While our ideas on Slow Bowling were yet in a state of solution, they
were, all at once, precipitated and crystallised into natural order by
the following remarks from a valued correspondent:--
“I have said that Pilch was unequalled with the bat, and his great
excellence is in _timing_ the ball. No one ever mastered Lillywhite
like Pilch; because, in his forward play, he was not very easily
deceived by that wary individual’s repeated change of pace. He plays
forward with his eye on, not only the pitch, but on the ball itself,
being faster or slower in his advance by a calm calculation of time--a
point too little considered by some even of the best batsmen of the
day. No man hits much harder than Pilch; and, be it observed, hard
hitting is doubly hard, in all fair comparison, when combined with
that steady posture which does not sacrifice the defence of the wicket
for some one favourite cut or leg-hit. Compare Pilch with good general
hitters, who, at the same time, guard their wicket, and I doubt if you
can find from this select class a harder hitter in England.”
This habit of playing each ball by correct judgment of its time and
merits has made Pilch one of the few who play Old Clarke as he should
be played. He plays him back all day if he bowls short, and hits him
hard all along the ground, whenever he overpitches; and sometimes
he will go in to Clarke’s bowling, but not to make a furious swipe,
but to “run him down” with a straight bat. This going in to Clarke’s
bowling some persons think necessary for every ball, forgetting that
“discretion is the better part of” cricket; the consequence is that
many wickets fall from positive long hops. Almost every man who begins
to play against Clarke appears to think he is in honour bound to hit
every ball out of the field: and, every one who attempts it comes out
saying, “What rubbish!--no play in it!” The truth being that there is a
great deal of play in it, for it requires real knowledge of the game.
You have curved lines to deal with instead of straight ones. “But, what
difference does that make?” We shall presently explain.
The amusing part is, that this cry of “What rubbish!” has been going
on for years, and still the same error prevails. Experience is not
like anything hereditary: the generations of eels do not get used to
being skinned, nor do the generations of men get tired of doing the
same foolish thing. Each must suffer _propriâ personâ_, and not by
proxy. So, the gradual development of the human mind against Clarke’s
bowling is for the most part this:--first, a state of confidence in
hitting every ball; secondly, a state of disgust and contempt at what
seems only too easy for a scientific player to practise; and, lastly, a
slowly increasing conviction that the batsman must have as much head as
the bowler, with patience to play an unusual number of good lengths.
Slow bowling is most effective when there is a fast bowler at the other
end. It is very puzzling to alter your time in forward play from fast
to slow, and slow to fast, every Over: so, Clarke and Wisden work well
together. A shooter from a slow bowler is sometimes found even more
difficult than one from a fast bowler: and this for two reasons; first,
because the batsman is made up for slow time and less prepared for
fast; and, secondly, because a good slow ball is pitched further up,
and, therefore, though the fast ball shoots quicker, the slow ball has
the shorter distance to shoot into the wicket.
Compare the several styles of bowling in the following diagram. A good
length ball, you see, pitches nearer to the bat in proportion to the
slowness of its pace. Wisden is not so fast, nor is Clarke as slow,
practically, as they respectively appear. With Wisden’s straight lines,
it is far easier to calculate where the ball will pitch, than with the
curved lines and dropping balls of Clarke; and when Wisden’s ball has
pitched, though its pace is quicker, the distance it has to come is so
much longer, that Clarke, in effect, is not so much slower, as he may
appear. Lillywhite and Hillyer are of a medium kind; having partly the
quickness of Wisden’s pace, and partly the advantage of Clarke’s curved
lines and near pitch. From this diagram it appears that the slower the
bowling the nearer it may be pitched, and the less the space the bat
can cover; also, the more difficult is the ball to judge; for, the
curved line of a dropping ball is very deceiving to the eye.
[Illustration: Slow Bail balls--Clarke’s.
Fast Bail balls--Wisden’s.
Medium pace--Lillywhite’s.
Slow Shooters--Clarke’s.
Medium pace Shooters--Lillywhite’s.