Forward-Play
- This style of play is adopted when the ball is pitched fairly close to the batsman, but is not so far up as a half-volley, which is the best ball to hit.
Fig. 6 shows the position of the batsman at the supreme moment, when he has lunged out as far as he can reach, hoping to "smother" a somewhat over-pitched ball before it has time to rise or break. Observe that the left wrist has turned round, as explained on p. 452, that the left shoulder is pointed right at the ball, that the bat is perfectly upright, and that the point of it is kept back by the influence of the left hand, the left foot being advanced towards the ball, while the right toe is just on the ground. The weight of the batsman has been entirely transferred from the right leg to the bat and left leg, and if at the moment of transference the bat hit the ball, the latter will have been sent away at a considerable velocity. This description may sound very elaborate, but a few trials will prove that the position is easily attained, provided that the original balance is perfect and that the wrists work freely and easily together. The beauty of the whole stroke consists in the "timing" of the ball; and if the question is asked, "What is timing?" the only answer is that "When the batsman times the ball correctly, the whole power of arms, wrists, and body is thrown into the bat at the precise instant when it meets the ball; at this instant the ball will probably be just passing the left leg." A blow is perfectly timed at boxing when the fist encounters the opponent's face at the exact moment when the arm has straightened out; and the same remark applies to cricket.
At this point the reader will naturally ask, "When am I to play forward, and when am I to play back?" As a definite [Photo. by G. W. Beldam. answer is impossible, one must fall back on generalities, and say that, as a rule, on a fast wicket, a batsman of average height should play forward to all balls which pitch within two and three or, sometimes, four yards of the popping crease; for a shorter man to do so with effect, the ball must be closer to him, and vice versa for a tall man; but much depends on the temperament of the batsman, the pace of the bowling, and [Photo. by G. W. Beldam. the condition of the ground. Some tall men persistently play back, and lose the advantage of their height; some small men habitually play forward, and by overreaching themselves cause the ball to drop lifeless from the bat. On a fast, smooth, true wicket the ball will not rise much higher than the top of the stumps, and a comparatively short ball may then be played forward; but if the ground be slow or rough, the batsman, being in a somewhat more strained position than he is when playing back, will be unable to adapt his stroke readily to the vagaries of the ball, and backplay will be his best resource. Forward-play is the best way of meeting a fast bowler, as the ball has less twist on it than a slower bowler can produce. To play forward to slows is dangerous unless the ball can be "smothered " to a certainty.
A useful general rule is, "When in doubt, play forward on a fast wicket, and play back on a slow one." On a ground as fast as Lord's, in any time like favourable weather, it is always a rule of thumb to play forward rather than back. On a fast, true wicket, on which the ball does not rise higher than the stumps, runs may be got fairly freely, even off straight balls, by both styles of play, the forward stroke, if welltimed, driving the ball hard in front of the [CRICKET wicket; while by back-play a skilful batsman can place the ball between the fieldsmen in front of the wicket, or by a welltimed turn of the wrist at the moment the ball strikes the bat direct it along the ground through the slips; but it is impossible to make back-play as powerful as forward-play, as it depends on the arms and wrists alone, the weight of the body lending little help.
The Drive. This, the most delightful of strokes, is the first genuine "hit" hitherto introduced, as the length-ball and long-hop, when straight, must be met by a stroke the primary object of which is defence. When, however, a ball is pitched nearer to the batsman than a length-ball, it becomes a "halfvolley," and the batsman has a fine chance of making a big hit. To be bowled out by a half-volley is humiliating, to play forward and smother it is to lose a chance, to play back to it is probably fatal. The ball should be hit in front of the wicket with a good swing of the bat, the left foot being moved, as usual, in the direction of the ball (Fig. 7), and when the stroke is correctly made, every muscle of the legs, back, arms, and wrists seem to take part in it, and the ball flies off without an apparent effort, the bat following right through (Fig. 8). To time [Photo. by G. W. Beldam. the stroke properly, the bat should meet the ball just as the latter is rising from the pitch.
It adds force to the hit-besides enabling the striker to get to exactly the right spot -to jump in to meet the ball, even leaving CRICKET] one's ground and taking the risk of being stumped, if the ball is missed altogether.
This is exactly what the batsman is doing in Fig. 9, which, however, does not show the position of the feet at the moment of impact. When the down-swing of the bat has brought it against the ball, the right foot will close up on to the left, and the whole momentum of the body will be added to the swing of the arms and bat. One rule must never be forgotten : "Never jump out to drive a ball on the off-side." It is hard to keep the bat straight when the ball is, say, a foot wide of the off-stump; the chances of missing it are consequently greater, and the wicket-keeper has the easiest of opportunities.
To hit a half-volley all along the ground, the left hand must check the point of the bat so that it does not go beyond the left foot, but many batsmen in the exhilaration of the stroke let the bat complete its swing, and the ball soars away in the air in the direction of one of the "long-fields," who may, or may not, be able to catch it: the batsman has to take his chance of this, relying on the fact that it may be too far to the side of the fieldsman to be caught, or may fly fairly over his head; since, however, it is frequently hit to a distance of 100 yards before it drops, and has been [Photo. by G. W. Beldam.
STRAIGHT DRIVE. sent by fine hitters as far as 170 yards, a little risk may fairly be taken. It is useful in practice to try to hit a straight half-volley straight back, either over the bowler's head or all along the ground to him. A crooked ball should be sent away on the same side as that on which it pitches. Probably more runs have been got off a half-volley than [Photo. by G. W. Beldam. any given ball, and probably more batsmen have fallen a victim to its temptations, as not only may a fair hit be as fairly caught, but also any error of timing or any inaccuracy may send it high into the air. The Cut. This is another beautiful stroke, which appeals to the experienced cricketer even more than the drive; the latter even the uninitiated can appreciate, as the sight of the ball sailing through space is easily "understanded of the people."
The ball which the batsman cuts is more or less wide of the off-stump, and is generally short of a good length; indeed, many batsmen nowadays prefer to let the good-length ball go by, as the slightest error may send the ball into the hands of an expectant ،، "slip." Figs. IO and II show the batsman preparing to strike, and just after striking.
In making this stroke several of our canons are violated; firstly, the right leg is shifted so as to take the batsman across to the ball; secondly, the bat is used horizontally and not perpendicularly; thirdly, the weight of the body is a negligible quantity, as most of the work is done by the wrists and forearm. It may help the reader who happens to be a fisherman to tell him that what he does perpendicularly with a two-handed salmon-rod, he does horizontally with cricket-bat. The ideal ball to cut is a longhop, not too short, about twelve inches outside the off-stump. Directly the batsman a دو realises the situation, out goes his right leg, which should touch the ground at about the same moment as the bat hits the ball, or even a moment before, the two wrists moving the bat with a sort of "flicking movement, impossible to describe, so that the ball is struck just as it has passed the right foot. It is a stroke which must be seen to be imitated; but if all goes well, the ball will travel square with the wicket, just past "point's" left hand, or even further behind it, as a clever "cutter" can place the hit with much precision. If the ball rises much is a foot higher than the wicket, for instance-it should be left severely alone, as a catch is very likely to ensue. The cut is one of the few strokes made across the path of the ball; in most instances bat and ball travel along the same path, but in opposite directions. The cut is a difficult stroke to acquire; indeed, some batsmen never get proficient at it, and endeavour instead to hit the ball, still with a horizontal bat, in front of the wicket. Such a stroke is often incorrectly called a "cut," but it is rather a species of "drive." Great care should be taken to keep the ball down" (i.e., hit it along the ground), and in such a way as to make it skim the surface without bounding too high. If anyone finds a difficulty in "hitting" this particular ball, let him try "guiding it"; in other [Photo. by G. W. Beldam. words, let him frame for the cut, and, as the ball passes the right leg, just lay the bat against it, without attempting to strike; the pace imparted to the ball by the bowler will hardly be checked, and many a run [CRICKET may be got by the stroke, while in process of time the man who has mastered this will master the cut, pure and simple, as well.
The Leg-Hit.-A ball which is well pitched up and would, if left alone, hit the [Photo. by G. W. Beldam. batsman's leg, may easily be driven in front of the wicket to "long-on," or more squarely with the wicket; but when such a ball would pass just outside the legs a different kind of stroke is required, as the "drive" would be a physical impossibility.
This class of hit is known as the "leg-hit," and it may be made even off balls which pitch straight for the wicket, or even on the off-side of it, but such strokes are not strictly orthodox, and demand special powers on the part of the batsman. They are dealt with under the heading of "The Pull."
In the present day most bowlers try to get the batsmen out by bowling tempting balls on the off-side for them to hit into. the air, and the result of the increased accuracy of bowlers is that very few balls are sent up which pitch on or outside the legs; hence leg-hitting, pure and simple, is, for want of opportunity, almost a thing of the past, except in cricket of a somewhat inferior grade. Still, as it is given to few to reach good cricket without a long novitiate, and as the leg-stroke is as delightful to the striker as to the spectator, a more than passing allusion must be made to it. The leg-hit" covers large range, and the various modes of scoring off leg-ball are too numerous for exact description. The cricketer will find them out a a CRICKET] for himself, but a few general hints may be helpful. A long-hop on the leg-side may be hit away square, with a horizontal bat, which is the most drastic method of treatment; or the batsman may simply hold the face of his bat at an angle of about 45° to the ball's direction and allow the ball to strike it, when the pace imparted by the bowler will send the ball away behind and to the left of the batsman. Such a stroke is known as "the glance" or "the glide (Fig. 12). This stroke is made off a ball of any length; and to men who are not good hitters to leg it is invaluable, as the ball, if the bowling be fast and the stroke made with accuracy, flies away to the boundary like lightning. In this case it will be seen that the ball hits the bat, and that its course is deflected by it, but this is not hitting" in any sense of the word. The 66 دو [Photo. by G. W. Beldam. 66 ،، proper "leg-hit" is made off a ball which may vary in pitch from a good length" to a full-pitch," and in direction to a distance of about three feet from the batsman's legs and outside them. The rule for the stroke is simple enough-" throw your left foot towards the ball, and hit beyond the left toe as the ball passes." If such a stroke be well-timed, and catches the ball as it passes the toe, a delightful hit will be the result; all the more delightful because the striker may put his full strength into the "smite," and need not trouble himself about the risk of being caught. The ball flies away square or fine according to the pace of the bowling, and as it travels behind the batsman he cannot usually do much to control its direction or elevation, but as the range of the leg-hit is so large, he may trust to the chapter of accidents to escape being caught; one thing is certain, that if the ball is struck fair, the fieldsman is not likely to catch it, unless he happens to be standing in exactly the right place, for the hit, being more or less a "blind hit" to the striker, will also be a blind hit to the fieldsman, as he cannot place himself for it with any certainty.
The "draw," being obsolete, is only mentioned here for the sake of completeness. Old-fashioned players used to meet a shortlength ball coming straight to the leg-stump with the bat inclined, as for the "glance," the ball being deflected between the legs and the wicket; it was a risky stroke, though some batsmen made it effective. دو The leg-hit as described is made with a more or less horizontal bat which "sweeps the ball away; but the bat may be kept perfectly straight and the body perfectly straight, the ball being struck just before it reaches the striker, whose left leg is drawn up close to the right; the resultant stroke, if accurately timed, is one of the most brilliant that can be seen, but it requires a combination of strength and accиrate timing and exact length which is not to be met with every day. When all these requisites meet, a huge hit is the result.
Leg-hitting is more or less a natural gift, and some batsmen never attain it; for them the most effective stroke is the old "Cambridge poke"; no attempt is made to hit the ball, but rather to push or guide it, in front of the wicket or behind it, according to the position of short-leg, if there is one.
The Pull. The term "pull" is applied to a stroke which is more practical than orthodox, and which brings a straight ball or an off-ball across the wicket to the onside (Fig. 13). It is dangerous to the batsman, inasmuch as it cannot be done with a straight bat; to the bowler, inasmuch as it is more or less unexpected, and usually sends the ball to an unguarded part of the field; but the batsman is more likely to suffer than the bowler, and consequently the stroke can only be recommended to a batsman of large experience, who is also blessed with a quick, sure eye.