CHAPTER I.

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_The Cricket of Abel, Hirst,

and Shrewsbury_

EDITED BY

E. F. BENSON

and

EUSTACE H. MILES

_ILLUSTRATED WITH

THIRTY-FOUR PHOTOGRAPHS

BY

MASON AND BASEBE_

NEW YORK

E. P. DUTTON & CO.

31, West Twenty-Third Street

1903

PRINTED BY KELLY’S DIRECTORIES LTD

LONDON AND KINGSTON.

EDITORS’ PREFACE.

There appear to be hardly any beginners or habitual players who know how

to profit by seeing experts at play and at work. The reason cannot well

be that we do not look on at games sufficiently often! No, one reason is

that we have not been trained to observe with a view to personal

experimentation afterwards; and another reason is that there is very

little time to catch and realise the different positions and movements

as they flash by. Hence the value of photographs, especially when they

are--as many of these thirty-four are--taken from behind: it is not easy

to reproduce for ourselves the action as shown by an ordinary photograph

(taken from in front), since it gives us everything the wrong way round.

But even photographs often fail to teach their lesson. The learner must

be told how to teach himself from photographs. After which he will find

it easy to teach himself from actual models, as soon as he knows just

what to look out for--the feet and their “stances” and changes, and so

on. It is to be hoped that these photographs, and the notes on them, and

the obvious inferences drawn from them, will train readers to study

various other experts besides these three, who are only a few out of a

host.

For the object of the book is not to tie any player down to any one

method, but rather to set him on the track of independent research and

self-instruction: to show him how to watch and _see_, and how to

practise the best things that he sees, and what the best things are most

likely to be. Not a single hint in these pages need be followed until

the reader is convinced that what I advise is what most if not all great

players actually do, whether consciously or by instinct.

The volume is not intended to compete with the many excellent books

edited by those who themselves play the game well. It boasts of a large

debt to these classics, but having gathered hints from them it moves

away on altogether different lines. The best player is seldom the best

teacher of average beginners. On the principle of “Set a thief to catch

a thief,” a duffer has here been set to teach a duffer, while at the

same time the whole teaching is, I hope, strictly according to the

actual play of good players, as shown by observation, by photographs,

and by answers to questions asked during special interviews. The three

chief players (whose ascertained positions and movements are made the

basis for all the simple lessons offered here) are Abel, Hirst, and

Shrewsbury.

The editor of this volume used to play Cricket at school about as well

or as badly as he used to play Racquets. After his school and

undergraduate days at Cambridge, he discovered many fundamental faults

in his play at Racquets--faults which abundant practice had strengthened

and fixed into bad habits--ineradicably and hopelessly bad habits, his

critics said. He had some hints from the best professionals (Smale,

Latham, and others); he studied their positions and movements carefully;

then, chiefly by the help of certain easy and healthy exercises in his

bedroom for less than five minutes a day (Mr. Edward Lyttelton

constantly recommends bedroom-practice for Cricket, and quotes the

success of Jupp thereby), he found that he was gradually removing those

habits, and building better habits which persisted in subsequent play in

the Court itself. Quite recently, after noticing the various positions

and movements of the great experts of Cricket (including the three

professionals whose photographs appear in this volume), he concluded

that there had been remarkably _similar_ faults, and no less fundamental

faults, in his _Cricket_, though of course the games of Cricket and

Racquets have marked differences. He thinks that these faults were amply

sufficient to account for his past failure to enjoy Cricket (that is, to

improve at Cricket), just as the other faults had proved sufficient to

account for his past clumsiness at Racquets. He therefore devised

special exercises by which he might eventually be enabled to do himself

less injustice at Cricket also.[1] These he intends to practise

regularly in order to secure the bodily mechanisms of play, to make them

his very own, before he once again meets those “disturbing elements” in

Cricket (as in Racquets and Tennis), the ball and the opponents.

Whether he will ever become a cricketer or not he cannot say--he does

not expect to become one in less than a year or two: so numerous and

deeply ingrained were his mistakes, so execrable was his style, if he is

to believe his most candid friends and enemies! But at least he can

safely say that these mistakes--which he observes to be _common to

nearly all duffers and most beginners_--are now so absolutely obvious as

to supply ample reasons for any amount of his failure in all kinds of

batting, in all departments of fielding, as well as in bowling. He can

safely say that _until_ he has mastered those positions and movements

which nearly all the experts already have _as a matter of course_, until

he has learnt the A B C, built the scaffolding, formed the skeleton, or

whatever one likes to call the process, he will certainly not become a

cricketer. He cannot reasonably expect the tree to bear fruit for a long

time yet; but he hopes the fact that he himself is practising what he

preaches will encourage others to give the method--sensibly adapted

according to their individual opinions and needs and models--a fair and

square trial, as thousands have already given a fair and square and

successful trial to the simpler diet. The method is urged as claiming a

reasonable experiment before condemnation: that is all. It is not meant

to harass and cramp all players, so as to make them uniform, any more

than the learning of the alphabet and of spelling is meant to harass and

cramp all writers. He only describes what he believes to be the correct

alphabet and spelling of words in Cricket. Out of this alphabet and

these words let each player subsequently form his own sentences and

paragraphs and chapters. Let each player develop to the full his

individual merits and specialities. But not until he has made the

alphabet and the vocabulary his very own, to use easily at will, is he

likely to develop his individuality satisfactorily and successfully, any

more than a builder would be likely to build a good house without good

bricks, mortar, and wood, and some knowledge and practice of the best

ways of using them.

The suggestions are one and all based upon the practice or the teaching

of successful players. Of the three special models here, not one has the

advantage of superior height, and at least one had not the advantage of

athletic physique. The instructions point out the apparent foundations

of batting, bowling, and fielding, and, by contrast, the apparent faults

to which the natural duffer like myself is liable. It is hoped that

critics and other readers will kindly offer every possible hint and

correction.

Each true lover of games, whether he play or watch or both watch and

play, must see that if this way be good--this mastery of the instruments

of play, _in addition to_ the usual net-practice and games--it surely

will improve the health and physique of the nation; will bring in more

recruits for Cricket; will enable the busy man to keep up at least his

muscular, if not his nervous apparatus, so that he need never get

considerably out of practice or training, and need never, as too many

thousands have done, give up the game merely because he has not time to

play the game itself regularly. The editor feels assured that any

feasible five-minutes-a-day system like this, which may tend to spread

the greatest of games more widely, and to raise our national standard of

skill, enjoyment, and physique, will be received by every patriot in the

spirit in which it is offered; namely, as perhaps useful for most, and

probably healthy and harmless for all. Every sensible person will agree

that if the game is going to be played _at all_--and it certainly

_is_--then it is worth playing well, and therefore worth learning well

and practising well.

Whether these exercises and general hints will help towards my

end--towards a game better played all-round (in batting, bowling, and

fielding), better watched, and so better enjoyed--experience must

decide. But all will concede that these exercises are not less pleasant

and wholesome than those of drill and dumb-bell and strain-apparatus;

that they are far better adapted than these are as a preparation for the

noblest of sports and for much of daily life itself, since they

encourage not mere strength and vastness of muscle, but also full

extensions in various directions, promptitude to start in any required

direction, rapidity to carry the movements through, endurance to repeat

them, self-control to keep or recover poise in spite of the fulness and

rapidity and promptitude and unforeseenness of the motion; to say

nothing of the corresponding mental and moral excellences. If the system

demands only a few minutes each day then in so far as it is correct--and

it will be gradually corrected as observations and criticisms pour

in--it will prove well worth while, especially on wet days (which are

not unknown in England), and in winter, for those who do not grudge many

hours a day to Cricket itself with all its waitings and watchings and

disappointments.

The system is the chief new feature of this book, which, however, does

not by any means underestimate the equally essential coaching by

schoolmasters and professionals and others, and net-practice and

practice-games as an addition to the system and as the test of its

merits or demerits.

These ought we to do, and not leave the other--the system which teaches

this very alphabet of Cricket--undone, especially to-day when the

majority of people are cooped up in cities without the chance of a

practice-game or even of a net. The plea is not for uniformity of style,

but for reasonable mastery of the spelling of words before we write

essays; for a system of self-teaching and self-correction; for a system

of training and practice when regular play is out of the question; for a

drill which fathers and uncles may teach their children and nephews; for

a healthy and interesting use of odd minutes which would otherwise be

wasted or worse than wasted.

POSTSCRIPTS.

1. Mr. C. B. Fry’s advice in “Cricket” (just published by C. Arthur

Pearson, in 1903) should be carefully read. He says: “To train his

muscles for heavy weight-lifting is precisely what a cricketer ought not

to do.... It is remarkable how much a player can improve himself ... by

simply _practising strokes with a bat and no ball or bowler_. But this

is easily understood when you perceive that _the actual correctness of a

stroke, so far as the movement of the feet and of the arms is concerned,

is entirely independent of the ball. To make a stroke with the correct

action and to time the ball are two distinct things_; both are necessary

in a match, and _you can learn the second only with a ball bowled at

you; but the first you can certainly to some extent acquire by mere

chamber drill_.

“It is also worth knowing that _much may be done with a ball hanging by

a cord from a beam or a tree. A little ingenuity renders practice at the

swinging ball quite valuable_.”

2. The death of Shrewsbury in May, 1903, has been a great loss to

Cricket and cricketers. His enthusiasm, his mastery of certain

mechanisms of batting, his calm confidence and patience, his gentleness

and good nature, made him an almost unique personality in the world of

Cricket.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

EDITORS’ PREFACE vii

CHAP.

I.--BATTING AND RUNNING 1

II.--BOWLING 56

III.--FIELDING AND THROWING-IN 103

IV.--NOTES ON WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS 120

V.--THE IMPORTANCE OF ALL-ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET 138

VI.--FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE 149

VII.--GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET 166

VIII.--SPECIAL EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE 181

IX.--FALLACIES OF THEORISTS AND OTHERS 208

X.--MERITS OF CRICKET 225

XI.--SUGGESTED REFORMS 233

APPENDIX I.--THE EDITORS’ DEFENCE OF THIS

SYSTEM FOR BEGINNERS AND OTHERS 249

APPENDIX II.--LAWS OF THE GAME 268

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

I.--Waiting for the ball, with the weight balanced

almost evenly upon the two feet (which are near

together), but rather on the right foot

[_Facing page_ 22

II.--Forward play: the bat has been drawn straight

up and back (not in a curve) before the stroke

[_Facing page_ 25

III.--Playing back: the right foot has retired nearer

the wicket, so as to give longer time for seeing

the ball. (NOTE.--The bat should be held

straight. This photograph was taken before

Shrewsbury was in practice)

[_Facing page_ 26

IV.--The glide: both feet well back

[_Facing page_ 28

V.--Playing back: right foot retired, to give extra

time for seeing the ball; weight on right foot.

This was Shrewsbury’s stroke when he felt

“beaten” by the bowler

[_Facing page_ 29

VI.--Playing forward to a ball on the off: the straight

bat has passed near and beyond the left foot in a

“follow-through.” Notice the fingers, especially

the first finger and thumb of the left hand. At

the end of the stretch the left arm is fully extended,

and the right heel has come off the

ground

[_Between pages_ 30 _and_ 31

VII.--Playing forward to a ball slightly to the leg

side: see remarks on previous photograph, and

notice the head well over the bat-handle

[_Between pages_ 30 _and_ 31

VIII.--Playing forward to a straight ball: see remarks

on previous photographs

[_Between pages_ 30 _and_ 31

IX.--Position of hands and fingers at the end of the

forward stroke: the left hand has shifted round,

the right hand holds the bat with thumb and first

finger only

[_Facing page_ 35

X.--Preparing to drive with a pull: the left leg is

well out so that the bat may get nearer to the

pitch of the ball

[_Facing page_ 39

XI.--Preparing to pull a short ball: right foot across,

so as to help the stroke well round to leg

[_Between pages_ 40 _and_ 41

XII.--Preparing to pull a short ball: right foot across

and well back, so as to make the short ball still

shorter

[_Between pages_ 40 _and_ 41

XIII.--Hook-stroke to leg: both feet well back, but

weight on right foot

[_Between pages_ 40 _and_ 41

XIV.--Cut-drive. Right leg firm and straight, left

leg bent and well across

[_Facing page_ 41

XV.--The late cut: right foot well across, left leg

extended so far as to bring heel off ground

[_Between pages_ 42 _and_ 43

XVI.--The late cut: right foot well across, left leg

extended

[_Between pages_ 42 _and_ 43

XVII.--The way of running out with fairly long

steps, weight should be chiefly on right foot

and right leg should be ready to serve as firm

pivot

[_Between pages_ 46 _and_ 47

XVIII.--Abel’s way of running out, with feet interlacing

[_Between pages_ 46 _and_ 47

XIX.--Turning quickly at the crease after the first

run

[_Facing page_ 50

XX.--Bowling, third position: bowling arm extended

fully forwards and downwards, body facing

forwards, back leg fully extended

[_Facing page_ 61

XXI.--Bowling, second position: bowling arm extended

fully upwards, body coming round with

arm

[_Facing page_ 61

XXII.--Bowling, first position: bowling arm back

and down, body facing sideways, weight on back

leg

[_Facing page_ 67

XXIII.--One of Hirst’s grips when he bowls: the

little finger does not touch the ball, and only the

knuckle of the third finger does

[_Between pages_ 70 _and_ 71

XXIV.--Same grip for right hand bowler

[_Between pages_ 70 _and_ 71

XXV.--Another of Hirst’s grips: all the fingers touch

the ball, the little one only just with its side

[_Between pages_ 70 _and_ 71

XXVI.--Same grip for right hand bowler

[_Between pages_ 70 _and_ 71

XXVII.--Bowler waiting for ball to be thrown in: he

is standing well back from the wicket

[_Facing page_ 91

XXVIII.--Fielding a low ball with one hand: the

opposite leg is fully extended

[_Facing page_ 112

XXIX.--Fielding, second position: the hand drawn

back behind the ear, somewhat further back than

most American Baseball fielders prefer

[_Facing page_ 114

XXX.--Waiting for a catch: elbows ready to draw

back slightly the moment the ball touches the

hands

[_Between pages_ 116 _and_ 117

XXXI.--A one-handed catch: body bent slightly

back from the hips

[_Between pages_ 116 _and_ 117

XXXII.--Fielding a ground ball: no interval left for

the ball to get through; body well down to the

work

[_Between pages_ 118 _and_ 119

XXXIII.--A waiting position at point, where there is

less foot-work than at most places. It is easier

to rise quickly than to stop quickly

[_Between pages_ 118 _and_ 119

XXXIV.--Preparing to throw in with the high action

[_Between pages_ 118 _and_ 119

THE CRICKET OF ABEL, HIRST AND SHREWSBURY.

CHAPTER I.

BATTING AND RUNNING.

I.--INTRODUCTORY.

It was once thought that the universe moved round our earth merely as

its accompanying condition, existing simply and solely for the sake of

our earth. And so the batsman has been, and generally still is, regarded

as the centre of cricket, for whose enjoyment the rest of the players

subsist. Batting seems best worth while, not so much because of the

qualities, such as pluck, which it demands, as because of the pleasure

it may give. The reason why most people like batting, even if they hate

wicket-keeping and fielding and watching, and do not bowl, is the

enjoyment of striking and of scoring runs. Perhaps in this there is some

relic of the desire for hitting and killing--the desire for overcoming

and controlling Nature, for using power. Moreover, batting includes

defence as well as attack; indeed the safest defence may really be to

attack boldly. Batting at its best and fullest involves a complexity of

characteristics: it involves back-play, with gliding and late cutting,

pulling, forward play, with the cut-drive and ordinary drive, the

“half-cock” stroke, the snick; a decision between these varieties,

followed by a hit, then recovery of balance, then a decision whether one

shall run or not, then perhaps a run, then a turn at the crease--and

much besides this. It may involve a great change of habit. Thus in many

other ball-games the ball is hit when it is further off from the

striker’s foot--as in Golf, Racquets, Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Fives. In

Cricket, except in such strokes as the pull and the cut, the ball should

be hit when it is near to the striker’s foot.

He who is not born a batsman, he who wishes to be made--that is, make

himself--an all-round batsman, must learn not only general rules like

this, but also details with regard to the individual strokes. In

studying these details he will meet divergent theories; here again is

scope for individual trial and judgment, and for observation. He can

notice what the best players actually _do_, for, as Murdoch says, this

is of more importance than what they think they do.

The would-be batsman, therefore, is offered perhaps a few really

universal laws, and certainly many general hints, yet he must judge of

each hint by its results in his own case after fair experiment. He must

be a free agent. He may find that the advisers have assumed that he has

little reach, little activity, whereas he may be a Ford or Abel for

reach, a Jessop or Abel for activity, without the safety of a Shrewsbury

or the strength of a Hirst. Why should such a one be tied down by a law

that in forward play he shall not let his bat pass beyond his left foot,

if he has it in his power to send his bat with force many inches beyond

that point, and so smother the ball? Who shall bind down such players?

On the other hand, who shall spoil the slow player’s pleasure and safety

by bidding him run out?

Throughout this chapter all rules or hints are submitted to the test of

utility for the individual. They must be studied; questions must be

asked of coaches and others, who should explain strokes by doing them;

the mechanisms must be found out, and also the causes and reasons for

them. These mechanisms--some will be described later on--must be

mastered, if not in early life, then now; they must be mastered

sensibly, not with huge bats and balls to begin with, but with lighter

implements. The advice must all be judged by its effects.

If the reader will bear in mind that the mechanisms suggested, together

with the other helps, are not necessarily the best (though they are

based on a study of what the best players actually do in games), he will

treat them in the right spirit, with a view to sensible trial and

judgment by fruits. Anyhow, be these helps right or wrong, it is obvious

that, by all except the genius player, _some_ A B C should be acquired

as a personal possession and habit before much regular play has

confirmed bad habits. Mr. Edward Lyttelton insists on this in the

following passage, after he has described what is needed for a correct

stroke:--

“Now from these principles, which some might call truisms, a very

important practical maxim proceeds. All sound rules of batting

should be practised by a young cricketer without the ball as well

as with it. The grammar of the science can be partly learnt in the

bedroom; the application of the rules must be made on the green

sward. Many a finished batsman has tried this plan. Five minutes

devoted every night by an aspiring cricketer to a leg hit, or cut,

or forward play at a phantom ball, will gradually discipline his

sinews to the required posture, besides sending him to bed in a

right frame of mind.

“I think it was Harry Jupp who used to ascribe his astonishingly

good defence to a habit of this kind. He used to place a

large-sized mirror on the floor--not for purposes of personal

vanity--but to see if the bat moved in a straight line. To make the

test better, a line was drawn along the floor from the centre of

the mirror, along which line the bat was to move. The least

deviation was then manifested, not only at the end of the stroke,

but while it was being made.”

2.--THE ALPHABET OF SAFE BATTING.

It is not part of the alphabet of _safe_ batting to meet and attack the

ball always. Both W. G. and C. B. Fry began their careers with safety,

with the stopping of balls; afterwards they proceeded to splendid

execution. The A B C of safe batting is not quite identical with the A B

C of effective batting, which will be considered in subsequent sections

of this chapter.

One of the first rules of safety is said to be to “keep the eye on the

ball.” This rule needs alteration.[2] Before the delivery the eye should

watch the bowler’s arm, wrist, and fingers; Shrewsbury owed to this

observation of something besides the ball a long innings against the

Australians many years ago. To foretell a change in direction, length,

pace, break, etc., is not easy by the sight of the ball alone. It is

after the ball has left the bowler’s hand that it must be sedulously

watched. Nor can it always be watched right on to the bat; exactly how

far it can be watched is a much disputed point. Certainly few batsmen

can carry out the golden rule of Golf. I believe that most of them--I

speak from my own Tennis and Racquet experience--take their eyes off the

cricket-ball too soon. Few err by looking at it too long. In my games,

almost without exception, the longer I look at the ball the better my

stroke is.

The second law is correct timing. There are several kinds of good sight;

I doubt if any one of them by itself brings with it that desirable

faculty, “the good eye.” Ranjitsinhji and others rightly include, under

the timing, the judgment as to the flight (direction, pace, etc.), the

decision as to what is or is not to be done, the command that the best

things shall be done, the correct combination and co-operation of the

requisite parts at just the very moment.[3] I believe that the good eye,

where it is not already a natural or acquired habit, means a splendidly

accurate and therefore healthy working of a vast number of more or less

separate nerve centres and nerves; but that what is often called “a good

eye” is nothing of the sort--it is a mastery of certain correct

mechanisms, which, if a man possesses them for his own, can produce an

even better effect than the most superb eyesight without such mechanism.

I may have a far better sight and eye for games than a fairly

well-taught golfer who knows what muscles to use, and has these as

half-automatic habits; but put me against him, and ask any spectators

which of us has the better eye, and they will very likely point to my

opponent.

If this be so, then the third rule will be _to have already secured_ the

best possible mechanisms, and to have made them easy and sub-conscious;

at first perhaps they may be conquered one by one; in the end, however,

they must be not independent units, but co-operating parts of a

unit--members combining and working together in harmony, as in some

businesses, adding power each to each, relieving one another. These

mechanisms include, for many strokes, and especially the forward

strokes, the “straight bat,” i.e., the bat held straight and not

sideways as it meets the ball; with its handle nearer to the bowler than

its blade is; with the end of its blade just to the side of the left

foot; the bat moving as straight as may be towards the approaching ball

from start to finish (the finish being a follow-through after the ball

has been struck); quickness of foot and leg to start and to move, the

right leg being the base and pivot; the power to get right to the pitch

of the ball or else to wait for it as far back as possible; straight and

fast and full extensions of various limbs in various directions; a

control of many different strokes, and especially, in these days of

fast plumb-wickets, a control of the forward stroke. The reader will

best realise the number of these mechanisms if we mention (and if he

meanwhile realises by trial) _some_ of those which are parts of the

ordinary forward stroke:--the right leg straight and unbent, the right

foot firm, the left foot and leg sent out towards the ball (a little to

the left of the line of flight), the left elbow and wrist shot well

forward at full stretch (in order to keep the ball down), the right

shoulder forward and down, the bat moved straight down and towards the

approaching ball and beyond it (not necessarily straight along the line

between the wickets), the weight brought forward with the head of the

bat, the recovery of balance and position, and the readiness to run

directly after the ball has been struck or missed. If one has run out

first, then the right foot will still have to serve as a firm pivot for

the whole stroke, which must be a single movement. This will give some

idea of what the correct mechanisms are, quite apart from individual

peculiarities in the use of them. Such correct mechanisms may be

acquired separately as I acquired my Tennis mechanisms, and as fencers

acquire their fencing--mechanisms of lunge, wrist-play, etc.; but it is

part of the A B C of correct play _to have already acquired them_ as

correct members of a correct whole before the game begins. Add to these

the mechanisms and the combination of mechanisms for other strokes, such

as back-play, cut, pull, etc., and the reader will agree that the A B C

of batting is no light work for anyone, except the born player who

apparently has not had to learn it letter by letter.

Out of the list of useful mechanisms a few will now be suggested. It is

for the reader to judge how far they actually are used in the strokes of

leading experts. Each example must be compared with the positions and

movements of the best models, as shown in photographs like these, or in

actual games or practice.

SOME SAMPLE EXERCISES.

Before attempting these exercises, the reader should find out the

principles of correct practice, some of which are suggested in Chapter

VIII. One or two of the most vital may be selected here.

(1.) Decide whether it is worth while to play Cricket at all; if so,

whether it is worth while to improve your standard of skill; if so,

whether these and your own exercises are likely to be of appreciable

help. (The exercises are not meant to take the place of net-practice and

games, which are indispensable, but to make them more pleasant and

useful.)

(2.) During the exercises, concentrate your whole attention either upon

the muscles at work, or upon their reflection in a looking-glass.

(3.) Aim at correctness, and therefore begin slowly and carefully before

you repeat any given movement. Freedom, pace, endurance, strength will

then increase almost of their own accord. Freedom and pace may best be

acquired by movements done at first without implements, afterwards with

light implements. I found these two preliminary stages invaluable in the

preparation for my games, perhaps especially for the sharp movements of

Racquets. The worst possible beginning is any “exerciser” that requires

a tense grip.

(4.) In case of a fault (discovered by yourself or pointed out by

others), seek to exaggerate the opposite fault.

Among the most useful exercises for batting, as for bowling and

fielding, are the fast and full and straight extensions of various

muscles and muscle-combinations, with economy of the unused parts, and

without loss of, or with immediate recovery of, the body’s balance, and

readiness to be directed elsewhither. It is likely that these pages

contain errors, but I think that if one were to ask a good player where

he ached most of all after his first practice or game in the season, one

would find that the aches were mainly due to these extension movements

(of the latissimus dorsi, below and behind the arm-pit, etc.).

For the feet and legs, (i.) Lunge far forward (but not so far as to

strain yourself) with the left foot and leg in a direct line (not a

curve) in various directions (perhaps along various chalk lines upon the

floor) with full weight--the head should come almost over the left

foot--but with rapid recovery of balance.

(ii.) Start to run in the forward direction afterwards.

(iii.) Practise the position and movement for backing up and a quick

start to run.

(iv.) Practise the movement for turning at the crease, as shown in the

photograph of Shrewsbury.

For the neck. Move the head round, at first slowly and carefully, from

side to side, then up and down, and so on; but do not strain.

For the trunk: the body’s force is great, as--to use an old

illustration--one can see when one bumps against a wall in the dark.

(i.) The body-swing from the hips is a most useful movement. Keeping the

legs as stiff as possible, and the head as still as possible, twist

round the shoulders, first to the right, then to the left. (ii.) Bend

the trunk forwards, and then sideways, from the hips.

For the shoulders, arm, and forearm. (i.) To the lunge of the left foot

add an equally full and direct and fast lunge of the left shoulder,

elbow, and wrist. Your head should come forward also, above your left

foot. Imagine yourself to be aiming at a ball, and see that your left

wrist is in a line between your eyes and some object, say a chair’s leg

in the bedroom. (ii.) Jerk the forearm (and wrist) as if you were

whipping a peg-top or shaking out a clogged stylographic pen.

For the wrist and fingers. Flex and twist the wrist and each finger far

and fast in various directions. After freedom and pace have been

acquired, but not before, some strength can be added by resistance--as

by holding a dumb-bell during the movements, or by using some grip

machine.

* * * * *

Let us apply these--a few out of many mechanisms for all-round

batting--to forward-play. The excellent words of Mr. Edward Lyttelton

must be quoted first. He says:--

“You will see from these directions that it is a very complex

action, far from easy to do all at once, so that by careful

practice if not by the light of nature you must first learn to do

it properly without the ball, then with it. Establish the motion as

a habit before the stress of the crisis begins.... It is thought

that just as great players of yore reached eminence without being

subject to coaching in early youth, or indeed in some cases after

being completely self-taught, so boys of the present day would

stand a better chance if they were less drilled than they sometimes

are, and were left to find the use of their limbs by a vigorous,

if unkempt style of hitting. The Englishman’s instinct, said a

Frenchman, is to go out of doors and hit or kick something as hard

as he can. This being so, why not let boys learn to hit as they

please till they are sixteen or seventeen, and then perhaps a few

rules might be taught them? But if taught beforehand, they only

cramp the style, and take away the enjoyment of the game. Nature

must be the best teacher; etc., etc.... But it is not at all easy

to secure this habit, and therefore you should remember it

carefully in your bedroom....”

Pretend that you are going to play forward, and hold a stick in your

hands. Now, moving your fingers as you come forward (see below), lunge

with your left foot along a straight line, and send your head over your

left foot. (If you tend to deviate from the line, probably towards the

left, then exaggerate towards the right.) Keep your eye on the foot till

the foot can take care of itself. Regard it as a servant that you must

first watch carefully till the correct work shall have become

half-automatic; then only an occasional glance of supervision will be

required. Add to this lunge the extended lunge of the left wrist, elbow,

and shoulder straight along a line parallel to and slightly to the right

of the left foot.

The stick should be lifted straight back and up before the stroke

(though the blade of a bat, as in Racquets, will face outwards at the

top of the lift), and should then come forward in a direct line close to

the left foot, and afterwards follow through beyond the left foot. Do

not forget to keep both that foot along _its_ line and the left wrist

along _its_ line by aiming say at some spot on the wall. After the lunge

with the whole weight, recover balance, look up, and prepare to run

forward. Later on, do this and actually start forwards a few steps. That

is part of the physical apparatus which a good average forward-stroke

demands. There is no space to describe the requirements of the other

strokes--the cut, etc. They can easily be seen from the photographs and

from the play of experts. And some additional exercises will be offered

under the special headings below.

PRACTICE OUTSIDE THE NETS.

In addition to these and other movements, which may be tried at first

either before a large mirror or else with a teacher behind to correct

and perform correctly by way of instruction, Mr. Edward Lyttelton

mentions the practice of certain strokes with a ball in the pavilion.

Any old room will do. And the narrower the implement of batting the more

easily it will show the errors of batting; the lighter the implement,

the better it will develop pace and freedom. A stump or stick or

broomstick will do; a light indiarubber ball will do.

If you cannot get a bowler, then you can throw the ball--a Lawn Tennis

ball will do--up against a wall, and play forward or back to it with a

stick. I know a player who did this with very good results.

Games of “Snob-cricket,” and of Cricket with smaller ball and narrower

bat, should be far more frequently tried for the sake of practice.

Imaginary strokes may be made during idle moments. Fancy yourself

playing straight forward with full weight, or fancy yourself stepping

across and back with the right foot and then cutting with a jerk of

shoulder and forearm and some wrist-flick. I do a great deal of Racquet

and Tennis practice in this way; needless to say, I play infinitely

better in imagination than in reality! But I know that thus I help to

make my ideal real. After such an imagination-practice I often reproduce

improved strokes with a light racket-handle in my bedroom.

NET-PRACTICE.

If too many bowlers are bowling at one net, the variety is bad; in

actual play one has no such variety in a single over. I would rather see

three bowlers each bowl an over in turn, while the two others field. If

you cannot reform this, then make the best of it by trying to remember

the previous balls of each bowler, as if you were playing several games

of chess at the same time.

Begin on good wickets, so as to habituate confidence and pluck. Don’t

practise correct Cricket (you can, however, practise the bold

running-out game for a caking wicket) if the ground be fiery. Loss of

nerve is fatal.

Play safely and gently till you get set; defend against the difficult

balls; then, when you are set, meet and hit every ball, except for the

rare “half-cock” strokes to which you may have to resort.

The next stage is to place the ball. While on the one hand you must

count every chance you give, and every ball an inch or two from the

bails, as a wicket down, you may, on the other hand, venture on

experiments; you may determine to hit a ball pitched too short or too

far up to one of two or three places.

Notice the sort of ball which beats you most frequently, and find out

why it does so, and how you can best play it--perhaps this may be by

stepping back or forwards and turning it into some other ball.

Aim at developing your individual strong points, _but_--

(1.) Do not do this until you have mastered the fundamental elements of

various strokes; and

(2.) Do not be content with this. Gradually bring up your weak points to

the level of your strong points. Indeed, practise them far more than

your strong points.

GAMES.

While many hints must be reserved for the last section of this chapter,

we may here say a few words about games as distinct from training,

exercises, and net-practice; though it will be necessary to touch on the

importance of training, for success in the games. What better help is

there against the nervousness so fatal to success than the habit of full

and deep breathing? Can you be nervous at all so long as you breathe

fully and deeply? What better help, towards the steadiness and

confidence so important to success, than the clear eye that comes from

clean living, the feeling that the fingers “nip” the bat, the feeling

that the correct mechanisms are under control, the self-reliance gained

by net-practice on good pitches?

This steadiness is most necessary at the beginning of an innings. As we

mentioned above, two of the great players tell us that at first they

were content to defend, often merely to stop balls without attacking

them. Historians and natural historians and other scientists show us

that each individual human being in itself reproduces quickly the past

evolutions of the human race, being, for example, a seed, fish-like,

reptile-like, ape-like, then man-like. So each individual innings may

quickly reproduce the past stages of practice and progress, safety and

defence coming before severity and attack, except where--as on some

caking wickets--safety and defence consist in an apparently rash rushing

out to smite. As a rule, however, no liberties should be taken until the

bowling has been mastered and the eye is “in.” Time may be saved if one

watches the previous batsmen and finds out how they get out. Moreover,

just as Spofforth first tested the pitch and its pace and peculiarities

on any given day, before he bowled his best, so a batsman may also test

the pitch.

For different pitches demand different plays--different mechanisms,

different tactics. Few, like Shrewsbury, have a style adapted alike to

the billiard-table ground and the drying-ground. Ranjitsinhji’s book

gives most useful remarks on these differences.

While you are batting, count a chance as a blessed indication of error;

treat it as I treat a premonitory pain--do not wait for the illness

itself, but find out and correct the mistake at once. You may have to

exaggerate in the opposite direction--perhaps to play forward further

out to the right than seems natural to you on that day.

WAITING FOR THE BALL.

Guard is taken not only to give one a sense of the direction of any

ball, but also to give one the correct place for the right foot: the toe

of the right foot should be quite near to the block. Therefore one

should not have a block either to the off (in which case the right toes

might be in front of the wicket), or short and too near the wicket.

Before and after taking guard one should look round to see how the field

is placed.

As to the waiting-position, one may try several and choose that which is

the best basis and starting-pose for _most_ ordinary strokes. But first

one should develop the various muscles, especially those needed for the

quick movements; otherwise one might adopt an attitude suited for safe

play when a more Jessop-like or at least a more Stoddart-like or

Abel-like attitude might be better for one. A good attitude for many

will be Shrewsbury’s as seen in the Photograph (I.). The body should be

nearly sideways,

[Illustration: I.--Waiting for the ball, with the weight balanced almost

evenly upon the two feet (which are near together), but rather on the

right foot.

[_To face page 22._

]

with the legs (or only the left leg) very slightly bent, and ready to

move backwards or forwards. One should not be stiff, but should be

inclined to looseness, until one knows which ball is coming; till then

one should be ready to run or jump out if it should be desirable. The

feet should probably be quite near to one another, the right being near

the crease and parallel to the wicket, the left outside the crease and

pointing more towards the bowler. Probably both should be resting on

their balls, and rather--so Mr. Fry advises--on the insides of their

balls.

The weight of most batsmen should be upon the right foot, the batsman’s

basis. Abel stands on the ball of his right foot; that is good if one be

quick-footed. Ranjitsinhji explains some of the reasons why the weight

should rest on the right foot--he instances several forms of exercise,

such as boxing; for Tennis and Racquets I have spent hours in practising

quick movements in all directions with the stiff right leg as my pivot.

The left foot may be slightly up and prepared to move out along some

forward line. In case of a late cut one has time to shift the weight on

to it and make _it_ the pivot.

The bat is usually held with one hand near the top of the handle and the

other hand near the middle of the handle; if one holds the right hand

lower down one gets more control, but may lose some pace; one is more

apt to stoop, and to lift the ball. But for some strokes, as for certain

late cuts, the shifted grip is often preferable; one should be able to

slip the right hand down the handle towards the blade, near to which so

many of the stone-wallers love to keep it. As the right foot and leg

hold the ground more firmly, so does the right hand and wrist hold the

bat more firmly, though there should be no tight and tense grip till the

stroke is being made. One can--as Abel and Shrewsbury put it--“feel the

nip” of the bat without any unnecessary tension. Not a few players have

the grip of the two hands almost equal.

The left elbow should be well up, so as to keep the handle of the bat

nearer to the bowler and thus to prevent a chance of catches. And the

whole body and head should be well up as the bowler begins to bowl, so

that the best possible view may be given.

One must watch the fingers and wrist and arm of the bowler; a change in

his fingers

[Illustration: II.--Forward play: the bat has been drawn straight up and

back (not in a curve) before the stroke.

[_To face page 25._

]

will mean a change of the ball he will bowl. Thus Hirst’s balls will

differ according to the way in which his fingers are arranged (see the

photographs). Abel generally watches the wrist rather than the fingers.

While the bowler is bowling, one should usually draw the bat up and

back, without flourish, in the line opposite to the line of the

approaching ball. The photograph of Shrewsbury (II.) shows the bat

lifted for a straight ball which he is going to play (not drive)

straight forward. By lifting the bat one gets more impetus and can use

one’s height and weight better.

Attention and alertness--these are to be maintained. “This one thing I

do now,” “On this depends everything”; such are samples of the

suggestions which I often make to myself at my own games. Yet I try to

economise energy and not to waste any of it; attention without tension,

alertness without fidgetiness--these are right.

BACK-PLAY; THE GLIDE; THE HALF-COCK.

“Timing the ball is the secret,” says Giffen. It is _a_ secret, not

_the_ secret. Nor is it a simple rule; timing is (see page 7) a

concoction of many good things.

A simpler general rule is not to leave a large space between the bat and

the legs, lest one should be bowled off one’s pads. The photograph of

Abel shows no intervening space at all.

Another simple general (but not universal) rule is to end up--as in

forward play--with the handle held by the _first finger and thumb of the

right hand and of the left_; the other three fingers scarcely have any

influence here. The nails of all four fingers--as in the

photograph--should face the bowler (or yourself if you were opposite a

mirror). The bat must not be tilted upwards nor drawn back behind the

line of the right foot, which is firmly on the ground, and is certainly

not drawn away to the leg-side.

About the “fixed right foot” there is--as we shall see--a great fallacy;

theory has been allowed to controvert the practice of the leading

experts. Shrewsbury in the photograph (III.) has his right foot firm

indeed, and not shifted to the leg-side, but back almost to the wicket

itself. W. G., in a photograph in Ranjitsinhji’s book, has his right

foot back, though not nearly so far back. I scarcely ever see a player

whose regular _habit_ is not to shift back his right foot somewhat

[Illustration: III.--Playing back: the right foot has retired nearer the

wicket, so as to give longer time for seeing the ball.

NOTE.--The bat should be held straight. This photograph was taken before

Shrewsbury was in practice.

[_To face page 26._

]

in back play. Shrewsbury will tell one to get back far enough, moving

back with the ball. This obviously gives one more time to see the ball

and its break, turning a ball that is just a trifle short into a ball

that is nearly a long hop; if the legs be--as they often are--in front

of the wicket, so as to give a still better sight of the ball and also

to save a play-on, then the retreat of the right foot is obviously

useful. Others, however, do not move it in front of the wicket. But

nearly all back-play is actually practised with the retirement of the

right foot. Murdoch’s words are worth quoting at some length:--

“In the majority of cases, my experience has been that, by moving

the right foot as much or as little as judgment dictates, the

stroke is made with far more ease than by having your right foot a

fixture. If you will take the trouble to notice all players, you

will see for yourself that in almost every case when they are

playing back the right foot is always moved. And, again, you will

find you have far more command and power over the ball, and

especially so over a rising one, and you can finish your stroke in

a far safer way.... My advice to you is to move the right foot

when, in your judgment, it requires it; if you find you can play

the ball with ease by not moving it, well and good; but should you

at any time think you could play the ball better by getting back a

little, why do so, and you will find it will give you a particle

more time and enable you to make things very much easier.

“I think the art of boxing very applicable to forward and back play

of cricket, for whilst boxing is nearly all forward strokes, there

are many times when a boxer has to get back, and he generally finds

what a great difference there is in receiving a hit whilst standing

principally on his right foot, and when he has moved it a few

inches in getting back. So it is with your back-play at cricket,

the velocity of the ball is not so great two feet back from your

crease as it is right on it. The advantage of time is no doubt

momentary, but still it is an advantage, and one that I have proved

and seen to be very beneficial.”

One kind of glide-stroke forms a special branch of back-play: it is to

be seen in the photograph of Abel (IV.). Ranjitsinhji is the master of

this most useful stroke; he plays it for balls on the wicket as well as

for balls to leg. Others use it chiefly or solely for balls off the

wicket. For this stroke I believe every player has the right foot back.

The bat’s face is held not flat towards the bowler, but slanting in one

of many directions on the leg-side, according to the spot to which one

wishes to place the ball.

The “half-cock” stroke is Grace’s favourite help in time of trouble.

When he hesitates between forward and back-play, and especially after he

has decided on forward-play and

[Illustration: IV.--The glide: both feet well back.

[_To face page 28._

]

[Illustration:

V.--Playing back: right foot retired, to give extra time for seeing

the ball; weight on right foot. This is Shrewsbury’s stroke when he

feels “beaten” by the bowler.

[_To face page 29._

]

then doubts whether he can reach out near enough to the pitch of the

ball to smother the ball, he is content to strike the ball scarcely at

all, if at all, and to hold his bat half way between its forward and

back positions, and wait in hope.

Shrewsbury, however, if the ball be straight, prefers to bring his bat

straight down on to the block. He is to be seen doing this in the

photograph (V.).

It appears to me that, as most Lawn Tennis players learn back-play

securely before they learn forward-play (play, i.e., at the net), so

most cricketers should learn back-play securely; they should learn to

play forward, of course; but, as Mr. C. B. Fry says, they should not

learn that only. Inasmuch as back-play is the easier and more

natural--except for the art of not drawing away the right foot towards

the leg side--it should probably precede the mastery of forward-play,

towards which mastery the “half-cock” stroke might form a transition

step.

FORWARD-PLAY AND SAFE DRIVING.

There may be days when scarcely any forward-play is needed; there may be

experts who prefer back-play even on fast and true pitches, just as Mr.

A. W. Gore, the amateur Lawn Tennis champion of 1901, prefers habitual

back-play at his game. But every player should be able to play forward,

particularly to swift good-length balls on quick plumb-wickets which are

either too dry or else too slippery to bite the ball and allow it to

break; on the fast slippery wickets, however, forward-play must be

accurate, because of the occasional shooter. Besides the safety of such

forward-play, since it can smother the ball, there is the extra delight

of meeting if not of attacking, and also of performing a movement which

is not by any means natural--the extra delight of overcoming a

mechanical difficulty.

We may begin to study this forward-play (for which we have already

offered certain exercises--see above) by a couple of quotations from

well-known writers.

“The golden rules to guide the beginner in playing forward may be

very briefly stated. (1.) Play forward when the ball is fairly well

pitched up, but remember that the faster the bowling and the faster

the wicket the more frequently will forward-play be the safer style

of play. (2.) Keep the bat quite

[Illustration:

VI.--Playing forward to a ball on the off: the straight bat has

passed near and beyond the left foot in a “follow-through.” Notice

the fingers, especially the first finger and thumb of the left

hand. At the end of the stretch the left arm is fully extended, and

the right heel has come off the ground.

[_Between pages 30 and 31._

]

[Illustration:

VII.--Playing forward to a ball slightly to the leg side: see

remark on previous photograph, and notice the head well over the

bat-handle.

[_Between pages 30 and 31._

]

[Illustration: VIII.--Playing forward to a straight ball: see remarks on

previous photographs.

[_Between pages 30 and 31._

]

straight and the left shoulder and elbow well forward. (3.) Get as

near to the pitch of the ball as possible. (4.) Do not put the bat

further forward than the level of the left foot, which ought to be

thrown right forward.”

“No forward-stroke is absolutely safe unless the ball is smothered.

There are many very beautiful strokes effected by forward-play at

the rising ball. Such strokes, however, are purely plumb-wicket

strokes.”

In the face of this latter quotation, and of (3) of the first quotation,

and in the face of the habitual practice of many leading experts (see

Photographs VI., VII., VIII., of Abel and Shrewsbury) in following

through with the bat beyond the left foot, the statement in (4) is

absurd. And yet, as we shall see in the Chapter on Fallacies, it appears

in almost every work on Cricket.

Personally I should far sooner see the general rule stated as follows:--

“At the root of good ordinary forward-play lies _extension_ both

direct (not curved) and well-timed and well-co-ordinated (not too

early or too late, and not piece by piece--for example, first the

foot, then the left elbow), and fast and powerful (not slow and

tame), and full (not arrested); at the root of it lies such

extension of right leg, left foot, left shoulder, left elbow, left

wrist; _but within the limits of power, and of balance or rapid

recovery of balance_.” When Abel or Shrewsbury can thus safely and

strongly reach out an extra fifteen inches beyond the left foot,

and thus smother a ball and its break, why forbid it? If only in

case a ball hangs a bit, and also for the sake of the

follow-through--I believe that nearly every ball-game stroke

demands a follow-through--such a passing of the blade’s end beyond

the left foot may be advisable.

Be this as it may--and it must be settled by practice, not by theory--at

any rate the law holds good that for ordinary ground-play (as distinct

from the drive out of the ground) the left wrist must come before the

right, the right shoulder being kept down.

The base, the safe ἀφορμή of forward-play, is the firm right foot

(nearly parallel to the three wickets) and the straight right leg. From

this base the left leg has, as it were, to radiate forward in one or

another straight line towards the approaching balls; not straight at

those balls, but a few inches to one’s left; certainly not necessarily

straight forward down the line from wicket to wicket, as the forward

play of Abel to a ball on the off will show (see Photograph VI.); in

fact, to a left hand bowler round the wicket one should as a rule _not_

play along this line, but along a line further outwards to one’s right.

The left toe points, and the left foot moves, not _at_ but towards the

line of the approaching ball, allowance being made for a curl or a break

that will alter this line. It is the line that the ball will be making

just when it strikes the bat (or, rather, just when it is struck by the

bat) that has to be met by the bat, which must move in a line a few

inches to the right of the left foot. The line both of left foot and of

bat must be direct, not curved.

Over one’s bat comes one’s head: as Abel says, one must get above the

ball and smell it. The bat itself, for ground-play, must not be tilted

with its blade nearer to the bowler than its handle is, lest a catch be

sent up. Its direction from the line when one lifts it before the stroke

(see Photograph II.), right up to the end of the follow-through (see

Photograph VIII.), must be as straight as possible; like a boxer’s blow

straight from the shoulder, and not like the swirling arm of the

unskilled navvy, even if both these movements might reach the same goal

eventually. The curved line means a loss of time and of power, as well

as a risk--for it allows a smaller margin of error.

The stroke should be all in one piece, the power beginning when the bat

is near to the left leg, and of course reaching its fulness from each

part of the mechanism just when the blade hits the ball.

To what part of the mechanism would one do best to attend? The firm

right foot is the base, the _point d’appui_, the _terminus a quo_. I

should say that the _terminus ad quem_, the point of limit, should be

the outside joint of the left wrist. Let that go right out to its

stretch. Most of us, by taking thought, _can_ add an inch or so to our

reach. I added two inches to my (easy) forward reach within two months.

The hand’s grip should change as the left wrist shoots outward. In the

waiting position the bowler (or you yourself in a mirror) can see the

back of your left hand; then

[Illustration:

IX.--Position of hands and fingers at the end of the forward

stroke: the left hand has shifted round, the right hand holds the

bat with thumb and first finger only.

[_To face page 35._

]

back and up goes the bat--not too far, but enough to get power (my own

ordinary Tennis and Racquet strokes and many a golfer’s ordinary strokes

go up and back quite a short way as compared with the old-fashioned

“complete” swing); then, as the bat comes down and forward, you yourself

(if you had not your eye on the ball) should be able to see the back of

your bat and above it the back of your left hand (as in Photograph IX.

of Shrewsbury’s hands). So far as the left side is concerned, the stroke

is an exaggeration of a left-handed backhand stroke, except that the

thumb in cricket does not support the handle as it often does in

Racquets.

If any one cannot yet play forward, but wishes to learn the art, let him

practise (as I have recently done) this turn of the fingers, this

outward stretch of left wrist, left elbow, left shoulder, straight along

a line, full, swift, weighty. It is amazing how soon the straight line

can become easy if one works faithfully along a line upon the floor and

opposite a mirror, correcting all errors by the opposite exaggerations,

but first of all securing the foundation--the long straight lunge of the

left foot. Sandow and all high authorities say, Throw the whole will,

focus the whole attention, concentrate the whole mind, fix the whole

vital force, upon the muscles which you are using; first do this upon

the left foot, then upon the left wrist (if not upon the handle of the

bat, strange as it may sound).

Having acquired this free forward line, then practise a speedy recovery

of balance afterwards, and a readiness to start running. Later on, add

to these two a few actual steps. Eventually, though you may have had to

conquer each mechanism by itself, as I conquered every part of my Tennis

and Racquet strokes separately, yet you will be able to combine them

together so harmoniously that no one will guess or believe how you

gained your stroke. It appears so exactly like a unity, so exactly like

one single action--that lunge with full weight, and recovery of

equilibrium--that people tell me I never could have learnt it

part-by-part. But I _did_. I can tell every part, though now the whole

move is a unit. There is absolutely no necessity to begin by doing the

whole stroke at once, so long as eventually you can combine the various

members of it into a harmonious whole. Otherwise any one individual bad

part may spoil the whole effect.

This correct stroke frustrates the bowler’s attempt to make you tilt up

your bat’s blade and send a catch: having your left wrist well forward

beyond your right, you keep your strokes down. Another common fault

besides the tilted bat is the crooked bat, the bat of which the blade is

too far to the off; this fault is obviated chiefly by the straight right

leg: bend the right leg, and the tendency is for both these faults to

appear.

Forward play may be either defensive or offensive. The latter kind

merges into the ground-drive. In either case the average-eyed person

must get to the pitch of the ball and smother it, or must not play

forward, but either do the half-cock stroke or else step back and give

himself the largest possible time in which to see the ball’s flight. The

defensive should as a rule precede the offensive, both while one is

learning to play forward and also while one is beginning any innings at

a net or in a game. A few forward stretches before play will perhaps

save a premature dismissal through stiffness.

In forward ground-driving the rule of not letting the bat’s blade go

beyond the left foot is far more reasonable. One must get well over the

ball, the power coming chiefly from just that jerk of shoulder,

fore-arm, and wrist which Latham and Pettitt and a few others use at

Racquets--the jerk of some whippers of peg-tops. But for this drive the

bat need not move _quite_ so near to the left foot. Moreover the bat may

finish up with a smaller follow-through. Let the forward left elbow

arrest the swing of the right arm, lest the bat be tilted and the ball

rise: that wrench of the left elbow-joint is a satisfactory sign.

The forward off-drive (for a ball not coming at the wicket) allows of a

far freer swing, and, if you see it well, of a far less straight bat. It

needs more right wrist and less left elbow restraint. Indeed, it may end

up with the bat over the left shoulder. Photograph XIII. shows Abel’s

position for such a drive, though the position is better suited for a

cut-drive.

For the forward on-drive the left foot is pointed out towards mid-on.

THE PULL AND HIGH DRIVE.

There used to be a fallacy that the pull was bad form because it was

ungraceful; but now-a-days grace is of little account

[Illustration: X.--Preparing to drive with a pull: the left leg is well

out so that the bat may get nearer to the pitch of the ball.]

unless it is useful. Hirst’s pull will count as four, while graceful

“good form” will courteously return the same ball to the bowler and

score nothing. It was W. G. and his brother who subordinated so-called

art to utilitarianism. The only valid objection to the pull is that it

is most dangerous as a habitual stroke; whereas for a full pitch or a

long hop it may be, as Shrewsbury says, least dangerous as well as most

paying, since it may need less power and may go to a part of the ground

least thickly studded with fielders.

The mistake is not in the pulling _per se_, but, as Ranjitsinhji

insists, in the choice of the wrong ball for pulling, or else--we may

add--in the wrong way of pulling the right ball.

As there is elsewhere a forward-play as well as a back-play, so there is

with pulls. Abel is shown giving a forward pull, in Photograph X.;

notice that the left foot is right out so that the bat gets well to the

pitch of the ball. If one could always ensure that, pulling would be the

best stroke in the game. This step out adds to the safety of the pull

when the ball will pitch say two yards from the batsman.

The back-play pull is for a shorter ball. Hirst is making such a pull in

Photograph XI. (and Photograph XII. which represents a different kind of

pull by Shrewsbury). Hirst has moved back and turned a somewhat short

ball into a long hop. Into this stroke he will put the full body-swing

from the hips. He might do this stroke equally well with a good full

pitch to the off. To run out (either to slow bowling or to ordinary

bowling on a difficult wicket) and then to “volley” round to leg used to

be the one stroke that I could do reasonably well. Even then I often

erred in running out timidly and in using my wrists rather than my trunk

and shoulders.

Whereas the long hop and the ordinary full pitch may be placed thus, the

half-volley can seldom be safely pulled. It is hard to direct. But with

all these strokes, whether pulls or drives, the law of “the left elbow

and wrist well forward to prevent catches” may be ignored if one can get

to the pitch of the ball by coming forward, or else get it as a long hop

by stepping back, and then can place it safely away from any fielder. If

one can, then one need never mind about sending

[Illustration: XI.--Preparing to pull a short ball: right foot across,

so as to help the stroke well round to leg.

[_Between pages 40 and 41._

]

[Illustration: XII.--Preparing to pull a short ball: right foot across

and well back so as to make the short ball still shorter.

[_Between pages 40 and 41._

]

[Illustration: XIII.--Hook-stroke to leg: both feet well back, but

weight on right foot.

[_Between pages 40 and 41._

]

[Illustration: XIV.--Cut-drive. Right leg firm and straight, left leg

bent and well across.

[_To face page 41._

]

high balls or playing with a crooked bat.

The useful hook-stroke to leg is seen in Photograph XIII.

CUTTING.

Ranjitsinhji rightly distinguishes several kinds of cuts, and advanced

players must be referred to his book for details. Here one must be

content to notice the cut-drive (forward-play to some spot between point

and extra-cover, as in Photograph XIV. of Abel), and the late-cut

(back-play to some spot between point and short slip, as in the

photographs of Abel and Shrewsbury). Here once more we have forward and

back play, the latter allowing more time.

The cut-drive is good for a short ball on the off. The left foot is sent

out to the off, the bat swings back and generally somewhat up, very much

as it does to the pull-drive. Abel is seen preparing for a cut-drive in

Photograph XIV. He will get right on to the top of the ball.

The downward movement, for the sake of safety, applies also to the

late-cut, with regard to which we have already exposed the fallacy that

it is a stroke done entirely with the wrists.[4] The wrists may do some

of the directing at the last moment, but the large movement and the

force is _usually_ given chiefly by the fore-arm-jerk, the

shoulder-jerk, a little trunk-movement, and (with some players) the step

with the right foot across the wicket. Let a hundred experts make

imaginary or real late-cuts for half-an-hour, and I guarantee that the

wrists will not be the only parts that ache. Indeed I have seen many

players cut safely and effectively with absolutely rigid wrists. As I

have already said, the motion is nearer to that of shaking out a

stylographic pen or whipping a peg-top; it is akin to the Racquet stroke

of Latham or the Tennis stroke of Pettitt. Watch the forearm and the

shoulder of a stripped player, and this will be clear.

The late-cut is most safely used against fast and not too short bowling

on a quick pitch; it does not oppose the ball’s flight, but rather

increases or at least directs that flight. It is not to be rashly tried

[Illustration: XV.--The late cut: right foot well across, left leg

extended so far as to bring heel off ground.

[_Between pages 42 and 43._

]

[Illustration: XVI.--The late cut: right foot well across, left leg

extended.

[_Between pages 42 and 43._

]

against slow bowling, especially if this breaks much, on a slow or

caking wicket; for it needs very accurate timing.

In this late-cut the right leg is moved back and across the wicket (see

Photograph XIV. of Shrewsbury’s legs), so that the left leg and foot now

does what the right leg and foot do for the other strokes--namely, serve

as a pivot. Some move the right foot and then make the stroke; I believe

Ranjitsinhji generally prefers this plan. Others, like Abel, often make

the stroke as a single movement. Others use now one plan and now the

other. Anyhow the weight passes from the left on to the right leg, which

is bent. Shrewsbury, in the photograph (XV.), is allowing his left foot

to rise slightly on its ball. Contrast Abel, in XVI.

He does not alter his ordinary grip, and he uses his wrists a good deal;

others let their right hand slide down the handle towards the blade, and

sometimes let their left hand slide after it. The bat strikes downwards,

passing about twelve inches over the wicket.

The direction of the cut is most important: this depends partly on the

presence or absence of a wrist movement, partly, as Ranjitsinhji says,

on the moment at which one strikes the ball--the earlier hit goes

squarer (nearer to point), the later hit goes finer (nearer to short

slip).

The late-cut involves not a little risk. It may be well at the beginning

of an innings to study the art of

LEAVING BALLS ALONE.

A good length or “blind” ball on the off-side, and a certain kind of

bumping long hop (almost out of one’s reach) are intended for a catch

behind the wicket. Some may be cut or driven, but it would be safer to

let a few pass by (unless they are going to break in) till one sees what

they are doing. The continued practice of this plan is not for the good

of Cricket as a form of sport.

The use of the legs to defend the wicket has been another much-discussed

topic. Ranjitsinhji rightly points out that it requires skill and is not

unknown in the play of the best experts. Here as elsewhere the fault

lies less in the use than in the excessive use.

MOVING OUT.

If Shrewsbury and others have been censured as too cautious in letting

certain balls alone, and in playing certain other balls with their pads

instead of their bats, the runner-out is censured for the opposite

reason--for a ridiculous rashness. This is a fallacy. To run out is

often the safest policy: it may mean to smother an otherwise difficult

ball. Abel and Jessop, like Latham at Racquets and Tennis, play with

their feet as much as with their heads. The best illustration that

occurs to me of “the wisdom of anticipation” (stigmatized as “the folly

of rashness”) is the running up to volley or half-volley the service at

Racquets. Often one can take a ball best by letting it nearly fall to

the ground at its second bounce--that is, by turning into a “long hop”;

but if it be a good length service, or one with a heavy cut, it may be

more prudent to run up and thus change it into a comparatively harmless

plaything, as a child may deal with a snake by fearless handling.

Murdoch is most emphatic on this point, when he says:--“No, I think the

feet play very important parts in batting, and both of them should have

the greatest scope possible. I advise all players to learn to use their

feet quickly and well, and it will be the means of getting you out of

many a difficulty. By being able to get to a ball quickly you make it an

easy one where if you had remained in your crease you would have found

it a most difficult one to stop. Once you get into the way of doing this

you will never move the right foot unless you require to do so to make

your stroke. In all forward play it is absolutely necessary for you to

keep the right foot well on the ground.”

There are three ways of moving out to a ball; in all three ways one must

not draw the right foot away, but one must keep the right foot as the

pivot; and one must come out wholeheartedly, not hesitatingly.

Shrewsbury will often jump out, coming down on to his right foot first

with his body-weight upon its ball. He who tries this should be prepared

to keep his balance and if necessary to jump back again into his ground.

Most others run out sideways with small or large steps. See Photograph

XVII.

Abel runs out more quickly than these. His legs, as it were, intertwine

neatly in the way shown in Photograph XVIII. His first step, with the

left foot, is well across the

[Illustration: XVII.--The way of running out with fairly long steps,

weight should be chiefly on right foot, and right leg should be ready to

serve as firm pivot.

[_Between pages 46 and 47._

]

[Illustration: XVIII.--Abel’s way of running out, with feet interlacing.

[_Between pages 46 and 47._

]

wicket and towards the off-side; his second step, with the right foot;

the action may be repeated.

This sideways running is not easy: it needs considerable practice

backwards and forwards before one can not only do it but also maintain

one’s poise and be ready to hit the ball afterwards. A jump or a run

out, even with a loss of poise, may be far better policy than to wait

for a “teaser.” Two quotations from high authority are worth citing

here.

“I do not think that batsmen run out enough at slow bowling or at

lobs. For some undiscovered reason, there is a floating idea that

running out and rashness are synonymous. As a matter of fact, to

run out is often the safest thing one can do. It makes a difficult

ball into an easy one, and often enables the batsman to make a

forcing-stroke along the ground instead of a risky high-drive. The

man who plays cautiously is invariably regarded with reverence and

favour by those who know. He is supposed to play the correct game.

He often ties himself into extraordinary knots by playing what he

considers a safe dashing game. There are some players who, not

being quick on their feet, ought never to run out.”

“A running-out stroke should be played with the same amount of care

and concentration as a back-stroke. There is an air of abandon

about quick-footed players which is very deceptive; they often run

out to meet the ball, because they feel safer in doing so than in

staying at home.”

Short balls or balls well off the wicket are seldom to be met in this

way unless one is a Jessop. But whatever ball be anticipated in this way

let it be sought with full pace and intent to “volley”. If one must be

stumped, then, as Grace and others say, one may just as well be many

yards out of one’s ground as be only one yard of it.

RUNNING.

An obvious advantage in moving out is that, if your partner is backing

up, you have every chance of making a safe run.

Quick starting and quick moving between the wickets are little

cultivated. Yet a game of tip-and-run will show how many runs can be

stolen. Too little account is taken of the pace at which the ball has

been hit, the place to which it has been hit, the individual to whom it

has been hit, the side of that individual, left or right, to which it

has been hit, and so on.

The general rule is that the player in whose sight the struck ball

appears most clearly (namely, the batsman for balls in front of him, his

partner for balls behind him) shall call at once and call loudly. The

non-caller shall either trust and obey, or else immediately call a loud

“No.”

Both players should start at once from their right toes, and should run

the first run as briskly as if a second were sure to follow. Giffen

laments the small care paid to this art. He says:--

“One most important point connected with batting is running between

the wickets. Really it is almost heartrending to see the immense

number of runs, to say nothing of the wickets, which are lost

through bad judgment. A batsman wants to study the pace at which a

ball is travelling.”

The non-batsman should back up well; a few yards may be gained in this

way, and also by the habit of running the bat along the ground just

inside the crease.

A useful position for turning at the crease is to be seen in Photograph

XIX., of Shrewsbury. By the rapid change while the bat is held at full

stretch one may gain an appreciable amount of time and space.

GENERAL HINTS.

The first pieces of advice to all players of games will be, “Get at the

reason why, and the means by which.” Why should one not flourish the bat

before a stroke? Partly because this sends the bat out of the straight

line and loses time. Why should one move the bat near to the left foot

in forward-play? Partly because this will give power by keeping the

weight of the body near to the bat, and because it will give safety, by

allowing no space for the ball to pass between bat and leg. Merely to

say to a beginner “Don’t be afraid of the ball” may not be enough; he

should know that, if he draws his right foot towards the leg-side, he

will lose his pivot and will tend not to play the ball down and not to

meet it along its line of approach. If he bends his right leg, the same

result

[Illustration: XIX.--Turning quickly at the crease after the first run.

[_To face page 50._

]

may follow. How can he keep the ball down and meet it along its line of

approach? By attending to his left foot in practice, or by getting some

one to watch his practice or play from behind.

Having found out and mastered the muscular mechanisms as well as the

_raisons d’être_ for each of them, let the learner be prepared to try

new things and to judge them by their results. In January, 1902, in my

thirty-fourth year, I changed my Racquet and Tennis stroke from a full

swing to a more “partial” jerk. In case it did not suit me, I was

prepared to go back to the old. As a matter of fact, the new did suit

me.

In this case I imitated Latham and (to some extent) Pettitt. They were

of about my own height. I did not imitate slavishly or in trust, but in

hope and because I saw good sense in what they did. In Cricket many

might hold that even slavish imitation is better than rank failure.

To take an example. Few batsmen play well on difficult wickets.

Shrewsbury does. I would sooner imitate his style and methods on

difficult wickets than go on failing to score. There is no particular

reason why his style and methods should _not_ turn out to be mine as

well. I cannot tell till I have experimented.

The batsman, as Mr. C. B. Fry says, should be able to play all games and

strokes--forward, back, cut, and, let us add, tip and run. He must be

able to keep his wicket up, to stop good balls (as Shrewsbury advises)

and then punish bad balls; but he must also be able to force the game,

especially if the bowling be too hard to enable him to stay in long.

Especially should he be “nippy on his feet”--Abel’s rule. He need not

use them always, but he must be ready to use them. So with the pull: he

must not be tied down by a law “Thou shalt not pull.” A short ball can

often be pulled quite safely: it need not always be hit to mid-off.

Scarcely any rule is absolute. We hear that the right leg should not be

bent. Good. But when we see Grace hitting effectively to the on with a

decidedly bent right leg, we suspect that there may be times when this

is useful. It is only as _general_ rules for most people that maxims are

to be laid down. “Stand upright” says the theorist; he even quotes

successful examples. But the individual may be nearer to Stoddart or

Jessop than to Palairet. Let the individual try both ways, if not in

games, then at the nets.

Reserve some force, says Mr. R. Lyttelton in the Badminton Volume;

Ranjitsinhji agrees--since the use of the full force may “give one away”

and lose the balance. But Shrewsbury says, “Use the full force; a

mis-hit then has more chance of going over the head of cover or some

other fielder.” Keep the ball down--that is a good enough rule; but if

you can hit the ball safely away from or over the head of a fielder, why

not? Again, we hear that the batsman should not stand with any part of

his body in front of his wicket; yet many find it useful to do so,

especially in case they snick the ball and might otherwise play on.

Another hint that may not always be helpful is “not to make up your mind

what you will do until the bowler’s intention has shown itself; for, if

you decide, he will alter his intention.” This presupposes that the

bowler is observant and intelligent, whereas ordinary bowlers are not.

In Racquets, on the same principle, I have been told not to pledge

myself to any set action before the server has served; that is sound

sense so long as the server is likely to vary his service; whereas, if

I _know_ that he is going to pound away with the same sort of thing all

the time, I should waste energy by perpetual alertness. I take for

granted that the fool will serve foolishly, and I virtually settle my

policy beforehand. It is not every bowler who demands alertness.

Of wider and more nearly universal application are such hints as “Face

the left-hand bowler round the wicket differently from the bowler over

the wicket; move your left foot out on different lines”; “Don’t try

risky attack till you are sure of safe defence, unless the wicket be

extremely difficult”; “Don’t attempt to place a half-volley very

accurately”; “Watch and observe the ordinary curves and breaks of the

ball according to this or that action”; “Notice how others as well as

yourself are most apt to get out off certain balls--say off the breaking

ball well-pitched up on the off”; “Practise wicket-keeping

occasionally”; “Study each bowler’s action before you go in”; “When you

go in, be careful at first of touching balls on the off”; “Get the blind

spots of the pitch in your mind’s eye, so as to tell whether to play

back or forward: the blind spot varies according to the pace of the

ball, the state of the ground, etc.”; “Get in your mind’s eye a picture

of the fielders; and, when you are set, place the easier balls between

those fielders; but keep your real eye on the ball from the instant that

it has left the bowler’s hand”; “Find out your faults and practise the

opposite faults.” As Mr. Edward Lyttelton says, “If it appears that your

strokes habitually fail to tell as they should, it will probably be

owing to your body not being properly utilized, and a spell of bedroom

practice should at once be inaugurated.” You can even cultivate the

opposite fault during the game itself. This is my habit during Tennis

and Racquets matches: if I find myself playing too soon at the ball, I

purposely try to play too late.