THE CRICKET THE PUBLIC WANTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 20075, 11 October 1920, Page 3

THE CRICKET THE PUBLIC WANTS.

HINTS' TO GLUES AND PLAYERS. SURREY CAPTAIN’S VIEWS. -The "Star" has secured (be rights oyer a series o( articles written by pro-' uiinsnl- English cricketeTs, dealing with aspects of the game.' Most of the writers are members of the English team' which is now on its way to Australia. Mr P. G. H. Fender, the famous Surrey captain, is the author of the following article, entitled “ The. Cricket the Public Wants"; It- is a very difficult, matter to say exactly what the public wants in the way of cricket, because- pne finds-that m every part of'the country tho likes nncl dislikes of tho spectators round the ring vary considerably. Some an predating the finer points of the- game are satisfied with cricket, which wouki on other grounds coll forth -i lot of ironical comments; others being; perhaps more used to football'and l (lie somewhat intense excitement that one usually experiences during the footer game are all out for thrills, sometimes quite irrespective of whether they are nrovidod hy their own men or tho -visitors. hj: is only natural that p. ring of spectators should' wish their own men to do well, but it is very gratifying to Know that there are quile a. largo number of cases where the visitor who docswelt receives an equal share of the approbation of the spectators Id that of me home player. Of course- a. great' deal depends on tnc- meiiiods to ivhich they have been used, dome crowds where stubborn, solid cricket is the every day dish served up bv the borne conn tv. find a, more pleasurable interest in those who inrtulgc. m a little liojitning 'cricket 110 matter whether it is in hatting. niowlnig or fielding. OtHers, usually those who hare planed a lot themselves, find more interest in watolling some hard •struggle - the outcomo of which will in a)] probability inlnionce the_ whole course of the game from a. tactical point of view, than m seeing an exhibition, of wild sWgmg. “ KEENNESS IN T,HE FIELD. .But wherever it is ami whatever the circumstances, there is no doubt but mat one thing in any circumstances ivoirid always appeal to a sporting pqhlie and that ib summed up m ono word, quality maybe preserved m all departments of the game, ana is really more of a personal matter than one related simplv and solely to cricket. " . no , 31iatl er vvhat the pcireumstances a keen cricketer is far more interesting, oven though he is only domg the same tlnmr as another'more rt-olid player may he. 'The' outward manifestation of keenness which is really what the general Ec imdm I ? pp £ ciate * most'would mk-1 ■ headings, the first and nort important of which is good field'l7. r matter whore one may he. U rnlS '" S n l! W!l '' s "'PPrepiated, and it only it would he realised, ,ifc is really 2s 1 -nr S fl ,n,po y ant . a I,art; of> Select important ° r ’ I,ot act,,aU y tKe most a nlnv!!. 1 ’ *"1 bo 7, ‘ li "S m manifested bv a playci who keeps on trying. He mav he continually scored off. even hit. but h ?.j s . it i s hound to he visible to tho crowd, and that draws ineir interest. Keeness in batting is hound to lead 3- man m ordinary circumstances to want to score. If he wants to score ho mil naturally attempt t 0 take anv and every opportunity of doing so. ‘ That again leads to bright batting or to the next best thing, the man who has tried to he bright although, he may have faded. Slackness in any department of the game k the one thing that must be most abhorrent to any ring of speda tors, and probably one of the questions which is asked above is that this blot on any side should he conspicuous by its absence. KEEP YOUR EYE ON HENDREN. Js instances of the interest that oven keenness alone will inspire one has only got to watch Hitch or Patsey Heudien. m the field. They may lie doing nothing bub the crowd never lose sight of them for a minute for fear that any minute they may be up to something which the crowd are liable to •I}' with it fielding ’ 'in answering the question ns to What the public wants, one has only to cast one’s mind hack to cases,winch must surely he-ocenr. ting every day. where a plnver although he has taken “a Mob” 'has marie just as many, if not more, runs than ono of hji s follows who has perinp.s got LO or 2o' on the score sheet. Ims by actually slopping the other sice scoring runs, which they would otherwm© have had to their ’credit. Ibis same “keenness'' applied in yet another direction, apart from the actual playing of the game, would do as much towards livening up cricket and satisfying the public demands as nil the previous examples T have riven. 1 refer to the “ keenness ” which Iceeps the game continually in motion and reduces the intervals of waitiim- to a minimum. Naturally the piayei- looks at this fispect of the game from altogether a different standpoint to that tf the spectator, for whereas the latter is out for an idle day’s pleasure and in need of edntmual excitement to keep him from boredom, the player is .engaged in leal hard work—and three dajs of a first-class cricket match is hard work—and is inclined to welcome any short opportunity for rest which umy present itself. But even then there is no'reason why the game should not bo kept moving as rapidiv, as vo<sible by tho fieldsmen quickly taking lip their new positions at the end of the over and the 11 next man in ” losing , 10 time in getting to the crease at the fall of a. wicket. , . UMPIRES AND TIME-IV ASTERS. At. almost any match, one hears complaints with regard to the latter point, and it is certainly one in which there is room for considerable improvement, micro is of course a. rule of Die game covering tho point, hut this is probably more often broken than not. ami this will continue to be- tho case until umpires; commence lo inflict the. penalty and " blow out”; the batsman who is not at the wicket within the stipulated two minutes-from the fall of the last

wicket. Only last season considerable discussion on this point.- arose' ovei*, an incident which took place in a Couhtv ' ’ ' match in which. Somerset were engaged ' and it-is probable that cricketers generally read a lesson in this, for. things ‘ hare not been quite so, ; slack in this i * direction since that particular occur- ' 1 I'enco. But the average spectator sees no reason whatever why. the outgoing batsman should not pass his more unfortunate colleague at-any rale on the ' ‘ pavilion steps, even iF not considerably nearer the wicket. It is evident that nothing will salisty the public so much n« the definite result to a match, the drawn game being Unsatisfactory in every wav, and the ■ pubhc therefore likes, to watch the team which - goes all out to win oven though considerable risk is incurred in ho doing of it. The majority of spectators would rattier sec'their teanii actually tee alter a gallant and’onerpusiiig effort to bring off tiha niateh than sit out the day watching a someuhat dicaiT dotcnsivo game, the- eolu object of which.is to play out time and' thus save the side from defeat. PJavnntnf 0 views 0.1 th’fc point and .in many cases tho thrills in a game ot this character, arc. more to \ •: them than m many a fight which haa"v.' been easily won, But' the spectator! ' ' does not experience this kind of ' and the result of such, a day’s play means but httlc tp him, 1 ■ But when all is said; and done spec-* lators of any sport are a long-suffering ' race and really, all they require to satisly them is to see every man doing) his best all the time. They know they cannot have more ,than this! and do not ask for it, but they are quite justified 1 in their.demand,.