Page:Jubilee Book of Cricket (Second edition, 1897).djvu/280

258 use them very carefully. Though they have to get all the wickets, they cannot possibly bowl all the innings unless it is a short one. Yet he cannot afford to dispense with any work that they can do. In fact, the problem is how to get the best out of them. Perhaps the wisest course is to take one off at a time at suitable intervals, and substitute for him the steadiest available change-bowler, in order that the resting of the wicket-getting bowler may not cost the side too dear in runs. A fast bowler naturally requires more frequent spells of rest than a medium or slow. If the hope of getting wickets depends chiefly on a fast bowler, he must be very carefully used. He should always be allowed a chance at new batsmen, as his pace is likely to beat them at first. But he should be taken off directly runs begin to come freely off him, and then put on again for a bit. A fast bowler is especially valuable for knocking out the tail of a side, so he should not be exhausted too much by being kept on when he is obviously doing no good. It pays to take any bowler off directly he shows signs of losing his "devil." It is a mistake to allow him to bowl himself out; for, in the first place, he is nearly sure to be expensive in the process of getting thoroughly tired, and when once thoroughly tired, he is liable not to recover his sting at all. If, on the other hand, he is given a rest directly he begins to tire, he will probably be as fit as ever after twenty minutes or so. By judicious management three hours of good work during an innings may be got out of a bowler who cannot bowl for threequarters of an hour on end without tiring. A bowler usually tires much less quickly when he is getting wickets than when he is not.

With regard to changing the bowling in order to get wickets. First, it is advisable not to take a bowler off too soon, for some bowlers require time to get going. But it is far better to take a bowler off too soon than too late. He can always be put on again, but the piece of "too much" he has done is so much pure loss that cannot be made up. Secondly, a change ought to be a real change—that is to say, the bowler put on should, if possible, be quite different from the one taken off, in order that the batsman may be more likely to misjudge his deliveries. At the same time, care should be taken not to spoil the contrast between the bowlers at either end. The aim should be always to have two dissimilar bowlers on together. The limitations of a side often prevent this, but it should be kept in mind. Lob-bowling is always an excellent