sights, an overthrow. Any fieldsman intentionally shying at the bottom of the wicket, when a man is there to receive the ball, ought to have 'a dozen' immediately. You will frequently see the ball returned hard in, when there is no chance of a run being attempted; this is bad, it affects the wicket-keeper's hands, as he is not prepared for it; when there is a chance he would not feel it, if you were to send it in like shot; his anxiety would take away the thought.
You should never hold the ball, but return it to the man at the wicket immediately; if you are in the outfield and the batsman is on the alert, he will steal a run, and you will get laughed at. In throwing in, avoid a long swing of the arm, but shy with as short and sharp a motion as possible.
In catching, you will frequently see the easiest chances missed. For why? men don't give way sufficiently with their hands. Thinking it easy, they hold their hands stiff, which causes the ball to rebound, and they lose it, with the old saying, 'I made too sure of it.' That's very little consolation to a bowler. Balls hit with the greatest force you will generally see caught; for the man seeing the ball come with such velocity, feels a little fear, which makes his hand give, and causes the very action that makes the ball stick. Most catches, particularly high or slow ones, are missed for want of humouring the ball.
In gathering to a ball, you should try to get it at the bound, which you will be able to do if well on your legs. At the same time be prepared, in case it should shoot; sometimes it is worth the risk of losing a run by darting in a little further to run the batter out, especially if he is a good one. I think there are no half-way places in the field where a man should stand, either to save the one or the three or four, except in extraordinary cases. The middle-off, cover-point, long-slip, and long-stop should all save one run. Those are places that give a man a fine chance of showing off to advantage; for, by being a good judge and a good gatherer, he may frequently
