A "Bawl" for American Cricket/Chapter 1
Meet the ball with as full a bat as the case admits, but meet it. The batsman should not wait for the ball to strike bat. This applies to blocking as well as to tapping.
Patience, fortitude and good temper, should characterize the ball player whether upon "diamond" or "crease."
CHAPTER I.
COMPARING BASE BALL WITH CRICKET.
THE popular demand for perfect ball playing, has developed such marked differences in England and America, that a short comparison between base ball and cricket may be of interest to some readers, and may tend to greater toleration. Here the professional has been brought into undue prominence, because of his recognized skill, while the people ignore the efforts of the amateurs, and cannot be induced to part with their "quarter" to see a "comedy of base ball errors", or witness the efforts of the undisciplined cricketer, to amuse himself at their expense.
In England the superiority of the professional cricketer is quite as marked as that of the professional base ball player, but his skill is employed in his regular business, which consists in teaching the amateurs, who abound in countless numbers. They are called "gentlemen" cricketers, as distinguished from their preceptors, the professionals, and play their National game as well, or perhaps better. The exhibition of base ball professionals in every city of America, has given the youth of this generation, opportunities to learn the game and their magnificent ball playing upon the diamond, is a worthy example for American cricketers, and the popularity of the "National Game" is largely due to the skill of these professional experts. The organizations are sustained by capitalists, whose investments depend upon the character of the games, and the system has given it an impetus which has placed it in the front rank of American sport, and brought the play up to the highest standard. Cricket on the contrary is played in America almost exclusively by amateurs, who deserve the highest praise for the manner in which they have upheld American Cricket, especially when it is remembered that tneir English adversaries, inherit their "national" game from their fathers, grand-fathers, and great-grand-fathers, and that each generation of cricketers takes up and improves upon the play of its predecessor. Many clubs employ "professionals" as teachers, who not withstanding their superior cricket are always excldued from "trophy" matches.
This comparison we believe will interest enquirers after facts, while those whose vision is obscured by a total eclipse of either game, will "skip" to something more interesting. The "base" in the National game corresponds with the "run" in cricket, and is ninety feet long; the distance between wickets is sixty-six feet, but between creases which is the length of a run, the distance is fifty-eight feet, or thirty-two feet shorter than a base. The average runner of a "base" must consume enough additional time to cover the added distance. Supposing that two and one-half seconds is required by the runner of the base, only one and one-half seconds is consumed by the cricketer in making his run. This difference in "time" means a preponderating advantage to the fielder upon the diamond, and a corresponding one to the batsman in cricket. The public, chiefly for this reason, has pronounced upon the sloth of cricketers, and the rapidity of those who play base ball. The unthinking spectator concludes that cricketers are sleepy, while fielders upon the diamond are consiantly performing feats of wonder. The cricketer makes his run of only fifty-eight feet with ease and almost certainty if he uses fair discretion, while the striker of a base ball must attempt his "run" though bitter experience tells him that it is an impossibility. It will at once be seen that the runner of the compulsary long "base" is almost handicapped out of the race by the cricketer who makes a discretionary short "run".
The baseball fielder has been given tremendious "time", advantages over the cricket fielder by the long base as well as by the "forced" run. These advantages are increased by the construction of the diamond, which "fouls off" three-quarters of the field, thereby permitting eight fielders to be placed almost elbow to elbow in front of the doomed batter. "Side out" has become such a forgone conclusion that changes in the rules must follow, if interest in the game is expected from the public.
Many features of the game of single wicket cricket correspond with base ball. The efforts of the batter are, limited to hits forward of the wicket, while the run is one hundred and twenty-four feet, but this style of cricket has become obsolete, owing to the same objections which exist in base ball, and has given place to double wicket cricket. There the impartial observer will find no undue advantage given either to batter, fielder or bowler. But if a game is played between cricketers of like standard, every department is in strict equiblirum, while opportunities are offered to skillful performers unknown in base ball. Some misguided lovers of American cricket have tried to popularize the game through base ball modifications, but their failure was a forgone conclusion, owing to essential differences in the theories of the two games. If they will reflect a moment, we think they will see that base ball has reached a stage only somewhat beyond single wicket cricket, which gave place to the double wicket game, about the year 1800, but it is so many years behind modern cricket, that the year 1900 is likely to arrive before such changes are made, as will place the different departments of the game in balance. Yet the anomoly of the inferior game producing the best exponents exists in America, and is the production of that antagonism between amateurism and professionalism, which seems to be never ending. The difference though social and educational is enormously enchanced by business reasons, which have done base ball little if any good. Cricketers have kept their game above reproach, and though often taunted because they have imported an English game, it will be admitted even by the admirers of America's "national game" that English cricket has overcome the corruption of the "gambler" and "blackleg," of past generations and become the keystone of English sport, and this result has been brought about by skilful play unaided by tricks upon players or partiality of umpires.
It is our intention to give some hints to those, who seek pleasure and health from cricket pure and simple, for we are most firm in the belief that good fielding, good bowling, and above all good wicket keeping, now almost a lost art in America will popularize cricket.
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No. 1―The "cross bat" illustrated by a cross boy.