564 



CRICKET 



formed in 1845, and cricket began to be taken up 

 by other countries in a slight degree. 



County cricket, too, which is at the present time 

 the mainstay of the game, was becoming general, 

 though the interest in many of the matches was 

 discounted by some of the players being found in 

 the ranks of two or three counties in one season. 

 Several of the counties played matches early in 

 the 19th century and even before ; but properly 

 organised county clubs did not exist for many years 

 afterwards, as the following dates of formation 

 show : Surrey, 1845 ; Sussex, 1857 ( having been 

 conducted by a committee from 1842) ; Kent, 1859 

 (re-formed in 1879); Notts, 1859; Yorkshire, 1863; 

 Lancashire, 1864; Middlesex, 1868; Gloucester- 

 shire and Derbyshire, 1870. In June 1873 rules 

 were passed respecting the qualification of county 

 players, and since then county cricket has left 

 little room for the elevens which were wont to 

 perambulate the country under the respective titles 

 of All England, United All England, and later still 

 the United South. Even the matches between 

 the Gentlemen and Players, and North v. South, 

 which at one time were the most attractive of the 

 season, have in a measure had to take a secondary 

 position, for the increased demands of the counties 

 have made it almost impossible for such contests to 

 be of a thoroughly representative character. Inter- 

 national cricket dates back as far as 1859, when 

 George Parr took a teanr out to America. This 

 was followed two years later by the visit of a team 

 to Australia under the captaincy of H. H. Stephen- 

 son, and up to 1876 three teams had visited 

 America, and four Australia, while in 1868 England 

 welcomed a party of aborigines. Then 1878 was 

 signalised by the arrival in England of Con way's 

 Australian eleven, the first of its kind, but destined 

 to be followed by many others. The latest develop- 

 ment in the game was the two new M.C.C. rules 

 (1889), increasing the number of balls in an over 

 from four to five, and allowing a captain to declare 

 an innings closed. 



So much for its history and the variety of opinions 

 held by its historians. As to the merits of the 

 game as now played but one opinion exists. By 

 general assent cricket stands pre-eminent amongst 

 the many outdoor pastimes pursued during the 

 summer months. All classes play it, and at im- 

 portant matches the company or lookers-on includes 

 representatives of all grades of society. The keenest 

 interest, too, is shown in connection with the lead- 

 ing fixtures of the season, and the results of many 

 matches are telegraphed to all parts of the world. 

 One of the great reasons of the remarkable popu- 

 larity of this game is its uncertainty. Cricket is 

 not solely an affair of skill ; chance is also a factor 

 to a very large extent. Conditions of ground and 

 weather exert such a remarkable influence on the 

 game that in many cases a side which apparently 

 possessed little hope of success has come out of a 

 match victorious. A mistake in the field, an act of 

 carelessness on the part of a batsman, may change 

 the character of the whole game, and indeed ' never 

 lost till won ' may with greater reason be applied to 

 cricket than any other pastime. Within the reach 

 of almost every one, cricket is, as a most enthusi- 

 astic lover of the game has put it, a health -giving, 

 glorious amusement, calculated to bring out all good 

 qualities, trying alike temper, patience, and courage. 

 To excel at cricket it is necessary that the study of 

 the game should be commenced at an early age, 

 as a great deal of patience and practice is requisite. 

 At nearly all, if not all, of our public schools, a 

 cricket ' coach ' or tutor is engaged, and as many of 

 the masters are capable and only too willing to give 

 good advice, the youth of the middle and upper 

 classes have splendid opportunities of cultivating a 

 good style, a most essential element towards success. 



Instruction from old cricketers given at practice 

 time is the best of all instruction, and this should 

 always be remembered by those less fortunately 

 placed than public-school boys and university men, 

 from whose ranks the best amateur talent is drawn. 

 In speaking of practice, Dr W. G. Grace, the most 

 famous cricketer of this age, says, 'that the 

 more nearly the practice-game approaches to a 

 match, and the more steady and painstaking the 

 player is, the better. One of the best methods of 

 practice I know of is for sixteen people to play 

 amongst themselves ; eleven to go into the field, 

 two to go to the wickets, two to the umpiring, and 

 one scoring. An afternoon's practice, to last for 

 four hours, will thus give a quarter of an hour in 

 each position to every player, and each player will 

 gain experience in every department of the game, 

 getting naif an hour's batting ( fifteen minutes at 

 each wicket, no matter how often out), half an hour's 

 bowling (fifteen minutes at each wicket), half an 

 hour's umpiring (fifteen minutes at each end), a 

 quarter of an hour's scoring, and two and a quarter 

 hour's fielding, being fifteen minutes at each place ; 

 overs of four balls being bowled, and discipline 

 kept up thoroughly as in a match. . . . The advan- 

 tage or having eleven in the field when you are 

 practising is that you thereby best learn how to 

 judge the runs, and there is nothing so important 

 to a cricketer as to be able to do this well. ' 



The game of cricket can be played either at 

 single-wicket or double-wicket, but matches at the 

 former have become very rare. For the latter, two 

 wickets must be pitched opposite and parallel to 

 each other at a distance of 22 yards, each wicket to 

 be 8 inches in width, and to consist of three stumps 

 (of equal and sufficient size to prevent the ball 

 from passing through, 27 inches out of the ground ) 

 with two bails (4 inches in length, and when in 

 position not to project more than half an inch above 

 the stumps) upon the top. In a line with the 

 wicket and extending three feet on either side of it, 

 is the bowling-crease, beyond the limits of which 

 the bowler must not go. He uses a ball measuring 

 in circumference not less than 9 inches, nor more 

 than 9J inches, and weighing not less than 5 

 ounces, nor more than 5f ounces ; and he bowls 

 either round-arm or underhand, and at what pace 

 he pleases. Four feet in front of the wicket and 

 parallel with it is the popping-crease, which defines 

 the batsman's territory. Anywhere behind the 

 popping-crease the batsman is in his own ground. 

 The bat used must not exceed 4| inches in its 

 widest part, and must not be more than 38 inches 

 in length. A match is played between two sides of 

 eleven players each, unless otherwise agreed to ; 

 each side has two innings, taken alternately, unless 

 the side which goes in second scores eighty runs 

 (sixty in a one-day match) less than the opposing 

 side, in which case it follows its innings (i.e. 

 has to play again). The choice of innings is 

 decided by tossing. Two members of one side go 

 in to bat, and the rival eleven take up various 

 positions in the field, the ball being bowled in 

 overs from each wicket alternately. The score is 

 reckoned by runs, and a run is obtained each time 

 the batsmen, after a hit, or at any time while the 

 ball is in play, cross and make good their ground 

 from end to end ; also by means of a no-ball ( the 

 penalty for delivering the ball unfairly or from the 

 wrong position), wide ball (a ball that in the 

 opinion of the umpire is not within reach of the 

 batsman ), and in the event of the fieldsman stop- 

 ping the ball otherwise than with any part of his 

 person. The side which scores the greatest number 

 of runs wins the match. The batsman may be 

 bowled, caught, stumped, or run out ; he may be 

 out leg before wicket, for obstructing the field, 

 for hitting the ball twice (except for the pur- 



