Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/261

 Speed and being able to throw-in well are, more or less, gifts which belong to the few; but dash and certainty are the fruits of long practice, which most players can acquire if they give their mind to them. The most of those I have named are always on the look-out and seem to know when the ball is coming their way, and pick it up and return in one action.

A lazy or indifferent fieldsman has a demoralising effect on the rest of the eleven, and is an eyesore to every lover of the game: a very bad one will, probably, lose more runs than he makes, and is better out of the team altogether. A good man may not always bat or bowl up to his best form; but, if he tries, can always save runs in the field. The young player should keep that before him, if he desires to play in good matches; for every Committee and Captain know and consider it in the selection of a team.

Before touching upon the different positions in the field, I shall mention a few points which every beginner should carry in his mind: