CRICKET A HUNDRED AND TEN YEARS AGO.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1183, 31 October 1884, Page 3

CRICKET A HUNDRED AND TEN YEARS AGO.

A» everyone knows. (writis Mr Andrew Laing iiithe.curient-iiumberof. tlieJSiiglHh Illustrated Alj.uziite ”) the' thir.i stump was. ndded about,JL77s,, J'eeuqse it >vus. ;phse yed that the straigVtest, . v hafis, wont, bet when tWvytptie'fcf without reifh '.vino the bale.- •’ Tuijj i edptb-ria would at once have occurred to the .feebbst .cipacity. but mar k lh« cpnservatis|n ,«t "he human mind, atldlW raar. if df dvolU.iuri. There wiia originally ho"middle TtUmp,'" because the batter,'wlien.risgaiuMigtliia ground after a run, placed (usj b.u.img,hple-oetwcep the stamps, itself a survival from cat and. dog. The ho e Was filled* ifp. iiiid a <5 ease (Out at' -fits', uot marked in whitewash, - as' at pre- : sent) was subs i.uted, to prevent the bat froin coining ifown'' da the hands of the wicket keeper, aA ha put ''own' the wicket by placing the ba.Uu the bole.. Yet though men,hail got rid of the hole, they did not at once add a third stick ; custom and use were td i strong for them; and v/o see the old unfair two stulnpa iu the designs publisher). Indeed they appear as late as 1791, in a picture of . a jua-ch. between Lord Winchi'sea . and Lord Darpiey, for,, LIOUO aside.' Maik also the height of the nickels. Tmi ■ lo.Vnesa,- dke the shape of The contemporary bat, Us idea to the habit of bowling grubs. A mo lern ball wonl l rise high over- these wickets, which ooiil i only be kn .eked down by a shooter or a yorker. or perbap s a haif volley, Next observe the dispositions. of the held. There is a man out in the long held on, a mid on, and a square leg far out. There is a wicket keeper, long stop, point. 'third man, long bit off, mid off, and cover point., Apparently bard, straight driving on the off 8 j ie, was not expected. The b I'-ler holes the nail to his eye. like the immortal TrUndler of Diucley Belli The game, in rapi'e of old wickets, old bats, and..low. underhand deliveries, required a disposition of the field uot uu ike tnat to which we are acous* tomel. The Ing stop, .of ■ course* -would now be supeifluous among cood .players. Nyreh says' 'vaguely 'that the use' of iha straight bat, with all that, it involves, came in “some years after .1746,” when Lord John Sackvifie captained Kent ia a match against Eiulghd.' The scores were very small m those days, when Prince Charles was shaking the-throne of the Hurt e of Hanover.. Kent gqt 4J and 70, England 53 and 58- But we have seen even smaller scores ma le by good men on wet wickets, as when the' Australians for the first time played MOO. Nyren-.welllrenumbered the introduction of the third stump A single wicket match between the Humble Inn Club and England was played on May 2ind, 1775, and Smalt went in, ..the last wicket, to get 14 runs. : These be knocked off, but Lumpy’s bulls several times pissed between the stum [is, and the absurdity of this led ■td the change; "Many 'feared i would shorten the gaiaw, IbutCNyreu ndd it would make, the batter redouble his care, and would improye tlie defeu.e,- Why Nyreh Was “eblisulted by the'H.athpSbire gentlemen,”-whent oh bra own showing.'he was but. eleven, years ofr.age,-, itis difficult to guess. the veteran’s memory, waa a,littje Iq.any case lie was right about the- third 'stliinp.'' The'year After its introdnetien AylwaWl/ going-in last bpt one for,.Humble.lqn ,-afpumji.; Kng* dan hj piade .167, then..pqnsidefed ,ft prodigious score, against,.’tho bowling,of iha re*

The weakest trotmm,'am diest child, and (lekest invalid, can use Hop Bitten with safety and great good. 5ee.....