I shall now enumerate the wickets upon which I have found forward play and back play most effective.
A fast, dry and true wicket.
A fast, good wet wicket.
A slow, good wicket after rain.
A drying sticky wicket.
On a fast, dry and true wicket I never hesitate to play forward; for the bowler can get little or no work on the ball, and, what is more, the further it is pitched up and the faster it comes along the easier it is to play forward to it. My scores of 344 for M.C.C. v. Kent, and 318 not out for Gloucestershire v. Yorkshire, in 1876, were made on wickets of that kind, and I played forward to nearly every good-length ball.
I carry out the same principle on a fast, good wet wicket; for the bowler has much difficulty in getting work on the ball, owing to its wet, slippery state: but I watch the ball more carefully, for I know it will occasionally keep low and travel faster after it pitches, while shooters occur more frequently than on a dry wicket.
On a slow, good wicket after rain the bowler can get more work on the ball than on a good, fast wicket; but the ball does not come so quickly off the pitch, and it rarely rises higher than the bails. You can play either back or forward on a wicket of that kind, according to the pitch of the ball; but in playing forward you must not play too quickly, as the ball sometimes hangs a bit, and you may play it back to the bowler. Turner beat me with his second ball in that way in the first innings of the England v. Australia match at Lord's on the 21st July, 1890; and I candidly confess I felt, and I daresay looked, particularly foolish over it. Playing a little too soon at the ball, which got up and hung, I met it on the shoulder of the bat, and an easy catch to
