The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-12 00:00:00

CRICKE rING.

SURREY WANDERERS GLUM—The members of this club
will meet for practice on Saturday, the 14th inst., at three
o'clock, at the private ground, the Greyhound, Dulwich.
This will be the opening day of their first season, and
sides will be chosen by the president (Mr. H. G. Haynes)
and the vice-president (Mr. F. Baker).
Middlesex Club v. Metropolitan (Middlesex) Clubs.—
Gentlemen desirous of playing on the Metropolitan side in
this match on May 14 and 15, are requested to apply early
to either of the honorary secretaries—V. E. Walker, Esq.,
or C. Hillyard, Esq., County Ground, Islington, N.
The Kennington Club wish for a young club to amalga-
mate with thorn on friendly terms. Their practice-ground
is the best position on the County Ground, Oval, Kenning-
ton. Address, G. Davies, honorary secretary.

BATTERSEA STANDARD CLUB.—Tho comMittee will be
happy to arrange a home-and-home match with any
amateur club within a reasonable distance, and a day's
match on Whit-Monday. An letters to be addressed to
the honorary secretary, Mr. Thos. Neal, Royal Standard,
York-road, Battersea.
BERMONDSEY PRIORY CLUB.—Tho first annual meeting
of the members of this club was held on the 31st ult., at the
Horns, Bermondsey-square. The club funds were an-
nounced to be in a flourishing condition, and the secretary
will be happy to arrange matches with clubs of a similar
standing. Address Mr. F. Greener, secretary, at Messrs.
Hepburn and Sons, Long-lane, Bermondsey, S.E.
ESHER CLUB.—Matches at present arranged :—May 26,
at Esher, v. Incogi, aiti ; 28, 29, at Southampton, v. South
Hants. June 6, at Hampton Wick, v. Hampton Wick.
July 7, at Esher, v. Uppingham Rovers ; 12, 13, at Esher,
v. South Hants ; 20, at Crystal Palace, v. Incogniti ; 26,
at Wimbledon, v. Wimbledon. August 2, at Esher, v.
Banstead ; 20, at Esher, v. Wimbledon ; 22, at Esher, v.
Hampton Wick; at Banstead, v. Banstead.
The professional bowlers are now fast getting into har-
ness for the season. Last week Willsher and Griffith cora_
menced at Marlborough, and Sewell at Rossall, for the
month. This week Grundy and Tinley commence at
Eton ; James Lillywhite, jun., at Cheltenham ; Roger
Iddison, at Uppingham ; Howitt, Hall, and Bignall go to
Cambridge ; and doubtless there will be as usual quite a
little army of professionals pounding away at Oxford.

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On Bowling and Fielding.

The division of bowling into round-hand and
underhand as genera, and fast, slow, and medium

pace as species, is more true as a matter of history
than of fact. Underhand bowling is almost extinct.
Mr. Drake among amateurs, and Tinley among pro-
fessionals are unique ; but there is literally on one to

hand down the traditions of that old fast underhand

bowling, which, I think, might be reproduced with
advantage The things called " lobs " are not de-
serving of the slightest notice, and thus my remarks
may be restricted to round-hand bowling. And here
again is another limitation ; for fast bowling of this
kind also is rapidly dying out, Tarrant still keeps
up his wonderful speed, and, when the ground

favours him, manages to combine with it a destruc-
tive "break ;" but Jackson, Griffith, and Willsher
have all moderated their pace, and the younger

school, A. Shaw, James Lillywhite, and the like
have never attempted pace at all. The reason for
this change is that experience-and observation have

taught people that pace is of very little importance
compared with pitch and precision—that pace very
frequently militates against the attainment of pitch

and precision—and that fast bowling is, as a general
rule, much easier to play than slow, and much more
productive of runs. If these undoubted truths apply
to professionals, much more will they hold good for

amateurs; and no one can deny that of all bad ama-
teur bowlers (whose name is legion), the fastest are
the worst. I will accordingly confine my observa-
tions to medium-pace and slow round-hand bowl-
ing, which alone, in present circumstances, are

worthy of study. The former of these two styles
is shown in perfection by James Lillywhite. I can-
not conceive a more excellent model for any one
who aspires to be a bowler. His ease of action and

delivery which enables him to bowl as well at the
end of a long day as at the beginning ; his wonder-
ful accuracy, and his power of deceiving the bats-
man by raising or lowering his arm, and appearing
to vary the length of the ball, while all the time a
uniform pitch is maintained, and the only thing that

varies is the curve described before the ball pitches,

—these are some of the qualities that make his
bowling second to none at the present day. A.

Shaw also is another well worth imitating ; and, in
general, take for your model a bowler who has no
marked peculiarities, and no singularity of action
and delivery, however much his own success may be
ncreased thereby. Grundy and Wooton are in the

very first class of bowlers but it would be ridicu-
lous to imitate either Grundy's low delivery, or

Wooton's wrist work. Peculiarities of delivery

very often puzzle the batsman, but they cannot be
taught. Every bowler must invent his own for

himself. Mr. W. S. Norton, a very successful
amateur bowler, owes a great deal of his success to
his remarkable delivery. You never knoNt' when
the ball is coming. His fingers, wrist, elbow,

and arm twist and twirl about so that your
eyes are quite dazzled. Last of all comes the
ball, which you fail to see. The worst of this
sort of style, however, is that it is difficult to keep
up. It is all extra exertion to the bowler, and he
tires under it ; whereas Mr. R. D. Walker, with his
easy unfatiguing action, goes on, and goes on, and
will not be denied. It is the greatest fallacy to
imagine that straight bowling is the best. A good
bowler is one who has such command over the ball

that he can pitch it where he likes, to the leg, to off,

or quite straight. To a great hitter, bowl straight
The consciousness of his powers will now and then
make him forget the duty of defence. To a man
with a strong defence and straight bat bowl off the
wicket, first to one side then to the other. Find
out on which side he hits most weakly. A sticker
very seldom hits to more than one or two places. I
have seen nearly the whole field moved over to the
on-side and dispersed between short-leg and mid-on
for a first-rate defensive bat whose weak point was
there. The bowler had confidence in his command
over the ball, and secured his man in a short time.
This is the skill and science of cricket, as of every
other encounter requiring the exercise of judgment
—to take advantage of an adversary's weakness.
Bowling down a good man's middle stump (after he
has made 50 perhaps) is mere brute force and very
often mere luck. But with proper judgment, and
sufficient ability to act thereon, I believe that very
few innings Is ould exceed 20, and the balance of
the game would be much more equally maintained.
I assume, of course, that fair chances are taken ;
and I may say, by the way, that I incline to the
opinion that after three palpable chances a man
should be " out." To return to bowling. When
a man bends his legs much in playing forward, bowl
at them continually. You will be sure to get a
cannon off them before long. Observe him who
repeatedly steps out of his ground ; and bowl for
the wicket-keeper. A full pitch is a very good
thing occasionally, particularly for a steady man,
and when it is the last ball of a good over.
Besides a pitched-up is not so bad as a short-
pitched ball. Long-hops are the sin of bowlers for
which there is no forgiveness. Lastly (but what
bowler ever attended to this ?) don't go on when
your bowling does not pay ; and don't consider the
friend who suggests a change as your greatest enemy.
This is particularly applicable to slow bowlers, of
whom there are many good examples among ama-
teurs, Mr. Pelham, Mr. Maitland, and Captain
Arkwright, for instance. The bowling may be excel-
lent, and things may not come off. The field may
be lazy, the wicket-keeper out of form, the batsman
may go in for neck or nothing, and with a run of
luck. Slows are no good then; for they depend only
partially on their own excellence, and require, more
than any other bowling, the co-operation of a ready
and intelligent field.
The first thing necessary to make a good field is
a good captain. Otherwise they are like a body
without a head. For they require to be constantly
moved. Every fresh bowler and every fresh bats-
man involves an alteration, more or less, in the
placing the field. And this should always be done
silently, by a motion of the hand. A man who
will not move in the field without being shouted at,
is only fit for trap, bat, and ball. On the other
hand, a captain must not worry the field, or move
them to gratify his own caprices. '• Will you be
good enough, sir," said a captain once to me,
" to be at an angle of forty-five degrees between
the gentleman whd is batting, and the gentleman
who is standing point'?" While I was wondering
by what possible change of position I could make
myself into an angle, and drawing imaginary lines to
determine my locus, the ball was of a sudden cut with
much sharpness, and, being unprepared to catch it, I
was hit violently in the pit of my stomach. No doubt
the captain considered me a very obtuse angle. After
all, a good fieldsman does not want very much
captaining. His own judgment will tell him to go out
for that man, to come in for that one ; to play fine at
one time, and square at another ; and a good captain
will never interfere with this discretionary power.
Avoid gallery fielding ; using one hand instead of
two may bring down a round of cheering, but all good
judges execrate it. Never mind if you miss a catch,
or if you miss fielding a hit. You have tried your
best ; but don't stand still after the miss. Run as
hard as you can after the ball, and don't, because
you have lost two runs already, lose two more.
A man who will not run hard in the field, parti-

cularly after missing a chance deserves to have the
Eumenides after him in full cry. Never make ex-
cuses, for nobody believes them. In vain may you
protest that the sun was in your eye, that a fly flew
into your eye, that your eyelashes got into your eye,
that your foot slipped, that the ball " spun so, old
fellow, I saw it turn a foot in the air, just as I was
ready to catch it." It is of no good. I have heard
these reasons before to-day. " Quodcunque ostendis
mini sic [k of of hearing such] incredulus odi." No,
don't make a double muff of yourself. Call your-
self all the unparliamentary and improper names you
can think of, and determine that you will not do the
like again.
One word about throwing. Good fielding is of
no use without accurate throwing. The general
fault is that, as with the screw stroke at billiards,
you put on too much. You see men five yards from
the wicket keeper hurling with all their might, and
then not even at his hands, that were bad enough ;
but they throw at his head, his stomach, his shins,
or his boots. How many an easy run out is thus
lost, how many a promising wicket keeper is thus
ruined! And this arises simply from a fieldsman

being in such a hurry that he cannot look. He
dashes in, picks the ball up, and sends it he knows
not where. You don't want a man who can throw

110 yards ; you want a man who can throw coolly
and with accuracy 15 or 20 yards into the wicket
keeper's hands, and for longer distances send him an
easy first bound. In fact, in this as in every other
department of the game, you do not want brute
force ; you want moderate power judiciously used.
This is the essence of cricket, this is its moral also.
—Land and Water.