AT THE WICKETS

NZ Truth, Issue 890, 16 December 1922, Page 9

AT THE WICKETS

RIGHTS AND WRONGS FOR YOUNGSTERS

TIPS fROM A BIG MAN

(BY U. T.

Warwick Armstrong, . writing m "Life," hands out advice to young and old players, starting -with, tips on the choice of a bat. One of the first things necessary for a batsman is to choose a bat m proportion to his strength. A large number of boys, and probably not a few men, play with bats too heavy for them, and of indifferent balance. The weight of a suitable bat must, to a large extent, depend on the. build of the batsman. A normal weight is 21b 4 or soz, but some bats weighing 2lb 6oz will come up better than bats weighing 2tb 3oz. The batsman who gets the majority of his runs ln front of the wicket can. use a heavier bat than a man who gets most of , his runs by cutting. For, if the cutter is a fraction of a second late with his stroke he will give a chance behind the wicket On a fast wicket It is wise to use a bat on the light rather than on the heavy Side, but on a slow wicket many of the best batsmen use a bat with more wood ln it and of greater weight, since cutting is then almost entirely out of "the question. Somo manufacturers of to-day often shave the sides at the back of the bat bo much that the wood is brought to a peak m the centre, and they also take too much wood off the back just below the setting m of the splice. Whero this is the case the balance is always bad. Unless the ball is hit fair m the centre this bat DOES NOT DRIVE AS WELL as the one m which the wood is more equally distributed, of which the sides are thicker, with the wood nicely rounded and farther up the bat. Practically all bats which have the wood well up and not at the bottom are well balanced. The thin-edged bat. so prevalent to.day, naturally breaks when used by learners, although it will hold well enough m the case of men] who hit the ball m the middle of the bat and not with the edge. Close-grained bats always drive well, but they are said not to last so well as the broad-grained bats, which are made from older trees. That, however, Is a matter of opinion. Bats should be regularly oiled, and If oil cannot be squeezed to the surface by running the flnger-nail down the bat further oiling is required. It is a good plan to break m one's bat at the nets. The batsman should begin by playing quietly for a few' minutes with his new bat, and then finish his practice with a seasoned bat, with which he can drive as hard and often as he likes. THE BEST BAT ' is one which has eight or nine straight grains ln lt. It is nothing against this bat If it is half red and half white. It is ln the toughest kind of willow that butterfly stains appear, and those who like bats to iast should purchase these. Theso reddish markings must not be confused with knots, which, of course, are hard. A knot well up on I the bat or at the extreme side of it may be right enough, but a bat with a knot ln the centre of the driving part is not one to bo chosen. Now let ua consider POSITION AT THB WICKET. Some -good judges attaoh little importance to position, but certain positions undoubtedly favor certain styles ot play. A bat-man who plaoeß the bat weU behind his right leg, say, between the crease and tho wicket, must have more weight on his right than on his left leg. Consequently he will always go forward with his left leg In playing the ball, no matter whero It pitches. With the weight already on the right leg It is not easy to go back until the body has swung forward, hence ono will find that this batsman favors the drive m front of the wicket, and so at least ono extra field will be required to deal with his favorite stroke. Tho batsman who stands with his legs wide apart cannot hit ordinary length bowling straight, because he cannot move to the ball. Ills forward stroke Is finished before tho ball is bowled, and if he hits the straight ball at all he invariably mows it round to square log again; a batsman who stands with his left shoulder pointing to mldwleket or short-leg is not often a straight driver, because the »»houldor Is soldom brought on to the lino of the ball. This player, as a rule. Is m a position to cut or drive square. The balance of the body ahould bo equally divided betwoen tho two logs, slightly parled, and the right foot brought up again.st the bat, which should cover the middle and leg stump. The bat should only JtiHt touch the ground, and the body should bo «h upright an possible juj booh as the ball leaves the bowler's hand. Th«j left shoulder should bo brought woll forward with tho left elbow well away f-om the side, for thus is n straight bat ensured. In this way tho batsmaU BEGINS CORRECTLY and Is In truo position for whatever ball tho bowler may sond him. Surely ihl« Is better than a wrong beginning, which cannot be roctifled when a fast

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bowler Is on the batsman In a flash? It does not greatly matter If a player prefers 'to have slightly more weight on his right leg than on his left. The general advice to batsmen is to stand with the right foot just within and parallel to the crease, for they will want all the space possible for their back play without running the risk of stepping upon or hitting, their wickets. If the batsman will keep his left elhc-w tip, his bat must be " straight, but he. should take care to , go right through with the forward stroke when the elbow is straightened out at the finish of the stroke dead on the line of the ball. . ' On no account should the bat be grounded just m front of the left foot, for then the batsman will only put - half- of his power into the, stroke. This is, however, permissible ln the event of playing a defensive stroke, but care should always be taken not to make scoring balls more difficult than they" are. We all know batsmen who will almost make any bowling look difficult; on the other hand there aire batsmen who at times make even th'e v "best bowling look absurdly easy. Some beginners hold their bat so that- the fingers of the left hand are visible to the bowler. This is wrong, for it y PREVENTS ALL FREEDOM of shoulder work m driving straight. Other beginners slip the fingers of the left hand round ln the, middle of their forward stroke. This, also, does not seem right, because the bat cannot be- held very firmly m the lef^t hand if the fingers will slip round, and the same amount of power cannot be m the stroke of this flnger-sllpper as m that executed by a batsman who does not shift his -fingers. Sliding the right hand down the handle of the bat m playing back has never been practised by such forceful back players as Trumper, Clem Hill, Hobbs, Spooner, . Macartney and others. • The mistake generally made by youngsters Is that they, so to speak, want to run before they know how to walk. Let them go steadily and slowly. Let them begin by mastering the ordinary strokes all round the i wicket against tlie bowling they have to meet. To-day we see far too many boys who do not play correct cricket, and the reason is very largely due to tho formation of bad habits AT THE VERY BEGINNING of their cricket life. These habits become more and more difficult to root out as one grows older. At the present time we have too few batsmen m first-class cricket who really drive the ball as it used to be driven some years ago, and the explanation is that so many batsmen do not use their left shoulder. The line between the shoulders should be parallel with the line of the ball. Youngsters can easily acquire this driving stroke, and it is a very profitable one because lt causes the field to be opened out, and when men have to be put into the outfield the batsman makes more chances for runs nearer the wickets. Learn,, then, to drive. But driving doos not come at once. Let the boy first learn to play his strokes correctly and be content to beoome more powerful m his batting when he has mastered the Initial stages of hlg game. Correot play does not necessarily mean quiet play. What lt does mean is playing the straight ball with the straight bat and hitting the straight boll with the straight bat, and likewise the crooked ball with a crooked bat. Length balls, or balls pitched on the blind spot, should be played, while balls of bad longth, such as the long hop. half volley and full pitch, should be hit, but the proper bat should be presented according to whether the pitch of the ball is straight or otherwise. ON NO ACCOUNT - must tho batsman hit across tho flight of tho ball, even m the case of n full pitch. To hit a full pitch on the leg stump to square leg is to hit across the flight of the ball, and \hls stroke is often fatal^to the batsman, as ho has only tho width of the bat with which to hit the ball instead of the longth of lt. The turn of the wrist at tho right timo will, with a straight bat. place tho ball to the onalde for runs, care being taken to go right through with the stroke. This ia tho correct and really safe way of dealing with a straight ball of Indifferent length so far as onside lay Is concerned. When a batsman has been correctly taught ho docs not llnd It difficult to score by these methods on fast and true wickets, oven if the bowling is of perfect length.