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A CHAPTER
ON
FIELD SPORTS AND MANLY PASTIMES.
BY AN EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONER.
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THE GAME OF CRICKET.
IT is a matter to be regretted by all true lovers of the manly pastimes that this noble and invigorating game has never been introduced among us here in America; for it certainly never has been — at least to any extent, or in a proper spirit. In England, it has long been a favorite amusement with all classes of society; with the highest of tho aristocracy not less than with the populace. Indeed, its fascinations have been so great that all orders are frequently seen commingling in the same game; the nobility giving up prejudice for the nonce in its behalf, and making no scruple of contending, in its stirring excitements, with the poorest yeomen of the land.
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Of all the athletic exercises, no one, perhaps, presents so fine a scope for bringing into full .and constant play the qualities both of the mind and body, as that of cricket. A man who is essentially stupid will not make a fine cricketer; neither will he who is not essentially active. He must be active in all his faculties — he must he active in mind to prepare for every advantage; and active in eye and limb, to avail himself of those advantages. He must be cool-tempered, and in the best sense of the term, manly; for he must be able to endure fatigue, and to make light of pain — since, hike all athletic sports, cricket is not unattended with danger, resulting from inattention and inexperience. The accidents, however, attendant upon the players at cricket commonly arise from en-watchfulness, or slowness of eye. A short-sighted person is as unfit to become a cricketer, as one [page 278:] deaf would be to discriminate the most delicate gradations and varieties in tones; added to which be must be in constant jeopardy of serious injury.
This noble game is thoroughly British. The derivation of its name is probably from the Saxon cryce, (a stick.) Strutt, however, in his “Sports and Pastimes,” states that he can find no record of the game under its present appellation “beyond the commencement of the last century, where it occurs in one of the songs published by D’Urfey.” The first four lines of “Of a noble race was Shekin,” run thus:
“Her was the prettiest fellow
At foot ball or at cricket,
At hunting chase, or nimble race,
How featly her could prick it.”
The same historian of British games doubts not that cricket derived its origin from the ancient game of club-ball, the patronymics of which being compounded of Welsh and Danish (clwppa and bol) do not warrant his conclusion, the Saxon being an elder occupant of Great Britain. From the circumstance, however, of there being no illustration extant — no missal illuminated with a group engaged in this king of athletic genies, as is the case with its plebeian brother, the club-ball; also from its constitution being of a more civil and complicated character, we may rationally infer that it is the offspring of a more polite, at all events of a maturer ago, than its fellow. The game of club-ball appears to have been no other than the present well known cat-and-ball, which, with similar laws and customs prescribed in the playing at it, was doubtless anterior to trap-ball. The trap, indeed, carries with it an air of refinement in “the march of mechanism.”
They who are acquainted with some of the remote and unfrequented villages of England, where the primitive manner’, customs, and games of our ancestors survive in the perfection of rude and unadulterated simplicity, must have remarked the lads playing at a game which is the same in its outline and principal features as that “cricket,” which is, to day, the pride and glory of the English athlete. We mean the game in which a single stick is appointed for the wicket, ditto for a bat, and ditto, of about three inches in length, for a ball. If this be not the original of the game of cricket, it ii at least a plebeian imitation of it.
The constitution of the pastime has undergone considerable alteration and improvement since becoming a fashionable and favorite recreation. We proceed to give the necessary analysis of the game, with the proper instructions for playing, being forced to reserve for another number “The laws of the game, as revised by the London Marylebone Club.”
QUALIFICATIONS OF A GOOD PLAYER.
One who intends to cut any figure as a cricket player should be active, and capable of enduring fatigue. He should not be afraid of his person, nor timid about catching a ball when at its speed. He should have a clear head, and a quick eye and hand, and above all be cool and collected, all nerve or none at all. A batsman who “flutters” or flurries himself in the least, had better throw his bat down at once and walk out to save time, for he cannot do any good in, and may do harm by getting out the other in-player.
If we had to choose players by sight, without knowing any thing of their qualifications, we would stick to what the doctors call the sanguine, and avoid the heavy lymphatic, or the dark bilious looking subject; a light complexion and a clear blue eye, with a firm elastic step for us.
If it be the lot of the reader to join in any match at home or from borne, let us advise him to stick to the old motto, “early to bed and early to rise.” Let him shun all larks except those that he can hear in the fields in a summer’s morning; racketing at night gives him the palsy next day.
A cricket club, to make sure of your number for private matches, should consist of twenty-eight or thirty members at least; for, taking away two for umpires, and two for scorers, you may generally calculate upon one or two absent from sickness or other causes.
BATS, BALLS, ETC.
The bat now in general use is made of willow, wrapped in the handle with silk or thread so as to give good hold; it must not exceed four inches and a quarter in the widest part, and must not be more than thirty-eight inches in length.
The ball is made of stout leather, strongly sewed; for regular play, the weight must not be less than five ounces and a half; for boys we should recommend a lighter ball, the regular weight is too ranch for their strength.
The stumps are six pieces of wood, three of which are to be placed in the ground at a point fired upon, and the other three at another point, twenty-two yards distant. On the top of these stumps is placed a piece of wood, eight inches long, called a bail. The stumps should be twenty-seven inches above the ground, and the hail so placed that a touch will knock it off. [page 279:]
BOWLING CREASE.
This is a mark made on the ground at each wicket. It must be in a line with the stumps, six feet eight inches long, with the stumps in the centre; there must be a return crease turning towards the bowler, at right angles.
POPPING CREASE.
This is a mark made on the ground, four feet from the wicket, and parallel to it; the length is not limited, but it must not be shorter than the bowling crease.
SCORERS.
The scorers keep an account of the runs to each striker separately for each innings. the side that has obtained the greatest number of runs wins the game. When the players on each side have all been in and out once, the first innings is completed; it is usual to have another innings, unless one party is beaten into sulkiness.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS.
Cricket is played by twenty-two persons, eleven on each side, and two umpires, with two persons to score and count. Thirteen players play at once, viz: the eleven outside players, and the two strikers, who are of the in-party. This is the number required for a full game, but for practice, a less number is sufficient; it is, however, advisable to have the full number, where it is possible, for the sake of teaching every one his duty.
CHOICE OF THE GROUND.
Where the players have not a regular ground, they should choose the smoothest and flattest piece of ground they can meet with, where there is plenty of room for the disposition of all the forces. The wickets should be pitched where there are no inequalities to divert the ball frost its course, at the distance and at the height hereafter stated in the rules.
UMPIRES.
The next point is the choice of umpires, with whom rests the decision of all disputed points, and from whom there is no higher appeal, not even the House of Representatives. As this is an office of considerable importance and responsibility, care should he taken to choose men who are well qualified by a perfect knowledge of the game, and whose characters guarantee that their decision is impartial. One should stand somewhat behind the striker’s wicket, so as to have a full view of the players, without interfering with their play. The other should place himself immediately behind the bowler’s wicket, where he can are if the striker stop the bowl with his foot.
DISPOSITION OF THE PLAYERS.
The players should be stationed according to the plate; their particular duties are described here-after. Should the striker be left-handed, it will be necessary to change their position, placing them on the left side, in exactly the same order.
I. — THE STRIKERS.
The strikers belong to the in-party. Their first look out should he to keep themselves in; their next, to obtain as many rune as they can for their party; to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket, and to play it where it is least likely to be caught by the other side. The position of the striker should be with one foot behind the popping crease, leaving the wicket clear of all obstruction from foot or knees. The feet should be as wide apart as you can place them without losing your full “purchase,” one immediately in front of the other, and the toes rather pointing towards the bowler; the weight of the body should be on the right leg, the top of your bat inclined towards the bowler, and the left elbow, as Nyren says, should be kept a well up. “The value of Nyren’s maxim will be discovered by all who attempt to play; it may be found rather awkward at first, but “use is second nature,” and it is the only position which will give the requisite command over the balls. With regard to the manner of striking at different balls, practice and a quick eye and hand are the surest guides.
The in-player who is not striking should always he prepared for running. He should stand before the popping crease, and as soon as the ball is delivered he may run, but should not follow too [page 280:] far, for should no runs be obtained he may be put out. Should the players have crossed each other, and a wicket be put down, he who is running to that wicket is out. In running from one wicket to the other, the strikers should take care not to run against each other, and should carry the bat oat, side. Should the striker leave his plain before the hall is delivered, the bowler may knock down his wicket.
II. — THE BOWLER.
The bowler belongs to the out-party. His position is immediately behind the wicket; and his duty to bowl the ball so that it may knock down the wicket, or so that the striker may play at it in the least advantageous manner.
The ball should be held so that the tops of the fingers shall cross the seam; this gives certainty to the hold. It should not be grasped too tightly, nor yet. too loosely, but just so that you may let it leave the hand freely, and still have perfect control over it; the body should be kept in an erect position. It must be delivered with one foot behind the bowling crease, and within the return crease, and with the back of the hand towards the ground. The hand must not be raised above the shoulder. The aim of the bowler should be to drop his ball at distances of from three to five yards from the wicket, according as he wants a slow or fast ball. The speed of the ball must he regulated by the play of the striker, and the manner of bowling frequently varied with the same player, otherwise where the striker has “got into” your favorite ball, it will be a difficult matter to bowl him nut.
In case the bowler should not succeed in bowling out the striker, and does not drop the ball in the right place, it is advisable to have some signal, known only to the two bowlers, by which either may be directed where to throw his balls, or how to vary them so as to be least advantageous to the striker.
As there are very few players who have not a favorite ball, the howler will do well to find this out as soon as may be, and avoid giving him it. After hitting a few balls a striker will very often get so thoroughly into the bowler’s way that it is a difficult matter to move him. In these cases it is advisable to change the bowler, even if it be only for a time. Bad bowling that a striker does not understand will often be more effective than good bowling which he is thoroughly up to.
Should the ball be hit by the striker, the howler must return to his wicket, and hold himself in readiness in the best position to catch the ball if it be thrown up to him.
III. — THE WICKET KEEPER.
His duty is to stump out the striker if he should leave his place to meet the ball, and to hold himself in readiness to put him out, if the ball is thrown up to him.
IV. — POINT.
He should stand to the right of the striker, and within the popping crease, so as not to interfere with short slip. He should vary the distance between him and the striker from four to seven yards, according as he may judge the ball will be a full one or a slow one.
V. — LONG STOP.
He must take his station at some distance behind the wicket-keeper; his duty is to stop or bring in all the balls that have passed the striker or the wicket-keeper.
VI. — SHORT SLIP.
His station is a few feet from the wicket-keeper, and rather behind him; he is required to “keep his eyes open,” and to lend whatever assistance he can to the wicket-keeper, in stopping the balls, or in taking his place at the wicket, should he leave it to follow a ball.
VII. — LONG SLIP.
He must stand about twelve or fifteen yards from the striker, covering the ground between point and short. slip.
VIII. — LEG.
He should stand somewhat behind the line of the popping crease, varying his distance according as the capabilities or play of the striker may direct him. [page 281:]
IX. — COVERPOINT.
He should take his station on the offside, a short distance behind point, so as to stop any balls that may be missed by him; also to assist middle wicket if need be.
X. — MIDDLE WICKET.
‘He should stand on the offside at a moderate distance from the wicket of the bowler; should the bowler require to leave his wicket to follow a ball, middle wicket should take his place.
XI. — LONGFIELD OFF.
His station is at some distance from the bowler, so as to cover bowler and middle wicket, and to stop long halls.
XII. — LONGFIELD ON.
He should stand about the same distance on the right of the bowler, as longfield is on the left.
XIII. — UMPIRES.
One should stand somewhat behind the striker’s wicket, the other immediately behind the bowler’s wicket. Their duties are numerous and important, and will be found at length in the rules.
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SINGLE WICKET.
Single wicket is played by any number from one to six on each side. If there are less than five players, bounds are placed twenty-two yards distant on each side, in a line from the off and leg stump; and no run can be counted unless the ball bo hit before the bounds; nor can the striker hit the ball unless one of his feet be on the ground, and behind the popping crease.
The out-players must return the ball so as to cross the ground between the striker’s and the bowler’s wicket; the striker may run until it is so returned.
When the ball is hit, the striker must run to the bowler’s wicket and strike off the ball, and back to his own wicket before he can count one; if he attempt a second run, he must touch the bowler’s wicket and turn before the ball has crossed the play, or he is not entitled to another notch. If there are more than four players, no bounds are required. The laws relating to the bowler, and the duties of the out-party, are the same as at double wicket.
The great distance which the striker has to run in playing single wicket has always been an objection; and some modification should be made.
Notes:
None.
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[S:0 - BGM, 1839] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Rejected - A Chapter on Sports and Manly Pastimes (Text-02)