Page:Jubilee Book of Cricket (Second edition, 1897).djvu/296

274 the wicket. Nor should it be forgotten that the popping-crease is regarded as being unlimited in length; consequently the batsman is in his ground provided his bat or some part of himself be grounded behind this unlimited line.

An umpire has sometimes some difficulty in deciding whether or not a ball is a wide. Remember that a ball is a wide whatever be its direction, provided the batsman had no chance of hitting it at any period during its flight before passing the wicket. So a wide is a variable quantity. A ball which is a wide to Abel may perhaps not be one to Tunnicliffe. A batsman's reach means the distance he can stretch from his standing position without any exaggerated stretching. A ball has to be rather wider on the off-side to be a wide than would be the case on the leg-side. A batsman can move with ease and comfort on the off-side; on the leg-side he is somewhat constrained.

Umpires are often very chary of no-balling bowlers., But considering that a batsman is almost invariably given "Run out" or stumped when his foot is on the popping-crease, I do not see why umpires should not be very strict with bowlers who are at all inclined to drag their feet on to or over the bowling-crease.

The umpire at the bowler's end is the proper person to be appealed to for no-balls, and wides, and catches at the wicket, and leg-before-wicket, and any doubtful catches; in fact, in all cases except those of stumping, hit-wicket, and run out. However, the umpire at the bowler's end may always refer to the other umpire in cases where, for some reason or other, he is unable to give a decision. Similarly, if he thinks fit, the short-leg umpire may appeal to the bowler's umpire.

One of the rules in the game empowers the umpires to act as sole judges of fair and unfair play; also of the fitness of the ground, the weather, and the light for play. All disputes are to be settled by them; and whenever they disagree, the existing state of things is to continue. Note that the umpire must not give a batsman out unless he is appealed to.

Among other things, the much-talked-of evil of throwing in bowling—particularly in the case of amateurs—could be nipped in the bud if the umpires in school games, whether masters or boys, no-balled bowlers whenever there is the slightest doubt as to the fairness of their delivery. I recommend umpires to study most carefully the precise wording of the law on the subject of throwing. Something has been said on this point in the chapter upon Bowling.