CRICKET ON CONCRETE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19502, 4 December 1926, Page 1 (Supplement)

CRICKET ON CONCRETE.

BY A COUNTRY CRICKEIEK.

POSSIBILITIES AND PERILS.

In these days of concrete roads, concrete bridges and concrete buildings, it does not seem a fai cry to cricket on concrete. As a matter of fact, for years past, concrete pitches have been in vogue in some country districts where for various reasons good turf was not available for the best of summer games. Think of the advantages of concrete wickets; no cutting or rolling, no topdressing no holes worn by furious bowlers in their follow-through, no need to cover the wicket in wet weather; a perfectly hard, level surface from which the ball must rise—no shooters can shoot in and take the batsmen unawares, leaving him with his bat in mid-air as he hears that death-rattle at his wickets and knows that for another week he will have to sit out or else presently go out and scout. To countrv clubs concrete wickets are a big boon; a permanent solution of the troubles of ground committees, when after much hard work put in by just a faithful few, the pitch looks all right, but from which the ball shoots or bumps in a manner most menacing This deponent has seen the bab bourse eight or ten feet high when delivered by a fast bowler on a country turf wicket, ho has seen the wicket-keepe- twic< laid out in an after noon from flying fast balls, and on one occasion he has helped i brother crick eter into the ambulance to be whisked away to a neighbouring hospital where half-a-dozen stitches were necessary to make his head wholf once more. The, victim could (when he regained consciousness) sing with Henley ■' My head is bloody but unbowed." Is it any wondei that onde> conditions svch as these, country cricket languishes 1 A Capta,to's Jest. , One does not mind dying for one's country on the battlefield, but to be possibly (or probably ma med for the benefit of his club or team requires heroism of a different kind. One country skipper I knew used to solemnly shake hands with the in-going batsmen and say with a slow smile 'Pi patria mori beatus est." A jest, if you will, but something that might easih have been much more. 80 is it any wonder that country clubs, despairing of ever gutting good turf, turn to some permanent material for their wickets? That is where concrete comes in. Besides this, a choice of several materials is available The highway board would probably sav , that bitumen would carry all the traffic incident to the game. Others woulu advise timbe:c; some suggest fine cinders, whilt yet others say that clay is best if covered with a mat, it being the nearest approach to turf. To all these arguments " captiously and querulously maintained," the ear of reason is deaf, and the decision for concrete adhered to. Perhaps the example of local bodies roading policies is responsible for this material being preferred above every other Grass will grow on . top oi Concrete ,(4 necessary, corollary to putting down a pitch in a football ground where, in tht off season, it has to be covered )j whereas it will not grow on asphalt; neither does concrete require annual topdressingsit, does not soften in the sun;, will riot warp or rot as wilJ timber; it is water-proof and does not require patching or levelling as doe-' clay, In fact, concrete possesses many advantages over every other material except really good .. turf. '■■.■■■: . , . After ont- has mastered the slight difference, in the Sight of the ball it is easy to bat on. Of course, very fast bowlers have to be treated with respect and many off-balls which on a good turf wicket would be smacked incontinently to the boundary have to be left alone. With ordinary can, however, a batsman can develop his forward attacking play, which almost compensates for his self-denial with the fast off-bads. EJfteci on Bowiiag. And what of the bowler ? Opinions differ as to the effect on bowling of playing on concrete wickets. Some bowlers, ' comparing them with sticky or crumbling turf pitches, declare that they cannot get the break they are entitled to expect. Others find that? whereas on turf their deliveries used to hit the wickets, the ball now flies ovei the top of the stumps. A little adjustment of length is necessary here. On tho other hand, some bowlers claim that thfcv gei more "work" from the mat than from turf. Just as no two batsmen bat quite alike, so no two bowlers bow! alike; one will find it harder and on> oasier. to get results on concrete wicket:*. Certainly the flight of the ball from the pitch depends more , on the delivery of the bowie than the response from the pitch—twc bowlers of about the same pace will ofter present the batsmap with two distinctly different types of ball But when as sometimes happens, the mat gets wet and shrinks, then, provided the bowler can maintain his grip, he should come into his own. The damp surface makes tht ball slide off at a great rate, often without rising to the usual height and tht batsman who has momentarily forgotter the first grand principle of his art " your eye on the ball," will most likety lose his wicket, and the bowler, with a slight chuckle, hang another scalp 01 his belt. On a damp mat then (with i fairly dry call, a condition' not easy tc' experience) the bowler has the advantage. The Broad Highway. Concrete is ol come, harder on the teei thai is turf. FOl this reason one is not tempted to run tip and down the .wicket as ts -often done in city cricket. To get a prope> foot-holr" one's boots should be studded with big square naila which grip without catching si the mat. Woa betide tht. playe who by some mischance talis at full length on the pitch; he is almost certaiD tr. lose large sections of valuable skin and to acquire some real, blue bruises li my dissertation on the beauties ot concrete vicke reaches print I hope it will not tempt the youth of Auckland to take up th ide* of " concrete cr-cket" too keenly and make them set up then tins on the broac highways and play then u the pa/ed roads now spreading out in all direction Such a proceeding would no doubt lmproire their cricket, but spho could wish them Btich an untimely end as they would most likely meet through indulging their love for the game in the path of passing motorists who would be more interested in their own " drives" than in the " brakes."-