SPEEDING UP CRICKET

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 95, 8 May 1937, Page 14

SPEEDING UP CRICKET

AN INTERNATIONAL PROPOSAL V *

From tiine to time schemes for thei mprovement of cricket have been put orward tq secure brighter play and 0 attract the public, but few have jone quite so far as one now sponlored by a former internationai, How serious the position has besome has been revealed in recent jables teliing of the financiai plight #£ many county club?, and already the i|.CC has appointed a commission to txamine the position. In this artjcle,' Dr. P. C. Charlton, 1 former Australian Test player, diseusses the question and makes in•.eresting suggestions for speeding up ihe game: — The M.C.C. appears to have exaausted its efforts to popularise criqxet, and it now behoves the Australian Board of Control to take the iniiiative and make a change before it is ;oo late. Accordingly, I suggest that the fol- • owing ruies be adopted: — (1) Join the two cr'eases at each nd by parailel lines one foot on each . de, thus forming a rectangle. Every i iii passing the wicket outside this to >e deemed a wide, credited against the bowler, bnt npt the etrih«r. TXS

ensures that every ball is within easy striking distance. (2) Twenty-four runs must be obtained from every 50 balis received by the striker, otherwise he be deemed to be out. The quota of runs — 24 — is calculated on a day's play from ngon to 6 p.m„ totalling 320 runs, with a delivery of 80 overs. Every student of the gaipe will recognise this simply as bright play with the elenqent df reeklessness and stonewalling eliminated, Objeetions might be raised that in minor matches the ba^sman and umpire would be ignorant of the number of balls bowled and runs made, but it would be a simple matter for tl>4 scorer to give ttfat information in multiples of 20. Anyone who studies these suggestions must recognise that they whl improve the technique of the player in every department of the game. The bastman will develop his repertoire of strokes, while his running hetween the wickets and his judgment of short runs must be improved to .maiptain the standard" of run-getting. fe