CRICKET.

Press, Volume XXVI, Issue 3510, 5 December 1876, Page 3

CRICKET.

CRICKET IN 1876. r From the Saturday Review of 26th August, 1876 J ; < Modern cricket has reached a pomtbeyond which it is utterly impcsmble-tareapecs-aoy ■ advance in future seasons, though there is reason to believe that* V reaction may take Dlacc and that the national game may_ enter on a more healthy and more natural, thongh perhaps a less exciting and less sensational, phase of its existence. The simple fact is That the demand for first-rate cricket js out of all proportion to the supply of first-rate the energies of the latter are al eSther overstrained in their efforts to 23 to the incessant calls-made upon Slbe public get fonder and fonder of crSetevery year, and are *&«£** come down with their money whea there vi a Since of seeing a good -match. But the lull™ are alsobecomingexceedingly choicem Nothing second rate v£l do tot them. The cricket must be of _*£ highest class, or they will bave nothing JhS to ft Th*e players on both sides mußt; Z the very best that can be selected accord -■, just cause to «JJPSisb be tak<&. Mto &<¥*#»&-^%icae?haa produced tbe

l*obably ever will W. G. Graoafsjtw«? brothers are both-fi-f'abcve the ordinary t

bnt Mr Gracestands by hinW-lf; far beyond the reach of rivalry. will go any distance to see Mr Grace, audi the pnblic are very much .dissatisfied _f they cannot see trim play WD-oewhere ot etheralmbst-every day in the seasohr tlrcrV ianb use in having Mr oner'sfd'yi-gli-artherrTßre three ot four of the crack bowlers on the other, just to make the great batsman show what hereally can dikr -Once this -season Mr Grace played against*- second-fate 1 bowling, and though -there-were twenty men in the field, |tbe re.ult was that be stopped in aH the three days, andmade 100 rnns without losingfhis -wicket. It would hardly do to repeat that* experiment,jverj . often, _ apd accordingly,., whenever Mr Gratee is' playing, we shall find, -the best bowling in England—and four times "outcf fivf the beat bowling of the North of; England exc-lnsively—opposed to him. How "the number of first-class bowlers in very limited.' In the whole South, of England there is not a single fast bowler of high repute; and, indeed, almost all the firstclass bowling is monopolised by the two counties of Nottingham and York. It may be said that to oppose Mr Grace's batting throughout the; season there are .less than a dozen bowlers on whom reliance can be j placed, and on this little band tbe changes j are rung day; after day, and week after week,.j from May to September. The effects of this constant work are very apparent, and in this -very trying season,, have been more than usually displayed. Mr Grace and his brothers are men of exceptional physique; and.can travel „all night and play cricket all day without the slightest discomfort. .The champion, as he is called, seems utterly incaoable of feeling fatigue, and is whrol ly indifferent to atmospheric inflflences. The hotter tbe weather the better be plays, and -djaring. these last, weeks, of' boiling beatt he has Burpassad all his previous achievements. Nor d° the and his brothers confine themselves to batting'only. When their tnrn comes to take the .field they do the work of an ordinary eleven by themselves, and it is almost ridiculous to look through some of the Gloucestershire matches (how, audacious the notion would have been' thought a few years ago of a county of amateurs challenging Yorkshire and Nottingham?) and see how, after making nearly all the runs for their own side, the three brothers have disposed of their opponents, till tbe eye becomes quite dazzled with " caught B. M., bowled "W. G," aud "caught W G-, bowled G. F.," and so on to the end of the chapter. But the unfortunate antagonists of this remarkable family are not all endowed with such superhuman powers *of endurance. Professionals, as a rule/are not good at playing an up-hill gam", and. few bowlers can stmd being knocked abont with unfailing (precision during four days on an average in every ? week.of the season. Fast bowlers naturally give in the firsV The physical exertion of bowling at the pace attained by Hill an 3 Bmmett in the present day, and by C-acksWkfarrant, and Freeman in the past, is very great, however easy the delivery ofroneor more of them may appear ; and it absolutely impossible for ;«Bcb bowlers to go on* hour after honr, and day after day, without losing much of their precision, and much, oE. that spin which makes tbeir bowliDg so destructive, The strength of the professionals lies in their bowling, and this season that strength has been eadiy overtaxed. Wherever Mr Grace has gone— and he has gone pretty well over England in the last three , months—these unhappy bowlers have had to follow him, and no sooner has one match *aded than another, under'exactly the same names, has commenced, and instead of taking a much-needed rest,' the jaded bowlers have been forced to begin again and pound away at that impregnable wicket. The three great metropolitan cricket.;. grounds are compelled to offer the same attractions to the public, or the public will not come near them. Lord's, indeed, has'a monopoly of the Oxford and Cambridge and Eton and Harrow matches, but* apart from these, there are not half a dozen events during the season of the Marylebone Club that attract the least attention. Not twenty spectators will*-V trouble themselves to see an unknown county perform, although the cricket may be of high quality, and: consequently there is nothing left'"bnt'to fall back on stock dishes likel-Torth v similar matches nnder a slightly varied title, which will bring together the Graces on one side and the best of northern bowling 01 the other. There have been three Gentlemen; v Plftjrers matches this season and six North * South, while a seventh is-innounced for the first week in September. Such, a-match, too, as that between Kent and Gloucestershire in combination against Rngland was (practically North and South contest, with Surrey and Sussex, who were otherwise engaged, left out of the affair-altogether. Formerly levers of cricket looked forward to a North and South, or a Gentleman and TPiajers match, as the great event of the season, much as a racing man looks forward to the Derby or the Leger; and in the interest and excitement were increased in.proportion* tor the length of time that before another contest of equal importance conld be witne_sedf Now there is no excitement whatever, because there is hardly a week intbe jeason in which matches of this clasß are not going on. They nave become quite common, in. fact, and worse than that, their irequency, has moat injartbuslt affected a considerable number of the players engaged in them. Mr Grace may never tire; and even a medium-paced bowler like Alfred Bhaw, whose patiencVis aaexemplatf as his command over the ball is unrivallesdy may keep up hiß end pretty well all through the season ; but the fast bowlers'and the fieldsmen become weary and stale, and tbe former especially 'showed only too clearly in the early days of July that the insatiable pnblic were demanding more of them than they could possibly perform. lt is a blazing July for instance, and the players of England have just taken the field They have already had three long and fatiguing days against the Gentlemen of the Oval and now their task is going to begin over again. The thermometer in the sun stands at about 110 deg, and as there is no shade at Lord's, it is unnecessary to speculate On What the reduction of temperature would be if there were any. There is a goodly ring of spectators, and the pavilion x. well filled. Tbe scorers have .ensconced themselves in the retirement of their bo*, micom nany with closer out to be a jag of goodly proportions. The umpires have adjusted. the wickets and arranged the bails, and ; are now standing in that attitude of contemplation of nothing in particular, by which umpires are usually distinguished. Here comes the champion, ccol and crllected as ever 4 and; ready for the fray. As he walks to the wickets a shudder passes through the fieldsmen at the thought of the hot and weary hours that must elapse before that tall figure executes its return march to the pavilion. Long-leg retreats to afar distant corner, wondering how many hundred yards of ground he is expected to cover. Cover-point makes himself up to meet the hits that will come straight at him with the velocity of lightning. A sturdy Yorkshireman, bare armed to. tbe elbow, takes up the ball; there is a moment of hushed expectation, and even theumpire, for very love of dear life, feels it necessary to keep both eyes open, and to watch the game. The champion stands in his wellknowrf position— he has described it himself for our benefit. Tha right leg quite firm, the Tight foot just ins de the crease, the toss just clear of a line drawn front wicket to wicket; the left leg aboufca foot *n front of, and nearly at right angles to, the heel of the right foot; the bat radd half way np >tbe handle* and notgrounded, but gently swaying to and fro in pendulum fashion? tnMop cf the handle just above the belt, and the bottom of the bla-le almost on a level wjtb tbecentre of tbe middle stamp. pSo stands the great batsman, and so be will be seen stand»ag.two hours hence. He bephacantwnalj-few really great men are: irasn. the bowling aga-insf him is the best that England can produce, and, for a.*|-nrto«rA h» leefcrhis way. But the hitting soon begins, and, what is still more aggravating to ttCcfponents, the Bcientifio placing of the baU which fms-

getlhe.field .ta^lta. basw^gmjmm*. this and that expedient is tried, bat without to produce iti effect The deDveries off the last bowler are less deadly r eorer point and long leg do not ran so briskly as they did .and the batsman takes advantage of the opportunity to launch out with increased -vigour and freedom. The nmpirey while taking a furtive glance at his watch to ascertain the distance of time that divides Mm from bis dinner,- is Very nearly cat in two by a vicious hit to square leg, and one of the scorers is observed to disappear suddenly from sight, _mM a crash of broken crockery • After the interval matters mend bnt little from the outside. Hour after hour passes, and* there is the champion in his old position, with* his right and fsft feet placed as btfore, the top of the handle of his bat just above the belt, and the bottom of the blade almost on a level with the centre of tbe middle stump. The field become demoralised ; the bowlers are utterly exhausted ; even the boys at the telegraph can hardly summon np strength to put up the numbers that are so perpetually increasing* At la-tsotße desperate appeal is made for.leg before wicket, and an umpire, long since unconscious of aught that was going on around him, decides against the batsman. 'Immediately eleven men -prostrate, themselves on the grpund; ha a state' of collapse*, and the champion marches indignantly to the pavilion, inveighing against the stupidity of umpires,-<ieploring hisill-luckin being given out just wjhen be was so well set, and* explaining to all who will listen to him bow impossible it is that, with his syatem of placing his feet, he could ever be leg before wicket. , . ; The match of which this is a sketch is but an example of dozen*-of other matches of which Mr Grace is the hero.* Modern cricket, in fact, seems* to-have resolved itself into a match between' Mr Grace on one side, and the bowling strength of England on the other. Will the former succeed in knocking the latter, so to speak, oat of time, or will tbe latter be ultimately able to restrain the former within some seasonable bounds ?' At present Mr Grace ha* clearly the mastery over his opponents. [ His far from showing signs of diminntidn, are showing signs of increase. No-longer content with his hundreds and two hundreds? he has gone in this season for ecoies of three hundred and upwards ; and there is no reason why, if he can find any one to- stop in with him and to run his runs with him, he should not next season make five hundred off his own bat. .Howcan a few bowlers-of eminence hope to cope with such a man, who- can go on aU day and every day in the-week, and who to all appearance will be good ten years hence as now ? And- KdW can they meet the demands of the pnblic and satisfy i the requirements, which every year become more "extravagant, Of enterprising managers ? It would need an unlimited stock of Hill's, Emmett'Srand Bilycrof_-s to get.through the work of a season of modern cricket; and year by year that work bidß fair to be augmented, - Even with Mr-Grace out of the way the present professors of the art of bowling could hardly make head against the multiplicity'cf battihg talent they would have to encounter ; buF while; Mr Grace is to the fore, arid taking part in every match of importance, the ' attempt ! of a scanty handtul of professionals to do : the work of fifty is utterly hopeless. Ori'many occasions this season it has seemed ladicrons also.