230 IDLEHURST : 



fields are placed ; we stand twenty yards out at point 

 to the batting of the grocer's young men ; we take 

 our guard and look round the field precisely as you 

 see them do at Lord's ; but Bob is at most merely 

 tolerant. " I say, Uncle," he remarked as we 

 came home from the match, " I think if you hadn't 

 tried to cut that ball, it would have missed, you 



know. Vines major never tries to cut unless " 



And so forth, and so forth, to the furbishing of the 

 virtue Humility. 



The match was matter for conversation for a week, 

 and Bob's criticisms led me to reflect now and then 

 upon the present state of our country cricket. The 

 science shown on the village pitches is in truth poor 

 stuff from which to raise a champion County. Any 

 lad seems to be able to perspire into some tolerable 

 sort of bowling ; not one in fifty ever learns the 

 merest rudiments of hand and foot with the bat. 

 The bowling is more and more after one pattern 

 energetic in action, very commendably straight, and 

 as fast as the expositor can make it. " They don't 

 much like my bowling, up on the Green," said my 

 garden-boy the other day, with a pleasant smile, 

 going on to tell with modest pride how a certain brick- 

 layer whom he had hit had not been able to go to 



