Page:Cricket (Steel, Lyttelton).djvu/441

Rh and field utterly demoralised owing to the splendid condition of the modern wickets, and runs coming like a flood, is discouraging to the lover of genuine cricket. Here we suspect we reach a truth, and that is, the people who do not think runs are too numerous are the batsmen themselves; and we should like to hear what the bowlers think? It is also said that the people who pay the gate money and come and look on at matches like to see long scores made, and if these are diminished in number they will come no longer, and the clubs will suffer in consequence. Even if this be true, should the authorities legislate from the standpoint of ignorance—in other words, are the people who do not profess to thoroughly understand the game to determine the direction of future legislation? This is a democratic age, but we cannot think that such a contention is admissible.

Then there are others who protest that any change will give too much power to umpires. Again we respectfully say we cannot agree with this view. We suppose that this class of objectors mean that any change would make it more difficult for umpires to determine whether a batsman is out l.b.w. or not. This cannot be so, as we feel sure that proper consideration would show. Every umpire will admit that the hard thing to determine now is whether the ball pitched straight or not. Under an altered law this would not have to be considered at all, so a change certainly would not make the umpire's task a harder one, but rather, on the contrary, easier. The umpires now have enormous powers entrusted to them, and if the rule were made more stringent it would very soon be found that batsmen would alter their style of play, and the appeals for l.b.w. would gradually become fewer. The modern teachers of batting instruct the young cricketer to play forward with his left leg right up to his bat, so as to leave no space between the bat and his leg. Under the present rule this is correct; but twenty-five years ago this method was neither taught nor practised, and cricket was all the better for it. In like manner in back play the youngster puts his right leg up to his bat, and