" WILLOW THE KING."

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 93, 9 November 1877, Page 2

" WILLOW THE KING."

j In the past fortnight we havo had more I than the usual evidence tbat tho hold of I Cricket on our people is at least as firm ' as erer. Besides tho reports of matches which fill so many columns iv every news paper, wo have had a cartoon of the Champion Cricketer, and a volume of 496

.ages, goreooua in its green* md'gold lindiug and gilt ed«es t> devoted tb the listory of cricket froni its birth in this sland to tbe present time, and claiming or it a high place amongst the educational 'orcos which would mould our national character and life. And if, as many per* sons contend, a nation is atbottom 'ruled by its males under thirty years of age, the claim is scarcely pitched too high, for to those the Champion Cricketer stands on an heroic pedestal, and is well entitled (if the worship of numbors cau found a title) to take his place io the gallery of British worthies, by tbe side of statesman, poet, soldier, and philosopher. For whatever else our nation may be, itis beyond all question the cricketing nation- The Englishman carries his game everywhere with him, and the English colonist, as soon as he has leisure for anything, becomes nearly as keen as tbe men * of Eent or Sussex, whereas tbe game has never struck the slightest root amongst; any European people, and even our Republican cousins have not taken hold of it. The visits of professional elevens in 1559 and 18GS to the States did little more than disclose how the mysteries and traditions of cricket had died out, and its practice had been neglected ; and the eleven of amateurs who followed iv 187 1 found no progress whatever* except per-* haps at Philadelphia, where they only won their match against the tweaty-two of the Quaker city by four wickets. Bred ourselves in the wholesome British belief that cricket is one of tbe main pillars, of free institutions, we have not failed,' as occasion offered, to' deal faithfully with our Yankee friends in this matter. But to all our warnings that for an English* speaking people who are takiug refuse iv tbe base-ball to the neglect of " King Willow" there can bo no really great future, even though Habeas Corpus and trial by jury may possibly survive, wo have only been mot with the reply that they haven't patience for it j and that,, if they had, cricket is only game for an old and rich nation, with any amount of- spare* time and cash on its hands, * Your boys," they say, * take to it a* soon as they can walk alone, and make it a serious study. They have to give about half their time and more than half their thoughts- to it for the next twenty years, if they ane to do any good at it. Well, that's- more than wo can afford." Now, we have never had a moment's doubt as to the weaHessof the former of tbese pleas. So far from not cultivating cricket because they haven't patience for it„ they ought to make* ifc a part of their school course, and to expel the impatient game of base-ball from their national play-grounds altogether, lt ia jast because cricket does try patience and temper more tban any other gatne,. that British fathess and motlvers are eoutent still to suffer under it as they do. But need the suffering bo so severe ? Has not the second American plea, the cost in time and mouey,.some foundation in fact? We may make up our minds to retain cricket, along with civil aud religious liberty, tbe monarchy, nnd lbe rest of our lime- honoured institutions,, at whatever cost or sacriQce, but are tbe cost and sacrifico unnecessarily onerous, aud gott« ing always rooto onerous in these days ? We should bo glad to think that these questions are exercising the authorities of the M,C.C, for, unless we are much mistaken, the reign of "Willow the King is becoming a triflo too exacting even for the long-suffering British parent. Let usventure, then, with thai humility which should govern those who are conscious of approaching sacred ground, to suggest one or two points on wbich.it seems to us that a safe step or two might be taken iv tlie direction of reform. And first, as to the game itself. Notwithstanding tho relaxation of the whole of the old rule as to. the delivery above the shoulder,, it is not clear that the defence has- beaten the attack, and that, if the game is to retain, its fascination for the general public*, something should be done in favor of the field? Since all our first*elass ground* have been so car.cd for that they are astrue as billiard tables, balls will not break and shout as tho/ used to do, and a- good player who has got his eye in has becomo master, of the situation, to an extent which certainly injures the gani<>; We do. not, of course, suggest that grounds should bo left rough, but might not the sizj of the wicket be increased in first-class matches ? The last chance was made more than half a century since, iv 1818, when the wicket was enlarged from twenty-two inches by six to twenty-seven by eight, where it haa remained ever' since. An inch added to the height and two to the breadth would, wo believe, meet tho case, and restore a just equilibrium betwoan tho attack and defence. After .all. cricket depends upon the interest of spectators, and tho good-will of parents, for its supremacy amongst games, and these are severely tried by the length to which matches have grown cf lato years. But it is not the rules of the game, but its surroundings, which are miking the steady-going, hard-working portion ot this nation uneasy if uot disloyal subjects of " Willow tho King.'' In cricket as iv so many other departments, we are being suffocated under tho money-bags. Let us say plainly that the game won its plaoe because it was supposed to be a very cheap, as well as a very splendid exercise. Shandy-gaff used to be tho drink at the Court of Eing Willow, not champagne and moselle-cup; and all good clubs, when wo were young, sternly kept down tho cost of dinner. Who ever saw Feles, or Mynn, or Anson, or Ponsonby in half a dozen fancy costumes, for as many different matches ? ffi& aay g one ever hear of their " totting about - a man apiece to carry their bats, as happened in the case ofa crack London club, whoso eleven descended on tho country houso of a hospitable but unfortunate cricketer with eleven hulking nfrn-ser-vants in attendance to enable them to get off a simple match. The publio schools aro strangled by professionals till they all play precisely like one anotber. Time was when each sohoo: had its own traditional style, and no rticketer (for example) would have hesitated five miv« utos whether he was lookhg at a Win* Chester or a Harrow tean. We dont ask the hoys of to-day to leep their own grounds arid teach tbemsjlves to play, as their fathers did, but w< do think they and tbeir masters might cb something to brace tho system. Can aqy real lover of the game bave como awa? for years past from Eton and Harrow ilaleh at Lord's so deluded as to think tlat any possible good can como to crioret, or to the schools, or to the boys, or to their male and female relatives, outof such a business as that? The Ui).Q, must havo

changed much, if it .desires to cultivate not hnrd.6i;icket, but gluttinous picnics. Why sho ild not the Committee tako one ■safe step, and at any rate keep out tho carriages'?* Women who really care for the play or tho players wi'l come on foot to see them,, and those that don't had better bo elsowlmre. The Club funds might posiibly suffer some loss, but it • would prove in the end a good investment, for unless some sucb change is made, nothing can keep the match in London for another five' years. We are not asking tho M.C.C. to do anything more than their predecessors did for the game more than a century ago. The Gentleman's Magazine far 1743 (quoted at d. 21 of Mr Box's book) tells of the perversion of the cricket of that day for betting purposes, and pleads that •' cricket ia certainly a 'Very whole some exercise, yet ifc may be abused, if either great or little ppople make it a business," and that "all diversions mu<f have their bounds as to expense." A thorough reform was effected afc the end of the last century, which lasted till our own time. Wo look upon old Clarke's discovery, thirty years ago, " that pro'i. sMonnl cricket was not a bad vocation (Box, q. 51) and fche consequent formation and circuits of the AU-Englad Eleven and ifcs successors, who havo since then been starring all Toand the world— as the'point at which, while a great new impulse was giveri to the game, abuses crept iv whicb bave noiv grown too aerious to be neglected. There are still good men of the old hard cricketing »cbooil with influence at Lord's and we hope they may vcfc think it worth while to make some effort to restore a heltbier tone in the realm of •• Willow tho K''ng/' As old and loyal subject* of Ins Majesty, ws should, for instance, rejoice to see and to hsnour crack elevens ot colts travelling round onbicvles. carry* ing their own bals and cricketing kits with them, and proving by their averages of expenses, as well as of batting and bowling, that cricket may still be the most economical, as it undoubtedly is the most popular, and the most distinctly national, of English pastimes. Rut in one form or another tbe reform should como, and como quickly.— Spectator.