CRICKET.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 18 October 1930, Page 3

CRICKET.

THE STUMP’S ROMANCE!. The wicket lias remained unaltered from 1817 to 1928 —three stumps Avith tAvo bails, 27 inches high by eight Avide. But it was not ahvays so. Let us see how the Avicket greAv, Avrites G. A. Brooking in the “Athletic News.’’ In 1700 the stumps Avere txA’o in number, one foot high by tAvo feet Avide, with a cross piece, or, as some called it, a “tell-tale.’’ We should refer to it uoav as a large bail. Another authority states that in 1705 the Avidtli varied betAveen one foot and tAvo feet. Whether they Avere ever altered to 18 inches high by six Avide is open to question, but one volume states they Avere. Still there is not the least doubt that in -the game played betAveen five of the Hambledon Club and five of All England on the Artillery ground on* May 22nd, 1775, the stumps had been raised to 22 inches by six.

In this match there occurred an incident which, shortly after, had a farreaching influence on the rules. Nyren’s Cricketers’ Ghide says:— “Small (of Hambledon) Avent in the last man for 14 runs, and fetched them. ‘ ‘ Lumpy Avas bowler on the 'Occasion, and it having been remarked that his balls had several times passed between Small’s stumps, it Avas considered a hard thing on the boAvler that his straiglitest balls should be thus sacrificed; the number of stumps Avas in consequence increased from two to three.” Doubtless the third stump Avas used shortly after, but history does not record when. Still, it is definitely lcnOAvn that in the Hambledon game against All England at Sevenoaks in June, 1777, three stumps were used. This Avas the match in which J. Ayhvard, of Hambledon, scored 167 out of 403, and batted from Wednesday until Friday; a splendid display Avhich enabled the village to beat England by an innings. Authorities differ relating to the next alteration, both in period and dimensions. One states that in 1798 thero Avere three stumps, 24 inches high and seven Avide, witli a “telltale” or bail, and 18 years later the height was again raised two inches, with the same Avidth as before. Still, there is no doubt that in June, 1817, they were raised to 27 inches high and eight Avide, which, as before stated, is Avliat the Australians have been using to date on tour. They are asked, after the Oval match, to ' try the uoav one inch Avider and one inch higher Avicket. Readers must recollect that about 1743, when only two Aviekets, wide apart, Avere in use, the bat Avas curved and somewhat similar to an old-fasli-ioned dinner knife. Later on, as Nyren says, “the fashion of the bat having been changed to a straight form, the system of stopping or blocking Avas adopted. In those far-off days they evidently had practical jokers, for a player called “Shock” White, of Ryegate, brought a bat to a match Avhich, being the Avidth of the'stumps, absolutely defied the boAvlers to get a ball past it. At that time there Avas no limit to the Avidth of the bat, but this incident caused them in future to be not more than 4j inches across. And that reminds mo that dear old Dan Leno, in those many game's for charity ho played, used a bat so constructed that Avlien ho hit the ball, the leather disappeared inside a trap door of the bat! Quite a good idea!