Page:Jubilee Book of Cricket (Second edition, 1897).djvu/157

Rh in compiling 20 runs before being caught at the wicket. He retires leaving an impression that at last a master of the genuine cut-to-leg has been discovered.

The last man is now at the wicket. He is a bowler of splendid physique, grand good-humour, and a most elementary idea of batting. He may be relied on to get himself out. A man is put to catch him between where square-leg might be and where long-on is. Dickson slashes the air once or twice, makes two mighty drives, and is then caught at extra-cover off a mishit. The captain has succeeded in not being caught at slip, and is "not out" with a useful 30 to his credit. Dickson apologises in a very cheery voice for having got out, and departs in wonderful spirits to get ready for a long spell of hard bowling.

An attentive observer would have learnt a good deal during this innings about the way a field should be arranged and changed to suit various circumstances. For instance, at the beginning of the match the captain of the fielding side, after consulting his best bowler, the fast right-hander, as to which end the latter would prefer, asked him to place his field. This he did exactly as shown on Plate A—long-off being nearly straight. When he found that Cain was going to take first ball, he motioned to long-off to come rather nearer the wicket and to short-slip to go rather finer. He also moved mid-on a yard and mid-off 2 yards nearer the batsman. Obviously he imagined that Cain was not capable of a hard hit in the air, but was likely to snick a ball fine to short-slip or push one gently up towards mid-on or mid-off. When Stockwell was batting to him, he sent long-off back to his original position and put shortslip rather wider. Subsequently, when Stockwell began to get set, the bowler asked the captain whether the third-slip had not better be moved to extra-cover, where no man was yet placed. After a short consultation the alteration was made. For all the other batsmen except Rush and Forrest he had his field arranged as he placed them originally. For Rush long-off was moved across to long-on; for Forrest long-on was moved to fine longleg. The bowler evidently knew that Rush's best hits were on the on-side, and that Forrest was an adept at the obsolete draw, an intentional stroke, or its present-day. equivalent, the snickto-leg.

The medium-pace left-hander had his field placed normally as in Plate M, for all the batsmen he opposed except Rush, in whose case long-off was moved to long-on and extra-cover to