CRICKET.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2344, 10 November 1908, Page 5

CRICKET.

HINTS TO YOUNG CRICKETERS

ADVICE BY AIR H. LEVESOXGOWEE, THE SURREY CAPTAIN.

Probably nine out of every ten youthful cricketers of to-day regard Air Gilbert Jessop as their ideal player, and one has only to visit local ■cricket grounds on Saturday afternoons to see Jessopian tactics being adopted on every hand. ‘‘Get runs quickly or get out,” seems to be the general motto; but it must be confessed that there are as a rule more

:£ outs” than runs, for the simple reason that the majority of the batsmen strive, in cricketing parlance, to ‘‘knock the leather off the ball” before they know how to handle -the bat.

No man was ever a successful cricketer who tried to be a big hitter before learning thoroughly orthodox methods. Air Jessop knows the right hill to bit and the right way to hit it, and it was not until he had learned these fundamental principles of cricket that lie developed into a hitter.

In the words of Air Leveson-Go-wer, the Surrey captain: ‘‘Learn to play forward and back with straight bit, and always keep the foot near xbe hat. Learn your bowler thoroughly before attempting to beat him out of sight, but .remember always to play him confidently (or apparently with confidence): nothing encourages a bowler so much as to see a batsium ‘edging' at him. Learn to keep the bail along the carpet, and learn to cut. Few batsmen of the present day are masters of that graceful stroke, yet, strangely enough, one y; our most -unorthodox cricketers, Gilbert Jessop. is one of the finest cutters in the world, and scores many of his runs by t-lrut stroke. “Having laid the solid foundation.” continues Air Leveson-Gower in the 'Rail ATail Alagaziner ‘‘startout and play the game that you fancy mast. or", rather, play your natural game. Don't be discouraged if the unorthodox strokes which came off so nicelv at the nets fail you. to start vidi.' in matches. Experience -will put the matter right. Remember ; fiat an unorthodox cricketer is a most useful a?sc-t to his side. I cannot vouch for t-liis story, but I believe it is -true. In the yenr when Tom Richardson, the Surrey fast bowler. was carrying all before him. he went down to play against Cambridge. He was fairly mowing the wickets down when Jessop went ill and with ail the confidence of a_ veteran took guard n yard out _of -his crease —a stroke of genius, lop J c knocked the fast bowler clean his length, and scored tlie first century of the year against him.”