Page:Jubilee Book of Cricket (Second edition, 1897).djvu/210

188 Stroke is being made. In the case of a young player it would be a very good plan for the coach to give a practical illustration of all forcing-strokes one by one, showing first how they ought to be done and then how they ought not It is particularly necessary to demonstrate how the weight originally on the right leg is thrown on to the left leg in making forward-strokes. It is just this transference of weight from leg to leg that brings the body well into the stroke.

In all the strokes which we have described above, the aim of the player should be to keep the ball along the ground. This does not mean that either in hitting or forward-play the stroke should be half-hearted. Half-hearted strokes generally end in mis-hits. High-driving is sometimes unavoidable, and is a very exhilarating spectacle, but it is scarcely possible to make high drives quite safely.

Let us now turn our attention to strokes on the on side. First of all there is the drive past mid-on, or between the bowler and mid-on. The direction of the stroke naturally varies according to where the ball pitches. If the ball is pitched in a line with the wicket, it should, when the stroke is correctly made, travel rather nearer to the bowler than to mid-on. If the ball pitches rather more to leg, it should travel to the right-hand side of mid-on. These on-drives should be kept for rather overpitched balls. The drive can be either a genuine hit or a very hard forward-stroke.

Then there are the two leg- hits—one square, the other towards long-leg. When the ball is well pitched up on the legside, either a half-volley or just short of one, the stroke should be aimed in the direction of square-leg. If it is properly made, the ball should travel very near to the umpire. In making this stroke the left foot should be thrown out in the direction of the ball, which may be hit either on the half-volley or on the rise. The nearer the left leg is to the ball when the stroke is made, the better will be the result. It is a good thing to get into the habit of keeping the ball well down in making this stroke, otherwise the player is liable to be disconcerted when a fieldsman is put deep-square-leg. The sooner the ball is hit after pitching, the less likely is it to travel in the air. A square-leg hit is best made off a ball that is not very wide of the wicket. Perhaps one pitching straight for the legs is the most convenient to deal with in this manner. In making the stroke the bat should be as nearly perpendicular as possible, for in this way more of the face of the bat is presented to the ball. If the bat is at all