Run (cricket)

“ A spectator picks the ball up, chucks it to the expectant field, who dribbles it along the ground to the bowler, while the batsman, having had his smack, saunters about in the most unconcerned way and prepares for the next ball. Cricketers well understand that this saving of breath to a batsman is an enormous advantage; he is enabled to stand quite cool and collected in his ground, and hit away without, as a rule, having to run more than two runs, while the bowlers and field are perspiring away in their efforts to get the side out. ”

“ Every hit was run out, and the fieldsman in pursuit of the ball plunged right into the middle of carriages, spectators, and horses' legs, and picked it up, the batsman in the meanwhile running out the full value of the hit. Now the case is altogether altered. There is a strong cord running all round the ground, every decently hard hit is certain to reach the ropes if the ball once passes the fieldsman, and the batsman stands coolly in his ground, being altogether spared the trouble of running and the loss of breath which naturally follows the exertion. ”

“ Good runners ought to cross if the ball is in the least fumbled; but clean fielding, with quick under-hand return, would beat the Regent Street Pet himself, did he attempt a run. Long-stop is wholly at fault if he requires the wicket-keeper to stand aside: this would spoil the stumping. As to gloves and pads, let every one please himself; we must choose between gloves and sore hands; but wrist gauntlets are of great use, and no hindrance to catches, which often come spinning to the long-stop, and otherwise difficult. ”

“ If the batsman is a timid runner, it is a good plan to tempt him to run by pretending to be slow, and the moment he calls 'run' dash in with unexpected vigour. This artifice, however, can be useful only once in an innings, and must not be attempted by any except quick and good fields. But if by well-ascertained and true report and your own observation you know that either or both of the batsmen are slow or timid runners, stand further back, unless there is any special reason to make you stand in for a catch, for by so doing you cover more ground and can save fourers or threes. ”

“ It is important for each of the batsmen to keep his own side of the wicket when running—that is to say, there must be a mutual understanding between them, so that any chance of a collision is obviated. Remember, on no account should you run down the pitch—that is to say, on any part of the ground where the ball is likely to be pitched by the bowler. If you do, you simply cut up the turf and spoil the pitch for the rest of your team. ”

“ The very fast-footed, bookish sort of player is the one who is most at sea on soft wickets; and this last bit of advice we respectfully urge upon him—that one hit for four and out next ball will probably be of more value to his side than twenty minutes' careful defence and no run. It is not on soft wickets that drawn games are played, unless there is rain after the match has begun; it is on dry wickets, with boundaries close in, that the plethora of runs makes the game dull to all except the ignorant spectator and the voracious batsman. ”

“ Nobody objects to slow scoring so long as the batsmen are playing good correct cricket, playing the straight ones with a straight bat and cutting or hitting the crooked ones; but every cricketer objects to seeing ball after ball simply stopped without the slightest attempt to make a run. ”

“ Occasionally it is useful to throw to the bowler, assuming that he is behind the stumps and that mid-off is backing up, because the batsmen get frightened at this manoeuvre, and feel that their second run entails too much of a risk, and this frequently prevents them trying it again. Bear in mind that the aim of good fielding is, not to run men out, but to prevent their trying to run. Remember also that a catch to long-leg has a tendency to curl towards your right hand, so do not rush too violently towards the left directly the ball is hit. ”

“ If the ball is smothered it cannot go up in the air, and though it is more correct cricket to get over the ball and drive it forward, as Shrewsbury and A. G. Steel do, it is probable that the great hitters would lose more than they gained by playing the orthodox game. There is a golden rule to be carefully remembered in playing slows, and that is, never to run out to a ball that is well outside the off stump. ”

“ Anyone can run his fastest and throw his quickest, but the men who field in these places seldom do their best, though the man who does not is not a genuine cricketer, and is probably a selfish animal. Such conscientious fielding as this gets very little recognition, though it saves about one in every ten runs. ”

“ Few men can throw far, but everyone can throw quickly, and that is what prevents batsmen from running. There is a moment which decides a batsman whether he can manage to secure another run or not. It is just when a fieldsman, having run some way after the ball, and having his back turned to the wicket, is stooping to pick up preparatory to throwing in. ”

“ Runs will come if you stay in, and few bowlers can go on bowling over after over for half an hour or more without giving you a loose ball or two.
It is bad judgment to attempt sharp runs early in your innings. Inclination that way is sure to be encouraged by the bowler, and when you least expect it he will in some way unknown to you communicate with the wicket-keeper and fielders, and the next attempt may end in you or your partner being run out. A deal of harm has been done even if you just saved it by an inch or two, and you will be in a most unhappy state of mind for some time afterwards. ”

“ I was twice run out in the ‘Varsity match of 1896—to a great extent my own fault in the second innings,—and since that game—memorable for the fact that Oxford, going in with 330 runs to win, hit off the number for the loss of four wickets, and for the no-ball incident which led eventually to an alteration in the follow-on rule—I have taken particular pains to improve my running between the wickets. I am not often run out now, and I hope I but seldom run my partner out—Experientia docet sapientiam.
Many batsmen, when nearing their 50 or 100, attempt the most absurd runs. ”

“ By delivery is meant not only the attitude adopted by the bowler at the moment that the ball is despatched but all his action from the moment that he starts for his run. Let him take a convenient run such as he has found to be suitable to his methods. A long run seems to be the more generally successful. For as the batsman has to wait some time before the ball is actually despatched, many thoughts may pass through his mind tending to distract his attention, and his sight becomes wearied by the strain of watching. ”

“ The position we take up in all these matters is, that in these days runs are too easily accumulated, that the perfection of modern wickets has so affected the bowling that the reform of the ftiture ought to be in the direction of favouring the bowlers and fieldsmen, and not the batsman. Those who were spectators of cricket matches in former days can call to mind many a run-out owing to a batsman attempting a fourth or fifth run. The fieldsman had hold of the ball at a distance say of 100 yards from the wicket ”

“ A “run” is made when the two batsmen change places, each running from his own to the opposite wicket without being “run out.” The aim of the batting side is to make as many runs as possible, while the object of the fielding side is to get their opponents out, and to prevent their making runs while in.
There are nine ways in which the batsman, or “striker,” can be put out. Of these the following five are the most important. (1) The striker is “bowled” out if the bowler hits the wicket with the ball, when bowling, and dislodges the bail ”

“ You blame me because the All England Eleven don't learn not to run out, though always practising together. Why, a run is a thing not learnt in a day. There's that gentleman yonder—with all his fine hitting he is no cricketer; he can't run ”

“ Patience is much wanted, if a sharp runner is in; for he will often try a long-stop's temper by stealing runs; in such a case, I have found it the best plan to prepare the wicket-keeper for a hard throw to his, the nearer, wicket; for, if this does not run the man out, it frightens him down to steadier running. Throwing over may sometimes answer; but a cunning runner will get in your way, or beat a ball thrown over his head. Long-stop's distance must often be as much as four or five yards less for a good runner than for a bad. Short distance does not make stopping more difficult ”

“ Many "run outs" may accrue in this manner which might not have come to pass if too much reliance had been placed on the bowler. Preventing runs is made much easier by the faculty of being able to anticipate the direction of the batsman's stroke before he has actually played the ball, and this capacity is only acquired by most careful attention and experience. By being on one's toes, somewhat in the same manner as one would start for a race, it becomes much easier to cut off a ball than if one's foot is placed flat on the ground. ”

“ Every nerve should be strained to make it as brief as possible: a little extra sign of life and rapid movement will make the batsman hesitate a moment, and the run is lost. The engraving on p. 251 shows what in our opinion is the proper way to pick up a ball going away. The field is not trying to catch the ball up as far as his feet are concerned. He is stretching his hand forward to pick it up, and when he has got it into his hand he will throw it rather over his left shoulder to the wicket. ”

“ After the ball is bowled he is firm on his legs, ready to run in for a catch and bowl, or to dart to the on or the off side as the batsman shapes to play the ball. No matter how hard the ball is returned from the bat, he has always ample time to get down with the right hand or the left or to jump high in the air; when the batsmen are running he is always able to get behind his wickets ready to receive the ball when returned by the fielder, a golden rule for every bowler which is too often neglected. A fast bowler is generally unsteady on his legs after the ball is delivered ”

“ Except the final mowing and light rolling on the morning of the match, wickets should be prepared three days in advance. It is often fatal to good cricket to employ the heavy roller on the day the match commences. Should the grass be so dense as to make the wicket slow, a broom deftly used, followed by a hand mower, run several times between the wickets and across the ground also, will affect a marked improvement in the pace. The preparation can be finished with the small roller.
Plantains should never be tolerated on a cricket ground. ”

“ The veriest novice can, make some kind of back-stroke. But a player who can score runs by his back-play is very rare. Crude back-play does not contain one run in a dozen strokes. It is advisable, I think, to teach all beginners to play forward as much as possible. For it is much easier to learn to make runs with forward-play than it is with back-play. If a beginner does not make runs, which are the outward and visible sign of the grace of cricket, he is liable to lose heart. ”

“ Point is next in importance, he is always expected to have safe hands, for when a fast ball is cut to point, a run is sure to result if he is not alert; in ancient cricket he stood much nearer the batsmen than at this period. His place is now so far from the striker that his position upon the field seems to have given way to silly point, a position so dangerous that a fielder possessing great courage generally volunteers for it. ”

“ We may not improbably be able to trace this to the great predominant influence which has altered the whole character of modern cricket, and, in the judgment of many, brought about a dull level of too easily performed feats of run-getting, that only drastic legislation can alter, viz. the increasing excellence of the artificially prepared wickets. The value of an exceptional hitter, such as any member of the little band above alluded to, is far greater when the conditions are difficult. He alone perhaps can offer any effective resistance when the bowler is revelling in favourable conditions ”

“ 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. ”

“ After the Cricketers had partaken of the refreshments prepared for them, the ground was again cleared, and Carpenter and Hayward in simple dress arrayed, entered the arena with bat in hand, as the representatives of the All England Eleven. They promptly take their places at their respective wickets ready to defend them, but not before with cautious step, the ground is traversed o'er, lest ought unseen should lurk there to turn a ball, or interrupt the striker's speed in making a run. ”

“ Many a chance of stealing a second run is lost in this way, for it is impossible to take advantage of a slight overthrow or a piece of misfielding unless both batsmen are ready to start and have not more than 20 yards to go. ”