Page:Out-door Games Cricket and Golf (1901).djvu/118

Rh few matches for three days, but to play every match for a full period of three days in hot weather on hard grounds, and with sundry night railway journeys thrown in—such a state of things wears out players, shortens their cricket careers, especially if they are fast bowlers, and wearies them of the game.

So much evil is being produced by the high scoring that I am in the position of thinking that any change in the laws or otherwise that may diminish the number of runs must be a benefit. But I will go further, and maintain that changes may be made that will not only diminish the number of runs, but will also improve the quality of the batting. If a batsman is not allowed to use his legs to prevent the ball hitting the wicket, or has to use a smaller bat, he will find that, though he may have to alter some of his methods, he will nevertheless be able to score quite largely enough. What, I hope, will be impossible is for the inferior player to be able to score 50 when an innings of 10 is about the proper figure—to judge from the real batting ability he possesses. It may be regarded as a certainty that if big scoring by inferior players