Page:Jubilee Book of Cricket (Second edition, 1897).djvu/119

Rh at the wrong ball. Blunders result either way; and this is the lob-bowler's opportunity. When a hitter comes in he is generally very anxious to hit these apparently harmless slows; perhaps he feels it a good chance of demonstrating his prowess to the "gallery" or to his partisans. "Quem deus vult perdere prius dementat." And the god, whoever he may be, pays peculiar attention in this respect to school-batsmen. He finds an excellent instrument of his will in lob-bowling. Nearly every school meets a rival school in one particular match, the winning of which makes the season's work satisfactory. In such matches there is nothing so effective as lobs; so it is curious that they are not more frequently encouraged and cultivated—they well repay the trouble. The boy who has most cheek and is least sensitive to chaff will probably make the best bowler in the lob line. With practice and perseverance—it is the same story all through cricket—he will make surprising progress, but must not expect improvement to be noticeable in a short space of time. There is a great deal to learn and to endure. To suggest to the beginner how he should bowl to different kinds of bats is not easy. A firm- or fast-footed batsman plays lob in exactly the same way as he would any other—forward and back, as the case may be—without leaving his ground. He is not unlikely to be an easy victim. Still Mr Charles Fry has in this way taken innumerable runs off Humphrey, the Sussex lob-bowler, and possibly the best of his kind. Variation of pace often meets this case. A faster ball than usual, either on the leg-side with an off-break, or on the off-side with a leg-break, is a good change. Catches at short-leg, or at the wicket or short-slip, may result. If there is any chance of wearing out such a batsman's patience, very slow twisters, repeatedly bowled, may tempt him to desperation and suicide. There is a class of batsmen who consider their honour seriously at stake unless they hit a lob-bowler over the ropes once every over. These are generally fair game. The slow careful bat is a more difficult subject. He has a knack of remaining and scoring a couple of singles every over until further notice. The Sussex Eleven have several times during the last few years fielded for days while Gunn and Shrewsbury have been thus toying with Humphrey. If the batsman goes in for what may be called extended forward-play to smother good-length lobs, it is a good plan to try for a "catch and bowl" by tossing him up a higher, slower, and slightly shorter one. In dealing with a determined hitter, the main object is to bowl so that he cannot get at the ball on the full-pitch and drive it along the