HOW TO PLAY CRICKET.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16379, 12 March 1924, Page 9

HOW TO PLAY CRICKET.

HINTS BY WO'RLD-FAMOUS

PLAYER, MACARTNEY GIVES USEFUL ADVICE. Faithful to his promise lhat too New South Wales' team while in New Zealand 1 would do all in their power to help the game along, U. G. Macartney, captain of the visiting them, delivered a lecturelte to a large number of young plovers in the social hall of (he Y.M.0.A., Wellington. Mr. Macartney, who was given a. most enthusiastic reception, said that New Zealanders and Australians were twin brothers, and there was no reason why | New Zealanders should not he as good jas Australians at cricket. He was going that evening, he said, to talk to the vounger players. I'list ol all, there was the question of dress. Every ■ voting cricketer should take care to see Mint lie took the field properly shod and with his boot-laces lied, so that fhe/v would not, come undone. A lick Ran Herman, iho old Australian, stonewaller, had once said: "It you can t he a cricketer, try and /look like one.” No one could hope to succeed wit liout steady and consistent.' practice. When the Australians were playing against England in the test matches, they practised right up to the last moment. Cricket.' the New South Wales captain declared, was one of the cleanest games played. There could not he such a thing as an honesi client at cricket, for ilie simple fact that the oilier 21 players would' not stand for it. It was the ' same thing with umpires. lie had never ‘vet met an umpire who was a cheat. Umpires made mistakes, but they gave their decisions to the best of their ability, and players should accept their decisions unhesitatingly. If a man was a cheat at cricket, his (mates would get rid! of him. Speaking of batting, he said that the man who was nervous would never get very far. Of course, most young plrjyers were nervous in their first game or two. Mr. Macartney went on to show his audience how to stand at the wickets and how to grip the bat. The bat, lie said, should' be held lightly until it was time to make the stroke. If the bat was gripped tightly the muscles of the wrists would he tired before the innings had gone far. It was the same with the stance. Batsmen should stand in a natural position. One member of the New Zealand team, he said, moved about while waiting to make the stroke and kept tapping the ground with the bat. All this sort of thing tended to tire a batsman. Cricket was very much like golf. The idea was to makefile two bands work as one. For tire drive and! square-cut the two hands should be close together on the handle, whereas for the defensive stroke and late cut one liandl should be close down against the blade. • Speaking of ,b wlnig. he siud that ah countries in the world at 'the present time were weak in howling. lie considered' tlaniiiiighnm. of Christchurch, the best natural bowler they had met in New Zealand, and was surprised that that bowler was not in the team for the second test match. Another howler thev thought highly of "'as Henderson, of Wellington, and they were surprised that he had not been picked for the first test. In Australia at the present time they were very short ot howlers who could spin the ball. In the old days they had such bowlers as Howell. Noble, Laver, and McLeod, spin the ball from the off when the wicket gave them the slightest assistance. Now it seemed that bowlers had sacrificed spin for swing. He considered that the swinging ball had been over-done. It was all right when George Hirst first introduced! this ball, but batsmen soon got used to it. It was an unfortunate thing that the bat would always have an advantage over tho ball. The lecturer went on to show his audience how to hold the ball for the swing and the swerve. The swerve was got by spin. The only bowler who could send along a real swerve by finger spin was Noble. The googly was also illustrated. The only way to pick what a howler was sending down was to watch his hand! closely. But the most important thing about bowling uas length. Coming |to fielding, Mr. Macartney said that this was the most important department of cricket, and the least practised. lie could never understand why fielding was not practised more. Quite good practice could' be got by a slip-catching machine, which did not cost much. Good fielding spectacular as good batting. Stopping and returning the ball was not the only tiling. The thing was to pick up and return the ball with the same action. He advised his hearers to watch Andrews and Dacre at cover, and Hendry and Mailey in the slips. Tliddleston, he thought, was a good slip fieldsman, though he had not yet seen enough oi him to judge accurately. Something could be learnt by watching Punch in the outfield, and especially bis return. He (the speaker) bad. now been playing inter-State cricket for 13 years, and it was the spirit of cricket which brought them on such tours as these. In tin .Canterbury match, Cunningham and Mcßeth bowled practically unchanged, but the returning of the ball to these howlers had been atrocious, and had tired them out. Every time a bowler had to bend his back it took something out of him. He greatly admired the pluckfy manner in which Cunningham had kept pegging a way at the bowling crease, though His hands had been injured by faulty returns - from the field. With a little luck, Cunningham might very easily have had four or five wickets. In concluding his remarks, the New South Wales captain said that New Zealand cricket had made great strides and if their players would take pains to practise hard, and even go to the length of rolling out good practice pitches for themselves, the digy would not he for distant when New Zealand would be able to hold its own with the best elevens from any Australian State, and a New Zealand eleven would be able to give the Australian eleven a hard fight. Cheers for Air Macartney were enthusiastically given at the close of the leeI nrr.