Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/288

 to the off and cutting being exceptionally good; and he keeps the ball well down.

As a bowler he has also been very successful, and at times unplayable. He bowls round-arm, faster than medium pace, with a high delivery, and breaks slightly from the off. Repeatedly when the wicket was in a crumbling condition he has done exceptionally good performances. Two of these were for the Players v. Gentlemen in 1887 at Lord's. In the first innings he took six wickets for 23 runs; in the second, four for 35. Another was his two wickets for 18 runs for England v. Australia in the first innings at the Oval in 1888, and five for 32 in the second.

He is an excellent fieldsman anywhere, and a safe catch.

was born at Stockton-on-Tees, 21st April, 1844. His height was 5 ft. 8 in.; weight, 11 st. 4 lbs. He was a very good left-hand slow roundarm bowler, and was the bowling mainstay of Surrey for years. He could break a great deal from leg, and against batsmen who were timid about running out invariably got wickets. Like most slow bowlers, he sent in a fast straight one now and then; but his pet ball was one a little bit up, about a foot to the off, which he caused to break away a few inches, and an impatient or thoughtless batsman "spooned" in trying to hit. I have seen good batsmen hit wildly at that kind of ball, although Barratt had placed extra fieldsmen on the off for the chance of a catch. It was all owing to the eagerness of the batsman, who could not resist the temptation to hit out at everything off the wicket. A little thought would have shown that stepping back and cutting it, instead of hitting it on the rise, was the right way to treat it; or that quickness in running out and hitting before it pitched would have been equally effective.