A LADY ON CRICKET.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7983, 29 September 1887, Page 4

A LADY ON CRICKET.

The following observations on the last Oxford v. Cambridge cricket match are from . a lady's letter, to the St. James 1 Budget : — At Lord's yesterday I was wedged between two carriages of iladtea, who discussed the matter over my head. By-and-by they took a special interest in Mr -, who was fielding near them at " long-on." They watched him go away to another part of the field at the end of every over, and smiled to each other, when in a few moments he was back again. They made bets (little ones) when he went away that he would soon return. " Poor man !" one said. "Is it not too ridiculous 1" said the other.., Every few minutes they scanned all the pretiy girls in their vicinity, and Baid : " I wonder who tho attrastion ia."

I learned a good deal about cricket yesterday as I, stood between these two carriages. The hero of the match in my neighbourhood was Mr. Key, whose Bcore of 281 againßt Middlesex was known to everybody. A young lady in brown and yellow announced that Mr. Key had made that score v off. ,his own bat," and the others said « Fancy !" , Mr. W. W. Bead's' name was mentioned as that of a cricketer who had also" made hundreds." , " Yes," said theyouns: lady in brown and yellow, "but not off his own bat;." As for " W.Q.? 1 ' (a lady called him that and. blushed), he is a wonderful player ; but then he bowls aa well as bate, " which, of coorsej gives him an advantage." " And, oh I" cried ,pne of the ladies, pointing to Mr. Bn'okland, "that is Mr, BraiD, the Cambridge captain, he played last year. I should .'know him anywhere!" Those* who understood, the game explained it .to those who only took an " intelligent interest " in it. It seems that ' thai elderly men who stand at a distance from .the wickets holding bats in their hands are called umpires ; and they are alwaj'B ready to give iheir bats to the men who are " in," should the latter want them. This saves time. Cambridge, brings one umpire and Oxford the other ; and each university .gets its bat from its own umpire. Of course the beet play is when you make all your notches with your own bat, as in the case of Mr. Key. X AII the fielders at the far away end are Cambridge, and the ones at this end Oxford. One of ' the batsmen is' also Oxford, and the other Cambridge, and when the Oxford man hits tho ball Oxford is eaid to be " in." Before the match begins a' shilling is tossed in the air, and the side that wins the toss chooses the bowlerß. It ib thus of great importance to wiu the toBJf. , The best, " strike " ib high in the air,' because then the fielders can't stop it. If no .one catches the ball, , one notch is conn ted. ior every time you run between the wickets, and both batsmen have to run. If the ball ib caught, however, before it reacheß the ground . by the other side, that counts to them and you have to go awoy.. On the other hand, if your own Bide catch it that countß to you. It is considered good' form to cheer your opponents. Thus,' if your own side catch the ball, the other side applaud ; and if it is the other way yoar side applaud. It is well to understand 'thie, for nothing is so* puzzling as the way . both sides seem to oheer when a man who has been in for hours' is caught and has to go away. An anxious moment is when the ball is hit hard and threatens to go outside the ropes. The rule is that you can only run if it stops or is stopped' before it gets to them. -Thus yob may notice 'that the batsmen Idon't inn wh' en",' they , seem sure that it will ge,buy6nd. ' They stop . and watch it. '"When, however, there seems, a probability of it stopping . before it reaches the ropes, then they, are all right, and run as hard us they can. Tq hit the ball as near the. ropes as possible without sending it beyond them is called " placing " it. Once the ball came quite close to us. There was excitement on both sides of me. When it was within a foot of the ropes it seemed to stop and ' hesitate whether to remain there or roll a ' yard ' farther. It rolled a yard further, outside the rope. The young lady in brown and yellow was eoflorry tor the batsman that if she bad been nearer the rope she felt certain she would have -poshed out her sunshade and stopped the ball. It is. rather unfair to., be put out lbw. That is, when the ball hits you, which is surely the bowler's fault and not yours. The girl in the sailor bat has a brother who played for Oxford once, and waß put out lbw. He told her about it directly afterwards. Cambridge couldn't get him out, and so they bowled at hie legs. The ball certainly hit him, bat lbw means legs . before wickets, md hiß legs were quite a long. way from, the wickets. He didn't care about being put. oat himself, but he objected on the principle of the thing. ' Another lady refused to believe that Cambridge could have done any such thing; which seemed to cause a little an- ' pleasantness. When you hit your wickets with your bat you have to go away ; though of course you would not do it except by accident. Another way of putting "you oat* without really defeating you is to bowl at the wiokets when yon are running. To do him justice, it is not the regular bowler who does this, but only the men who stop the ball. ' How can you prevent the ball " taking your stumps " (a technical phrase) when you are running? The wicketkeeper has a very light time of it. He has nothing to do but stand tbere while v the others are running; and when they 'fling the ball to him he hits off the bails with it in his hands. He is called a "stone-waller," because he stands there as still as 'a wall. To " steal " a run is to rush from the one wicket to the other when the fielders are not looking. Of course' a batsman is naturally anxious to make runs; but there is surely some indelicacy in doing it that way. At least that is the opinion of the young lady in brown and yellow.