INDIAN RULES. 359 



CROOKING OR STOPPING STICKS. 



22. — No player shall crook or stop an adversary's stick except when the latter is 

 about to strike the ball, and unless he is on the same side of the adversary's pony 

 as the ball, or immediately behind. 



ROUGH PLAY. 



23. — No player shall seize with the hand, strike, or push with the head, elbow, 

 hand, stick or whip, another player or pony ; but a player may push with his arm 

 above the elbow, provided the elbow be kept close to his side. A player who after 

 being once warned by the umpire continues to play roughly, renders himself 

 liable to be ordered off the ground for " unfair play " under rule 37 {a). 



24. — No player shall intentionally strike his pony with the head of his polo 

 stick. 



NO PLAYER TO INTERFERE WHEN OFF SIDE. 



25. — No player, when "off side," shall be allowed to hit the ball, or shall in 

 any way prevent the opposite side from reaching or hitting the ball, or in any way 

 interfere in the game, intentionally or otherwise. 



DEFINITION OF OFF SIDE. 



26. — A player is " off-side " when at the time of the ball being hit, he has no 

 adversary nearer than he is to such adversary's back line or behind that line, and 

 he is neither in possession of the ball, nor behind one of his own side, who is in 

 possession of the ball. He shall be deemed to remain " off side " until the ball 

 is hit, or hit at, again. 



DANGEROUS FOULS. 



DEFINITION OF POSSESSION OF THE BALL. 



27. — The player who last hit the ball, if still following the line of the ball, 

 remains in possession of the ball, so long as he can, at the pace at which he is 

 moving, reach the ball again before any other player : and the possession of the 

 ball only passes to another player, when that other, player, 



{a) Is riding on a line closer and more 7iearly parallel to the line on which the 



ball is travelling than the original striker (example 2) ; 

 {b) Can unquestionably reach the ball ^x^l without causing the origijial striker 



to check to avoid a collision (example 3) ; 

 (<:) Can fairly " ride off " (rule 29) the original striker (example 4). 

 28. — One player crosses another player, 



CROSSING. 



{a) Who, when not entitled to possession of the ball (as defined in rule 27), 

 crosses the line on which the ball is travelling, or that line produced, 

 and thereby collides with the player in possession of the ball, or causes 

 the latter to check to avoid collision (examples 5 and 6) ; 



{b) Who, when in possession of the ball, turns on the ball, except at such a 

 distance as to obviate any chance of collision with another player riding 

 on the line, produced either way, on which the bail is, or has been, 

 travelling ; 



