THE LATEST WISDEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23811, 18 May 1939, Page 5

THE LATEST WISDEN

DON BRADMAN AS WRITER “DOPED” WICKETS AND LEW LAW DISCUSSED INTERESTING FEATURES The 1939 Wlsden has made Its appearance with its customary remarkable fund of cricket statistics and information on everything to do with the game. It Is enriched by several highly interesting articles by men who have won renown In the game, notable among them being Don Bradman’s ‘‘Cricket at the Cross Roads,” Arthur Gilligan on the subject of Cricket Conundrums, and Frank Woolley’s “My Happy Cricket Life.” Bradman immediately makes the obvious admission that no matter how much cricket is loved and no matter how strong the desire to regard it as a friendly pastime, it is not possible to dissociate its future, at least in the first-class category, from the cold, hard facts of finance. ‘T am all in favour of ‘hastening slowly’ and have admired the peaceful but purposeful way

In which cricket has for so long been administered In England,” he writes. “Nevertheless, I cannot help feeling that with the quickening of modern tempo, the more Americanised trend which is demanding speed, action and entertainment value, it behoves all of us to realise we are the custodians of the welfare of cricket and must guard its future even more zealously than its present.” With that In mind, he discusses first the duration of test matches and expresses the doubt whether the big issue is limited or played-out tests He comments unfavourably on the “doped" wickets of to-day, stating that certainly the groundsmen on some English grounds can and do “dope their wickets. He does not advocate a return to fiery wickets, but considers that there could easily.be a balance struck which, although it might result in a lessening in the phenomenal scoring of recent years, would add enormously to the attraction of the game. The Lbw Law Bradman advocates also a further experiment with the lbw law with the aim of developing offside play- He thinks that the batsman should be out to a ball pitching in line with the wickets or on the off side which would have struck the wicket irrespective of where the batsman’s legs are. At some future date, he suggests, there might be the need to legislate m favour of the ball pitching outside the batsman s legs also, but admits that it would not do to make too many experiments all at once. The success of the off-side rule, he contends, indicates that equal success could be obtained with the further extension. Another direction in which he considers cricket could be made more attractive to English spectators is by the provision of more up-to-date scoring boards. “Cricket needs to retain its present followers and to gain new ones,” he emphasises. “ Modern scoring boards would be a big help, and any temporary loss would be recouped eventually through the turnstiles. Gilligan and Woolley Arthur Gilligan is thoroughly qualified to discourse on cricket conundrums, a favourite topic among all cricketers, and in this article he offers some interesting and amusing posers. For example, do you know five men can be dismissed for one ball bowled. That is his first conundrum Work it The retirement of Frank Woolley would be bad news to the thousands who have admired his glorious batting in all the cricket-playing countries of the world and particularly to his devoted Kent followers. He says his 32 vears of cricket have been sheer delight. but that he now feels tired after a strenuous match and considers it wiser to retire now rather than play on for a few seasons until people wonder why he remains in the game. He article recounts some of his experiences. and is accompanied by a full statistical record of his career. It is a magnificent record, too. , These articles are only some of the features of the almanack. Successive editors have appealed for some restriction on the preparation of wickets, and the present editor (Mr Wilfrid H. Brookes') agrees with Don Bradman. “One may logically assume,” he says, “ that unless the work of the groundsman is to be controlled, the aim to bring about more results by extending the days allotted to the test match will once more be defeated.” Cricketers of the Year A portrait of Lord Hawke and appreciations by Sir Stanley Jackson, Sir Francis Lacey and Mr Hubert Preston are other features; and an additional improvement is the special index to the cricket records and fuller-than-usual descriptions of the England-Aus-tralia test matches. The five cricketers of the year are H. T. Bartlett (Sussex), W. A. Brown (Australia), Kenneth Fames (Essex). D. C. Compton (Middlesex) and A. Wood (Yorkshire). Portraits of these chosen players and short biographies are well up to standard, and, of course, always form one of the most eagerly awaited features of the “ cricketers Bible.” This Is the seventy-sixth successive issue of Wisden’s, and is in every way worthy of the precedent built up by John Wisden. the Sussex cricketer, who produced the first almanack from nis Coventry street sports outfitting shop in 1864. The latest addition in its bright yellow cover with the contrasting green is a welcome reminder that although New Zealand’s cricket is over for another few months, there will be the doings of the English counties to keep interest flourishing until it is time to look out gear again.