TO BRIGHTEN THE GAME

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 190, 13 August 1932, Page 4

TO BRIGHTEN THE GAME

TIME LIMIT URGED. CURE FOR FINANCIAL ILLS. LONDON, July 25. As one of the cures for the financial ills of county cricket clubs, the Gloucester amateur, Mr. B. H. Lyon, suggests that Sunday cricket should bo introduced. Writing in the Daily Mail Mr. Lyon laments the deadly dullness of county cricket, which, he says, results in poor attendances and poverty-stricken clubs. The critic can see only one remedy for this, namely, limiting an innings to a fixed period. “With some counties the position is so bad that the M.C.C. is considering putting them on the dole,” ho says. <f 'We arc all worried at their precarious situation, but nobody does anything except —I forgot—the M.C.C. increased the size of the wicket by an inch.” Mr. Lyon emphasies the difference between the present and “grand old lays” of cricket, when “Ranji,” Jessop, Richardson, Woods, and Trumpet were playing. In those days, Grace hatting on a natural wicket would flick ‘he fastest delivery out of his beard.” “Nowadays,” writes Mr. Lyon, “we •ee Jardine ou a perfect pitch patting ’learne’s slow off-breaks gently back to 1 ho bowler by a perfect forward stroke >r a copybook back shot. ‘‘And Jardine is England’s captail nd the cynosure of all young cricket < rs. Writers defend this kind of pla} -which, 1 believe, is slowly killing the game—as demonstrating the science of cricket at its best, and fascinating •hose understanding the finer points. “To-day, batsmen play a chancelcss innings for 4U in three hours, yet. people ask, ‘What is wrong with cricket?”’ Replying to critics Mr. Lyon denies that a time limit would load to slog* ging. He says it would only cause batsmen to take reasonable risks in order to get runs. He points out that tho M.C.C. refused to try the time limit experiment, although it was empowered to alter the. laws.