A "Bawl" for American Cricket

by Jones Wister

No. 4—THE HALF FORWARD BLOCK.

“Among the advantages of cricket are the means it affords for physical improvement, the opportunities for bringing rich and poor into friendly communication, the inculcation of gentlemanly feeling, and the principles of mutual charity, good will, and moral harmony.”—Wisden.

The advent of the fast bowler has been the chief means of changing the wicket keeper into a back fielder, he has at the same time given the opportunity to the aggressive batsman. The chief object of the fast bowler has been to frighten the timid batsman, and drive him to the tent. If he has been the Simon Pure article, he has fulfilled his mission, and even the crack batter has failed to score heavily. But has he not oftener through bumpy ground and wrong pitch, for the faster the bowling, the less control the bowler has over the ball, given the other side the victory? Let not this be considered a plea for the back stop, for he belongs to an almost forgotten age, but it is rather to put a brake upon the “demon” bowler. It is asking too much of a wicket keeper to stop every wild attempt of the machine bowler, or be abused by his side. Speedy bowling, under wise control and supported by prompt and efficient fielding, has distinct advantages, but with slow fielding it is a menace to its own eleven, and has been the means of increasing the score of the adversary, who need not display even good batting to accomplish the result.

The most serious question which confronts the American captain of to-day, is a “stumper.”But we believe so thoroughly in the progressive spirit of American cricket, that when attention is called to the importance of “stumping,” and to the fact that the aggressive batter glories in a wicket keeper whose position is twenty feet behind the wicket, and whose arms are of normal length, that the wicket keeper will soon become a real, rather than an imaginary personage upon the cricket field; and that he will again be seen close behind his wicket, forcing the batsman to display his prowess within his crease, or suffer the penalty. Let us predict that when this desirable result is accomplished, bowlers will be found to rely upon pitch and curve, rather than upon speed, and that skill will depend more upon brain than muscle. His position must always be such, that the wicket is between himself and the approaching ball, for he cannot run the risk of trying to “down” a wicket which he cannot see, neither can he spare the time to turn around, for the run is short and the runner may be a “sprinter.”

The object of the bowler should be either to bowl the wicket; to have a batter give a chance for a catch; or, to force the batter to leave his ground for a stump. Unless he can vary his intention to thwart the batsman by the delivery of unexpected and difficult balls, he cannot expect to rank among the best, nor will he be called a head bowler. The only ball which the bowler can depend upon for uniform good results, strikes the turf outside the reach of the batter. Good batsmen safely block or hit any ball falling within six feet of the crease, some reach a ball which drops eight feet or more from the crease. But every batsman has a limit when the wicket keeper is in place. That spot, a little nearer the bowler than this limit is known as the “pitch” or “length.” The bowler must direct his efforts to gauge the batter’s reach, and deliver balls which will prevent scoring. When a bowler discerns the “length” ball a batsman cannot play, and his skill enables him to deliver it at will, he may be relied upon. It is the eager hope of every beginner to become a superior bowler. We have endeavored to indicate just what a good ball is and wherein it differs from one which the batter fancies. But this is not enough; the mind of the young bowler must solve the problem, and must have a well defined conception of the ball which is expected to baffle the batter. Having reached a satisfactory conclusion upon this all important subject, the physical effort to execute his theories must now be regularly practiced until he has mastered the art.

1st.—Almost every good bowler holds the ball in the fingers at right angles to the seams, for two reasons, first a better grip can be taken; second, if any twist or spin is desired, the roughness of the seams increases the action of the fingers.

2nd.—Begin delivering what are technally known as slow balls. Do not attempt fast bowling until your mechanical command of the ball has in a large degree, been able to materialize from your conception of what a good ball should be. This mechanical command of the ball comes from practice only. When it is observed that every batsman has his own peculiar style, some right handed, some left, some long, some short reach, some forward, some back, the beginner will at once percieve that success depends upon this, absolute command of the ball. When the possible fast bowler has learned to bowl “slows” with precision, he may put up an occasional fast ball. If he has properly conceived the art of slows, the chances are all in favor of his also becoming a good fast bowler. No eleven is perfect with only slow bowlers. Batters must be worried by fast as well as slow balls. But let every bowler whose ambition is to attain speed, recollect that accurate slows are the fore-runners of speedy balls.

3d.—The slow bowler having mastered the pitch or length must practice twists or spins by which he endeavors to deceive the batsman. These must be performed with such ease that mind and body simultaneously act, the ball rotating upon its own axis, with such force that when it leaves the ground it no longer continues in its apparent direction, but rising abruptly according to the bowler’s desire passes the astonished batsman into the wicket.

4th.—An easy elegant style of bowling is attained with less fatigue than a slouchy one. Some men will start ten yards behind the bowler’s crease, rush at it as though preparing for a somersault, come to a halt to deliver a disappointing ball. The fault here lies in the misconception of the bowler. He has not studied cause and effect, nor has he studied his own powers. These must not be squandered upon an over or two, but must be husbanded for a long day’s work.

5th.—Place the ball as near the batsman as possible without its becoming a full ball, should such a ball strike slightly to leg, all the chances are in favor of its working between legs and bat into the wicket.