Ball (cricket)

“ The ball goes on its way spinning rapidly from right to left, and the moment it touches the ground twists very sharply towards the off side of the batsman. This ball, termed in cricket parlance the 'leg-break,' when well bowled is perhaps one of the most deadly of all balls, but it is also the most difficult for a bowler to master. It is always a slow ball, as to bowl it fast with any accuracy of pitch is an impossibility—at any rate, it may be assumed to be so, as no bowler has ever yet appeared who could bowl it otherwise than slow. ”

“ A ball, more or less light and soft, is bowled or tossed at any fixed object, which, in turn, is defended by a player armed with a stick, stump, hair-brush, or other instrument. The player counts as many points as he can run backwards and forwards, after hitting the ball, between the object he defends and some more or less distant goal, before the ball is returned. He loses his position when the object he defends is struck by the ball, or when the ball is caught, after he has hit it, before touching the ground. Such is the degraded form of cricket, and such, apparently, was its earliest shape. ”

“ FIELDING. American Cricket owes a debt of gratitude to base ball. The undaunted pluck that stops and holds the fierce grounder; the strong arm which returns it to the baseman; the steady judgement that guides the out-fielder to the fly; all deserve the highest praise. Cricket welcomes the base ball fielder to the cricket ground, gives him the post of severest duty, depends upon his keen eyesight, splendid throwing, quick action and steady nerve. ”

“ In cricket a bowler who delivered the ball with the action of a pitcher would be disqualified for "throwing": it is one of the laws of cricket that the bowler's elbow must not be bent.
In cricket (I mean in the first-class variety of the game) the decisions of the umpire are never questioned, either by players or public.
In baseball there are but two strokes for the batter: either the "swipe," or "slog," as we call it, where he uses all his might, or the "bunt," usually a sacrificial effort; in cricket there are scores of strokes, before the wicket, behind it, and at every angle to it. ”

“ The bowlers find it more easy to put on break or curl on soft wickets, so whereas on hard wickets you may almost assume that the ball will play no pranks but come on straight, on soft you may almost assume the contrary. The ball that hangs or stops a bit after pitching instead of coming on is perhaps the most fatal ball that is bowled. If the batsman plays forward to such a ball he will very likely find that he has done playing before the ball has reached his bat; this means that the bottom of the bat goes on and gets under the ball, and he is caught and bowled. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Suddenly his air of restraint vanishes: a shortish ball from the right-hander is cracked between cover and extra-cover with terrific force. Then the fun begins. In spite of two fielders in the country on the on-side, good-length balls outside the off-stump are remorselessly pulled. They travel to taste—some high, some low, but none come to hand—and they travel often. One drops clean over the ropes—a gigantic hit. Square-cuts, off-drives, and placings-to-leg almost jostle one another to the boundary. ”

“ It is instructive to notice that in the old days straight balls were considered the most difficult and dangerous, while those off the wicket were regarded as godsends to be promptly turned into runs; whereas now, batsmen delight in a straight bowler, and find it safer to hit straight balls than any others: it is the ball off the wicket that gives us most trouble.
The three changes in the style of bowling are landmarks in the history of cricket as a game of skill. The higher the arm is allowed to go, the greater the skill required in the batsman. ”

“ This ball, therefore, should only be bowled at intervals, and when according to the bowler's judgment it may have a fair prospect of success. Usually this happens on two occasions. The first is when a batsman has just begun his innings, and is playing nervously and without confidence; a twisting ball then from the leg side is extremely apt to fluster and annoy him, and a catch in the slips or at point, or a catch and bowl, is not infrequently the result. The second is when a hitter is in, and is hitting to all parts of the field. ”

“ Amateurs play cricket for recreation—as a pleasure, not a business—and experience shows that any alteration which would encourage the practice of bowling would greatly improve cricket. In country matches, bowlers stipulate for four balls or six; why not make matches to play with a wicket of eight inches, or even twelve? I had rather see a ball go anywhere than into the long-stop's hands, or into the batsman's face. ”

“ The way a ball should be fielded depends entirely upon how it comes. A few broad hints may be of some use.
Suppose the fielder be at long-on or long-off, and a ball is hit straight towards him. There are three things to be done—first, to stop it; second, to pick it up; and third, to throw it in to the wicket-keeper or the bowler. The first saves a boundary, the second and third should prevent more than one run being scored off the stroke. To stop the ball clean and true, so that it remains enclosed in the hands, much study and practice are required. ”

“ There is no greater or more successful trap for wild young players than these widish off balls. But it is indeed a trying time for the bowler when he keeps pitching just outside the off stump, and is not even played at by the batsman. Bowlers should, in these circumstances, bowl ball after ball on the off stump and just outside it. It is by no means an uncommon occurrence to see these punishing batsmen taken in by a ball that comes in a little with the arm, and removes the bail while they are striking an attitude, bat over shoulder. ”

“ Nearly every batsman prays for a half-volley on the leg stump, or one pitching within three or four inches of the leg stump, for, if properly timed, it is a stroke which sends a thrill of joy through the batsman. If the ball pitches on the wicket, the hit should be made between the bowler and mid-on, though with a break-back bowler the ball may often be forced wide of mid-on’s right side. If the ball pitches outside the leg stump, it should be hit anywhere to the right of mid-on. ”

“ The bowler can get a fair foothold, hold the ball fairly well, and get a moderate, even large, amount of break on the ball. But the ball does its work so slowly that a batsman can easily watch and play it, even if he cannot score with rapidity. The point to see is, that it is not a bowler's wicket, though it is frequently mistaken as such both by captain and others, simply because they see that the ball can be made to break. ”

“ Very many bowlers possess this downward spin in their bowling without being at all aware of the fact. They know, as also do those who play against them, that every now and then one of their balls will, in cricket slang, 'make haste from the pitch.' The batsman finds he has mistaken the pace of the ball, which flies past him before he is anything like ready to play it, and when his stumps lie prostrate, as often as not he will come back to the pavilion with the old, old story, 'Bowled with a shooter;' whereas, in fact, the ball has hit the middle or even upper part of his stumps. ”

“ A ball tossed higher than usual, but rather shorter length, is not unlikely to get him dancing down the pitch with the intention of knocking the cover off the ball, especially if he is in the habit of running out before the ball is bowled. If this ball is made to break considerably, he will be likely to miss it altogether and be stumped, or to make a mis-hit to cover-point or slip. The patient, cautious batsman who is by way of playing back to everything, is difficult to get rid of. A fast ball with no break, after two or three with break, is liable to beat him. ”

“ If the ball does not rise, there can be no Cut, however loose the bowling; though, with the other Off-hits, two or three might be scored. The most winning game is that which plays the greatest number of balls—an art in which no man can surpass Baldwinson of Yorkshire. Still a first-rate player should have a command of every hit: a bowler may be pitching uniformly short, and the balls may be rising regularly: in this case, every one would like to see a good Cutter at the wicket. ”

“ Its weak point is that even its best exponents send down many bad-length balls, which being on the leg-side are fruitful in runs; for, curiously enough, though a good-length ball on the leg-side breaking in is perhaps the most difficult of all to play, an over-pitched or short ball on that side, with or without break, is certainly the easiest to punish. ”

“ By a spin corresponding to "drag" on a billiard-ball, the ball is made to hug the ground when it pitches, and to rise slowly afterwards, or "hang," as it is called by cricketers. Both these spins are very likely to cause a mistimed stroke, because the ball comes off the pitch at a pace different from that of its flight. With some bowlers it either "hangs" or m.ore often comes fast off the pitch owing to something in their regular action. The power to produce either of the spins artificially is confined to slow or medium-pace bowlers. Most good fast bowlers come quickly off the pitch by nature ”

“ However, young players in schools are certain to get plenty of convenient balls to hit, so they must remember to throw out the left leg and hit as near to the pitch as possible and as hard as they can. The ball may start in the direction of square-leg, but its natural bias after it has gone a certain distance will be towards long-leg or behind the wicket, and the fieldsman must remember this, or he will find the ball fly away behind him on his right side. ”

“ Apart from breaking or curling, the ball may shoot or bump; in either case the batsman has only his eye to guide him, and the wrist has to obey the eye. Fig. 5 represents 'back play' to a bumping ball. Sometimes a ball may be so short that if the batsman has got his eye well in, and is thoroughly accustomed to the pace of the ground, he may by a turn of the wrist, keeping the left shoulder and elbow well forward, steer the ball through the slips. The beginner, however, must be careful to attempt nothing but the orthodox forms of play ”

“ The cleaner the ball is taken, the less is the jar. As in all fielding, the hands should "give" to the ball as it enters them, for it is more likely to stay where it is when the resistance is not dead. Moreover, the slight "give" saves the hands. When the bowling is slow or medium, the "give" need be only infinitesimal. This is important to remember, because off such bowling chances of stumping are common, and the ball must be taken very near the wicket to ensure a quick removal of the bails. It should be taken and slipped into the wicket in one uniform action. ”

“ Many features of the game of single wicket cricket correspond with base ball. The efforts of the batter are, limited to hits forward of the wicket, while the run is one hundred and twenty-four feet, but this style of cricket has become obsolete, owing to the same objections which exist in base ball, and has given place to double wicket cricket. ”

“ The most perilous kind of ball of all was the size of a cricket-ball, but made of solid rubber, and deadly alike to batsman and fieldsman. For some reason or other the proper place in which to carry a cricket-ball was the trousers, or rather knickerbockers, pocket. The curious discomfort of this practice lingers in the p. 118mind. Soft balls are of no use in real cricket; but if you bore a hole in them and fill them with water they make very good bombs for practical anarchists. ”