very well when the makers have succeeded in producing handles with the proper amount of spring and yet strong enough to withstand the strain put upon them. It is very annoying to have the handle of your bat breaking in the middle of along innings, for you do not feel at home with a new one for an over or two. I am repeatedly asked whose bats are the best, and what maker's I play with. My answer is I play with any good bat I can get hold of, never minding who is the maker, as long as the bat is not too heavy and is well balanced, and suits me as to handle. In the season 1887 I made most of my long scores with a bat made by a maker comparatively unknown. When you get hold of a good bat take care of it, oil it now and then, and when the season is over, put it away in a dry place; during the winter months oil it occasionally, or it may get too dry to drive properly when the next season comes.
The ball used when cricket was first played was much smaller than the one employed at the present time, and was more like our 'rounder' ball. The rule says the present ball must not weigh less than five ounces and a half, nor more than five ounces and three-quarters, and it must not measure less than nine inches nor more than nine inches and one-quarter in circumference.
It requires much knowledge and experience to tell a good ball from an indifferent one. They are all pretty much the same in appearance, size and weight, and it is only after a hard knock or two that a bad one begins to show its real nature. I have seen an apparently good ball knocked out of shape after half an hour's play, while a real good one will last and keep its shape and firmness throughout a long innings.
Ball-makers like bat-makers are very numerous, and as cricketers must trust them to supply a good article, I would say buy only from those who have earned the right to be classed amongst the best makers. A badly made ball is dear at any price.
And now, having described the materials necessary to complete a cricketer's outfit, the only thing required is a suitable bag
