Modular Infotech Pvt. Ltd. - DSpace

A COMii INCIDENT 85
tiny bit late with a cut, and I caught him with the left
hand, a very quick catch, and distinctly remember hearing
the wicket-keeper say" Well caught" before I knew what
had happened I Many a batsman, by the way, has suc·
cum bed to the change of surface after light rain. ·The more
correctly you were timing the ball on the dry, the more
likely you are to be late when the turf is a little greasy •
..
A strong thrower from •• the country " can sometimes
feign lethargy, but with the corner of his eye watch the
batsman start his second run, pounce and hurl in with
good effect. Not only does one batsman retire, but the
rest miss many a run from panic. That sort of legitinulte
trick is a real consolation after an unsuccessful innings,
and is a substantial help towards winning the match.
Cricket is a game which yields. I think, more comic
Incidents than any other. One oceurred in the Long
Vacation on the Trinity ground in 1876. (1 should men·
tion that the most sporting cricket I ever joined jn was in
the "Long" .of 1877, when we won match after match
by fine keenness, plucky fielding, and a rare esprit de crirpa.
We had no bowling, but pretended that we had, and that
Charles Hardinge, the future Viceroy, who never bowled.
before or since, and my third-rate lobs, were formidable ;
so that the respect with which the other Colleges treated
us was truly ludicrous, But we were not found out all
the six weeks.} At the end of our Innings one Wylde went
in to bat, a sturdy youth wholly untaught but prepared
to " have a go " before he fell. There was a very high
wind blowing against the bowler, and the pace of the ball
was dilllcult to judge. After an over, however, Wylde
thought he must make a venture, and smote blindly with
a horizontal bat at a well-pitched, straight hall. Some·
.thing happened, and the ball impinged on the side of the
bat and was sent quite straight up in the air for some
sixty or seventy feet. The situation called for aetion on
the part of the wicket-keeper, a stoutish young man in
very tight flannels, He got himself ready to catch the