CRICKET

Evening Star, Issue 24006, 3 October 1941, Page 7

CRICKET

NEW SEASON'S SUGGESTIONS ALTERATIONS TO RULES ■ [By Wau-abv.J The now cricket season is upon us, and it 13 interesting to. note some of the arguments and suggestions put forward at the annual meeting of the Otago Cricket Association this week regarding alterations to rules. Appeal Against the Light. With the desire to lighten their own burden of responsibility, tlie Otago Umpires’ Association has advocated the introduction of a rule for club matches which would do away with appeals on the question of Tight. If the captains cannot agree as to cessation of play on the score of bad light, say tho umpires, then play will have to proceed. What chance would there be of a captain agreeing to the stoppage of play if his side is on the verge of a win ? If tho match was in such a position that a closure would not affect the result of the match it would bo a different matter, but would this encourage the “ sporting spirit ” that the umpires are so anxious to foster? It was mentioned in the letter which the Umpires’ Association addressed to the O.C.A. that (he rule advocated was similar to that embodied in the laws governing English county cricket. But is this so? The only reference in Wisden regarding a change in the rule relating to appeals against the light is in the report of the meeting in 1937 of the Advisory County Cricket Committee when it was decided to adopt' the following instruction for experiment in the 1937 and 1933 seasons:— “ A batsman at the wickets and the captain of the,fielding side shall consult as to the fitness of weather and light for play, and if they are unable to agree, the question shall be determined by the umpires as provided in law 43 of the laws of cricket. Should ■ play he suspended and the conditions improve, the umpires shall, without waiting for instructions, call upon the players to- resume the game.” The intervention of the war no doubtprevented any further consideration of this rule, which, however, is very different from that proposed by the Otago umpires.

One-day Cricket. It is inevitable that one-day cricket will be played in all local matches in Dunedin this season, and in the prevailing circumstances it will be the only course to pursue, having in mind the difficulties which clubs will experience _ in getting teams together. The only question is: Upon what lines will play proceed? The diversion of the time into two equal parts and the awarding of the _ match to the side scoring most runs during the period allotted to it appears, on the surface, to be the best, or at least the most attractive. But there are pitfalls in this system which the O.C.A. Committee would do well to try and avoid. It Should consider, for_ instance, whether it is a good thing to train all the young batsmen who will of necessity be brought into the game on the " get on or get out ” system. In other words, every batsman will need to be a “ bright young thing ” irrespective of what his cricketing temperament may be. Then there is' the question of the tailenders, on whose behalf Mr G. J. Robertson put in a word at the O.C.A. meeting. In spite of remarks to the contrary, tailenders do like to have a smack with the bat, and if tiiey are deprived of that privilege for the bulk of the season, will they be philosophical enough to take it as “all in the game”? Of course, captains could carry out a system of temporary promotions of the tail-enders from time to time, but here again, would it be good for cricket? - ..... However, in wartime risks will have to be taken even in cricket, but it always appears to the writer that wheu the reason put forward for drastic changes is given as “ in order to stimulate public interest ” that is, to please the 20 or 30 good people who turn up to watch the average club match—it’ is what our American friends would call “ hooey.” An Unfortunate Remark, “ It’s a pity the Dunedin Club •can’t lake it,” said a leading member of the Grade Committee at the annual meeting of the Otago Cricket Association on Tuesday when Mr J. A. Robson proposed a perfectly reasonable and entirely essential amendment to the grade rules in order to obviate the repetition of an anomaly in connection with the result of last season’s intermediate grade competition, and by which the Duiledin Club suffered an injustice. The remark was quite uncalled for, and its utterance proved all too clearly that it is the members of the Grade Committee who cannot “ take it,” the “ it ” in thgir case being the entirely justified criticism of the mess they made of the draws ior the later matches last season. The surprising thing was that a majority at, the annual meeting took their cue from the rather splenetic remarks and turned down the amendment, thus allowing a position to remain under which it is possible, owing to -Withdrawals and suchlike contingencies, for a team which has played two or throe more matches than its nearest rival to win the championship on the points obtained in those matches.