DELAYS IN CRICKET

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 59, 2 December 1937, Page 4

DELAYS IN CRICKET

Two-Minute Rule To Be Enfora§d HASTINQS DECISION Honpured mpre in the breaph than in tbe pbservanee, tbe rule Galling fpr the incoming batsm.an tQ tak'e bis plape at the. crease within two minutes pf the dcpaFtate pf tbe previpus batsman is to" be enforeed by the Hastings Cricket Sub-Association in tbe future. There is a move tbropghout the Dominion for the enforcement of this rule, the New Zealand Cricket Council being the sponsors, and umpires have been xequested to bear the rule in mind. "There has been far too much delay after the fall of a wicket for a number of years past, and now it seems to be a matter pf eustom to takp just as Ipng as oue likes," said a leading crieketer this mprning, "Punctuality has never been a stropg ppint in Hawke's Bay eripket, and egcb year it seems tq be getting worse, Quite apatt from the delpys between wickets, teams are lgte iu starting, and on somg afteruoons there has been well over half an hopr's loss oi playing time for no valid reason at all," Mr. A, Mahoney, chairman of tbe Hastings Sul>Asso?ration, stated tbis morning tbat it was proposed to enforee tbe rule as from this afternoon 's game in tbe mid-week competition. "All tbat is required is for an umpire to enforee the rule once and there will be no further diffieulty, ' ' he said. "We hope that umpires and players will cQ-operatp so that we can ajide strictly by the rule. We are ajso contempjating making representations to the Hawke's Bay Association regarding the late starting of play in the afterpopnp, One suggestion is that the team which is ready to commence play punetually should have the ijght, should it desire to* exercise same, of demanding that tbe lost time through delay be played at the end of the afternoon," Mr Mahoney recalled an occasion last year wben, in one game, players delayed coming qn tq tbe field wben the wiekots were fajling ratber rapidly, and on tbat Qccasiqn some fpeting pf reseptmeut was capsed beeause of tbe mere suggestion tbat the two-minute rule be enfprced.