Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopædia of Sports and Amusements

by Unknown

As a proof of this I may cite the Gentlemen and Players’ match at Lord’s, a contest (if such it can be called) which is only worth seeing on account of the excellent bowling and fielding of the professional players. It is satisfactory to know that it is the opinion of most judges of the game, that as long as the gentlemen persist in practising batting only, they will scarcely have a chance against the players.

No advice, however, will produce the same good upon a young player in the matter of fielding as watching a match in which some of the best players take part. In this he should bear well in mind the manner in which the ball is stopped and thrown to the wicket-keeper.

Supposing that our cricketer can stop and catch a ball pretty well, the next point for him to study is to throw it in carefully. How many men that should have been run out save their wickets through the bad throwing of a field, who, either through hurry or nervousness, pitches the ball over the wicket-keeper’s head, or sends it in so much along the ground as to render the picking up of it sharply by the wicket-keeper a matter of impossibility! The best plan is to throw in a catch to the top of the bails. A long hop occasionally meets with success; but if the ground is bumpy, and the ball is thrown in from a distance, it is very possible that it will go over the man’s head.

One of the most prominent failings of a young eleven is the careless manner in which they back up. Overthrows in a professional eleven are almost a matter of impossibility, for if the ball passes one field there is almost sure to be another behind him to stay its progress; whereas, in some clubs, if there is one man to back up the wicket-keeper, the ball is considered safe, and as he generally stands within a few yards of the wicket, he usually misses the ball if it passes the amateur Lockyer. If, however, it is expedient to throw the ball to the bowler, and he does not wish to hurt his fingers, an overthrow is sure to follow, for long-on or long-off scarcely ever thinks it his duty to stand behind the bowler’s wicket when the ball is thrown in. Overthrows in themselves are not only annoying, because they are obtained through no merit of the batsman, but because they always produce a merciless laugh from the spectators, and occasionally epithets of a not very complimentary character. It is therefore the captain’s bounden duty to make his eleven back up well, and not to consider the ball safe unless two or three people are behind the wicket at which it is thrown.

One naturally imagines that the wicket-keeper’s hands get occasionally damaged from the sharp throwing to which he is subjected. Whatever he would do without his thick gauntlets, it is unpleasant to imagine. Care should on all occasions, therefore, be taken to save his hands, and when the batsmen are not running, there is no need to throw the ball as hard as possible at him. The long-stop, who returns the ball to the wicket-keeper oftener than any other field, should send it in gently when there is no run, and the wicket-keeper ought, in throwing it to the bowler, to toss it as quietly as he can, in order not to deaden the fingers of that important functionary.

Whilst writing about bowler and wicket-keeper, we cannot allow the opportunity to pass of requesting all players to obey with the utmost fidelity any order given to them in the field. The wicket-keeper can, by raising his hand, change the positions of the field unknown to the batsman, who, hitting a ball to a place which he thinks is not covered, and finding it suddenly stopped, sees that he must play more carefully in future.

Two of the most important positions in the field are the mid-wickets and cover-point, and no player, unless he is a safe catch, and can return the ball sharply, should ever be placed there. It has been computed that mid-wicket runs more out than any other field. Anybody who has seen R. Daft in this place will be surprised at the rapidity with which he picks up the ball and sends it in. The space that a good cover-point can command is really astonishing. Players seeing that the ball has passed point feel sure that it is safe for one, whereas, if cover runs in and sends it in well to the wicket-keeper, one of the batsmen will probably have “run out” to his name.

Long-stop should on no account be too close to the wicket. If he takes a position where he feels sure he can stop one run, he will do much more service than nearer the stumps. Not only will he be able to stop some balls which might have gone over his head, but he may stay the progress of many leg-hits and slipped balls, besides standing a better chance of a catch.

Catching comes so naturally that we need say little about it. The chief point to be remembered is to keep the hands well together. Occasionally one sees—in catching—the ball slip through a man’s hands altogether. At other times the ball lodges in the hands for an instant, and then drops to the ground, because the arms were not drawn back with the ball, but held out to meet it. In catching, the arms should always be drawn back as the ball comes, as this lessens the force with which the ball strikes the hands. A good plan, but one which, however, requires much practice, is to pat the ball up as it comes, and then to catch it. It is evident that when the ball has thus been sent up, it descends much more slowly than when it comes direct from the bat.

Even, however, if, in spite of advice and practice, one of the field is unfortunate enough to miss a catch, the captain should not allow any unfeeling remarks to be made. The anguish of the unfortunate player is quite deep enough without being aggravated by growls and sneers from comrades who may perhaps do the same thing in a few minutes.