A JOURNAL KEPT IN THE COUNTRY. 23 1 



work for two days. And perhaps the terrorising plan 

 is really the easiest way into the wicket, while the 

 current theories of defence obtain. The batsman 

 dodges towards leg from the projectile and tries a 

 speculative horizontal swipe, with fairly constant 

 results. 



In our neighbourhood there is a middle-aged land- 

 owner who once kept wicket for the Gentlemen, and 

 a hard-hitting Blue ; both great supporters of the 

 game. Sir James keeps a groundman and an eleven 

 of his own, and has matches in his park ; the other 

 is not happier at Lord's, I think, than when hitting 

 the village bowlers across the Common into the pond. 

 But neither touches the root of the matter. If they 

 and their likes would take the trouble to give the 

 rustic batsmen some occasional coaching at the nets, 

 and would persuade the bowlers of other qualities 

 than speed, I think the native talent available for 

 the County would be notably increased. In another 

 way the real country cricket suffers. The Arnington 

 first eleven sometimes contains but three or four 

 Arnington men. Mr. Denison the Blue will be 

 playing, and Captain Dean of Ockington, and Quartus 

 Nye, a clever mercenary who is known on most of 

 the grounds in these regions, and perhaps four or 



