The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-07-24
A MATTER OF CULTURE
Cricket Just the Thing for Con-
valescents.
MONOTONOUS AS CROQUET
1t Lacks the Energy of a Sewing Circle.
Not Wearing on the Nerves-How
to Count the Limps-A
Sad Game.


right nor proper that one man should
judge another's game, whether is be
mumblety-peg or bunco steering, and
therefore the Americans who visited
and witnessed the game of cricket down
by the Great Northern culvert on Satur-
day afternoon feel considerable diff
dence in discussing their impressions.
The Standard representative was one of
many who looked on at the game in
silent awe and later endeavored to form
some opinion of the sport from the
views of others. Said one man of con-
siderable fame in the courts of Justice:
Its nice game, nice for children and
convalescents, for there is nothing to
shatter the nerves about it. l should
recommend it as being quite as monoto-
nous as croquet and fully as active as
billiards. Critics may say that 1t Is less
vigorous than Methodist camp meet
ing or that it lacks the spice of the
weekly meeting of the sewing circle in
the average village but it does not aim
to compete with these things. 1t is
largely a matter of culture. For in
stance, 1 am told that the player who
limps in one leg scores three: in two
legs seven; pure Cheapside accent
scores Is, and man who combines all
three of these qualities has an unlim-
tied future in cricket"
1t is new game in the West at least
in this part OF the West, and the play
ers will of course overlook any errors
made in reporting the game Two
stands made up of three sticks each are
placed in the ground and small sticks
balanced on these. To the Yankee they
look like backstops placed in front in
stead of behind the catcher, but as the
whole game is wrong end to, this is
nothing strange. These sticks. called
wickets, have something to do with the
game. Behind each of them is a catcher
who is supposed to catch the ball If he
has nothing else to do: If he is busy,
there is half dozen of swipers in his
rear who shack the ball. In front of
each wicket Is batter, handling a bat
of bizarre growth and wearing on his
left leg a jonted corset He may or
may not have on his hands mitts on
whose backs are sewn sections of gar
den hose. The pitcher, or bowler, stands
near the further wicket and, judging
from the samples exhibited here on Sat
urday afternoon, has a rotten delivery.
He is playing under the Spalding rules
of III. He does not keep his foot
down when he throws the bali and a
competent umpire would give the bat
ter his base on balls every time. How
ever, the batter has a big enough snap.
He let's any ball go by that does not
suit him and If any one tries to call
strikes on him (there is no umpire) the
two mines come to the front, including
the swipers from the field, and put it
to vote, and the man who loses sets
up the drinks. Everything is done leis-
urely. When one man gets tired of bat
ting they send a call boy to the par
quee (tenD for another, about half
mile walk. and the boy incidentally in
forms the scorer, who is keeping close
to the refreshments, as to the number
of runs made in the half hour just past.
The batter on deck gets into his ac-
coutrements at his ease and takes his
time in walking back to the field. 1t is
the only exercise he will get out of the
game and there is no reason why he
should hurry. In fact. cricket is an
ideal game for the busy man, for he
can be an enthusiast over it and at
tend to his regular business. Should
he be needed on the cricket field his side
can send a hack after him.
Sometimes during the afternoon ball
would be batted into the shirt of one
of the swipers in the field and so en-
tangle itself there that the swiper could
not get rid of 1t. Once or twice other
players would enthuse over such play,
but the hilarity was Immediately
frowned down as unsportsmanlike and
contrary to the tradition that the Eli
glishman takes his pleasure sadly. 1t is
to be hoped that the discipline of the
mines shall be so perfected that at the
next meeting there shall be no more of
these unseemly exhibitions. However,
it is to the credit of the club that when
ever a man was counted out and his
bottle holder had thrown up the de-
feated gravely walked back to the
coaching line and announced to the
awe-stricken natives that he had been
"chivvied" or "woozled" or "shargled,"
or something of the kind. something
that made the crowd feel that he was
a muchly wronged and misunderstood
man. Then he retired in gloomy silence
to the parquee to theft" bats.
Someone said that the score was &C to
8 in favor of the side getting 66.