that no " blue '' can be captain of the College Club : he is the servant of the University for the time being, and the slave of the captain. " Blues," of course, play in some of the more important matches, especially when the stronger colleges — Trinity, Jesus, St John's, . Caius, &c. — meet; but, as a rule, they are absent. Yet these college matches are very useful for un- earthing fresh talent, or for showing if well-known men are in good form. Many a man has earned first a trial, and then his cap, by a series of notable successes in minor cricket. On the other hand, there have been men who could not fail in college matches, and could not score in 'Varsity matches, partly from nervousness, partly from the fact that they were not quite up to first-class form, though at the very top of the second rank. How- ever, it is clearly the duty of the 'Varsity captain to keep his ears open, and when rumour of a good bat or a good bowler reaches him, to endeavour to get ocular demonstration of his merits. It is rarely, indeed, that a good, even a passable, performer does not get some form of trial, and it may be said generally that the 'Varsity Eleven represents as nearly as possible the best strength of Cambridge, especially as twelve, or even thirteen, men are often invited to be at Lord's, ready to play in case the wicket be fast or slow, and so be specially suited to some particular style. To these men, even if they do not play, the right of wearing light blue is sometimes accorded. In any case, the captain's task is no sinecure : he has advisers and would-be advisers by the score ; yet in the multitude of counsellors is not always safety. How often, too, has it been the last choice who has won or saved the game ! It has been practically a toss-up to whom the last place should be assigned; yet what would have happened to Oxford in 1896 if G. O. Smith had not received his colours? and what would have been the result of the match of 1887 had Lord George Scott (Oxford) and E. Crawley (Cambridge) been omitted? Both were " last choices," yet the former scored 100 and 66, the latter 35 and 103 not out! The truth is, there is always a plethora of batting at the Universities, and there are generally some half-dozen men to whom the last place as a batsman might be given, if only the captain could know whose day it would be when the 'Varsity match comes off. Unfortunately he cannot know : he must make his choice to the best of his ability, and CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. 347 after that the matter rests on the knees of the gods. With bowlers and wicket-keepers the question is seldom so knotty : their form is naturally more consistent, and they cannot in their own department be — so to speak — "bowled out first ball." Hence the captain has only to use his judgment on the eventful day — judgment founded on the state of the wicket — whether he will play Noakes for his slow bowling or Stokes for his " expresses.'' Of college cricket pure and simple there is not a great deal to be written. It is full of amusement and interest to the partici- pators — what game of cricket is not? — but there is an absolute dearth of any element corresponding to " house feeling " at schools. Nor is there any form of competition on the League system or any other system : colleges are too many, and term is too short. To the outsider a match between two colleges has no possible interest save that of watching cricket, and this he can do as well, or better, at Fenner's, if his standard of cricket from a spectacular point of view is high. Occasionally, if it happens to be known that two colleges of high repute are to meet, and that their " blues " are playing, the outside world is moved to come and inspect ; but in most cases even members of the contesting colleges themselves have their own amusements to attend to — rowing, lawn-tennis, polo, or what not — and very meagre is the fringe of spectators, as a rule. Still, for the contestants there is plenty of fun ; grounds are charmingly good, bowling delightfully bad, hospitality unlimited, and cricket rather free-and-easy. Most of the matches last for a day only, so that the " closure " rule was a boon and a blessing. Better fun and more excitement are caused when an Oxford college comes over to play a sister-college at Cambridge. Then real interest is aroused, war to the knife is declared, and the game is fought out with plenty of spirit. No doubt this lack of enthusiasm is partly caused by the unequal size and varying popularity of different colleges. Trinity is so huge, and attracts so many cricketing men, that she can practically swamp any other college ; while other colleges which have a name for being sporting attract so many cricketers, that less fortunate rivals are very weak. Still, as in schoolhouses, so in colleges — the strength varies considerably from year to year. It should also be added that it is an under- stood principle that a strong college does not put its whole strength into the field to oppose one which is known to be weak, and that second elevens either oppose each other or play the full strength of a less powerful foundation. When to this the various club matches are added, and it is remembered that nets are going 348 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. all day and every day, it will be seen that there is at least no dearth of opportunity for the Cambridge undergraduate. Among the Cambridge clubs, first and foremost stands the Quidnuncs, with their colours of dark blue v/ith a very narrow gold stripe. It is essentially a University club, limited to fifteen members in residence, and those the cream of Cambridge cricket. All "blues" practically belong to it, while the rest of the club is composed of men who have either been tried for the University or who have nearly attained that honour. The subscription is nil; there is no club-house or club-room, and no matches are played at Cambridge, as no side could be found to offer any reasonable opposition ; but numerous teams of Quid- nuncs, in residence and out of residence, play against the different public schools and various garrisons and regiments. Needless to say, the opposing side is wise to provide itself with plenty of batting and bowling. The " Perambulators " is also a University club, and its numbers used to be limited to twenty-five members in residence, who pay no subscription. The colours are dark blue and dark green, with a narrow intermediate stripe of white. It is recruited solely from the older public schools — Eton, Harrow, Westminster, Winchester, Charterhouse, and Rugby — and plays matches against various colleges. A match, once very popular, and partaking of the nature of a trial-match, used to be played with the " Etceteras," a club once limited in numbers like the " Perambulators," and recruited from the other big schools, but this match has now fallen out of the list. The raison d'etre of the " Etceteras " is identical with that of the " Perambulators,'' and the colours are sufficiently smart — broad stripes of magenta and black, separated by a narrow stripe of white. The " Cru- saders" is a similar club, though not confined to any schools. They too wander from college to college, seeking whom they may defeat, and can generally secure a strong side. The numbers are limited to 75, and the colours are bright blue and black in broad stripes, separated by a narrow line of white. The " Magpies," with an appropriate uniform of black and white, originated in Trinity Hall, whose colours the club has adopted, with slight modifications of arrrangement ; but outsiders are also elected to it, as is the case with the " K.T.L." Club, generally known as the " Kettles," which had its origin in Trinity. Perhaps the most popular club nowadays is the " Hawks " — the colours are a bright shade of brown with a narrow stripe of yellow ; but, unlike the clubs enumerated before, it is also a social club in a quiet way, with its club-rooms, where CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET, 349 members can write, read, smoke, refresh, and discuss the topics of the day. The " Hawks " was the first of a number of clubs, run upon more or less similar lines, such as the "Pilgrims," " Jackdaws," " Chaffinches," &c., partly social and partly cricket- ical. To all or any of these, except to the Quidnuncs, a man can be elected in his first year, so that if he is not engaged in University matches, but is, for all that, a good and useful cricketer, he will have plenty of opportunities of keeping his hand and eye in. This sketch, necessarily brief, will give some idea of a cricketer's life at Cambridge and its possibilities. Every one has his chance of distinguishing himself in his own particular sphere : if that sphere be the highest, if he " attains Sparta and adorns her," he is marked for life in the cricketing world as a batsman or bowler who has won his spurs in the most exciting yet most. " gentle and joyous passage of arms " known to the cricketer. If a lucky fate allows him the leisure, there are no heights to which he may not soar, provided that his right hand does not forget its cunning, and that custom does not stale his infinite variety. No record of Cambridge cricket would be complete in the eyes of a Cambridge man without a more than passing allusion to the late Rev. A. R. Ward. Himself an old Light-blue and captain of the eleven • — ■ though illness prevented him from appearing at Lord's in that capacity — he took a keen and deep interest in Cambridge cricket and its welfare which none can appreciate who did not know him personally. He was president of the C.U.C.C. for many years, and the one great desire of his life was to see the club the possessor of its own ground and of a proper and ade- quate pavilion. The latter wish, thanks to his own personal and untiring exertions, — he wrote 1500 letters, as he told the writer, with his own hand, — was fulfilled in 1876, the club having then secured a long lease of the ground which is now its own, though he was not spared to see his other wish fulfilled. The charming paviHon of the club, however, is a standing memorial of his exertions, with its oak panels, inscribed with the names of the various elevens in the order in which they batted in the first innings against Oxford. Of these he was most careful, and it was to prevent any injury to the precious lists that he insisted on a law forbidding the introduction of walking-sticks into the pavilion. He was immensely proud of his position as president of the C.U.C.C, and the writer well remembers a little incident, when, seeing the Master of Marlborough College, to whom he was personally unknown, at the Rugby v. Marlborough match, he 350 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. said to him, " I am going in to lunch with your boys, sir, and will see that they don't eat too many tarts.'' " To whom have I the pleasure of speaking ? " " Sir," drawing his massive figure up, and in the deepest of deep tones, " I am the President of the Cambridge University Cricket Club ! " He was always present at this match, anxious to discover promising talent for the University, and invariably occupied the same seat, in a corner of the roof of the old pavilion : on the occasion of the Inter- University match he used to hold a kind of levte here, at which all old "blues" were expected to present themselves. At Cam- bridge no stranger could enter the pavilion except on Mr Ward's personal invitation, which was always backed by a glass of sherry. One httle hobby of his was to pronounce "bowled" as if it rhymed with "howled," in the old-fashioned style; and he invariably corrected any one who pronounced the word in modern fashion. Nor would he permit any one to speak of the ground, after the University had acquired it, as " Fenner's." " This, sir," he would say, " is the Cambridge University Cricket- ground." Cambridge cricket and Cambridge cricketers lost a staunch and hearty friend when Arthur Ward was taken away ; and visiting elevens, who were always treated by him with the most sumptuous hospitality, missed him just as much. The Inter-University match was first played in 1827, and was renewed fitfully and sometimes at long intervals, so that in 1839, when the fifth struggle took place, Cambridge scored her first victory, Oxford having thus far won three matches and the first having been drawn, or not played out, the Dark-blues having by far the best of things. It is curious that in the whole series of sixty-two matches only three should have been unfinished, and that one of those three should be the very first played. Cam- bridge, then, scored her first win in 1839, and by the handsome majority of an innings and 125 runs. In the light-blue ranks were C. G. Taylor, one of the first amateur batsmen of the day, and J. H. Kirwan, the fast bowler. Of Taylor it is recorded that he was one of the last amateurs to play in a tall hat, and that he lost his wicket in a Gentlemen v. Players match because his hat fell on his wicket, thus terminating a long and fine innings. In this match the Oxford captain, G. B. Lee, took 9 out of the I o Cambridge wickets, and nearly a quarter of the whole score was provided by " extras,'' " wides " contributing 46 and "byes" 24 to the Cambridge total of 287. C. G. Taylor scored 65. Another win fell to Cambridge next year, this time by 63 runs —a handsome victory in a match where the aggregate N. F. DRUCE OFF-DRIVING. From photo bij Messrs SIcarn, Camhridgc. 352 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. for 40 wickets was only 322. The three highest scores from the bat were 29 and 27 for Cambridge, and 25 for Oxford; yet tha Dark-blues presented their rivals with 32 extras in the first innings and 29 in the second, as opposed to an aggregate of 21 from Cambridge. " Extras " may be said to have decided the match. Another win followed next year, but by a narrow majority of 8 runs, the Universities tieing in the first innings with 103 apiece. Again "extras" decided the battle, Oxford giving away 56 to the 3 1 of Cambridge ; but in the latter eleven was E. S. Har- topp, a long-stop of great renown, who only let 10 byes in all. The number of wides in these early days, when the arm had to be kept below the shoulder, is really surprising. The year 1842 saw Cambridge victorious by 162 runs, her surplus in "extras" being 53; indeed extras made tlft top -score (42 and 39) in either innings of Cambridge, second score (12) in Oxford's first innings, and top-score (16) in her second. T. A. Anson (41 and 24) made the highest score from the bat in each of Cam- bridge's innings. In 1843, though Cambridge gave away 65 extras towards a grand total of 181, she won by 54 runs, the highest score being 44 (not out) by W B Trevelyan. A draw was the result of the 1844 match, Oxford having a trifle the best of the deal; but Cambridge won again in 1845, notwithstanding thfe fact that Oxford had a superb bowler in G. E. Yonge. The next year, 1846, saw Oxford victorious, but Cambridge had a very easy win, practically by an innings, in 1847 > 3-"d in 1849 she won again, but only by 3 wickets, thanks mainly to R. T. King, who scored 43 and 49 not out, the largest aggre- gate made in a 'Varsity match up to this lime — indeed only four scores of over 50 had ever as yet been made by an individual batsman. Cambridge scored again in 1851, largely aided by extras, her total score of 266 exceeding those of Oxford's two innings by 4 runs. Several successes now fell to Oxford's lot, and at the end of the first twenty matches either University had won nine, and in 1856 they were once more level, Cambridge winning in that year by only 3 wickets in a small-scoring match. J. Makinson (Cambridge) was the hero of the game, as he not only bowled exceedingly well, but by scoring 31 and 64 made the highest recorded aggregate for the match. The next Light-blue victory came in 1859, the majority in a match of fairly high scores being only 28. The win of next year was equally close — 3 wickets: but this time 76 was the CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET, 353 highest aggregate, and 16 the highest individual innings. This was C. G. Lane's last appearance for Oxford, and R, Lang's first appearance for Cambridge : the latter was a bowler of terrific pace, and, when straight, was practically unplayable. Cambridge, it may be noted, had to score only 41 to win, yet lost 7 wickets in the attempt, but the wicket was little better than a swamp. The year 186 1 found Cambridge with a very fine side, including T. E. Bagge, H. M. Marshall, H. M, Plowden, D. R, Onslow, C. G. Lyttelton, A. W. T Daniel, and R. Lang, and her win by 133 runs was quite decisive, yet she was headed in the first innings, and owed her success to the fine bowling of Salter and Lyttelton. It was mainly Lang's bowling^5 for 4 and 4 for 31 — that gave Cambridge a win next year ; but the Oxford batting was weak, save that of R. A. H. Mitchell, probably the most successful bats- man in Inter-University matches that has ever worn a " blue," when the conditions of things are considered. Anyhow, he opened his career by scoring, 37 and 53 out of totals of 64 and 158. Cam- bridge, however, had a very fine side, and her victory by 8 wickets was no fluke. At the end of 1864 thirty matches had been played, and the score stood at " fourteen all," It was not till 1867 that Cambridge won another match, this time by 5 wickets ; but it was no walk-over, for Cambridge, with no to win, lost 5 good wickets for 56 runs, 3 of them caught at the wicket by R. T. Reid, now Sir R. T. Reid, the late Solicitor- General, who was an amateur stumper second to no one of any period. W. S. O. Warner and the Hon. S, G. Lyttelton, how- ever, settled down, and hit off the necessary runs without further loss ; but excellent bowling by C, J. Brune in the first innings, and by the Hon. F. G. Pelham in the second, had done much to prepare the road to victory. Cambridge won handsomely in 1868 by 168 runs. C. E. Green, the retiring captain, played splendidly on wickets affected by rain, and hit up 44 and 59, while the bowling of C. J. Brune, C. A. Absolom, and W. B. Money (lobs) got out Oxford twice for less than 100 runs an innings ; yet there were fine bats in the Dark-blue ranks, notably B. Pauncefote of Rugby fame, who now made his debut in the 'Varsity match. This match again left the scores equal, at six- teen all, two drawn games. Dreadful weather attended the thirty-fifth match in 1869, and so low was the scoring that only 452 runs were scored for the loss of 40 wickets, and Cambridge's majority of 5 8 may be regarded as very decisive : no doubt it was largely due to the advantage of batting first on a wet wicket, when the hitters, C. T. Thornton z 354 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. (50) and C. A. Absolom (30) contributed nearly half the Cam- bridge total of 164. The other three innings show 91 to Cam- bridge, 99 and 98 to Oxford : yet both sides were really strong. B. Pauncefote was the most successful Oxford batsman, and W. B. Money's lobs again did great havoc, 1 1 wickets in all for but 59 runs. A fourth successive win fell to Cambridge in 1870, yet the majority was as low as 2 runs, and the match is justly famous for its ups and downs, as well as for the closeness and sensational nature of the finish. The two sides were exceedingly strong in all departments, Oxford presumably a little the stronger; but it was a battle of giants, out of which the vanquished came as creditably as their conquerors. At the end of an innings each, Oxford had a lead of 28, with 175 to 147, A. T. Scott (Cam- bridge) 45, and A. T. Fortescue (Oxford) 35 : these were the two highest scores thus far ; but more was to come. The first Cambridge wicket fell for 6 runs, 3 were down for 19, and 5 for 40, only 1 2 runs to the good ; but here W. Yardley and J. W. Dale put on no less than 116 runs, completely altering the whole look of the game. Yardley covered himself with fame by being the first man to score three figures in this match, his score being 100 exactly. Dale's total was 67, and it was a truly mar- vellous catch by Ottaway, leaning back over the ropes with one hand, that broke up the partnership. So good, however, in both innings was the bowling of C. K. Francis and T. H. Belcher, who had 9 wickets apiece, that 206 was all Cambridge could muster. Oxford now required 179 to win, and began so badly that W. H. Hadow had to leave before a run had been scored. Fortescue (44) and Ottaway (69) put on 72 together, Pauncefote failed, and E. F. S. Tylecote (29) lent Ottaway such good help that with 5 wickets to fall only 1 9 runs were required — a small task, indeed, for the next two batsmen, W. Townshend and F. H. Hill. The former got out, however, as did C. K. Francis ; but Hill was bat- ting with skill and confidence, and though the next three men were not great batsmen, yet the number of runs wanted was but 4 : a single good hit would have won the match. From the first ball of F. C. Cobden's famous over that hit came, but A. A. Bourne, though he saved the four, allowed one run to be got, thereby bringing Hill to the bowler's end, whence he watched, first S. E. Butler retire, brilliantly caught by Bourne, then T. H. Belcher, clean bowled, and finally A. W. Stewart, clean bowled. The Cambridge men present — many had left the ground, not caring to see the coup de grace administered — went mad. Hats, sticks, Cambridge university cricket. 355 and umbrellas flew about, and no one cared what became of them. One excited Cantab, is said to have tried to throw a form from the pavilion roof. Lord's was, for the time being, a pande- monium of raving enthusiasts, shouting and cheering for the heroes of the game. Having paid all tribute to Yardley, Dale, and Cobden, a word must be said of another Cantab, who had done equally brilliant though less sensational service : this was E. E. Ward, who in this final innings had taken 6 of the 7 wickets that fell first, and those, with the exception of W. H. Hadow, the cream of the Oxford batsmen. Indeed he was only put on late, when Fortescue and Ottaway were well set, so that his per- formance, 6 wickets for 29 runs, was even more valuable, if less electrical, than Cobden's. Hill deserves a word of sympathy : if he had not made that single, he would in all probability have won the match for Oxford ; and in a letter on the subject he has said that he has never regretted anything so much as the running of that run. Francis, by the way, though expensive, had 1 2 wickets in that match, and Cobden had 4 in each innings for about 9 runs apiece. Oxford, however, was to have a somewhat similar revenge in 1875. The Cambridge success in- 1872 was again largely due to Yardley, who made yet another century (even now, 1897, this feat stands as a record) ; but A. S. Tabor and G. H. Longman, two Eton Freshmen, had prepared the ground for him and taken some of the sting out of the Oxford bowlers,- — S. E. Butler, C. K. Francis, and A. J. Ridley (lobs). Indeed 104 had been scored before the first wicket. Tabor's, fell, 50 of these going to his credit. Longman made 80 in all before being run out by his partner ; and a fine performance it was, though at one time he scored but two runs while Yardley was making 42, so fierce was the latter's hitting. F. E. R. Fryer, of Harrow, a beautiful bat, but unlucky at Lord's, contributed 46 ; but Oxford did not see the back of Yardley till he had made 130, which remained the record score till K. J. Key passed it in 1886. The Cambridge total was 388, an aggregate which has never been passed, though the Light-blues equalled it in 1892. The tremendous pace of the Cambridge left-handed bowler, W. N. Powys, was quite too much foi>all the Oxford men except W. Townshend (20 and 41), and E./F. S. Tylecote (6 and 40). Totals of 72 and 150 were all the runs the Oxonians could raise, and they suffered a dreadful defeat! followed, however, by three consecutive wins, till in 1876 Cambridge came out top once more, and won by 9 wickets. The match was never in doubt, as Oxford were dismissed for a 3S6 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. meagre 1 1 2 by the two old Uppingham boys, W. S. Patterson and H. T. Luddington, each of whom had 5 wickets, for 8 and 10 runs apiece respectively. Only F. M. Buckland and R. Briggs could do anything with them. Patterson then proceeded to score 105 runs without losing his wicket (another record), backed up by A. P. Lucas with 67. Lucas also hails from Uppingham, which school also contributed D. Q. Steel to the Cambridge ranks. Oxford made a better show at the second attempt, and W. H. Game (log) had the honour of being the first Oxford man to score a century : it was quite a sound though a curious innings, as the batsman was content to play two or three balls very gently, and lashing out to the next — he was a tremendous hitter — would send it humming to the boundary. However, Cambridge required only 73 to win, and this cost but i wicket, that of the Hon. A. Lyttelton, who was unluckily run out when the match was a tie. Once again, after forty-two matches, the scores showed a tie of twenty matches each, two only having been drawn. In 1878 Cambridge was reinforced by one of her greatest cricketers, A. G. Steel, who made a successful debut with bat and ball. He scored 44 (not out) and 9, and had 8 wickets for 62 runs, and 5 wickets for 11. As in the latter innings P. H. Morton had 5 for 20, and but one extra was given away, 32 was the meagre Oxford total, though in the first innings only 127 had been scored. Lucas and the two I^ytteltons (Edward and Alfred) all did good work with the bat, and Cambridge's victory by 238 runs was not only most decisive, but also a fair criterion of the merits of the two sides. A. H. Evans of Oxford, the fast bowler from Clifton, worked like a horse, bowled 90 overs, and secured 12 wickets for 141 runs. No man ever tried to do more for his University, but his reward was not to come till 1881. when he led his men to an easy victory. Another win, by 9 wickets, fell to Cambridge in 1879; but the match was, on the whole, uneventful. Steel played a beauti- ful innings of 64, and captured 11 wickets for 66 runs, he and A. F. J. Ford getting rid of the Oxford men for 64 runs in their second attempt, the first having reached 149, A. H. Heath claim- ing 45, and E. T. Hirst 35 ; but the Dark-blues had quite a poor side. For Cambridge the Hon. A. Lyttelton played admirably for 53 and H. Whitfeld for 31, the whole side totalling 198. A. H. Evans and F. G. Jellicoe, the Oxford crack bowlers, got but a single wicket apiece, and each of these wickets cost 60 runs. Very powerful again in 1880, Cambridge secured her third con- CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. 35/ secutive win, and by 115 runs, though her partisans expected something even more decisive ; but they had probably under- estimated the value of Evans's fast bowHng, to which 10 wickets fell for 133 runs, a great performance against so formidable an array of batsmen. The Hon. Ivo Bligh opened well with 59, but no one stayed with him (Steel was bowled round his legs by G. C. Harrison for 19), till G. B. Studd appeared and rattled up 38; but the total (166) was a surprise and disappointment. However, Oxford's retort was but 132 (Hirst 49 not out), Steel and Morton securing the wickets, 3 for 37 and 6 for 45 respec- tively. A second innings of 232 was more like proper form, C. T. Studd claiming 52, and his brother G. B. 40, while there were other useful contributions. Oxford now required some 260 to win, but could only raise 151, Steel's bowling — 7 for 61 — being too good for all but H. Fowler, who hit about bravely for 43. Oxford's unexpected win in 1881 broke Cambridge's series of successes, but they were resumed in 1882, 7 wickets being the majority. G. B. Studd, by making 120, found himself among the ranks of century-makers; and a rare and dashing piece of hitting it was, supplemented by some brilliant fielding at mid-off which cost two Oxford men their wickets, run out. P. J. T. Henery, who hit most freely for 61, helped Studd to add 127 for the sixth wicket, and but for these two Cambridge's strong side would have made a poor show. C. T. Studd, probably the best bat on the Cambridge side, failed to score, being caught out off the last ball bowled on the first day, having been sent in to bat in the dark — a grave error of judgment. However, he had the satisfac- tion of getting 7 wickets for 54 runs. A dashing 82 by M. C. Kemp was the feature of Oxford's second innings of 2 5 7 : it was a brilliant effort to retrieve a lost game, but several men gave him useful help with twenties and thirties. Cambridge lost but 3 wickets in scoring the necessary 148, C. T. Studd providing 69, and only being out just before the runs were hit off. Another 7-wickets win for Cambridge came in 1883, and another Cambridge man scored three figures, C. W. Wright 102, with useful con- tributions from C. T. and J. E. K. Studd, the total being 215. Oxford, however, failed completely before the slows of C. T. Studd (4 wickets for 14) and the "expresses" of C. A. Smith's peculiar action (3 for 28); nor were matters mended by having three men run out. However, 55 was the sum-total of the in- nings, leaving a dead-weight of 160. H. V. Page with a dashing 57, and J. G. Walker with a more scientific 51, and smaller sums 3S8 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. from others of the team, brought the total to 215, and Cambridge lost 3 wickets in knocking off the runs. Smith and Studd again shared the wickets, the former taking 6 and the latter 4 ; but both, especially Studd, were fairly expensive. E. Peake did a fine bit of bowling for Oxford : put on to bowl quite late, he took five wickets for 2 7 runs, including the century-getter. After the loss of one match, Cambridge won, again by 7 wickets, in 1885, and again Wright played admirably for 78 and 15, every one thinking and hoping during his first innings that he would rival Yardley's feat of twice getting into three figures. Though he did not succeed, yet one of his confrlres, H. W. Bain- bridge, made loi, and the total of 287 left Cambridge well ahead, to the extent of 154 runs. A first-rate 78 by Page, made by the fastest hitting, and 51 by K. J. Key, largely helped to Oxford's 239, but Cambridge soon knocked off the necessary runs. T. C. O'Brien (now Sir Timothy), who had been very unfortunate in his debut the previous year, made excellent scores of 44 and 28 for Oxford. Of the bowling brigade, C. Toppin and C. A. Smith for Cambridge, and A. H. J. Cochrane and E. W. Bastard for Ox- ford, were the most successful. Wright and Bainbridge put on 152 for the first wicket, Toppin and Smith 53 for the last wicket, so that the intermediates did nothing startling. Cambridge was now four matches to the good, which advantage was reduced to two in the next two years, while the fifty-fourth match, the match of 1888, was unfinished, owing to rain, and though it was arranged to play on the fourth day, yet that day was so wet that cricket was impossible. No draw had occurred for forty-four years. The scores stood, Cambridge 171 and 170, Oxford 124, so that the Cantabs. had the best of things — on paper. No individual score was higher than 37, and the bowling of S. M. J. Woods (Cam- bridge) and A. H. J. Cochrane (Oxford) was the chief feature of an unsatisfactory match. Once more, beginning with 1889, Cambridge had a series of three wins, in this year by an innings totalling 300 to Oxford's 105 and 90. Woods was the destroying angel, capturing 11 wickets for 82 runs, — in fact, Lord George Scott and H. Philip- son alone seemed able to play him ; at least both got a few runs, and he got neither of them out in either innings. H. J. Mor- daunt made over 100 runs — 127, to be exact — and batted ex- ceedingly well ; but after Oxford's miserable start all the life seemed to be taken out of the game, and even so good an innings caused little enthusiasm. E. Crawley's 54, a smart display, deserves a line of record. H. Bassett got 5 Cambridge wickets CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. 359 for 65 runs, and A. C. Croome was fairly successful, but the other bowlers were unmercifully flogged. In 1890 Oxford went in first on a dreadful wicket, and could not make more than 42 against S. M. J. Woods (four for 25) and E. C. Streatfield (5 for 14) : of these E. Smith claimed 22, and he played a fine forcing game, the only chance of getting runs on such a morass. Cam- bridge only made 97, but a lead of 55 was most valuable under the circumstances, and to F. S. Jackson and C. P. Foley that lead was mainly due. Oxford did better next innings by making 108 — M. R. Jardine 24, G. L. Wilson 20, and H. C. Bradley 21 — and at least there was not a string of five consecutive " ducks," as in the first attempt. Woods, with 5 for 31, was again a dreadful thorn in the side of Oxford, and probably no bowler has ever done better service for his 'Varsity. In the end Cambridge won by its favourite majority of 7 wickets, but anything might have happened on so curious a wicket and in such threatening weather ; hence Cambridge men were delighted to see R. N. Douglas and F. G. J. Ford slash away rapidly, the latter carrying his bat for 32 out of the necessary 54. F. J. N. Thesiger in the first innings sent back three Cantabs. for only 6 runs in all. The 1 89 1 match caused the partisans of Cambridge some very anxious moments. The I.ight-blue side was exceedingly strong, with G. MacGregor to keep wicket, C. M. Wells, S. M. J. Woods, F. S. Jackson, and E. C. Streatfield to bowl, while the strength of the batting may be estimated by the fact that the last three on the list were Wells, Woods, and D. L. Jephson. Yet this strong side only snatched a narrow victory by 2 wickets, and there was quite a sigh of relief when Woods, the captain, smacked a 4 off the first and only ball he received in the second innings. Cambridge opened proceedings with 210, but fared badly at the outset, till A. J. L. Hill hit up a lucky 62, and found some support forthcoming from MacGregor and Streatfield. Woods, however, bowled so finely that he sent back seven Oxonians for 60 runs, and as the whole venture only totalled 108, the Dark-blues had to follow on, 102 in arrears. W. D. Llewelyn had played well for 38, and followed this up with 24; E. Smith got 32, and G. L. Wilson S3, a capital piece of hitting, yet 191 was all the side could amass, and Cambridge had only to get 90 to win. As 210 had been considered disappointing, a 9 or 10 wickets' win was the least that was expected. However, G. F. H. Berkeley proved quite irresistible. Going on when 2 wickets had fallen for 47, he got the Cambridge men out with great rapidity, and had not C. P. Foley kept his head clear and his bat straight, anything 360 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. might have happened. As it was, he scored an invaluable 41 before he fell to the arm of the all- conquering Berkeley, and Woods, as aforesaid, just landed the Cantabs. winners by a short head. Five wickets for 20 runs was Berkeley's analysis in this fragmentary innings. Oxford won in '92, but Cambridge had ample vengeance next year. K. S. Ranjitsinhji was included in the side, but only scored 9 runs in all, and, with the exception of F. S. Jackson, who played admirable cricket for 38 and 57, two most attractive innings, and of P. H. Latham, who made 21 and 54 almost equally well, the crack bats of the side were disappointing, though a merrier partnership than that of T. N. Perkins and L. H. Gay in the second innings can hardly be imagined, and it came as a welcome relief after some rather dull cricket. Curiously enough, each man scored 37. The Cambridge first innings, then, only amounted to 182. Had not L. C. V. Bathurst sent J, Douglas back by an absolutely marvellous catch, when well set, there might have been a difference. Still, so badly did the Oxford men, except L. C. H. Palairet (32), shape to the bowling of C. M. Wells, H. R. Bromley-Davenport, and E. C. Streat- field, that 9 wjckets were down for 98. Here the Oxford batsmen consulted, and Wells, conceiving the idea that they proposed to deliberately lose a wicket so as to ensure a "follow- on," bowled a four-wide and a four-no-ball, thereby frustrating the intention. The incident caused much discussion, of a more or less acrimoni- ous kind, but, curiously enough, was repeated, and again by a Cambridge bowler, in 1896. However, the results proved that the Cambridge total of 182 was sufficient to give them an innings victory, as in their second "hands" the Light-blues totalled 254, and Oxford could only retort with a paltry 64 (C. B. Fry 31). No less than four bowlers were put on during this brief innings, in which Jackson had 3 wickets for 22, Wells 2 for 27, Streatfield 2 for 9, and Bromley- Davenport 3 for 2! The Cambridge majority was 266. Oxford won easily in 1894, but Cambridge made it "all square" in 1895, her majority being 134. Yet so powerful was the Oxford eleven, and so great its reputation for big scoring, that even when the Oxonians went in to score 331 runs in the last innings, many thought that the feat was not beyond their strength. Both sides were exceedingly strong, especially in batting, but Oxford was certainly the favourite. F. Mitchell, W. G. Grace, jun., and R. A. Studd made a good start for Cambridge, and W. G. Druce and W. M'G, Hemingway (whose \V. U. HEMINGWAY AX THE WICKET, Frumphuto hy E. Hawkins tf- Co., Brvjhtun. 362 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. 57 was top-score) kept up the hitting, but the total of 244 was not considered good enough? However, Oxford scored 42 less, having started so badly in a bad light that 6 wickets were down for 68. However, G. O. Smith (51) and H. D. Leveson-Gower (73) played an uphill game in fine style, and to them mainly was the Oxford total of 202 due. Again Grace and Mitchell made a good start for Cambridge ; indeed their scores were, Grace 40 and 28, Mitchell 28 and 43. C. E. M. Wilson scored 36, and W. G. Druce, the captain, once more showed excellent nerve and excellent cricket at a critical moment : his 66 was as good and valuable an innings as has ever been played in this match. The grand total of 288 left Oxford with a "set" of 331. The final innings of the match was most remarkable. Ten of the Oxford men found the Cambridge bowling apparently unplayable; the eleventh man, H. K. Foster, found it the easiest stuff in the world. He cut, drove, pulled, and hit to leg, without giving a fair chance, till he had scored 121 out of 1 5 9 for 7 wickets, a piece of batting that took just two hours ; and no one who saw that innings will ever forget its brilliance. No one admired it more than the Cambridge partisans, who could afford to view it with some complacency, because other wickets were falling fast : they could enjoy the treat of some grand hitting without the mortification of seeing their side beaten. Oxford won in 1896, but next year Cambridge, certainly the stronger side in the opinion of most good judges, turned the tables. The game was more remarkable for steadiness than brilliance, G. L. Jessop's 42, scored in 15 minutes, being the one exciting piece of cricket. Cambridge won by 179 runs, but their second innings of 336 would, if it had come first, have given the Light-blues a single innings victory. The Oxford batting, except that of G. R. Bardswell, cut up badly, and it was owing to this failure that they lost the match. C. J. Burnup, H. H. Marriott, N. F. Druce, G. L. Jessop, C. E. M. Wilson, and E. B. Shine, all batted well for Cambridge, and the bowling honours were fairly divided between G. L. Jessop, E. B. Shine, and H. W. De Zoete for Cambridge, and C. E. Cunliffe for Oxford. RESULTS OF PAST UNIVERSITY MATCHES. WON BY WON BY 1829. Oxford . I r5 runs. 1840. Cambridge . 63 runs. 1S36. II 121 II 1841. ir 8 ,1 1838. „ 98 M 1842. II . 162 II 1839. Cambridge an innings and 1843. II ■ 54 T, 125 runs. 1845. II 6 wickets CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CRICKET. 363 WON BY WON BV 1846. Oxford . 3 wickets. 1872. Cambridge . an innings and 1847. Cambridge 138 runs. 166 runs. 1848. Oxford . 23 " 1873. Oxford . 3 wickets. 1849. Cambridge 3 wickets. 1874. II . an innings and 1850. Oxford . 127 runs. Q2 runs. 1851. Cambridge . an innings and 1875 6 ,, 4 runs. 1876. Cambridge 9 wicliets. 1852. Oxford . an inns and 77 run.'i. 1877. Oxford . 10 II 1853. II . an inns and 19 IT 1878. Cambridge 238 runs. 1854. (t . an inns, and 8 n 1879. 1, 9 wickets. 18SS- 3 wickets. 1880. „ lis runs. 1856. Cambridge 3 " 1881. Oxford . 13s " 1857. Oxford . 8e runs. 1882. Cambridge 7 wickets. 1858, II . .an innings and 1883. 7 " 33 runs. 1884. Oxford . 7 II 1859. Cambridge 28 ,1 1885. Cambridge 7 " i860. 11 3 wickets. 1886. Oxford . 133 runs. 1861. 133 runs. 1887. II 7 wickets. ■ 862. 1, 8 wickets. 1889. Cambridge . an innings and 1863. Oxford . 8 „ 105 runs. 1864. 4 It 1890. TT 7 wickets. 1865. 1 14 runs. 1891. Tl 2 II 1866 13 II 1892. Oxford . S II 1867. Cambridge S wickets. 1893. Cambridge 266 runs. 1868. 168 runs. 1894. Oxford , 8 wickets. 1869. 58 .1 1895. Cambridge 134 runs. 1870. 11 2 II 1896. Oxford . 4 wickets. 1871. Oxford . 8 wickets. 1897. Cambridge . 179 runs. ^^{i5 '■"' . Oxford, ist inn., 250. Camb., istinn., 92."! IT Ti 96. TT II 69. J-Rain. • (,i888. II II II 124. II 171 and 170. J Sixty-three matches have been played. Cambridge has won thirty-two, Oxford twenty-eight, and three have been lelt drawn. The following is a list of centuries :— CAMBRIDGE. 1870. W. Yardley 1872. W. Yardley 1876. W. S. Patterson 1882. G. B. Studd 1883. C. W. Wright . 100 130 105 (not out). 120 102 1885. H. W. Bainbridge loi 1887. E. Crawley . 103 (not oat). 1889. H. J. Mordaunt. 127 1892. E. C. Streatfield 116 OXFORD. 1876. W. H. Game . 1877. F. M. Buckland . 1881. W. H. Patterson 1886. K. J. Key . W. Rashleigh 1887. Lord G. Scott . 100 109 115 (not out). 107 (not out). 143 107 1892. M. R. Jardine II V. T. Hill . 1894. C. B. Fry . 1895. H. K. Foster 1896. G. O. Smith 140 114 100 (not out), 121 132 Sir R. E. WEBSTER, Q.C., M.P., Prfsident Surrey C.CC. CHARLES W. ALCOCK, Secretary of the Surrey C.C.C. From ])liotij h;/ Kfiiij/it, ^''nuport. FniiiL photo hu E. Jlatcklns it" Co., Bn'i/hton. Capt. E. G. WYNYARD, President Hampshire C.C.C. H. E. MURRAY-ANDERDON, Somersetshire. Prom photo hy MuiiaU & Co., London. Fromphoto by O'Sliannes.'^ Jb Co., Afelboii 36s CHAPTER X. COUNTY CRICKET. THE MARYLEKONE CRICKET CLUB. The M.C.C. is acknowledged to be the great cricket authority throughout the world. Like many famous institutions, its suc- cess has been at times checkered. In the latter part of the last century Thomas Lord, a cricketer of some weight in his day, was in the habit of frequenting the Artillery-Field at Finsbury. This was the oldest ground of which we have the scores preserved of the early matches. On one occasion Lord there met the Earl of Winchilsea and the Hon. Colonel Lennox, both of whom were great supporters of the game. These promised Lord their pa- tronage if he would find a suitable ground. In 1787 he selected the spot where Dorset Square now stands, and from that year " Lord's " and the M.C.C. became accomplished facts. The first match of note was June 20, 21, 22, 1787, between England and the White Conduit Club, with six given men, when England won by 239 runs. On June 27, 1788, M.CC- played the White Conduit Club, and amongst the players who participated for the M.C.C. were Lord Winchilsea, Lord Strathavon, Sir Peter Burrell (of Sussex), and the Hon. A. Fitzroy, the M.C.C. winning by 83 runs. Subsequently Lord, owing to a dispute with his landlord, Mr Portman, about an addition to the rent, gave up this site and took another ground at North Bank, Regent's Park, in the year 18 10. This ground was only in existence for a period of three years, for when the Regent's Canal was planned the course was taken through the cricket-ground. Lord was, however, by no means discouraged, for in 18 14 the present site in St John's Wood Road was secured, and it is a singular fact, though often overlooked by chroniclers, that the cricketers of the present day 366 COUNTY CRICKET. actually play on the same sward as did old Small, the crack bats- man of the famous old Hambledon Club — in fact the turf, after it was taken from the old ground in Dorset Square and relaid on the North Bank pitch, was transferred to the St John's Wood enclosure. The old pavilion unfortunately was destroyed by fire just after the conclusion of the first Winchester v. Harrow match on the 28th of July 1825, Nearly all the records and many important documents in connection with the game were destroyed — such documents, for instance, as scores and notes of inatches ; while it is stated that Lord had over ;£^2ooo due to him for subscriptions. But the books were burned and Lord was anxious to retire. The situation was critical, speculating builders were on the alert, and but for the prompt action of Mr William Ward, M.P. for the City of London, the ground would speedily have been studded with villas Mr Ward purchased the lease at a high price, drawing a cheque for ^5000, and giving it to Lord, In the year 1836 Mr Ward, from altered circumstances, retired from his mansion in Bloomsbury Square and sold the lease of Lord's to Mr John Henry Dark, who became the proprietor. Nine years earlier, however, in 1827, the first university match was played at Lord's, and that year the remuneration of pro- fessional cricketers was fixed at a standard of ^6 per head for the winning side and ^£'4 for the losers. In 1843 his late Royal Highness the Prince Consort became a patron, while the follow- ing year I find there were 465 members on the roll of the club. In 1863 Mr Dark proposed to part with his interest in Lord's ground for ;^i 5,000, the remainder of the lease being twenty- nine and a half years. A committee was appointed to report on the matter, and in 1864 the sum of ;^i 1,000 was agreed upon by Mr Dark for the purchase of his premises, which comprised the tavern, racquet and tennis court, billiard-room, and cricket- ground. The ground-landlord, Mr Moses, offered to renew the ground-rent for ninety-nine years at ^^550 per annum: it had previously been ;!^i5o. In 1865 Mr Marsden (late Moses) offered to sell outright for _;^2 1,000. This was eventually re- duced to ;^i8, 150, and the following year Mr William Nicholson, a member of the M.C.C. committee, and captain of tne Harrow Eleven in 1843, in the most handsome manner advanced the money on a mortgage of the premises at ^^^5 per cent, which he afterwards reduced to ;£'4 per cent. At a special general meet- ing on May 2, 1866, Mr Nicholson's proposal was unanimously adopted, and from that period, when the famous old club could call the ground its own, the progress year by year has been LORD PEiMUROKE. Fnnii i'hvio hi/ .l/cx'-r^- Bns^aiio, Londvn. 368 COUNTY CRICKET. remarkable. Two or three years ago this same gentleman, Mr W. Nicholson, purchased a large piece of ground at Harrow and presented it to his old school. He was formerly M.P. for Petersfield, High Sheriff for Hants, and president of the M.C.C. By the year 1878 the whole of the loan advanced by Mr W. Nicholson for the purchase of the ground had been paid. When Mr Nicholson purchased the freehold in 1866 the club had a , muster-roll of 980 members and an income of _^6ooo odd. To- day I find from the M.CC. report the club has a membership of 4197. The hundredth anniversary of the M.CC. was celebrated by a dinner held in the tennis-court on the 15th of June 1887, The invited guests, numbering about two hundred, included past presidents, those who had played in the Gentlemen v. Players matches at Lord's twice, and other distinguished supporters of the game. The same week two first-class matches were played at Lord's — M.CC. and Ground w. England, and Gentlemen of the M.CC. V. Eighteen Veterans over Forty. For the latter ap- peared such well-known exponents of the past as Colonel N. W. Wallace, Colonel Fellowes, Major A. S. Griffiths, Major A. W. Anstruther, Messrs L D. and V. E. Walker, Rev. G. Lane, Messrs C E. Green, Montagu Turner, Rev. S. C Voules, Messrs J. Round, M.P., E, Hume, Arthur Appleby, J. F. Leese, C Booth, E. B. Rowley, P. Hilton, and E. Rutter, and no other such memorable week has been held in the history of cricket. In September 1889 the Hon. Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane, K.C.B., laid the first stone of the present handsome pavilion, which cost the club, according to the M.CC statement of accounts for 1890, over ;^i 5,000. Since the fire, to which I have referred, which demolished the old records in 1825, the list of presidents has been as follows : — 1 826. Charles Barnett, Esq. 1827. Henry Kingscote, Esq. 1828. A. F. Greville, Esq. 1829. John Barnard, Esq. 1830. Hon. G. Ponsonby. 1831. William Deedes, Esq. 1832. Henry Howard, Esq. 1833. Herbert Jenner, Esq. 1834. Hon. H. Ashley. 1835. Lord Charles Russell. 1836. Lord Suffield. 1837. Viscount Grimston. 1838. Marquis of Exeter. 1839. Earl of Chesterfield. 1840. Earl of Verulam. 1841. Earl Craven. 1842. Earl of MarcU 1843. Earl of Ducie. 1844. Sir J. Bayley, Bart. 1845. Thos. Chamberlayne, Esq. 1846. Earl Winterton. 1847. Earl of Strathmore. 1848. Earl of Leicester. 1849. Earl Darnley. 1850 Earl Guernsey. 185 1. Earl of Stanford and Warring- ton. 1852. Viscount Dupplin. MARYLEBONE CRICKET CLUB. 369 1853- Marquis of Worcester. 1876 1854. Earl Vane. 1877. 1855. Earl of Uxbridge. 1878. 1856. Viscount Milton. 1S79 1857- Sir Frederick Bathurst, Bart. 1880 1858. Lord Garlies. 1859. Earl of Coventry. 1881 i860. Lord SUelmersdale. 1882 1861. Earl Spencer. 1883 1862. Earl of Sefton. 1884 1863. Lord Suffield. 1885 1864. Earl of Dudley. 1886 1865. Lord Ebury. 1887 1866. Earl of Sandwich. 1888 1867. Earl Verulam. 1889 1868. Lord Methuen. 1890 1869. Marquis of Lansdowne. 1891 1870. J. H. Scourfield, Esq., M.P. 1892 I87I. Earl of Clarendon. 1893 1872. Viscount Down. 1894 1873- Earl Cadogan. 1895 1874. Marquis of Hamilton. 1896 1875- Sir Charles Legard, Bt., M.P. 1897 Lord Londesborough. Duke of Beaufort. Lord Fitzhardinge. W. Nicholson, Esq. Sir W. Hart Dyke, Bart., M.P. Lord George Hamilton. Lord Bel per. Hon. R. Grimston. Earl Winterton. Lord Wenlock. Lord I^yttelton. Hon. E. Chandos Leigh, Q. C. Duke of Buccleuch. Sir Henry James, Q.C. Lord W. Eresby. V. E. Walker, Esq. W. E. Denison, Esq. Earl of Dartmouth. Earl of Jersey. Lord Harris. Earl of Pembroke. Earl of Lichfield. The patron of the club is H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. Treasurer — Hon. Sir Ponsonby-Fane, K.C.B. Secretary — Henry Perkins, Esq. The past treasurers have been : F. Ladbrooke, Esq. ; R. Kynaston, Esq.; H. Kingscote, Esq.; T. Burgoyne, Esq. Past honorary secretaries: 1822-41, Benjamin Aislabie, Esq.; 1842-57, R. Kynaston, Esq.; 1858-62, Alfred BailHe, Esq.; 1863-67, R. A. Fitzgerald, Esq. I give a detailed list of matches played by the M.C.C. since 1870: — Date. Matches. Won. Lost. Drawn. Date. Matches. Won. Lost. Drawn 1870 40 18 ir II 1884 . 121 59 34 28 1871 37 17 8 12 1885 136 72 30 34 1872 44 21 10 13 1886 128 76 26 26 1873 46 17 13 16 1887 . 141 85 29 27 1874 SO 19 18 13 1888 147 75 23 49 1875 48 21 7 20 1889 152 99 29 26 1876 60 23 16 21 1890 160 84 40 36 1877 65 27 II 27 1891 -'hi 92 30 3\ 1878 77 33 18 26 1892 151 87 29 33* 1879 84 43 7 34 1893 iSS 100 34 21 1880 95 42 17 36 1894 . 162 96 34 32 1881 117 SS II 51 1895 . 177 104 36 37 1882 123 47 24 52 1896 . 178 100 39 39 1883 130 4 17 64 * TieM Itches, 2. 370 COUNTY CRICKET. Of literature issued in connection with the M.C.C. Club, the most important are the following ; — A Correct Account of all the Cricket-Matches which have been played by the Mary-le-bone Club, and all other important Matches, from 1 786 to 1822 inclusive. By Henry Bentley. A Correct Account of all the Cricket- Matches which have been played by the Mary-le-bone Club in 1823. By Henry Bentley. A Correct Account of all the Cricket-Matches played by the Marylebone Club in 1824-25. By Henry Bentley. M.C.C. Cricket Scores and Biographies of Celebrated Cricketers. Fourteen volumes, dealing most exhaustively with cricket from 1746 to 1878 in- clusive. By Arthur Haygarth. M.C.C. Extracts from Minutes of Committee from 1826 to 1867. By R. A. Fitzgerald. Now out of print. The Centenary of the Marylebone Cricket Club. A short Summary of the History of the Club, the names of those present at the Centenary Dinner, and a resumi of the Speeches delivered thereat. By Henry Perkins and G. li. West. The first four volumes of the ' Cricket Scores and Biographies of Celebrated Cricketers ' have long been out of print, and are most difficult to meet with. Of the enormous care and labour ungrudgingly given by Mr Haygarth to this mammoth compilation it is impossible to speak too highly. Of late years the M.C.C. have also issued annually in book form the full scores and batting averages of the club, which may be obtained by members on application to the secretary. The present ground staff at Lord's consists of — Hearne, Thomas. Pickett. Whitehead. West, W. A. J. Farrands. Davenport. Whiteside. Baggaley. Clayton. Pentecost. Burns. Russell. Rylott. Titchmarsh. Bean. Brown. Hearne, G. G. Chatterton. Moorhouse. Butt. Wheeler. West, J. E. Needham. Pike. Sherwin. Martin. Hearne, J. T. Woodcock. Mycroft, T. Pougher. Geeson. Handford. Hearne, W. Rawlin. Board. Huish, F. E. Flowers. Hearne, A. Mead. Wrathall, H. Barnes. Carlin. Carpenter. Trott, A. E. Gunn. Davidson. Storer. Thompson, G. J Hay. Phillips. Moss. Roche. Attewell, W. Richardson. Attewell, T. O'Halloran. Burton. DERBY SHIRE. Although a county club was not formed by the famous Peak county until 1870, yet years prior to this date cricket was played in various parts of the shire, notably at Chatsworth, the old \V. G. GRACE FORCING THE BALL ON THE ON-SIDE. J-'mni photo bij E. ILiu-ldns holo by E. Wnvkuts X' Co.. Brighton. 384 COUNTY CRICKET. In the return match with Notts the late G. F. Grace played two wonderful not-cut innings of 115 and 72, while in the re- turn with Yorkshire the following year, on the Clifton College Ground, " G. F." played another great innings of 165 not out. In the first five seasons of Gloucestershire county cricket, the representatives of the Western shire lost but three matches ; while in 1876 and 1877 Gloucestershire was the champion county, and played England at the Oval, and won by 5 wickets. Although both " E. M." and " G. F." surpassed " W. G." in the batting tables of the county in 1877, yet "W. G." was a great factor with the ball. One only needs to give a single instance to prove this assertion. It used to be said that when " W. G." was out for under 20, Gloucester were out for less than 100. Against Notts, at Cheltenham, in 1877, the Champion only scored 17, but oddly enough he secured 17 wickets for 8g runs in the match ! Those gently lobbed-up deliveries, bowled more with head than hand, have oft proved the undoing of resolute batsmen. This kind of ball is such a strange contrast to the huge proportions and the massive strength of the man who gives it motion. In 1878 England and Gloucestershire again met at the Oval ; but with T6m Emmett in fatal form, the county was routed by 6 wickets. In May of that year a Glou- cester youth, who was nineteen, named William Alfred Woof, was played in the Colts' match, and his left-hand bowling so impressed the Graces that he was chosen for the county that season. It was, however, 1880 before the services of the second professional Gloucestershire engaged were fully utilised, and his assistance was rendered the more necessary owing to the death of Mr Fred Grace — an event which naturally aroused the deepest sympathy throughout England, for in addition to being a splendid batsman, a magnificent field, and at times a destructive bowler, his social qualities endeared him to everybody. The youngest of the band of brothers, he was the first called to account, but his memory will ever be preserved as green as the sward on which he had given happiness to thousands. From about 1878 the decline of Gloucestershire commenced; poor "G. F." was sadly missed in the eighties. In 1887 "W. G.," acting upon the advice of Mr G. N. Wyatt, secured the services of Roberts as a bowler, and in 1890 J. J. Ferris the Australian was persuaded to take up his abode in the county, but it cannot be said that he was a success. In 1893 and 1894 two young players appeared, Charles Townsend and Gilbert Jessop, who subsequently made their names famous in con- HAMPSHIRE — THE CRADLE OF CRICKET. 385 nection with Gloucestershire cricket. In 1895 the Master, who had toiled on in season and out of season for his county since the first county match in 1870, fairly electrified cricketing Eng- land. In the month of May he achieved the remarkable feat of scoring 1000 runs, and on the 17 th of May, on the Ashley Down ground at Bristol, he completed his hundredth cetitury in first-class cricket. Naturally such wonderful performances on the part of the Champion created a wave of enthusiasm, and a great international testimonial was given him. In June of the same year, at the Victoria Rooms, Clifton, the Glou- cestershire County banquet to "W. G." was held. It was indeed a brilliant function. His Grace the Duke of Beaufort, K.G., presided, and the gathering called together men whom it is difficult to conceive any other festive occasion could have brought into rapprochement with each other. For details in con- nection with this article I have to express my thanks for assist- ance derived from Mr Alfred J. Gaston, Mr James Catton, Arrowsmith's ' Gloucestershire County Scores,' and Haygarth's ' M.C.C. Scores and Biographies.' The President of the Club is His Grace the Duke of Beaufort, K.G. ; the Secretary, Mr E. M. Grace, Park House, Thornbury. HAMPSHIRE — THE CRADLE OF CRICKET. Charles Box, in his magnum opus ' The English Game of Cricket,' states that more than a century ago Hampshire was one of the most attractive spots for cricket in the kingdom, and it was the centre to which cricket talent gravitated long before the Marylebone Club existed. Hambledon was the cradle of the game, and it is difficult to trace when cricket was really first played in this happy valley. Mr Edward V. Lucas of the Academy paid a devout pilgrimage to the immortal site in 1896, and his graphic notes, which appeared in the ' Morning Post,' have been specially preserved for my book by Mr Gaston. Hambledon lies in a trough among the Hampshire hills, in a valley within a valley, one side being Windmill Down and Broad Halfpenny Down the other. The modernising, sophisticating rail is above a league distant, and, save for weekly brake-loads of excursionists from Portsmouth, which is twelve miles to the south, the village sees few strangers year in year out. Approaching on foot from the east, you are upon Hambledon all unsuspectingly. Just when you had, perhaps, decided that the old place and its glorious traditions were, after all, but a figment of John Nyren's imagination, and that your 2 B 386 COUNTY CRICKET. pilgrimage was vain, there below you is the smoke of the Hambledon fires. The path downwards is steep and stony as one of Bunyan's toilsome ways, and a thought of Clovelly takes you here and there. At the foot is the George Inn, among other whitewashed houses, which stray as little as may be from the level road runnmg along the bottom of the gulch. Looking around, and feeling a primitive peace in the air, you are persuaded it was worth the walk from Rowlandy Castle to be at last in the nursery of cricket. The George Inn, once the headquarters of the Hambledon cricketers — vice the Bat and Ball, deposed — but now possessing not even a relic of the game, is the chief hostel. Competition is, however, rife, for in Hambledon the inns are, after the good old English habit, numerically in all disproportion to the population, although, alas ! no longer are their cellars deserving of the panegyric which once they won. These are bad days for the connoisseur of beer. No longer is such ale to be drunk as a hundred years ago moved Hambledon's historian to eulogy — " Barleycorn," he called it, " such as would put the souls of three butchers into one weaver ; ale that would flare like turpentine — genuine Boniface ! This immortal viand (for it was more than liquor) was vended at 2d. per pint." Nyren wrote these words fifty years after the matches which were graced and ennobled by those libations were won, yet " the smell of that ale," he could add, " comes upon me as freshly as the new May flowers." The Hambledon men were ever good drinkers. The old Club book contains this illuminating entry : " A wet day. Only three members present. Nine bottles of wine." A wet day, truly. Opposite the George a road starts up the western hill — Windmill Down — to the church. Here, under the long grass, lie some of the old Hambledon cricketers whose deeds and characters live for ever in Nyren's pages. The path to the ground where once they played passes their graves. It is sad to think that these green mounds are nameless. A ruddy Hampshireman on the hillside above the church throws a light on the knowledge of the modem villager concerning Hambledon's tremendous history. Yes, he had heard say that the first cricket ever played was in Hambledon, but that was over there on Broad Halfpenny, a long while back. When he was younger they used to play every Sunday afternoon ; they played for pints. Ham- bledon, by the way, never seems to have been quite willing to regard cricket as cricket's own reward. Stakes were preferred. Sunday cricket is still an institution in the village, as it was in Kingsley's day at Eversley, and at Halton when Dr Parr dominated that spot. " Dr Parr," says Mr Pycroft, " on a Sunday evening used to sit on the Green at Halton (Warwick) with his pipe and his jug to see the parish lads at cricket, no one being allowed to play who had not been at church ; the public-houses were deserted, and a better-behaved parish than the doctor's was rarely seen in those days." Such is the moral influence of cricket. Hambledon may not have reached this state of perfection, but cricketers and teetotallers alike will be pleased to know that the allurement of pints has ceased to be all-powerful. Windmill Down is no longer meet for batsman and bowler. The slopes are yellow with corn, and the summit is divided between rank grass, growing from stony soil, with a profusion of high ox-eye daisies and purple thistles — such as Sir Horace Mann would have joyed to DR R. EENCRAFT. J'j-om photo hij E. Haiikiris tfc Co., Brijktoiu 388 COUNTY CRICKET. cut with his stick — and a copse of fir-trees and larches. But you can see what a ground for a hit it must have been in the old days, when David Harris, after infinite care, pitched his wickets on its turf. The view invigorates : but woe to the fieldsman who puts the pageantry of hill and cloud before the zest of cricket. A ball hit with any power ^cut, as Beldham used to cut them, with " the speed of thought " — would, once it passed him, travel to the roots of the surrounding mountains. It was the making of fieldsmen. " The ground," says Nyren, " gradually declined every way from the centre, and the fields- men, therefore, were compelled to look about them, and for this reason they became so renowned in that department of the game." Nyren was once in with Noah Mann, on Windmill Down, when "by one stroke from a toss that he hit behind him we got lo runs." Standing here, you can believe it, and if you have any imagination you can see the old farmers looking on, and hear again the deep mouths of the multitude "baying away in pure Hampshire — 'Go hard ! go hard ! Tich and turn ! tich and turn !'" The Hambledon Club's ground was changed from Broad Halfpenny to Windmill Down somewhere in the seventeen-eighties. The cricketers brought their turf with them and laid it afresh. Early in our century the ground was once more changed, this time to its present site, and once more was the turf removed. The turf of the present ground, which you reach by descending Windmill Down and then climbing a mere mound which lies to the north of it, is therefore (allowing for repairs) the same turf on which Beldham batted and Harris bowled a hundred years ago. Harris and Beldham ! Cricket records hold no greater names than these — Harris, king of bowlers, and Beldham, king of bats. On this very turf, so thickly sown, so springy, so fragrant (think of it !) David Harris bowled — Harris, who in All-England matches was the first man picked ; Harris, a bowler " who between any one and himself," Nyren somewhat vaguely but enthusiastically says, "comparison must fail." David came from Odiham, in Hants. He was "a muscular, bony man, standing about ;■ feet gyi inches. His features were not regularly handsome, but a remarkably kind and gentle expression amply com- pensated the defect of mere linear beauty. The fair qualities of his heart shone through his honest face." This description is characteristic of Nyren. No man was more eager and glad than he to discover vir- tue in his friends and to celebrate it. Harris " when preparing for his run previously to delivering the ball, would have made a beautiful study for the sculptor. Phidias would certainly have taken him for a model. First of all, he stood erect like a soldier at drill ; then with a graceful curve of the arm he raised the ball to the forehead, and drawing back his right foot started off with his left. . . . His mode of delivering the ball was very singular. He would bring it from under the arm by a twist, and nearly as high as his armpit, and with this action push it, as it were, from him." Lord Frederick Beauclerk called David's bowling " one of the grandest sights in the universe." Like the Pan- theon in Akenside's hymn, remarked the Rev. John Mitford, the friend of Lamb and a student of cricket, it was " simply and severely great." Harris did not attain to his splendid heights without toil. " He was a potter by trade," said Beldham, " and in a kind of skittle-alley formed between hurdles he used to practise by bowling four different balls HAMPSHIRE — THE CRADLE OF CRICKET. 389 from one end, and then picking them up he would bowl them back again." And "you might have seen David," said another, " practising at dinner-time and after-hours all the winter through." " Many a Hampshire barn," declared the batsman Beagley, " has been heard to resound with bats and balls as well as thrashing." It is puzzling to us, who are familiar with Richardson's swinging arm, to understand how Harris acquired his speed in those underhand days, but all ac- counts agree that the potter's balls came in with terrible velocity. They rose almost perpendicularly from the pitch, and, said Nyren, " woe be to the man who did not get in to block them, for they had such a peculiar curl that they would grind his fingers against the bat." Mr Mitford, supplementing this passage, wrote with fine excess that the batsman's fingers would be " ground to dust, his bones pulverised, and his blood scattered over the field." And all the while David was beaming with his remarkably kind and gentle expression. Oh, a great man ! Tom Walker, whom Nyren classed with the bloodless animals, although Beldham remembered seeing him rub his bleeding fingers in the dust, was alone undismayed. David used to say that he liked to " rind" him. None the less, Harris once bowled Tom Walker 170 balls for but one run, which proves Tom's imperturbability and powers of defence. " Gently, potter, gently, pray," must have been (in the words of Fitzgerald's Omar Khayyam) the plea of the other bats- men. It was Tom Walker who " would never speak to any one, or give any answer, when he was in at the wicket. His tongue was tied, as his soul and body were surrendered to the struggle." William Beldham, or " Silver Billy," as he was called, from his fair hair, was, with the bat, great as David Harris with the ball. He had " that genius for cricket, that wonderful eye, and that quickness of hand, which would," said Mr Ward and others, "have made him a great player in any age." For thirteen years he averaged 43 runs a- match, and that at a time when 20 was a "long hand." A glance at ' Bentley's Scores' will show you how consistent was this superb player. " One of the most beautiful sights that can be imagined, and which would have delighted an artist," said Nyren, "was to see him make himself up to hit a ball. It was the beau ideal of grace, animation, and concentrated energy." "It was a study for Phidias," said Mr Mitford, "to see Beldham rise to strike ; the grandeur of the attitude, the settled composure of the look, the piercing lightning of the eye, the rapid glance of the bat, were electrical. Men's hearts throbbed within them, their cheeks turned pale and red. Michael Angelo should have painted him." Beldham was the first man to run in to meet the ball. Others waited for it, and lost the chance of scoring, but he left his ground and scored. Mr Stoddart is his worthiest disciple to-day. " You do frighten me there, jumping out of your ground," said Squire Paulet, of Hambledon, remonstrating with Beldham. But Silver Billy knew best. Innovators must ever meet with opposition. Was not Fennex, who first played forward to smother a length ball, confronted with the displeasure of his father, who, shocked at the departure, cried to him, " Hey, hey, boy, what is this ? Do you call that play?" Beldham did not invent the cut— that honour belongs to Harry Walker, brother of Tom — but he excelled at it. " His pecuHar glory," said Mr Mitford, "was the cut. Here he stood with no man beside him — the laurel was all his own ; it seemed 390 COUNTY CRICKET. like the cut of a racket. His wrist seemed to turn on springs of the finest steel. He took the ball, as Burke did the House of Commons, between wind and water — not a moment too soon or late." When he could cut the balls " at the point of the bat," said Nyren, " he was in his glory ; and upon my life their speed was as the speed of thought." No bowling came amiss to Silver Billy, fast or slow. Brown, of Brighton, who was a terrific under-hand bowler in those days, bragged that he would bowl Beldham "off his legs." " I suppose," said Billy, "you will let me have this little bit of stick in my hand?" pointing to his bat. "He went in," says Mr Mitford, "and fetched above 70 against him." In after-years, when the old man was in his decline, Mr Mitford made a pilgrimage to Beldham's cottage, near Farnham, to see this little bit of stick. " In his kitchen," he wrote, " black with age, . . . hangs the trophy of his victories, the delight of his youth, the exercise of his manhood, and the glory of his age — his BAT. Reader, beheve me when I tell you, I trembled when I touched it, — it seemed an act of profaneness, of violation. I pressed it to my lips, and re- turned it to its sanctuary." Mr Pycroft visited Beldham at Farnham in 1838, and afterwards incorporated much of the old man's conversa- tion in ' The Cricket-Field.' Silver Billy died twenty-five years later, aged ninety-eight. In 1788 I find from 'Scores and Biographies' that Hamp- shire played Surrey at Moulsey Hurst, Surrey being the winners by 9 wickets, while in 1789 Hants played and beat Kent at Bishopsbourne by 29 runs, and in less than a month after defeated England by 44 runs. Earlier in the year, however, on Windmill Downs, Kent defeated Hants by 56 runs. At the commencement of the present century, however, Hampshire cricket was on the wane; but in 1823 Hampshire beat England at Bramshill Park (Sir John Cope's seat) by 5 wickets, . while two years later matches were arranged with Sussex, the first fixture at Petworth Park ; the home side was victorious by 1 7 7 runs, while in the return Hants won by 72 runs. Like Sussex, cricket in Hants was kept alive by prominent gentlemen in the county; but in the year 1842 Daniel Day, the old Surrey professional, migrated to Southampton, and, mainly through the patronage of Mr Thomas Chamberlayne, Sir Frederick Bathurst, Sir J. B. Mill, and others, he opened the Antelope Inn and ground. Cricket, however, did not pros- per, and matches were few and far between. In 1863, however, during the progress of the match Fourteen of Hants v. Surrey, played on the Antelope ground in September, a large county meeting was held at the Antelope Hotel. Mr Thomas Cham- berlayne of Cranbury Park took the chair, and Mr G. M. Ede was unanimously elected the first honorary secretary. In 1869 Mr Ede resigned, and was succeeded by Captain Eccles. Still KENT. 391 Hants cricket did not flourish, and in 1874 Mr Clement Booth, the old Rugby boy, endeavoured to bring Hants again to the front. He was unsuccessful, but in the early eighties a meeting was held at the George Hotel, Winchester, when the county was mapped out into districts, each district being given representa- tives on the Executive Committee. From 1880 to 1885, Colonel Fellowes of the Royal Engineers was joint honorary secretary with Mr Russell Bencraft, and in February 1895 Colonel Fellowes issued the 'Hampshire Cricket- ers' Guide.' It was mainly, too, through the energy of Colonel Fellowes that a county ground, consisting of over eight acres of land, at Bannisters Park, Southampton, was secured. It was the property of Sir Edward Hulse, Bart., and was leased to the county club for twenty-eight years. Subsequently the Hampshire Cricket Ground Company was formed,' and this Company bought the ground outright from Sir Edward Hulse for ,^5400. At present Hants is heavily handicapped, owing to military duties depriving the county of the frequent service of Captain Wynyard, one of the finest bats in the South. In 1894 for Hants he played consecutive innings of 117 v. Sussex, 116 V. Leicestershire, and 108 v. Essex; and in recognition of this he was publicly presented with a handsome pair of silver candle- sticks. Dr Russell Bencraft, too, has worked most loyally, while the following players have, collectively and individually, endeavoured to Resuscitate and popularise Hampshire cricket — Captain Quin- ton, Mr F. Eden Lacey, Mr A. J. L. Hill, Mr C. Robson, Mr D. A. Steele, H. Baldwin, V. Barton, E. Light, T. Soar, the late H. F. Ward, and J. Wootton. The President is Lord Aberdare; the Hon. Secretary Dr Russell Bencraft. KENT. In the " Garden of England," the greatest of all our outdoor games has flourished from the period of the earliest records of cricket. In the Life of the Rev. Thomas Wilson, published anonymously in 1672, it is stated: " Maidstone was formerly a very prophane town, inasmuch that before 1640 I have seen morrice dancing, cudgel playing, stoolball, crickets, and many other sports openly and publickly on the Lord's Day." The ' Postman ' for July 24, 1705, mentions, "This is to give notice that a match, will be plaid between eleven Gentlemen of the 392 COUNTY CRICKET. west part of Kent and those of Chatham for ii guineas a man, the game to take place at Moulden in Kent, on August 7th next." Mr Charles Box, too, in 'The English Game of Cricket,' published at the 'Field' office in 1877, mentions that Kent played All England in 1711 ; while in ' Mist's Journal' for May 26, 1 7 19, it is recorded that the Men of Kent played the Men of London at cricket in Lamb's Conduit Fields for ;£6o a-side ; while Mr Gaston has in his possession a copy of the ' London Evening Post,' of August 7, 1729, recording a cricket-match as follows : " On Tuesday was played a great cricket match on Kennington Common between the Londoners and the Dart- ford men for a considerable sum of money, Wager and Betts; and the latter beat the former very much." In the 'Grub Street Journal' of Thursday, July 10, 1735, I gather the following : — A great match at Cricket has been made between His Royal High- ness the Prince and the Earl of Middlesex for ^1000. Eight of the London club and three out of Middlesex are to play for the Prince against Eleven to be chosen by the Earl out of Kent : they are to play twice — viz., at Moulsey Hurst — next Saturday, and afterwards at Dartford in Kent. And in the 'Grub Street Journal,' July 31, 1735, it is related : — Yesterday at the cricket match on Bromly Common between the Prince of Wales and the Earl of Middlesex for ^1000, the Londoners got 72 the first hands, the Kentish men 95. London side went in again, and got only 9 above the Kent, which were got the second innings without one person's being out, by the Kentish men, who won the match. In the ' London Evening Post,' from Saturday, August 23, to Tuesday, August 26, 1735, it is announced: — Last week was play'd at Sevenoaks, in Kent, a great Cricket Match between the Earl of Middlesex, the Lord John Sackville, and nine other Gentlemen of the County of Kent, and Sir William Gage and ten other Gentlemen of the County of Sussex, when the Kentish Gentlemen beat; but the week before, when they play'd on the Downs near Lewes, the Sussex Gentlemen beat considerably, so that it's thought the Conqueror will be play'd in a few Days. While the following year, in the 'Post' for July 21, 1736, it mentions : — Yesterday the great Cricket Match was play'd on Kennington Com- mon between the Gentlemen of Kent and Surrey : the Gamesters were admirably good, and to a Man perform'd their parts, The Kentish W. RASHLEIGH CUTTING. /■Virrn I'hoto I'll E IlHHi.uii 1- Co.. Briijhhm. 394 COUNTY CRICKET. Men went in first and got 41 Notches; the Surrey Men 71. At the Second Hands the Kentish Men got 53, and the Surrey Men had but 23 to get, which they acquired with Ease, and had two wickets to spare. A great deal of Money was won and lost upon the occasion ; but the Game was so skilfully and justly pla/d on each Side that the very Losers went away satisfy'd. During the game three Soldiers apprehended a Kentish Man for Desertion ; but the populace hearing of the Matter, Join'd and rescu'd the Deserter out of their Hands, and after a severe Discipline, let them go about their Business. On Monday Se'night the Surrey Men in their turn are to wait upon the Kentish Men at Cocks Heath, near Maidstone, and to play them a second game on the same Conditions. In 1746 Kent again played All England. This is the first cricket-match of which the full score has been preserved, Kent winning by one wicket. We are told in a mock heroic poem of that period — ■ " Fierce Kent, ambitious of the first applause, Against the World combin'd asserts her cause ; Gay Sussex sometimes triumphs o'er the Field, And fruitful Surrey cannot brook to yield." Lord John Philip Sackville, playing for Kent in the above match, was father of the third Duke of Dorset, afterwards so keen a supporter of the game. He resided at Knowle Park, Sevenoaks, and he gave the famous old ground known as the Vine, by a deed of trust, for the use of cricketers for ever. A capital representation of this celebrated ground, depicting a match at Sevenoaks in 1780, may be seen facing page 304 of Mr Philip Norman's charming ' Annals of the West Kent Cricket Club, 1 81 2-1896,' issued this year. It was owing to the Duke of Dorset, and to such sportsmen of position and territorial in- fluence, that the game became so popular in Kent. Cricketers were part and parcel of their retainers, or employed by them in some capacity. Such another was Sir Horace Mann, a great patron of the game, who undoubtedly imported James Aylward, the Hambledon batsman, into Kent, and employed him as a bailiff; but John Nyren suggests that he was a much better player than a bailiff. Then a Mr Amherst probably secured another man in Crawte, of Alresford. Mr Amherst was the gentleman who arranged all the Kent matches, just the same as Mr W. S. Norton, of Town Mailing, did fifty years later, before there was any duly constituted county club. The "Lion of "Kent" subsequently was Mr Alfred Mynn. He was born at Twisden Lodge, Goudhurst, January 19, 1807. For a long period he assisted Kent Mr Mynn was also a great W. RASHLEIGH'S DRIVE PAST EXXRA-COVER. J^rom jiholo &y E. Han-kins X- Co.. Briohtoii. 395 - COUNTY CRICKET. single wicket player, and represented the Gentlemen of Englarid against the Players, according to Mr Arthur Haygarth's ' Scores and Biographies,' no less than twenty times. No cricket poem is better known than the famous lines on Alfred Mynn " In Memoriam," by the late W. J. Prowse. The poem concludes : — " With his tall and stately presence, with his nobly moulded form, His broad hand was ever open, his brave heart was ever warm ; All were proud of him, all loved him. ... As the changing seasons pass. As our champion lies a-sleeping underneath the Kentish grass, Proudly, sadly, we will name him — to forget him were a sin — Lightly lie the turf upon thee, kind and manly Alfred Mynn ! " Contemporary with Mr Mynn was Fuller Pilch, Tom Adams, Wenman, Martingell, " Felix,'' Dorrington, and Hillyer. In 1842 the first Canterbury week was inaugurated, in conjunction with the amateur theatrical entertainments. So widely known as the Old Stagers. In the subscription volume of ' The Canter- bury Week,' published in 1865,, I find that the initial prologue in 1842 was written and admirably spoken by Mr Tom Taylor (of ' Punch '), dressed as a cricketer, who stated — "Your cricketer no cogging practice knows, No trick to favour friends or cripple foes ; His motto still is 'May the best men win,' Let Sussex boast her Taylor, Kent her Mynn, Your cricketer, right English to the core. Still loves the man best he has licked before.'' No one has done more for Kent, however, than Lord Harris. At one period he was captain, honorary secretary, and the com- mittee rolled into one. Kent has produced also a succession of brilliant amateurs, which include such names as W. Yardley, C. A. Absolom, the brothers Frank and A. Penn, Hon. Ivo Bligh, W. H. Patterson, E. F. S. Tylecote, S. Christopherson, W. Foord-Kelcey, R. T. Thornton, Frank Marchant, Leslie Wilson, W. Rashleigh, M. C. Kemp, C. J. M. Fox, J. Le Fleming, J R. Mason; while of the professional talent, in addition to those I have referred to in the early days, I would add the following, who have gallantly done their best, for the cricket honour of the White Horse : Willshire, Bob Lipscomb, Bennett, Wootton, " G, G," Frank, Walter, and Alick Hearne, Fred Martin, and Walter Wright. I append the present chief officers of the club : — President — The Marquis of Camden. Hon. Treasurer — F. W. Furley, Esq. Secretary — Mr A. J. Lancaster, 46 St George's Place, Canterbury. Captain — Frank Marchant, Esq. LANCASHIRE. 397 LANCASHIRE. By A. N. Hornby. I have been requested by the author of this book to write some information regarding the history and progress of Lancashire county cricket, and to me it is a pleasure to be able to supply him with anything interesting regarding its origin. In the pavilion it has ever been customary to chronicle our club officials prominently, and from the earliest recollection that is possible to vouch for, we learn that the Manchester Club occupied some position in 1818, although when it was actually formed must be difficult to determine. In tracing the development of the old club, which undoubtedly gave birth to Lancashire, its first president, Jno. Rowlandson, who appears as far as it is possible to go back, occupied that position when the abode of the ground was in the Crescent, Salford. Little can be learned of how the game was conducted in those days, or when the members re- moved their quarters to Moss Lane, some mile and a half distant from the present Old Trafiford ground ; but it is certain the All- England Eleven appeared there in the forties. At all events, it is recorded that in 1842, on July 7, Manchester met the Gentlemen of the Marylebone Club at Lord's, and was practically .overwhelmed; for whereas it was only able to compile 59, the Marylebone Club was credited with 220. Under these circum- • stances the match was not continued, and the comment was most discouraging, for it ran thus : " Conceiving they had no chance of winning, Manchester gave up the match. The bowling on the part of Manchester was very deficient, it being of the old under-hand school, which afforded the Marylebone gentle- men much amusement in hitting it away.'' These were times evidently that must have been a batsman's paradise. However, as time wept on, there were more successful developments, and after' a long tenure the Moss Lane fields were deserted, and a new ground acquired where now stands the Botanical Gardens, almost within a stone's-throw of the present occupation. It was in September 1857 that Manchester, now a more confident and experienced team, had the assistance of Wisden, Lillywhite, and Tom Davies of Nottingham, met Surrey at Eccles, and consequent upon some fine bowling by a very old colleague of mine, Alec Rowley, it was victorious by three runs. This year the Art Treasures Exhibition was held in Man- 398 COUNTY CRICKET. Chester, and fortunately, as all future history has proved, it was arranged to be held on the cricket-ground and surroundings they occupied. This was strenuously opposed at first, but eventually amicably settled ; and now, after numerous wanderings, the present site was pitched upon, and the home of the futiire Lan- cashire team, then not dreamt about as regards the high excel- lence of to-day, definitely decided upon. In and around the city there was a plenitude of support, practical and financial, and the year after, 1858, nominated by Mark Phillips and seconded by T. T. Bellhouse, S. H. Swire was elected ; and, as it has proved, no more excellent organiser or resourceful diplomat has guided the destinies of any club. Then we come to the days when Broughton, Sheffield, Liver- pool, and Shrewsbury provided antagonism, and here find a different class of players who retired from the game at Lord's in 1842. There were the great family of Rowleys, seven in number, whose varied abilities in every part of the game were wonderful ; Joseph Makinson, one of the finest players of his time ; Middle- mort, Bousfield, Barber, Rev. F. Wright, who now were able to hold their own with all comers. Hereabouts also saV the ground boarded in and a pavilion raised at a cost of ;^9oo, and this sufficed until the present fine structure was erected in 1894. The formation and progress of other county teams became an object of interest, and why Lancashire should wait, when pos- sessed of such a grand array of players, was quickly answered with a meeting of the representatives of the various clubs held at the Queen's Hotel, Manchester, on January 12, 1864, and from that night was built up the fabric of Lancashire cricket. Those who were present on that auspicious occasion were — S. H. Swire, Frank Glover, H. W. Barber, E. B. Rowley, A. B. Rowley, D. Bleackley, T. Fothergill, Captain Ashton, A. Birley, E. Challender, J. Holt, jun., of the Manchester C.C; R. K. Birley, J. Beckton, R. Entwistle, H. Ashton, of the Western C.C. ; D. Long, H. Royle, W. Horner, Higgins, of the Liverpool C.C. ; J. Whitting- ton, J. B. Payne, R. Crawshaw, F. W. Wright, of the Broughton C.C. ; E. Whittaker and E. Hobson, of Ashton C.C. ; J. W. Alli- son and E. J. Bousfield, of Longsight C.C ; J. Yates, S. G. Green- wood, of Blackburn C.C. ; J. Smith- of Accrington ; T. Wall of Wigan ; J. Swailes of Oldham ; Alec Eccles of Huyton ; H. M. Tenent, of Northern C.C. Mr Horner was voted to the chair, while the resolution to form a county club was adopted ; and on June 15, 16, 1864, the first Lancashire team appeared at Warring- ton to oppose Birkenhead Park Club and Ground. It was a teams A. \\"AKD CUTTING. Fro7>i ji/ivtu by E. Hawkins tt Co., Brighton. 400 COUNTY CRICKET. of amateurs, comprising the following : I. Fairclough, J. White, E. B. Rowley, J. Beaton, B. J. Lawrence, G. H. Grimshaw, S. H. Swire, J. Rowley, F. H. Gossage, W. Robinson, and T. T. Bellhouse. The first Inter-county match was against Middlesex in July the following year, and in this Lancashire were victorious by 62 runs, this time assisted by the professionals Roger Iddeson and F. R. Reynolds. The latter player I have known now and played with for many years. He was a good, steady, right-hand bowler, and became identified with the club in its infancy. He has occupied an official position almost since the club's formation, and the fine condition and excellence of the Old Trafford ground is a splendid monument to his industry and ability. I went to Harrow in 1862, and obtained a place in the eleven in seasons 1864 and 1865, playing against Eton each year. It was in 1867 that I first played in an important match, and that was for Lancashire against Yorkshire, at Whalley, near Blackburn, in 1867. My first real connection, however, with the County Palatine began in 1869, and pleased I was at the end of that season that I had happened to obtain the highest aggregate and head the batting averages. It was in 1 8 7 1 that the county un- earthed two wonderful cricketers, as the sequel proves, in the persons of Barlow and AVatson. Then we had Arthur Appleby, one of the finest natural left - hand bowlers I have ever seen ; and with E. B. Rowley, J. Makinson, J. F. Leese, Hickton, Reynolds, and Coward, there began to combine an eleven of exceptional strength. In 1872 the only matches Lancashire played were home and home with Derbyshire and Yorkshire, all of which engagements were won. The cricketing status of the county was now fully asswed, and, progressing satisfactorily for many years, we reached our greatest ambition in 1 881, when in county cricket our record was untarnished. Derbyshire, Kent, Surrey, and Yorkshire were doubly beaten, one each were won and drawn against Gloucester- shire, and the only match with Middlesex was drawn. It was a triumphal season I shall ever regard with pride, for, taking part in all the matches, it was my privilege to record my first 1000, runs in any one season. Since then Lancashire has developed in every direction in a manner altogether wonderful. I have tried to sketch its early history : that of more modern times is known to all who follow the interests of the game. The committee are mainly composed of men who in the past liberally aided it practically and financially, and from the time, some twenty-five years back, when an annual deficit was custom- LANCASHIRK. 4OI ary, the club has been worked forward to a position of affluence. It is a matter of such dimensions now that it is more of a huge business, and when I say there are some 2800 members, whose number is continually increasing, to say nothing of some 650 ladies who take out subscription tickets, and the general manage- ment of the matches to take in hand, such an assertion will be readily understood. At Old Trafford I well remember when two professionals formed the ground staff, and to-day it is composed of 23. Inter-county fixtures have, too, increased to their highest point, and ten years ago, when Manchester, with twenty club- matches, thought it more than sufficient, there are on the list this season no fewer than seventy-nine. To accommodate thoroughly such a tremendous increase, in 1894 the new pavilion was erected, at a cost of ;^9ioo. Last season over 200,000 people passed the turnstiles, and to my mind the grounds at Old Trafford were never in better condition, or the whole club in a more healthy and flourishing position. Perhaps I may be allowed now to say something about the men who have reared this great and lasting fabric, and whose talents lay in all directions. In its infancy what names are revered more than Mark Phillips, T. T. Bellhouse, and E. Whit- taker ? Then what a combination were the Rowleys, seven in number, whose cricketing abilities were of the most wonderful and varied type, and Sam Swire, Coward, Hickton, M'Intyre, and Reynolds. No finer bowler ever existed than Arthur Appleby, for with ease and grace and natural action no one could touch him. Of course there were many others a quarter of a century back whom one could dilate upon, but space forbids, and I will confine my remarks to more modern famous players. Taking them as they come first, what grand professionals Watson and Barlow were ! The former for twenty-one years did wonder- ful service, and for length and ability to keep up there may be better, but I have not seen them. Barlow, too, was a great power, possessing all-round ability that for many years kept him in the forefront of professional cricketers. How many thousands, indeed, on both sides of the globe, witnessed poor Pilling's sur- prising skill ! Ever on the alert, quiet, and confident, it was a sad blow to cricket generally when he was cut off in the height of a most brilliant career. Another very fine and altogether exceptional amateur was Allan Steel. Gifted all round at the wicket, or with the ball, he placed and got bowling away in a fashion peculiarly his own, and his deceptive power as a bowler troubled everybody. No better all-round man than Briggs, to 2 c 462 COUNTY CRICKET. sustain his form for so long, has ever represented us, and no one is known better all the world over. Very resourceful, he con- tinues to maintain his position cleverly, and there is plenty of cricket in him yet. Walter Robinson, Nash, Crossland, Yates, and Frank Ward have all in their time rendered great service ; and Messrs Frank Taylor, O. P. Lancashire, J. Eccles, S. M. Crossfield, G. Jowett, C. H. Benton, and others in the amateur division have represented it faithfully and well. Coming to the team as at present constituted, during the last ten years no eleven has been more consistent without attaining the high position of champions. Wonderful, indeed, have been the exhibitions of Archie MacLaren. From his Harrow days up to the present he has placed on record a series of magnifi- cent performances, at the head of which is his famous record score of 424, made against Somerset at Taunton in July 1895. Frank Sugg, Albert Ward, George Baker, and Arthur Mold are all players of the finest ability, — men who, in all the varied de- partments of the game, represent its truest interests, and are as well conducted as they are clever. Indeed I wish to speak in the highest terms of professional cricketers generally, who engage in a game of the most searching nature, and, by their respectfulness and respectability, make their profession one for which there is much admiration. It would not be possible to conclude this article without re- ferring to my excellent friend and honorary secretary, Sam Swire. First elected a member of the club in 1858, he has been in the thick of it throughout ; and elected as honorary secretary in 1862, he remained until 1865, and resumed again in i86g, from which time until the present he has held uninterrupted office. He has been at the head in all its improvements and increases, and still guides it with power that few men possess. LEICESTERSHIRE. By T. BURDETT. Leicestershire is one of those counties in which cricket flourished in days long gone by, for we find it playing nine matches with Nottinghamshire between the years 1789 and 1829, of which Notts won five and Leicestershire four. It also had the good fortune to have one of the best county grounds in the country in the old Wharf Street ground ; but this, through A. WARD IN THE ATTITUDE TO CUT. Frvin pholo hy K llair}.i!t.:< Jj Co., Brighton. 404 COUNTY CRICKET. the great progress of the town of Leicester, fell into the builders' hands in the latter part of the "fifties." This ground was the scene of some fine cricket : it was here that the great North v. South match took place in 1836, Alfred Mynn making 136 and 26. The match lasted four days. I Zingari played the county in 1850, and matches with Derbyshire were played regularly. Other notable events of this early period were the matches played with M.C.C., Sheffield, Birmingham, Nottingham, and other good clubs. From the records of those days the moving spirits of the club appear to have been Sir F. W. Heygate ; Revs. E. Elmhirst, J. Bradshaw, H. J. Hoskins ; Earl Stamford, Sir W. Dixie ; Messrs Richard Sutton, Wm. Brookes, E. B. Farnham, J. D. Burnaby, R. Cheslyn, C. T. Freer, T. P. Seabrooke, A. Payne, W. W. Tailby, J. B. Storey, E. Warner, J. S. Nedham, G. C. Bellairs, T. Macaulay, and others. After the breaking up of this ground there was an interregnum of some few years, when cricket was only able to be carried on at the various private grounds in the county till a portion of the old race-course was laid out for cricket, and county and other matches took place there under the management of a committee, which was afterwards merged into the Leicestershire Cricket Association. The want of an enclosed ground being felt (as no gate-money could be taken without enclosing the ground), in 1878 the present county ground was opened. The first county match played there was against the first Australian team, when Arthur Sankey and Wheeler scored 130 for the first wicket. The county club was established upon its present basis in that year. The most successful year the county has had w^as in 1888, when it did not lose a single match. The county have had amongst its players since the year 1870, — Earl Lanesborough, Lord Curzon ; Revs. E. H. Willes, H. Gillett, G. S. Marriott; Messrs R. A. H. Mitchell, C. Marriott, W. H. Hay, A. Sankey, T. S. Pearson, H. P. Arnall Thompson, J. A. Turner, A. W. Crofts, S. R. Wright, G. W. Hillyard,- C. C. Stone, J. Collier, Randon Bishop, Panter, Ryllot, Parnham AVheeler, Warren, Pougher, Woodcock, Tomlin. It was in 1885 that Pougher, the professional, who has proved cf so much service to the county, first took a place in the County Eleyen, to which he has proved such a tower of strength, both in batting and bowling. In 1887 Mr C. E. De Trafford made his debut for the county, and in 1889 was elected to the captaincy, a position which he H W BAINBRIDGE (Warwickshire) Fnmi,h:,t(,hiJ Arthur Wcl/^i Binni/ujhai't roUGIIER (I^kicestershire) Frf". iihiiUj hii A rUkrrivfj, Dicjifittr C W, WRIGHT (Notts). From photo hit A Tf C"^, y"ttitnjhaia. C. E. DE TRAFfORD (Leicestershire). Fru,n i.hotu hit E. Hairti,i-< S- Co., Briultt„n 4o6 COUNTY CRICKET. has most ably filled up to the present time. It would take up too much space to recount the various large scores made for the county, which have proved him to be one of the biggest hitters and quickest run -getters of the day. The score he made last August, 113, against Lancashire, is the largest score made by him for the county in a first-class county match. The club is managed by a president, Sir A. R. Palmer, Bart, (a most enthusiastic cricketer, ably filling that position now), four vice-presidents, honorary secretary, honorary treasurer, and twelve members of committee, four of whom retire annually together with the whole of the officers, but are eligible for re-election. There are 700 members; and whereas the gate-money taken twenty years ago only amounted to a few pounds a match, last season it reached respectable proportions, showing the great inter- est taken in the game by the general public at the present time. MIDDLESEX. Middlesex, like Lancashire, first boasted a county club in 1864, but as far back as 1787 the county team participated in the first match recorded on the original Lord's ground at Dorset Square. Mr E. H. Budd, who played an innings of 76 for the County v. M.C.C. in 1808, was one of the hardest hitters of the early days. He invariably played with a bat 3 lb. in weight. A powerful club called the Islington Albion was founded in the early part of the century by Mr Gibson, while Mr Ford of Lynmouth, Devon, has in his possession a. pamphlet intituled "Rules and Regulations of the Islington Union Cricket Club, agreed to at a meeting of the club held at the Canonbury Tavern, igth April 1826." From the year 1830 (when "no- balls" were first recorded in the match Middlesex v. M.C.C.) to 1850, Middlesex County cricket was dormant, with the exception of a single match played against Surrey in 1844. A revival was effected in 1850 by the renewal o'f the matches with Surrey, and subsequently the formation of a bond, fide county club was de- bated. With this object in view a ground nine acres in extent, at the rear of the Eton Tavern, Primrose Hill, was enclosed in 1854, but no county matches were played there. In 1859 Mr John Walker of Southgate invited the Kent Eleven to play Mid- dlesex on his pretty ground, situated in close proximity to the charming Gothic Southgate Church. The home side contained five of the celebrated Walker family. Several county families in A. E. SrOJjDAKT DRIVING. Fromphalv !.;( E. Ilaidiin.-: A Cl:. Brighton, 408 COUNTY CRICKET. this country can truly point to cricketing achievements of an illustrious character, but I doubt if any county can boast of a brotherhood of such fine physique, and such genuine all-round sportsmen, as the Walkers, of Middlesex fame. The most cele- brated of this band of brothers were Mr V. E. Walker and Mr I. D. Walker. " V. E." was one of the finest lob-bowlers England has ever seen. He appeared for the Gentlemen of England against the Players when but nineteen years of age, and in 1859, for England v. Surrey, he scored 20 not out and 108, and ob- tained all the wickets in the first innings of his opponents. He repeated this feat of capturing all the wickets in an innings at Mote Park, Maidstone, in 1864 for the Gentlemen of Middlesex against the Gentlemen of Kent, while he followed this up for the third time in the Middlesex v. Lancashire match at Manchester in 1865. Very few noblemen or gentlemen have done more to encourage cricket than Mr V. E. Walker. In 1890 he presented to the Southgate Local Board fifteen acres of land of the value of _;^5ooo for the purpose of a public recreation-ground. In May 1891 he was elected President of the M.C.C. But for the Walkers there would have been no Middlesex cricket. Mr J. B. Payne, in his descriptive notes of Middlesex cricket, contributed to 'The Cricket-Field' in 1894, writes : — Meantime the press was warmly urging the necessity of a county club for Middlesex, and a meeting was held in 1864, over which the Hon. Robert Grimston presided, at which it was actually formed. Two hundred and fifty members were mustered within a year, and a ground laid out at the back of the Lamb Tavern, Islington, afterwards known as " The Cattle-Market Ground." After a trial match between "Twelve Gentlemen and Fourteen Colts," which resulted in a tie, the Middlesex team went down to Newport Pagnell to meet the newly fledged Buckinghamshire Club. C. G. Lane, C. D. Marsham (the great Oxford bowler), Charles Marsham, Tom and George Hearne, were no mean opponents, but Middlesex, who played Pooley (after- wards of Surrey), left off with a good deal the best of the draw. Even in those days the "county qualification" exercised the minds of men, and the Middlesex eleven which thrashed Sussex in the first county match on the Cattle -Market Ground was impugned by one of the sporting journals. Tom and George Hearne were declared to be natives of Bucks, Mr T. Case of Lancashire, Mr J. J. Sewell of Gloucestershire, and Pooley of Surrey. Even " Tiny " Wells was not spared, being inconsistently assailed as a resident in Sussex, though born in Middlesex. A man could then play for as many counties during one season as he could claim connection with ; hence the two Hearnes divided their favours between Bucks and Middlesex. Suffice it to say that at the end of the season Hampshire had been beaten twice, Sussex once, and Bucks once, the only defeat being in the return with Sussex. The victory over Bucks was worthy of Stoddart MIDDLESEX. 409 and O'Brien, Middlesex following on with 218 to the bad and winning by 138 runs. A reverse at the hands of Lancashire was the only defeat sustained in 1865, a season in which Mr C. F. Buller made 105 not out in a victory over Surrey. Richard Daft, in his ' Kings of Cricket,' says that Mr Murdoch, the famous Australian, closely resembles Buller in style. The record of 1866 still stands out as the most brilliant that has yet been credited to a Middlesex eleven. Out and home matches were played with Lancashire, Surrey, Notts, and Cam- bridgeshire, these two last-named counties being met for the first time. The opening match against Cambridgeshire was played on soft wickets, and, thanks to Tarrant's expresses, Middlesex was defeated in one innings ; but of the other matches six were won easily, and the return with Notts drawn. A signal success attended the team on their first visit to Trent Bridge. After totalling 221 against J. C. Shaw and \Yootton, of which R. D. Walker claimed 90 and V. E. Walker 58, they disposed of a fine Notts eleven for 88 and 66, Tom Hearne's fast mediums obtaining twelve wickets and R. D. Walker's slow rounds the remaining eight. Still more sensational were the two victories over Surrey. At Islington the county made 402, to which Tom Hearne by fine hitting contributed 146 and V. E. Walker 79. The fast left-handers of Hewitt, a Nottingham man living at Bow, proved correspondingly successful, for in the first innings of Surrey he clean bowled seven men and caught the other three, the upshot being that Surrey only made 108 and 122. The return match at Kennington found the whole of the Surrey eleven taking a turn with the ball while their opponents were amassing a total of 455. J. J. Sewell went in first for Middlesex, and after being missed first ball made 166, hitting the Surrey bowlers all over the field. Mr V. E. Walker added 74 not out, and, despite the efforts of Mortlock, whose figures were 41 and 106, Surrey was beaten by an innings and 70. Cambridgeshire had just been treated in a similar fashion ; so that of the six Middlesex victories four were obtained without the county having to bat a second time. The all-round success of Tom Hearne, now forty years of age, was remarkable. In ten completed innings he obtained an average of 35 for the county, and took forty-six wickets at 13 runs each. Not- withstanding the opposition of some croakers, he was included in the Players' team at Lord's, and effectually silenced his detractors by making 122 not out, which he followed up in the same week with 47 and 41 at the Oval. He was celebrated for his fine drives and leg- hits, and was a noted exponent of " the draw." That he must have been a dead shot with the ball, too, is evident from the fact that during the Notts match at Islington he shied at and killed a pigeon as it flevv across the ground. Hearne had the bird stuffed, and it is still in his possession. I had the privilege of inspecting this curio at the Imperial Victorian Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1897. In 1866 Middlesex had a splendid record. Matches were played against Lancashire, Surrey, Notts, and Cambridgeshire, and six were easily won, while the return with the lace county 4IO COUNTY CRICKET. was drawn, the only loss being at the hands of Cambridgeshire, who won easily by an innings and 48 runs. On the strength of such an excellent season's work Middlesex tried conclusions with England at Lord's at Whitsuntide the following year, but " W. G." upset all chances of the metropolitan county with an innings of 75, and capturing 8 of the Middlesex wickets for 50 runs. At the close of 1868 speculating .builders made their appear- ance and drove the club from their ground at the Cattle -Market, and for the next three years Middlesex was without a home. At Lord's, however, in 187 1, though the M.C.C. contributed a first innings of 338 by the aid of some of the finest players of the day, including " W. G." and John Smith of Cambridge, who scored 161 while together for the first wicket, yet Middlesex won in an innings. The result came about in this way : Mr Walter Henry Hadow, the old Harrow boy, played a marvellous innings of 217, Middlesex totaUing a first and only innings of 485. In the second venture the M.C.C. was dismissed for 92, Mr Edward Rutter, a capital slow left-hand bowler, obtaining six of the M.C.C. wickets for 43 runs. Mr Rutter was an old Rugby boy, and was the first left - hand bowler to place all the field on the off-side. He played in the famous tie match between Middlesex and Surrey in 1868. In 1872 Middlesex established its headquarters at Prince's Ground, Chelsea, the first county fixture played at Prince's being against Yorkshire, who won after a keen struggle by 2 wickets. It was while at Prince's that the county commenced to play Oxford University. In June 1874 the encounter was begun and ended on the same day — the only experience of this kind Middle- sex have had. Quite another story has to be told of the 1876 match, for Middlesex, batting first, scored 439, " I. D." making no without a chance, Burghes 104, and Montagu Turner 82. Not in the least dismayed, the Oxonians replied with 612, which remained their record until 1895. Thereupon Middlesex began cutting and driving again with two such fine forcing batsmen as C. I. Thornton and C. E. Green, who only put on 120 in an hour, while when stumps and the match were drawn the total was 166 for 4 wickets. Thus 1217 runs were totalled for 24 wickets — a record for an aggregate at that date. One of the Oxonians on this memorable occasion was A. J. Webbe, who had the previous year made his debut as a Middlesex player, in con- junction with his brother, H. R. Webbe, and undoubtedly the acquisition of such a man as "A. J." was the one consoling incident of 1875, for Middlesex never won a match that year. MIDDLESEX. 4I I From that date to the present time A. J. Webbe has remained most constant to his native shire. It was a great task for him to follow such an incomparable captain and tactician as " I. D.," but he succeeded, and bids fair to render the county even longer service than the Southgate gentleman. Possibly no man who ever represented Middlesex has enjoyed greater popularity, and that deservedly, than A. J. Webbe, who will rank, too, as amongst the best of the scores of crack batsmen Middlesex has had. He was in the Harrow Eleven of 1872, and played for the Gentlemen of England in his Oxford days. Mr Webbe has, however, chiefly devoted himself to Middlesex county cricket. In 1887 he scored 192 not out v. Kent, and 243 not out against Yorkshire. In the year 1B77 Middlesex migrated to Lord's, and has ever since remained there, while five years later, in 1882 and 1883, the brothers Messrs C. T. Studd and G. B. Studd were in fine form, and in these two years in first-class cricket C. T. Studd not only scored 1000 runs, but captured over 100 wickets — viz., 1249 in 1882 and 128 wickets, while in 1883 he was credited with 1 193 runs and 112 wickets. In 1885 Mr A. E. Stoddart first appeared for the metropolitan county, and it is doubtful if Middlesex ever had a better or more brilliant batsman than Stoddart. He is one of the very few batsmen in modern days who has achieved the honour of making two hundreds in a first-class match, a feat which he accomplished against Notts in 1893, contributing 195 not out and 124, while he also claims the record for the highest individual score, 485, for the Hampstead Club against the Stoics in August 1886. Sir T. C. O'Brien's famous match against Yorkshire in 1889 will ever have a cherished memory in the history of Middlesex cricket, for in that never-to-be-forgotten game Middlesex had to get 280 to win in three hours and thirty-five minutes. Neither players nor spectators dreamt of anything but a draw. With an hour and a half left to play, 151 runs were still required with 6 wickets to fall. T. C. O'Brien came in to hit most lustily. At one time there were three men placed in the long-field to fast bowling, but it mattered little to T. C. O'Brien, who lashed the ball all over Lord's, and at ten minutes to seven the winning hit was made, O'Brien actually scoring his 100 runs in eighty minutes. The most prominent bowler for Middlesex at the present time is J. T. Hearne, a nephew of Tom Hearne. He has twice cap- tured over 200 wickets in a season — viz., 212 in 1893 and 257 412 COUNTY CRICKET. in 1896. He bowls— to use a technical phrase — from his toes, has a beautiful off-break, varying his pace with excellent judg- ment. For M.C.C. V Australia at Lord's in 1896 he was credited with 13 wickets for 77 runs, while in the final test match between England and Australia at the Oval the same year he obtained 10 wickets for 60 runs. Several famous names, too, must be added to this article of Middlesex cricket. George Howitt, a fine left round-arm bowler with a ripping break-back from the off, who bore the brunt of the bowling in the sixties ; Mike Flanagan, who did fairly well with the leather in the seventies ; Mr C. K. Francis, the Rugby fast trundlerj Mr F. M. Buckland, the Oxford cricketer; Mr J. Robertson; Mr T. S. Pearson; Mr Stanley Scott; Mr G. F. Vernon, a splendid hitter, and one of the finest fields Middlesex ever possessed ; Mr P. J. De Paravicini, Mr J. E. K. Studd, Mr A. W. Ridley, Mr A. P. Lucas, Mr Francis Ford, Mr Gregor M'Gregor, Mr R. Slade Lucas, Mr E. Nepean, Mr J. Douglas, Mr Cyril Foley, Mr P. F. Warner, Dr G. Thornton, J. T. Rawlin, and Jem Phillips. The President is the Ear' of Strafford ; the Hon. Secretary, Mr Percy M. Thornton. NOTTS. The earliest recorded match played by Notts took place at Sheffield in 1771, the contest being brought to an untimely end through a dispute. There is little doubt that matches were played between Nottingham and other towns during the following few years, but no other record has been handed down until 1 789, when Nottingham played and beat Leicester at Loughborough, a return match the same year reversing the verdict by a single run. In 1 79 1 great excitement was caused in the town through a visit of the Gentlemen of M.C.C, who played a match with Not- tingham on the Meadows before a crowd of 10,000 people. Matches were played during the next few years between Not- tingham and other towns — viz., Sheffield, Rutland, &c. — and in 181 7 an All-England Eleven played Twenty-two of Nottingham. In this match many celebrated names appear — viz., Lord F. Beauclerk and G. Osbaldeston, Esq., on the M.C.C. side, and William Clarke for Nottingham. Many important matches were played on the Nottingham Forest previous to 1839, but in that year the Trent Bridge ground was opened by William Clarke, the famous slow bowler. Notts played matches with Sussex as ;XK_sTROKK PAST POINT TAKING THE BALL ON THE RISE. From ]-hoto hij G. Caldwell, KoitirKjham. 414 COUNTY CRICKET. early as 1835, and with Kent in 1840, the first great match at Trent Bridge ground being between Notts and Sussex, July 27 and 28, 1840. Some curious combinations appeared to play at Nottingham in 1842 and 1843 — viz., "Six Gentlemen of Not- tingham and Five Players of England, and Eleven Players of Nottingham," and "Seven of Hampshire and Four Players of England against Eleven of Nottingham." William Clarke remained proprietor at Trent Bridge ground until 1847, and was then succeeded by J. Chapman, Mr Wildey, Mr J. Hickling, and Mr Jameson, in the order named. About the year 1859 or i860 Mr John Johnson became secretary to the club, and, owing mainly to his exertions, the foundation was laid of the present club, and the Notts County Cricket Club may be said to date from that time. Mr Johnson resigned the secre- taryship in 1869, and was succeeded by Mr G. B. Davy, of Col- ston Bassett. The latter gentleman filled the office until 1874, when Captain Holden was elected. Captain Holden resigned in 1882, when his great services to the club were acknowledged by a banquet being given in his honour at the George Hotel. Mr Henry Bromley (son of the late Sir Henry Bromley, a devoted member of the Notts Club) was the next secretary, and he was succeeded by Mr W. H. C. Gates in 1885, the latter acting until his death, which took place ten years later. After the death of Captain Gates in March 1895 an entire change was made in the management, Mr William Wright being appointed honorary secretary, and Mr Henry Turner, a member of the committee, being asked to take the secretaryship of the club. The membership was then 1030, and a debt of _;^54oo rested heavily on the club. The two secretaries at once set to work to alter the state of affairs, and by an excellent business arrangement regarding the Trent Bridge Inn removed the debt without materially affecting the income of the club. In the balance-sheet presented at the annual meeting in January 1896 a balance in hand of ;^i9S was able to be shown; and so suc- cessfully have the affairs of the club been carried on, that in the balance-sheet presented in January 1897 a surplus of over ;^i3oo was shown. Great improvements have been made at Trent Bridge in the way of entirely enclosing the ground by walls, erecting a handsome covered stand, building bicycle-stores, and making a bowling-green. A club and ground staff has also been engaged, which promises well for the training of young cricketers. Mr Turner, on accepting the secretaryship, said that to make the club financially sound there must be 2000 annual subscribers. NOTTS. 4 1 5 So energetically has this idea been worked that at the present time there are 1910 subscribers, and doubtless the 2000 will be reached this season. In 1872 a new pavilion was erected where the present one now stands, at a cost of about ^^1500; but it was found, in the course of a few years, to be too small and unsafe, and it was demolished to make room for the present structure. In 1881 the ground was taken on a lease for ninety-nine years, and in 1886 the splendid pavilion now to be seen at Trent Bridge ground was erected. The cost was over ^^5000, and it is acknowledged to be one of the finest pavilions in the kingdom. The new hotel was erected about the same time. Celebrated Notts Players. William Clarke, died 1856, was the most celebrated slow bowler of his day. He once played seven gentlemen, and beat them single- handed by an innings and 6 runs. Was manager of the first All- England Eleven that played Twenty-twos. George Jarvis, died 1880, was for some years the most formidable of Notts batsmen. Samuel Redgate and the celebrated A. Mynn, of Kent, were the first two round-arm bowlers who delivered the ball at a great pace with the arm straight and hand level with the shoulder. For several years Redgate was acknowledged to be the best and fairest bowler in England. Joseph Guy, died 1873, played without intermission in the Gentlemen V. Players matches for fifteen years. Was a forward-player with a perfect defence. George Parr, the "Lion of the North," died 1891. He was the finest and hardest leg-hitter ever seen, and in his day the best bat in England. Succeeded Clarke in the management of the All-England Eleven. Scored 130 against Surrey, 1859. Took a team to Australia in 1864, which returned to England unbeaten. R. C. Tinley was a famous under-hand slow bowler, the best in England in his day. Was a member of Parr's unbeaten team in Australia, where his "lobs'' had the extraordinary number of 270 wickets during the tour. Did excellent service for Notts during twenty-two years. Richard Daft, born 1836, was the most graceful and stylish batsman that ever adorned the cricket-field. A most brilliant batsman, scoring heavily in almost every innings; his average for 1869 was 67-2. His biggest score for Notts was 161 against Yorkshire, in 1872. Can still hit up his 50 in local matches. James Grundy, died 1873, was a very fine bowler and bat. Scored 69 and clean bowled 5 wickets first innings of Gentlemen v. Players match, 1852. John Jackson was one of the fastest bowlers that ever lived. Was one of Parr's Australian team in 1864, a member of All-England 4l6 COUNTY CRICKET. Eleven, and took part in the Gentlemen 7'. Players contests for eight or more years. William Oscroft, born 1843. A fine and free batsman. Largest innings for Notts, 140 v. Kent, in 1879. Served his county for twenty years, and was captain of the team. Alfred Shaw has recently ceased playing, and has a world-wide reputation. Volumes could be written of his remarkable bowling performances, and perhaps it will be sufficient to say that no finer medium-pace bowler ever lived. J. C. Shaw, Summers, Wild, Selby, Fred. Morley, and Section are some other well-known names celebrated in Notts cricket, about whom much could be said, the last two in particular having a world- wide reputation. About the immediate past and present notable Notts cricket- ers — viz., Barnes, Flowers, Sherwin, Shrewsbury, Gunn, Attewell, &c.— space does not permit mention of their prowess in detail. SOMERSETSHIRE. Very little can be chronicled as to the antiquity of cricket in Somerset. It is true that in the annals of the well-known Lans- downe Club we read matches were played between the Western Counties and the M.C.C., but there was no organised attempt to form a county club until after the match played at Sidmouth between the Gentlemen of Devonshire and the Gentlemen of Somersetshire in August 1875. A meeting was called and held at Sidmouth on Wednesday, August the i8th, 1875, the Rev. A. C. Ainslie being in the chair. It was proposed by the Rev. A. C. Ainslie, and seconded by the Rev. S. C. Voules, that E. Western, Esq. of Fullands, Taunton, be requested to act as county secretary. This gentleman, who is looked upon as the founder of the club, sent out the following circular : — Neva House, Ilfracomee. Sir, — I beg to enclose a copy of the resolutions passed at Sidmouth in August 1875, relative to the estabhshment of a county cricket club in Somerset. The following is the scheme : — 1. That there shall be no county ground. 2. That the club shall depend upon its support by voluntary sub- scriptions. 3. That county matches shall be played on any ground in the county that may be selected by the Committee. 4. That a president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary be nominated, and a committee consisting of nine gentlemen, three from each division of the county, shall be appointed. This appeal is being made throughout the county, and it is hoped that SOMERSETSHIRE. 417 the result will be such as to prevent the great expense of county matches falling too heavily on the individual players ; otherwise many good men are excluded, and the county cannot do itself justice. — I am, Sir, yours faithfully, Edward Western, Hon. Secy. Such was the start, and the first captain of the club was the Rev. Stirling Cookesley Voules, formerly a master at Rossall School, and now Rector of Rise Hull in Yorkshire. Mr Voules was a capital all-round cricketer, and was in the Oxford Eleven of 1863-64, '65, and '66. Mr Western after his retirement as honorary secretary was succeeded by Mr H. E. Murray-Anderdon, who has by his finance and assiduous duties done a great deal for Somerset cricket. After passing through many vicissitudes the County Club secured the freehold of the present ground at Taunton, and here many famous matches have been played not unassociated with brilliant achievements — to wit, the partnership for the first wicket of H. T. Hewett and Lionel Palairet, 346 against York- shire in 1892, which stood as a record until the present year, when Brown and Tunnicliffe in July, for Yorkshire v. Sussex, scored 378 for the first wicket; and the 424 by Mr Archie MacLaren of Lancashire, the highest individual score on record in a first-class match. In 1890 Somersetshire defeated every county it encountered in its own rank, mainly owing to the superb batting of Mr H. T. Hewett, and the following year Somersetshire was admitted to first-class rank, when the Western county brought off a really magnificent win over Surrey in August, a victory which for enthusiasm has never been excelled on the Taunton ground. Three of the finest players in the Somersetshire Eleven of to-day are the brothers Lionel Charles Hamilton Palairet, Richard Cameron North Palairet, and Samuel Moses James Woods. The famous brothers have twice scored 100 during their partner- ships in the same innings. Thus on June 3, 1895, at Lord's against Middlesex, " L. C. H." subscribed 109, and "R. C. N." 106, while on August 6, 1896, at Taunton against Sussex, "L. C. H." compiled 154, and " R. C. N." 156. Not even the brothers Grace can equal this record. Quite apart from the intrinsic value of such scores as 100 and 104 against Gloucester- shire, 146, 165, and 113 against Yorkshire, 181 against Oxford University, 119 against Notts, and 147 not out, and 292 against Hampshire, Lionel Palairet is without a doubt one of the most stylish batsmen of the present day. My friend Mr C. B. Fry has summed up the abilities of Lionel Palairet and S. M. J. Woods most emphatically when he states 2 D 4l8 COUNTY CRICKET. that Palairet's strokes are easy and unforced. Most of his runs come from off-drives. His treatment of good-length balls on or outside the off-stump is masterly. The left leg goes well across, body, arms, and bat swing easily to meet the ball close by the leg, and extra-cover scarcely sees the ball as it shoots to the boundary between himself and cover. The value of these off- strokes, now that the ofif-theory is universally adopted by bowlers, can readily be appreciated. Palairet has not cultivated strokes on the leg-side to the same extent as those on the off, probably because his style was formed in early boyhood by home practice with such accurate bowlers as Attewell and Martin. Much of his perfection of style is the result of a very careful education. His methods were irreproachable before he went to school, and he has improved every year he has played. At one time he showed an inclination to go in for pure hitting, but he gave it up in favour of a forward style. He is nevertheless an exceptionally fine hitter, and plants as many balls as any one into the church- yard that adjoins the Taunton ground. His hits fly like good golf drives. Nothing in cricket could be finer than some of his partnerships with Mr H. T. Hewett. Pure style at one end, sheer force at the other, and a century or two on the board with no figures beneath. No wonder the West-countrymen like the cricket at Taunton. For even if Mr Palairet fails to give them their money's worth, there is Mr S. M. J. Woods coming in later on to upset all apple-carts. Mr Woods can upset anything, and looks the part. To begin with, he is a giant. He seems big and strong in his clothes, but when stripped, his physique is even more striking. The power in his huge thighs, long back, and knotted shoulders is colossal. He does not bowl as fast as he used, nor quite as well. " I have to pretend I'm bowling now," he says. But he is a pretty good bowler still for all that, and will help the Gentlemen to get the Players out at Lord's for many years to come. If his bowling las deteriorated a bit, his batting has improved to a corresponding extent. He maintains he was always as good a bat as now, but did not have a chance. " They condemned me to be a bowler," he complains. Who "they" may be is a mystery, for he is captain of his own side. Mr S. M. J. Woods has a particular liking for the Surrey bowlers, generally managing to carve about eighty runs out of Lockwood's and Richardson's best stuff It is always a solemn moment at the Oval when " Great-heart," swelling with courage and pursing his lips into that child-like smile, comes from the pavilion to set right the failure of half his side. There S. M. J, WOODS CUTTING WITH LEFT FOOT FORWARD. Frcf}}i photo hy E. Ilankins X' Co., Brighton. 420 COUNTY CRICKET. is no better man than he to go in when the wicket is bad or things are going wrong, though he does sometimes play forward to a straight ball with his eyes turned full upon the square-leg umpire^— a stroke he repudiates, and never fails to use success- fully once or twice an innings. As a man and a brother he is undefeated, and he is the best captain imaginable. No captain knows more of the game or uses his knowledge better. He has boundless enthusiasm, and the power of infusing a strong solution of it into others. What is mqte, he tries every ounce, and makes others try also. He thoroughly deserves his enormous popularity. With the ball the two professionals, E. J. Tyler and G. B. Niqholls, in conjunction with their captain, have put in splendid work, Tyler with his insidious slows capturing i6 wickets in a match against Notts in 1892 and against Sussex in 1895 ; while Captain Hedley, too, has been of great assistance, one of his best feats being 8 wickets for 18 runs v. Yorkshire in 1895. Loyal support has been rendered to Somerset by the following : Mr J. B. Challen, Mr C. E. Dunlop, Mr G. Fowler, Mr L. H. Gay, Mr V. T. Hill, Mr A. E. Newton, Mr C. J. Robinson, Mr R. P. Spurway, the Rev. A. P. Wickham, and the Rev. G. R. Wood. The present president is the Hon. Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane, K.C.B., the honorary treasurer Mr G. Fowler, and the joint honorary secretaries Mr H. E. Murray-Anderdon and Mr S, M. J. Woods. SURREY. As a county, Surrey's record can be traced to the prehistoric period of cricket. In 1747 a match took place between Surrey and All England, while on the Laleham-Burway ground, near Chertsey, Surrey defeated Kent by 35 runs in 1773, and in the return match, played at Bishopsbourne Paddock, near Canterbury, the same year, Surrey proved again victorious. This match has been immortalised by the Rev. J. Buncombe, in his famous poem, "Surrey Triumphant, or the Kentishmen's Defeat," a parody of "Chevy Chase," to which a reply was written the same year, "The Kentish Cricketers." In 1773, too, Surrey encountered Kent for the third time that season, the contest taking place on the Vine cricket-ground at Sevenoaks, Kent winning by six wickets. The following year Surrey tried con- clusions with the celebrated Hambledon Club, and, according to the editio princeps of John Nyren's 'The Young Cricketer's SURREY. 421 Tutor,' lent me by Mr Gaston, I find that the leading cricketers in the Hambledon Club at that period were Surrey men — ■ viz., WilHam Beldham ("Silver Billy"), Tom Walker ("Old Everlasting"), Harry Walker, and R. Robinson ("Long Robin"). The break up of the old Hambledon Club in 1791 gave Surrey a splendid opportunity, and three years later at Lord's Surrey defeated England by 5 wickets and 197 runs. In this very match Wilham Beldham scored 72 and 102. According to Mr Thomas Padwick of Red Hill, one of the greatest author- ities on early Surrey cricket, the county was so strong at the commencement of the present century that Surrey frequently had to contend against Fourteen of England. William Beldham ("Silver Billy") was one of the finest cricketers of his day. He was a farmer, his family consisting of not twenty -eight children (which is so frequently chronicled by writers) but three sons and one or two daughters. Of other famous early Surrey cricketers I would mention " Lumpy," whose real name was Edward Stevens. To " Lurnpy" we owe the introduction of the third stump in 1775. To "Shock" White of Reigate the limit in width (4^^ inches) of the bat. Tom Walker was one of the first to discard under- hand bowling for round arm. Thomas Boxall in 1800 wrote the first book on cricket, a very scarce publication now, but a beautifiil copy is still in the possession of Mr Alfred Lawson Ford of Lynmouth, Devon. William Lambert in 18 1 6 issued his 'Cricketers' Guide.' Lambert played his' first great match at Lord's for Surrey v. England on July 20, 1801. He was born at Burstow, in Surrey, and when a young man used to walk up to Lord's and back, twenty-six miles each way, to participate in matches. In later years, when he was better off, he had a horse and rode to Lon- don. Lambert i& ope of the very few cricketers who scored over 100 runs twice in the same match, which feat he performed in 18 1 7 for Sussex v. Epsom, contributing 107 not out and 157 against two of the fastest bowlers of the day — viz., Mr E. H. Budd and Howard. He was also a famous single-wicket player. In 1808 at the Holt Ground, near Farnham, in the Surrey v. England match, Lambert was responsible for 86 in the second innings ; and two years later at Lord's for the Hon. E. Bligh's Eleven v. Lord F. Beauclerk's Eleven, he played a superb not-out innings of 132. In the same year Lambert and Squire Osbaldeston played a memorable single-wicket match at Lord's against Lord Frederick 422 COUNTY CRICKET. Beauclerk and Howard, two of the best players of the day, for ;^ioo a-side. On the morning of the match the Squire was too ill to play, and after scoring one run, retired from the game, when Lambert alone, and unassisted, defeated the two English crack players. I append the full score of this famous victory : — 1ST INNINGS. SCORE 2ND INNINGS. SCORE Squire Osbaldeston, retired ill . W. Lambert, b Howard . I S6 did not bat b Howard . o ■ 24 Total 57 Total . 24 Lord F. Beauclerk, c and b Lambert . T. C. Howard, b Lambert 21 3 b Lambert . b Lambert . . 18 24 Total . 24 Total . 43 Lambert, on giving up first-class cricket, became the lessee of the Nutfield Fuller's Earth Works. He was also a noted bellringer. Lambert was about five feet ten inches in height, and had remarkably large hands. He was strongly built, but had a most quarrelsome disposition. He died April 19, 1851, aged seventy-two, and was buried at Burstow. A few years after 1800 Surrey appears to have suffered a total eclipse, for there was no organised cricket of a representative character in the cpnfines of the shire between 18 10 and 1844. Truly there was an encounter with Sussex at Godalming in 1830, and a couple of contests with the Marylebone Club in 1839 and 1844, but these were of no import. The pastime was kept alive and practised on the village greens and in clubs on the outskirts of the metropolis. We read of the Montpelier Club, formed in 1796, which played at Hall's, Camberwell, and the Beehive, at Walworth, while they held their meetings at the Horns Inn, Kennington. There were, too, clubs at Richmond, Godalming, Farnham, Mitcham, Epsom, and Dorking, as well as the East Surrey, Camberwell, South London, West Surrey, and others which could be easily catalogued. But of all these bodies the Montpelier must be given the most honoured niche in history, for from this club Surrey emerged as an organised county. The acquisition by the builder of the old Beehive ground at Walworth necessitated in 1844 the removal of the Montpelier Club ; but mainly owing to the personal influence of Mr W. Baker, an oval-shaped market-garden belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall was secured, and a lease was granted to him for a term of twenty-one years. The autumn of 1844 saw the foundation of the Surrey Club, and the first function of real cricket interest ABEL AT THE WICKET. From iJiofo hk Gkounu Star AT Lord's. FrvJii phoio by E. Haivkin^ dJ Co., liriyhlon. APTEH, THE Oval Gk-jundsman. Fromi'hoto bij E. Ho.ickt/tj X' Co., Hn'-jhlun. 442 COUNTY CRICKET. member of Mr Vernon's Australian team in 1887-88, and Indian team in 1889-90. Lord Hawke took out a team to America in 1891, and to India in 1892-93, revisiting America with a team of English amateurs in 1894. During the winter of 1895-96 he took a team to South Africa. His lordship also was captain of the English team to the West Indies in January this year — another proof of his rare love of the sport and his anxiety to help its progress. Mr F. Stanley Jackson is the son of the Right Hon. William Lawies Jackson, M.P. for Leeds (North Division). He has not been quite so successful in bowling this season, but he has upheld his reputation with the bat and in the field, proving himself capable of playing on any wicket ; whilst on a bad wicket he can claim to have no superior. His best pei'formance in bowling was during the Gentlemen and Players match at Lord's in 1894, when he bowled through both in- nings, taking 5 wickets for 36 runs in 24 overs, 8 of which were maidens, in the first innings, and 7 wickets for 41 runs in 21 overs, of which 7 were maidens, in the second innings. It is just possible that at some future date he will be seen as a par- liamentary candidate, when his popularity should ensure for him that success and support which is always afforded to an athlete, a scholar, and a gentleman. Up to the present Yorkshire claims the record for the largest innings in a first-class match — 887 against Warwickshire at Birmingham in May 1896. In this innings of Yorkshire there were four centuries scored, which is another record in matches ranking as first-class — Mr F. S. Jackson making 117, Wainwright 126, Peel 210 not out, and Lord Hawke 166. For this sketch of Yorkshire cricket I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to the Rev. R. S. Holmes for reference to his articles on York- shire cricket, and to Mr Fred. A. Brooke of Rein Wood, Hud- dersfield, for perusal of his copies of the ' Yorkshire County Cricket Annual.' Mr J. B. Westinholm has been the popular secretary of the Yorkshire County Club since December 1864. At that time Yorkshire was in debt, but the balance-sheet for 1896 defines the club to be w^orth over ^^4200. The present officers are — Patrons — His Grace tlie Duke of Norfolk, K. G. ; the Right Hon. Earl of Loiidesboi'ough ; the Right Hon. Earl Scarborough. President — Michael Joseph Ellison, Esq. Secretary —Mi 'j . B. Westinholm, 10 Norfolk Road, Sheffield. Captain— iMii HawUe. 443 CHAPTER Xi. CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. In this year of grace 1897 all the British Empire is joining together to congratulate her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria upon the unparalleled duration of her reign. There is no part or condition of her loyal subjects' lives which may not fairly be called upon to prove its right to be regarded as one of the blessings her Majesty may associate with her happy occupation of the throne of England. The rise and development of athleticism, until it has become a most important aspect of British life, has been one of the marked characteristics of the Victorian era. I do not mean to say that the nation had not athletic tastes and tendencies long before Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837. That would be untrue. For from time immemorial the English have been passionately fond of sports and pastimes, and have carried their love for them wherever they have wandered on their many errands of peace and war. But in former days games of all kinds were offshoots and ornaments of daily life rather than distinct and absorbing interests. It is during the last sixty years, and especially during the latter half of this period, that the two great games cricket and football have become such enormous factors in the sum of English life. It may also be said that the average modern Englishman has two separate sides to his nature — one for work and one for games. And though his work may some- times make it impossible for him to play games, though his interest in games may sometimes prevent him from working, still if an average be struck the two sides will be found fairly well balanced. At any rate, games form a very large part of modern English life. Queen Victoria reigns over a people who find much of the pleasure of life in games — either actively or passively. 444 CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. In reviewing a period with regard to its value in a nation's his- tory, it is a great mistake to leave out of the reclconing . the recreations and pleasures of the people, for these have a consider- able influence on the national character. And the larger share such things have in daily life and interests, the more important is it to take them into consideration. So in casting our eyes back upon Queen Victoria's reign we must not omit to notice the prevailing spirit of athleticism, which if it existed before has only of late years assumed a definite shape by crystallising, as it were, round the two great English games and round others in a less marked degree. Foreigners who come to England are always surprised and impressed by the deep and widespread interest in games. A German friend of mine once said to me : " When I first came to England I was . naturally on the look-out for such traits and characteristics as were different from those of my own countrymen. Nothing struck me as more peculiar in external English life than the extraordinary interest taken in games, and the exaggerated importance, as it seemed to me then, attached to them by the public. I could understand people liking football and cricket, but I could not understand how they could bring themselves to make these games integral and absorbing portions of their life. The way I first perceived what games mean to Englishmen was this. I was taken by a young Oxford graduate to see a cricket- match at Kennington Oval. To begin with, I was much astounded at the enormous seating area of the ground, and at the huge crowd that was assembled to watch eleven men from Nottingham play at bat and ball against eleven men of Surrey. But what seemed to me hardly credible was the extreme orderliness of the many thousands as they came and went through the turnstiles or stood in their places round the ring. And yet there were only four or five polic.emen on the ground. These, too, had nothing much to do. They seemed chiefly occupied in finding some spot to stand where they could see the match well without ob- scuring any one's view. I remarked on this to my friend, and told him that abroad it would require at least three hundred policemen to keep such a huge crowd in order. ' Ah ! ' he replied, ' but all these people come to see cricket, and when they get here pay no attention to anything but the game. So they sit still and don't interfere with one another.' Then I saw how deeply the English are interested in games." My German ac- quaintance's remarks are instructive. Something that keeps 25,000 people in order without external direction or suppression CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. 445 must be very real. I am afraid large bodies of spectators are not always quite so well behaved as on this occasion. But that they behave as well as they usually do is surprising enough till the reason is recognised. The mention of foreign criticism of English games reminds me of an article I saw in the 'New Review' last summer. The writer of it tried to show that the games and pastimes upon which the English pride themselves as having contributed largely towards the national greatness do not produce, even physically, finer men than the Continental military training; that they certainly produce far less valuable citizens, and waste also much valuable time. His point was, as far as I remember, that the three years' military training which every Frenchman and German has to undergo produce a physical result at least as good as do our games, and with great economy of time. Further, whereas skill in games is of no practical use, a knowledge of military service and its requirements is useful for an extremely important end, the defence of one's country. With regard to physical development pure and simple, I am not in a position to dispute these statements. For I have not seen enough men trained under the military system to afford a fair comparison. But those Frenchmen and Germans whom I have seen certainly fall below the physical standard attained by the average Englishman. As far as I can see, the man who is the result of football and cricket is, in the matter of thew and sinew and general bodily ability, about as good a specimen as can be produced by any means whatever. However, for the sake of argument, let us regard the two physical results as equal, or, if need be, that of games as slightly inferior to that of military service. In every other respect, there can be no possible doubt, games are far better training for a man than military service, In the first place, they fit in much more conveniently with the pursuit of an employment, whether trade or profession. Nowadays a young man can get plenty of exercise at football or cricket without in any way spending upon them time which he ought to be devoting to work. Perhaps he may not be able to play enough to become a first-rate performer, or to win any fame as an athlete, but he can play enough to cultivate his physique quite as highly as desirable. Military training, on the other hand, cuts a man's life in two. In order to meet its requirements he has to leave his trade or profession for several years, which must handicap him immensely, and is likely to render him far less efficient in his particular line than he would otherwise be. 44*5 CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. Military training comes all in a lump ; training by games is spread over many years. The former ends suddenly and for ever, the latter goes on as long as a man retains the power of running and a fair use of his limbs. Moreover, it is quite obvious that the general atmosphere of cricket and football fields is for a young man far preferable to that of the barracks. Barrack life is at best rather unsavoury — at least so it seems to me. I can well understand that three years spent in it may do an infinite amount of harm, whereas a playing-field cannot possibly do any one any harm, but only good. But to return to the respective results. Given that the two trainings produce practically the same purely physical result, and you have not made sure one does not produce a far better man than the other. Now I maintain that the training by means of games turns out by far the better man. The oft-repeated saying of the Duke of Wellington that the battle of Waterloo was won on the Eton playing-fields, has a deeper meaning than is usually attached to it. Games do more than strengthen muscles and teach courage and endurance. They give those who play them an unconquerable yW^ de vivre — a buoyancy that refuses to be overwhelmed. It is this pleasure in life, these eternal good spirits, that, in addition to courage, endurance, and physical powers, are the great benefits England has reaped and is still reaping from her love for games. And herein is one of her most fruitful resources. Mr Andrew Lang, in his unerring manner, has hit the nail exactly on the head. And what he says of cricket applies also in some degree to other games. "Cricket," he writes, "is a liberal education in itself, and demands temper, justice, and perseverance. There is more teaching in the play- ground than in schoolrooms" — he might have added, than in gymnasiums or drill-yards — " and a lesson better worth learning often. For there can be no good or enjoyable cricket without enthusiasm — without sentiment, one may almost say ; a quality that enriches life and refines it ; gives it, what life more and more is apt to lose, zest." No one ever got much enthusiasm or zest out of parallel bars or squad drill. It is just this that makes all the difference. Physical training by means of games has all the advantages over that by means of military service which the voluntary and pleasant has over the compulsory and distasteful. In the former the subject can give full play to his instincts and becomes himself; in the latter he is checked and curbed and pressed into a mould. And the instincts to which games give scope are some of the best in human nature. Cricketers and footballers are far more likely CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. 447 to realise their possibilities for good than are hastily-trained soldiers. As to who make the better citizens, it may be safely concluded that the better men do, unless they are required for a European war — a contingency to which Englishmen are happily not in much danger of being subject. Well, then, athletics have come to be a very large part of English life^ — definite forms of athletics. For proof of this statistics suffice. Not that I mean to deal in figures. The huge numbers recorded as having visited cricket, football, and other matches, the variety and circulation of sporting journals and the general prevalence of athletic literature of all sorts, show that games are with us in some bulk. And games are good, for they produce good results and make almost without exception for what is good. The next point I should like to make is, that cricket is the best of all games, and is so regarded by the majority of English- men all over the world — best intrinsically as a game, and also be- cause of its effects upon those who play it or watch it being played. What says Richard Daft, one of the most skilful and thoughtful of cricketers ? — No game except cricket combines a great amount of science with the advantage of bodily exercise. In fact, the mental and physical qualities required for one who would excel as a cricketer are about equally in demand. When one is at the wickets batting the brain is never at rest — eye and hand must work together. The bowler is your enemy for the time being, to say nothing of the wicket-keeper and fielders ; your enemy is doing all he can to overcome you, and you must bring all your mental and physical qualities into play to prevent him. The games of lawn-tennis, football, baseball, lacrosse, and others, are all of the same class as cricket, but none of them allow of such exact science as our national game. A single mistake on the part of a batsman may cause his downfall, whereas at every other game more mistakes can often be made without the like disastrous consequences to the player who makes them. Then, of course, we have an advantage over football in having a most enjoyable time of the year for our game. The surroundings of a cricket-match are naturally of a pleasanter character. I am very far from running down our chief winter pastime. Football is, in my opinion, by far and away the finest game ever known, with the one exception of cricket. Cricket has also this great advantage over many games — by having eleven men on each side. This must always make a game more interesting than where there are only one or two on a side. When we have eleven-a-side contests we know that a match is never lost till it is won, and a seeming defeat is often turned into a victory by the tail-end at the eleventh hour 448 CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. Cricket is the king of games for players, as it is for spectators who understand the game. For those who do not, I can quite understand their considering it slow and uninteresting. And now that I have gone through the whole of my career down to the present time and look back to the time I was a young man, I am far from regretting that I have been a cricketer ; and he who has never indulged in this noblest of all pastimes, be he prince or peasant, has missed one of the greatest enjoyments of life. Such is Richard Daft's opinion of cricket ; and I think it will be echoed by all who have either taken part in the game or had much to do with it. How cricket compares with sports is another question. There are many fine cricketers who like hunting, shoot- ing, or fishing better than cricket. But no one who has played most of the Enghsh games with fair success has really any doubt in his mind that cricket stands by itself as the best of them all. The opinions of men who have risen to a high position in other games, but have failed in cricket, must be accepted with some reservation. There are many men who have played football and cricket equally well ; but none of those whom I know has the slightest hesitation in plumping for cricket as the better game of the two. It is always difficult to analyse a game with a view to finding out why it gives pleasure. Richard Daft seems to me to go to the root of the matter with regard to cricket when he says that it requires of its followers a high degree not only of bodily but of mental skill, and exercises both in a very pleasurable way. But there is something in the game of cricket which cannot be ex- pressed in words — a peculiar charm and fascination. It is as impossible to describe this as it is to describe the pleasure derived from seeing fine trees or fine buildings. All one can say is that the charm of the game consists in an aggregate of pleasant feelings which is greater than that given by any other. And I think the reason must be that cricket calls into play more faculties, and gives them freer play and wider scope, than any other game. This is what a cricketer means when he says there is so much in the game. People who have not played or been closely con- cerned with cricket have not the faintest conception what there is in it. In a somewhat similar way those who have no acquaint- ance with music fail to understand what there is in a sonata of Beethoven. It has sometimes been objected that nearly all the pleasure, derived from cricket is due not so much to the intrinsic merits of the game as to accidents of conditions and surroundings. That bright June sunshine and fine green turf are good settings CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. 449 for a game no one can deny. Then there is that grand old elm yonder to lie under while looking on. And there is all the pleasant companionship and salted wit of the pavilion and the railway journey. But I cannot help thinking that it is the spirit of cricket — of the game itself — that glorifies everything connected with it. No doubt when people play the game on a rough jumble of veldt-grass and mine-tailings in the outskirts of Johannesburg, half the pleasure they find is the result of association of ideas. The feel of a bat and its sound against the ball bring back memories of the green turf and cool breezes of England. Still, cricket is a gem fair in itself, apart from the beauty of its setting — a gem quite worthy of a niche in Queen Victoria's crown. But there is another respect in which cricket is pre-eminent as a game. It seems to have an extraordinarily good influence both upon those who take an active part in it and upon those who are merely spectators. I have tried to suggest some of the ways in which games are beneficial to the nation as a whole. They are a splendid form of recreation and an excellent physical train- ing, and cricket as the best of them may fairly be regarded as conferring the greatest benefits. I hope I shall not be con- victed of special pleading, for I am afraid my case is not very scientifically stated. However, no one who knows anything of the game can fail to see what a fine physical training cricket affords. It exercises every muscle of the body, encouraging not only strength and speed but agility and quickness. It also gives grace and ease of movement. Few good cricketers are clumsy or ponderous, at any rate in their prime ; and even when years bring a superfluity of flesh, cricketers seem to retain enough of their youthful qualities to make them far more active than those of their coevals who have never taken part in the game. Some- thing of the educational value of cricket has also been hinted at. But that aspect of the game concerns all who take part in it as a recreation, especially boys and men without much leisure. There are two classes of people affected by cricket in a more special way — those who devote their life to the game, and those who form the large body of regular spectators. Let us consider the former class first. One of the most re- cent developments of the game is the number of professionals who take it up as a means of gaining their livelihood. And along with them, as far as the influence of cricket is concerned, may be grouped the leisured class who make it their chief occupation. Now the increase of the number of professional players is a 2 F 4SO CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. natural result of the evolution of cricket into its present state and dimensions. Later on modern cricket will be reviewed in its relation to the past. Here it is sufficient to admit that the game has in a sense become more than a game. It is a huge institu- tion, highly organised and demanding the entire time of those actively engaged in it, or at any rate so much of their time that they are good for little else. From being a recreation it has be- come an occupation. A. man nowadays cannot play first-class cricket and do much else. And many people regard this as not quite as it should be. They cry out against the present state of things, because men are taken away from trades and useful occu- pations in order to play cricket for some fifteen years of their lives, and the very best years into the bargain. They point out, also, that though a professional cricketer may lead a very pleasant and harmless life as long as he is young and fit to play ,» the pro- fession he adopts ceases with his youth, so that he is left stranded at an age when most men are just beginning to be successful, and are ensuring the position of themselves and their families. These objections to the present state of games look very plau- sible at first sight, from the point of view of political and social economy. And there is no doubt that there is very considerable justification for them with regard to football. A football pro- fessional gets higher wages on the average than a cricket pro- fessional, but his career is very much shorter. Few men are able to make wages out of the game for more than ten years altogether. These ten years are sufficient to put them out of touch with other occupations, and give them a taste for doing nothing except playing games. It must be remembered that though the actual time spent in football-matches is not great — in fact, it is so small that first-class football and an ordinary trade are by no means mutually exclusive — the training and prepara- tion of a professional football team is so rigorous that practically there is no chance of its members being able to do anything else. Then football professionals are paid a retaining fee during the close season, so they have no need to work even then. There is no doubt that many of them are stranded in most unenviable positions at the end of their brief and meteoric careers. With cricket professionals the case is somewhat different. Their period of active service is much longer. For after a cricketer has played many years for a county, and at last is too old to be of any use in first-class cricket, he can always obtain a berth either as a school coach or as a club bowler, the duties of which he can fulfil adequately until he is practically an old man. And all this 1'. S. MACDONNELL. Fri'/n ^'hut^■ b:i E. Ilairkiiis i' Co.. Briijhioii. 452 CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. time his wages are good enough to enable him to put by a sufifi- cient provision for his old age. As a matter of fact, the demand for players who have been first-class to fill posts at clubs and schools is far in excess of the supply. A first-class cricketer, whose character is good, can rely with certainty upon obtaining on his retirement from county cricket a suitable and well-paid berth, which he will be capable of filling for many years. Fre- quently, too, their fame and popularity help cricketers to find good businesses upon their retirement, when usually they have a certain amount of money, gained from their benefit match, to invest. Certainly, from a material point of view, a successful cricketer's career is by no means unprofitable. More than that, it is far better than those followed by most men in the class from which the majority of professional cricketers are drawn. But what of the unsuccessful ? What of the many men who take up cricket as their profession, and fail to get inside the sacred pale of first-class cricket? Well, an honest hard-working man can always make a living at the game. Nor are the failures relatively more numerous in this profession than in any other. It must not be supposed that these remarks are meant to encourage young fellows to adopt -cricket as a profession. For it is to be remem- bered that the competition is very keen, and that success is im- possible without certain natural gifts. And assuredly cricket is not a good profession for those who do not succeed in it, though it may be that there are many worse. Before considering what there is in the other objection to the existing state of games, let us see what kind of man is produced by a life devoted to cricket. It has always seemed to me that those people are most fortunate whose work and pleasure are combined. I do not mean those who merely take a kind of side interest in their work while their real interests are otherwise directed, but those whose chief pleasure is their work. It is of course out of the question to compare playing cricket with the pursuit of art, science, or literature. But in a far-off way a pro- fessional cricketer's life does somewhat resemble that of an artist. The true artist regards his art, not as a means to an end, but as an end in itself. For him his art is not only his work but his pleasure. Now most cricketers would rather play cricket than do anything else, even though it is the means whereby they live The large majority of professionals play cricket for cricket's sake, rather than because they get so much a-year for appearing in so many matches or bowling for so many hours a-day at nets. For this reason, I think I would rather be a professional cricketer CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. 45 3 than a man who toils to make a large income out of some busi- ness that he hates, in order to be able to spend it upon something he likes. Such men have a divided life, half of which is not life at all in the true sense of the word. A cricketer is a far better exponent of the art of living than many men who are far richer and far more highly esteemed. Perhaps this is the reason why cricketers as a class are so remarkably happy themselves and so extremely pleasant to deal with. There are few worthier fellows in the world than the average professional of the better class. I remember hearing Mr Stoddart say — and I hope he will not mind my repeating it — " Well, I never want to meet three better fellows or more pleasant companions than Tom Richardson, Albert Ward, and Brockwell." This was soon after he returned from his tour in Australia in the winter of 1895-96. It is true he happened to light on three particularly good specimens, but what he said of them is widely applicable among professionals. They are as a class good fellows and pleasant companions. And it would be curious if there was much wrong with the life that produces men who are happy themselves and make others happy too. At the same time, cricket does not stamp a man with any special peculiarities. On the contrary, as was remarked above, cricketers do not all give the impression of having been turned out of the same mould. There is usually not much difficulty in classing most men one comes across as belonging to this or to that calling. But I think it would puzzle even Sherlock Holmes him- self to place an average cricketer correctly if he met him unac- companied by the tell-tale bag. A cricketer is just a man with a clear eye, bronzed face, and athletic figure. He is usually some- what lacking in general information, and is sometimes a poor conversationalist upon any but his own subject. He does not read much. On the other hand, he does not talk much about things he does not understand, which is a good trait. He gives the impression of having led a free unconstrained life — he might be, in fact, anything from a trooper in the Rhodesian Horse to a Californian orange-grower. He is simple, frank, and unaffected ; a genuine person, with plenty of self-respect, and no desire to seem what he is not : on the whole, not a bad sort of man at all — quite the reverse. So the profession of cricket does not do much harm to those who follow it. My view may be rather too rosy. I may be reading into the cricketer what I would like to see in him, rather than portraying him as he is. I do not think so. Perhaps I may have been singularly fortunate 454 CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. in my acquaintance, but most of the cricketers I know have my sincere regard and respect. As for the amateur who, being a man of leisure, devotes his life to cricket — well, he gets much good out of the game and very little ill, whereas he might very easily be doing something that would have quite the reverse effect upon him. He generally has the good qualities of the professional, only in a higher degree, inasmuch as he starts in most cases with more capacity for development. Time spent upon cricket is quite as profitable as time devoted to hunting or shooting. To play cricket, a man must lead a healthy regular life, which after all is a very excellent thing. But what about the other objection, which may be called the economical ? It is this. Cricket is a splendid recreation, and is, no doubt, good enough in its way. But it is not the kind of thing to which a man ought to devote himself. It is a game. Men ought not to get incomes out of games. They ought to be so employed that their means of livelihood is also a benefit to their fellow-men and to society. They ought to be helping to supply some part of the world's requirements. Cricket is not a waste of time as a recreation and a physical training, but as an occupation it is. Even if the life of a cricketer does no harm to the individual who follows it, what excuse is there for the exist- ence in the community of a class that does nothing for the general welfare? An anecdote occurs to me that illustrates the feeling underlying this objection. In the sixth form at a well-known public school there was a boy who was then a very fine bat, and became afterwards a first-rate cricketer. He showed up a piece of Latin prose which contained among other blunders a flagrantly inexcusable false concord. The head-master said to the per- petrator, " You may some day make a good professional cricketer. You probably will. But you will never make a useful citizen or a Christian English gentleman.'' Perhaps the head-master did not mean all he said, but his criticism showed in what light he regarded cricket. Now I would be the last to say that a man of ability should give all his time to cricket. That would be absurd. But I do not think that the life of one who devotes himself to cricket is either altogether wasted or quite useless to his fellow- men, for the simple reason that cricket provides a very large number of people with cheap, wholesome, and desirable amuse- ment. There is a side of modern games upon which we have not yet touched — the spectacular. It may safely be asserted that more people go yearly to cricket and football matches than to any CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. 455 Other entertainment. Both games afford the spectators a wonder- ful amount of innocent and healthy amusement. The value of this side of games will be touched upon later. At present, the point 1 am making is that this form of amusement is not possible without a class who devote themselves entirely to the games. Perhaps this does not quite hold good of football, but it certainly does of cricket. Whether spectacular football would be possible without professionals I very much doubt, for without them it would be almost impossible to establish a sufi&cient number of first-class teams to give exhibitions of the game at all the many towns where such a fervid interest is taken in it. This, I think, is the justification of professionalism in football. The public are very keen on seeing the game, and it is a good thing that they are, but they will not go to see bad or mediocre football. A demand for exhibitions of first-rate football has arisen, and has been met by the inevitable supply. So in spite of the undoubted drawbacks and evils of professional football, which need not be mentioned here, the present form of the game is justified by the amount of amusement and pleasure it affords to a very large section of the community. Now if this is true of football it is doubly true of cricket. Professionalism is necessary for the continuance of the game in anything like a developed form, not only as a spectacular amuse- ment, but as an everyday recreation. Even club cricket cannot very well be carried on without professionals. Bowlers, ground- men, and coaches are necessary in any but the crudest cricket : without them the standard of skill cannot be high, for adequate conditions for its exercise cannot be realised. Now a high standard of skill is what makes and maintains the popularity of a game. Of course these things react upon each other. Skill arouses interest, interest creates a somewhat fastidious taste, and this taste, in its turn, demands a high standard of skill to satisfy it. The popularity of cricket has more or less kept pace with its development as a game. People went to see players who had made reputations, and as the number of skilled players increased, so did that of the spectators. From watching famous players people have learnt much of the game, so that now they can appreciate skill even in unknown performers. If for some reason skill in cricket suffered a sudden decline, the interest in the game would wane — public interest in it as a spectacular amusement. In this form cricket could not possibly exist without professionals, for unless a considerable number of men devoted their entire time and energies to the game, it would be impossible to fill up 4S6 CRICKET AND THE yiCTORIAN ERA. the county teams with players possessing the requisite amount of skill. The small number of amateurs in first-class cricket is very noticeable. It is the result of the fact that, though there are in- numerable amateur players of a certain standard, there are only a few who have both the necessary leisure and the necessary skill for first-class cricket. Spectacular cricket must be first-class, because the people will have results. Bad or mediocre play does not convince them : it is not what they want. The development of cricket has taught them what the game is when played skilfully, and they would soon cease to care about going to matches if the play were poor, or if it sank to the average standard that can be attained by men who only played cricket occasionally and as a recreation. There are players who can come into first-class cricket from other pur- suits, and make centuries. But players like Mr W. H. Patterson and Mr A. G. Steel are very rare indeed. Even if there were thirty such — and I do not suppose there are more than three — how could sufficient players of the necessary degree of skill be got together to provide first-class matches in all the many cricket- loving towns in England ? I cannot see how cricket, as a great institution for providing popular amusement, could, as things are now, exist without a class of people who devote themselves entirely to it. In calling cricket a great institution for providing popular amusement, I am not taking into consideration the motives of men in playing or the reasons why county clubs are formed or championships instituted. I am merely regarding the result of cricket as it is played nowadays. And this result is, that hundreds of thousands of people of all classes can go and enjoy themselves by looking on at the game. Their convenience is consulted, accommodation is provided for them, and good cricket such as their hearts delight in is shown them. The clubs, it is true, want their shillings or sixpences. But how does this affect the question, so long as the people see what they desire to see and the sight is good for them ? Going to see cricket-matches is neither a bad nor a neutral but a good thing. Of this I am quite sure in my own mind. But I do not quite know how to prove it. Perhaps no one disputes it. Why, then, this outcry against present-day athleticism as an evil ? No one would try to argue that cricket is the finest thing in the world. But it is a really good thing, and satisfies better than any other kind of exhibition the desire for athletic sight-seeing which is so marked a trait in the English character. The chances are that a strong popular desire, if not bad, is very good, and con- G. GIFFEN. iVuni i.hulu h,j ;;. ll.iwkui! <£■ Cv.. Brighlon. 458 CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. sequently ought to be satisfied. Cricket is the best athletic food for the pubUc. It is not so furiously popular as football, nor so much thought of in some districts. But it has a more even and a firmer hold on people in general. Neither time nor money has tarnished it. There are very few newspaper readers who do not turn to the cricket column first when the morning journal comes ; who do not buy a halfpenny evening paper to find out how many runs VV. G. or Bobby Abel has made. Many of these same people go to the Oval on Saturday afternoon to see Surrey play Gloucestershire. And the large majority of them would be doing nothing if they did not do this. The remembrance of a bright half-hour when Tom Hayward and Walter Read were in together makes the cricket news doubly interesting all the summer. It is a grand thing for people who have to work most of their time to have an interest in something or other outside their particular groove. Cricket is a first-rate interest. The game has developed to such a pitch that it is worth taking interest in. Go to Lord's and analyse the crowd. There are all sorts and conditions of men there round the ropes — bricklayers, bank-clerks, soldiers, postmen, and stockbrokers. And in the pavilion are Q.C.'s, artists, archdeacons, and leader-writers. Bad men, good men, workers and idlers, are all there, and all at one in their keenness over the game. It is a commonplace that cricket brings the most opposite characters and the most diverse lives together. Anything that puts many very different kinds of people on a common ground must promote sympathy and kindly feelings. The workman does not come away from seeing Middlesex beating Lancashire or vice versa with evil in his heart against the upper ten ; nor the Mayfair homme de plaisir with a feeling of contempt for the street-bred masses. Both alike are thinking how well Mold bowled, and how cleanly Stoddart despatched Briggs's high- tossed slow ball over the awning. Even that cynical nil admirari lawyer caught himself cheering loudly when Sir Timothy planted Hallam's would-be yorker into the press-box. True, he caught himself being enthusiastic and broke off at once ; but that little bit of keen appreciation did him no harm. Jones and Smith, who quarrelled bitterly over that piece of land, forgot all about the matter under the influence of Ford's hitting, and walked down to Baker Street quite familiarly. They will come up in the same carriage to-morrow morning, as they always used to do till last month. Yes ; there is a world of good in cricket, even in cricket as played nowadays, though it does require So great a sacrifice of time that might be devoted to more obviously useful pursuits. CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. 459 How cricket has gradually developed into its present condition is the history of the game during the Victorian Era. Into this it would be impossible for me to go deeply here, even if I had the necessary knowledge of facts. Besides, the historical part of Dr W. G. Grace's splendid book on the game practically leaves nothing unsaid. There are two sides to cricket. There is cricket as a game consisting of bowling, fielding, and batting ; and there is cricket in the shape of clubs and club management. The two aspects of the game naturally are almost inextricably mixed up, and react continuously upon each other. The evolution of skill in cricket is by no means easy to trace. Whether the players of to-day are better or worse than those of the past is not and cannot be decided, so different are the con- ditions under which the game is played now from what they used to be. The gradual improvement in wickets alone would make any comparison difficult. But there is no doubt that the number of good players has enormously increased. I should say that there are fifty good bowlers and fifty good bats nowadays where there was one in the days of William Clarke and Alfred Mynn. As to quality, there are no data for comparison. But it is only reasonable to suppose that over-arm bowling gives a bowler wider scope than did either under-arm or round-arm ; and that propor- tionately batsmen have become more versatile, and have learnt the use of more strokes. It is instructive to notice that in the old days straight balls were considered the most difficult and dangerous, while those off the wicket were regarded as godsends to be promptly turned into runs ; whereas now, batsmen delight in a straight bowler, and find it safer to hit straight balls than any others : it is the ball off the wicket that gives us most trouble. The three changes in the style of bowling are landmarks in the history of cricket as a game of skill. The higher the arm is allowed to go, the greater the skill required in the batsman. No doubt the old under-arm bowlers were very accurate and clever, and reached as high a standard in their line as modern bowlers have reached in theirs : if we could call back old William Clarke from the fields of asphodel he would be sure to take a high place in our averages. But there is this to be taken into account : an under-arm bowler could only bowl a certain number of different balls, and when round-arm bowling was legalised there were added to the game all those balls which round-arm bowlers could deliver but under-arm bowlers could not : similarly, when over- 460 CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. arm bowling came in, the sum-total of bowlable balls was again increased. An under-arm bowler can make the ball twist — that is, curl off the ground — but he cannot make it break or bump ; a round-arm can make the ball twist from leg and break some- what from the off and also cause it to swing across the wicket ; an over-arm can do all these things and also make the ball bump. All three kinds differ in the flight of the ball in the air and in its manner of coming frorh the pitch. Naturally a batsman had to know more strokes as the number of balls to be played increased ; so the development of batting must have gone hand in hand with that of bowling. The change from under- to round-arm was begun by Mr John Willes in 1822, and the style became general about 1827. F. W. Lilly- white was the great exponent of the innovation. He and a bowler named Broadbridge were so good that Sussex was able to play All England on level terms. Those must have been good days ! But, apart from its gradual adaptation to the requirerhents of changes in bowling style, there is one great landmark that separates the old batting from the new — the appearance of Dr W. G. Grace in the cricket world. In 1865 W. G. came fully before the public that has admired and loved him ever since. He revolutionised batting. He turned it from an accomplish- ment into a science. All I know of old-time batting is, of course, gathered from books and older players, but the impression left on my mind is this : Before W. G. batsmen were of two kinds, — a batsman played a forward game or he played a back game. Each player, too, seems to have made a specialty of some par- ticular stroke. The criterion of style was, as it were, a certain mixed method of play. It was bad cricket to hit a straight ball ; as for pulling a slow long-hop, it was regarded as immoral. AVhat W. G. did was to unite in his mighty self all the good points of all the good players, and to make utility the criterion of style. He founded the modern theory of batting by making forward- and back-play of equal importance, relying neither on the one nor on the other, but on both. Any cricketer who thinks for a moment can see the enormous change W. G. intro- duced into the game. I hold him to be, not only the finest player born or unborn, but the maker of modern batting. He turned the old one-stringed instrument into a many-chorded lyre. And, in addition, he made his execution equal his invention. All of us now have the instrument, but we lack his execution. It is not that we do not know, but that we cannot perform. Before W. G. batsmen did not know what could be made of CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. 46 1 batting. The development of bowling has been natural and gradual; each great bowler has added his quota. W. G. dis- covered batting; he turned its many narrow straight channels into one great winding river. Any one who reads his book will understand this. Those who nowadays try to follow in his foot- steps may or may not get within measurable distance of him, but it was he who pioneered and made the road. Where a great man has led many can go afterwards, but the honour is his who found and cut the path. The theory of modern batting is in all essentials the result of W. G.'s thinking and working on the game. As for fielding, it is much the same as ever, neither better nor worse, I expect, though probably the placing of the field is less stereotyped and more scientific than in earlier days. New rules introduced at various times, such as relate to the follow-on and the declaration-of-innings and suchlike, have affected the way in which matches work out, but have not materially altered the game itself. Cricket as played now is the result of W. G.'s sudden development of batting, and of the final evolution of bowling into the present over-arm style. And this growth of cricket into what it is now has been facilitated and fostered by the rise and establishment of a class devoted entirely to the game. Mark you, cricket is a big thing, and to reach the highest pitch in it of which you are capable, you must give to it your best endeavours and nearly all your time. Whether you ought to do so is another question altogether — although I have tried to show that to do so is not altogether useless. How did the modern system of county cricket come into vogue ? Briefly thus. In the beginning it was local club cricket pure and simple ; then out of this grew representative local cricket — that is, district or county cricket, which flourished along with local club cricket. Out of county cricket, which was then only local cricket glorified, sprang exhibition cricket, which lived side by side with, but distinct from, the other. Finally, exhibition and county cricket merged and became one. And that is where we are now. The fact that county cricket is a mixture of two entirely different elements is not generally perceived. Otherwise there would be less nonsense talked about some aspects of it. Down to the year 1846 all cricket was practically club cricket. At first clubs were local. Eleven players of one village or town played eleven of another. In other words, the localities con- tended against one another in cricket. The interest was local. If the game had been polo or quoits, the raison d'etre of the match would have been the same. Single-wicket matches being 462 CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. common, one local champion would often play another. These, too, were the days of country gentlemen with country seats. Attached to these were clubs or elevens who played matches against others of the same kind or against local clubs. In both cases the basis of the club was local. Though in the case of the country gentleman's eleven the match was the thing. English gentlemen liked (as they like still) matches, whether between horses, prize-fighters, game-cocks, or cricket elevens. Of course the recreative side of the game came in also ; in fact, it is, and always has been, what philosophers call the final cause of cricket. The early form of county cricket soon developed. It was played on an extended local basis.- Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hamp- shire, Middlesex, and Nottinghamshire had county clubs very early. The great local club of the early days was the famous one of Hambledon in Hampshire. It played against selected elevens and against the counties. It was founded in 1750 and lasted till 1791, when it was dissolved, its members going to the Surrey, Hampshire, Kent, and Middlesex clubs. From county to bigger representative matches was an easy step. The Gentle- men V. Players began in 1806, and the North v. South in 1836. It is interesting, by' the way, to note that Eton and Harrow played one another right at the beginning of the century. The M.C.C. was founded in 1789. It originated partly in the desire of certain gentlemen in London to form a club and play cricket, partly in the business enterprise of a man named Lord, who is immortal for ever. From the beginning the M.C.C. was purely and simply a club for cricket purposes. It had no local basis. The fact that it drew its members from London secured this. London as a whole is not exactly suited for local interests. The M.C.C. soon numbered many famous cricketers among its members, and became the great typical cricket club once and for all. It is a club, neither local nor anything else, but simply a cricket club. Its position is unique. As the leading cricket club, it is univer- sally regarded as the supreme authority in all matters that are purely cricket, and all matters that concern cricket clubs as such. But another kind of club grew up in those days — the Wander- ing Club. Probably there were many of this kind. The basis of such is social and cricket. The early wandering clubs were no doubt formed by men of means and leisure who had no local club to play for, but who liked the game and one another suffi- ciently well to band together. I Zingari was the most noted, and remains so. It was instituted in 1845. Innumerable others CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. 463 sprang up on the same lines. W. G. gives • a most amusing list of some of their names. Clubs founded and playing upon the local and the social peripatetic basis continue to thrive and strive all over England. There is nothing new about village, town, and wandering clubs except the ground arrangements and such incidental matters. It is county cricket that is played upon lines so different from those of the early days. The change came about, I think, as follows : — In 1846 the famous bowler William Clarke started the idea of exhibition cricket. To quote from W. G.'s book : — The All-England Eleven was started by one man and conducted on business principles, and while it lived was exceedingly active, and helped to spread abroad a knowledge of the game. William Clarke was the founder : the majority of the players who composed it were the best professionals in England in every branch of the game, and under his leadership were open for engagements anywhere as long as they obtained their price. As the Eleven grew in strength and popu- larity, the desire to be considered worthy of a place in it became the aim of every young and rising cricketer, and on more than one occa- sion some of the most celebrated amateurs were to be found playing in its ranks for the honour alone. Of course the difficulty was to find any clubs to compete against. Usually the number of their opponents was twenty-two ; but very often that was found inadequate to make a fight against so strong a combination of talent, and recourse was had to players outside of the club. A good many of us can date our first experience of first-class play from witnessing the famous All-England Eleven, and hundreds will tell with glistening eyes of the good old times when they were con- sidered worthy of a place against it. Clarke seems to have argued thus : " I want to play cricket because I like it. It is my profession, and may fairly be made as lucrative as possible. Others in my position want the same as I do. The public is interested in good cricket, and will pay to see it." The All-England Eleven played all over the country, and was a great success from both a financial and a cricket point of view. Its matches had a twofold interest for people. There was the local interest in the local sides, and also the interest in the cricket exhibited by some of the most celebrated and skilful players in England. In 1852 there was a split in the All-England Eleven, and certairi members of it seceding, instituted another exhibition club called the United England Eleven. This played on the same lines as its original. Both went on side by side for many years. Finally the United Eleven itself split up. Some of its members 464 CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. formed the South of England Eleven, some returned to the All- England Eleven. Various other elevens were started in imita- tion of these, but did not become so famous. It is worth while noting that, after breaking up, the elevens in re-forming paid some attention to a local basis. The All-England Eleven was latterly composed almost entirely of northern players, the South of England Eleven of southerners. The important points about these exhibition elevens are : first, the new position professionals took ; secondly, the introduction and development of spectacular cricket. A professional in former times was entirely the servant of his dub, and in a servant's position. In the exhibition elevens he became a free member of a professional team. He was a mem- ber of a club having equal rights with the other members, and also in a way a public character, supported by and responsible to the public. These two aspects of a professional's position are worth remarking, with reference to the position of modern pro- fessionals playing for counties. A modern professional who represents his county is partly a servant of the club, partly a servant of the public, and partly a skilled labourer selling his skill in the best market. He may or he may not have a local interest in the club he represents : that is another aspect of his case. The introduction of spectacular cricket changed the basis of county cricket considerably. For many years the exhibition elevens and the counties played side by side, but gradually the former died out, and the new elements they had introduced into the game were absorbed into county cricket. The process was gradual, but in the end complete. The old county clubs and the new ones that from time to time sprang up added the exhi- bition side of cricket to the old local basis. The county clubs were no longer merely glorified local clubs, but in addition business concerns. They provided popular amusement and good cricket ; in fact, they became what they are now — local in name and partly local in reality, but also run upon exhibition or, as I called it, spectacular lines. The two interests join and make the, system a very strong one. Its value I have tried to prove. Its justification is the pleasure it provides for large numbers of the public. From a purely cricket point of view not much can be said against it. At any rate, it promotes skill in the game and keeps up the standard of excellence. Such, then, are some of the aspects and tendencies of the game of cricket at the time of Queen Victoria's Diamond CRICKET AND THE VICTORIAN ERA. 465 Jubilee. No doubt her Majesty takes some interest in cricket as one of the pleasures of her people. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales frequently attends first-class matches, and is always delighted when he sees good play. He told me at Sheffield Park during the first match of the Australian tour that he was very fond of the game a few years ago. There is a photograph hanging in the pavilion at Sheffield Park representing an eleven of the Bullingdon Club. It was taken at Oxford after a match in which the Prince of Wales had been playing. The names of H.H. Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein and H.H. Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein are well known in the cricket-field. The latter nearly secured his blue at Oxford. So it cannot be said that the Queen has no connection with cricket. THE END.