Page:The Crisis in Cricket and the Leg Before Rule (1928).djvu/6

vi made in the rules of the game in order practically to abolish the drawn game in fine weather which is the curse of modern cricket. No better start could be made than an alteration of Rule 24 relating to leg-before wicket. Since 1864, when the rule permitting overhand bowling was passed, nothing has been done really to help the bowler, but much to help the batsman, such as boundaries and the smooth, easy wickets. A change in the l.b.w. rule would in my opinion not only diminish the horrible surfeit of run-getting, but also improve the style of batting, and surely everybody must admit that it is time that something was done to help the bowlers.

I have played and watched the great game for more than sixty years, and nobody has lived who loves the game more than I did as it was played in the days before the modern style of leg play was introduced. I still watch the game for old association's sake, but much of the charm is gone. The huge run-getting, the fatigue of bowlers, the constant leg play, and, worst of all, the gloom of drawn matches are the causes, and I venture to write this short book in the hope that it may do something to promote an alteration of Rule 24, Leg-before Wicket, as a first step towards making cricket what is was in old days, and not merely, as now, an exhibition of batting.