Page:Jubilee Book of Cricket (Second edition, 1897).djvu/152

130 in direction from the middle-stump to a foot outside the offstump. His idea is to make Cain fidgety, and get him caught at the wicket or at slip. Should that plan fail, he intends to see whether by bowling a series of pitched-up balls, not quits half-volleys, he can get Cain to play forward mechanically. Then without any change of action he will send one a little shorter and a little slower, in the hope that the batsman will lunge out too soon and give an easy catch in front of the wicket. The left-hand bowler does not quite see what is to be done with Cain, who is too careful to fall into a medium-pace bowler's traps; so he decides to play "diamond cut diamond." He keeps a perfect length on and just outside the off-stump, in order, if possible, to get the batsman to feel at the ball—to grope forward on faith without watching the ball closely. By keeping this up and slightly changing his pace he may get Cain stumped in overreaching, or caught at the wicket or at slip. He has already tossed up one or two half-volleys, but Cain has played them, if possible, more carefully than the good-length balls. Stockwell plays a different game, and requires different treatment. He cracks an over-pitched ball to the boundary without any hesitation. He is not exactly rash, but seems, if anything, too keen to score. He has a fine free drive on the off, of which he is very fond—so fond, indeed, that he is inclined to play the stroke at unsuitable balls, with the result that he sometimes makes a bad uppish hit towards cover-point or third-man

As the wicket is good the left-hander cannot get much break on the ball, so he determines to feed Stockwell's off-drive judiciously. He first gives him a couple of straight good-length balls, then a beauty to drive on the off, which flies past extra-cover to the boundary. Then he bowls one rather wider and rather faster, at which Stockwell tries the same stroke, mistimes it, and sends the ball spinning straight at third-man's head. Third-man gets his hands in the right place, but fails to let them yield to the ball. Consequently it bounces out of his hands on to the ground. Hard luck on the bowler! Stockwell steadies himself after this and will not pick another "wrong 'un." The fast bowler tries yorkers and change of pace in vain. Stockwell cuts hard and true, and has no idea of being frightened by a short, bumping ball. The captain takes off the left-hand bowler, as the fast bowler seems to trouble Cain somewhat. Instead he puts on a slow leg-break bowler and alters the field accordingly. The new bowler's first ball is a short bad one, and Stockwell pulls it to the on-boundary; the second is pitched well up 6 inches