Page:The Crisis in Cricket and the Leg Before Rule (1928).djvu/5



OR some years there has been an uneasy feeling among the cricket loving population both here and in Australia that all is not well with our great national game. Little or nothing has been done, but the uneasy feeling came to a head when Lord Harris made a speech, perhaps the most notable utterance on cricket ever made, early in 1926. In this speech Lord Harris called attention to the fact that bowlers required some assistance on account of the extremely greasy wickets which were then, as they are now, so noticeable.

In my humble opinion cricket is in a critical state, and if something is not done to diminish the unhealthily high scoring of these days, the great game will fall from its present pedestal of fame. So far practically nothing has been done to help the bowlers and much to help the batsmen. Cricket is played throughout the Empire. We in England have a vital interest in the question, and Mr. J. W. Trumble's most interesting letter in The Times of the 30th July, 1926, shows that in his judgment cricket in Australia is rapidly becoming farcical because the groundsman now holds sway over the game.

It is quite possible that several changes may have to be