Page:Cricket (Steel, Lyttelton).djvu/239

Rh country, and at sixth wicket, for this is where the eleventh man will have to go in, we want a man to make runs, not to stick. Louis Hall is the same. Lohmann of Surrey is the man, no better—quick field, safe pair of hands, good thrower, a really good bowler, and a correct hard-hitting batsman, who is always likely to make runs.

Our captain has completed his task, and though we should have liked to have seen one or two better throwers in the team, it is still a very good one and a difficult nut for any Australian side to crack:—W. G. Grace, W. W. Read, A. J. Webbe, Shrewsbury, Pilling, Briggs, Barnes, Attewell, Bowley, Ulyett, Lohmann.

In the field all captains should be cheery and bright, and full of encouragement to both fielders and bowlers. A despondent captain, who becomes sad and low when things are going against him, has a most depressing effect on his men. Cricket is a game full of so many chances and surprises that no match is ever lost till the last ball has been bowled, so the bowlers must be cheered and encouraged, and the fielders kept up to the mark till all is over.

Everything that goes on in the game should be noticed by the captain. If a bowler forgets to get behind the stumps when the ball is to be returned to him by a fielder, the captain should at once call his attention to the fact; if a fielder keeps shifting his position over after over without orders, a gentle reminder must be given; if a fielder throws unmercifully at the bowler or wicket-keeper when there is no attempt at a run on the part of the batsmen, he must be spoken to. It is a bad fault on the part of a fieldsman to knock the poor wicket-keeper's hands to pieces for no purpose.

If a captain keeps his eye open to all these little things, and does his best to eradicate them and others of the same nature from his men, if he is a keen zealous cricketer gifted with a calm temperament and sound judgment, he may rest assured that before he has led his men very long he will be the captain of a good team.