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DECADENCE OF CRKE.
SOW TO EEVTVE
(R_T •'.Mld-orTJ^thj M*ir"
Tho gradual but steady m
public Jute rest in cricket Hi/-’5 *{,e
world is undeniable* Option the
extreme order may llippuul!
" llonh! The king of HritisEm
Can never die,*’* but the
that the game is. not support}*s
public iih it used to bc»,aiid t im
tiwil optimistic view is simflh 1
men oi ultra conservatism,;)/
fore, misleading and valueless *!
1 dicat ion to present day InetA'd
cation* Of course, intermitice gnjiies.
and, in a lesser degree, iqterSto mat
ches in. Australia, and font! t cham
pionship contests in England* ill still
draw, but chiefly on aecojofj mi im
portant interest being £ Jikt^-the
world’s premiership, the SlcflESUicld,
or the pride of place amend he eoini
tics* Even these contests itbp'ial in
terest, however, are not paV|ied n*
they were some yearn ago; lib of *
English county clubs are fir
a bad way, and senior elnl
this State will no longer dra*
gates are thrown open, mid
illy
though
are invited, in vain, to watch
free of charge. It must the re
sumed—accepted as a fact, til’d—that
cricket no longer provides peoplo
with an approved and appr.itod re*
creation, amt the question is, all it be
allowed to completely lose itpluce- in
public esteem, or shall an eflohe made
to restore its popularity by eenvoring
to make it more suitable thnn present
to public taste?
IQxperieitce lias «uown iiuunigmuu,
the birthplace and honw.of erkt, rowt
not be looked to for the fiMmovo m
the direction indicated. To loot tbc
demand* of the times is tm^unately
not characteristic of the old col ry. The
first natural impulse of ihtEngU-ot
mind seems to be suspicion. ar*listrust
in regnrd to anything and cveibiug in
the slmpe of innovation. Tluit’tnciple,
however, simply means drifUngisid the
self-infliction a heavy liandkyiti the
struggle for supremacy. The fiacy of
obstinately opposing now ideiujsimuly
because they lead out of better racks,
has been repeatedly demonstrate as in
the change from four balls for
the over, and the aboUUou of lot stop t
and. in connection with racing,\>o» me
of the starting gate, and numbcri'amU*
die cloths. AH these reforms of\*w*
tralian origin were at first opposed ;uid
even ridiculed, in England, only, ow
over, to be subsequently approvec ind
adopted. On the same grounds it my
reasonably be assumed.that if criel; is
to be iv-ostabiLshed ns a public a ac
tion by changing its features or me
thods, ‘the work of reform must Ixjac*
complished in Australia. 1
It is not difficult to account fast no
decadence of cricket as n popular rela
tion. The simple explanation is thd it
has been standing still for a blind roijml
fifty years or more, while-the worldpas
been tearing along at steadily increamg
speed. Everything in connection 1th
cricket ha* changed except the ric«,
which contain the same conditioj *s
those which have governed .the gm'
those which have governed .the gtno
from its infancy rignt up to it* pretnt
period of near approach to senile deny.
When the existing laws of cricket ^re
originally framed 70 or 80 runs conti
tuted an average total for a side, m\
therefore matches could be phijcd
through and finishdi in one day. 3*r\
with special attention, and the influcfe
of lawn mowers and rollers, wickets -re
like billiard tables, and scores* of 300 aid
..... ultra-conservative English authi
ties who govern the whole world’s critt- I
et have obstinately declined to inale |
any alteration In the laws of the garni, j
Consequently of the 150 or so _ match n
ployed each season for the English coun
ty championship at least 50 are draw,
and therefore count for nothing, bit
represent only absolute waste of time.
This year sixteen Australians journeyol
12,000 miles to play a series of matches
against • English teams ..and of the 31
games played 22 failed to reach finality!
In the face of such* facts it is surely obt
surd to ask why people hayo tired o'
sitting out cricket matches. How can
an ordinarily reasonable being be expect
ed to watch until the end of the third
day, a game winch it has perhaps on
the second day been mnd.x evident must
result in no victory for either side? The,
cricket authorities in Australia certain
ly have had the sense to rule that clubf
.matches in which each side has not com
pleted two innings shall be decitfied by
the first innings, but even so it frequent
ly happens that the lust day’s play, hav
ing no possible bearing on. the result,
is absolutely devoid of interest. ' It is
hardly necessary to odd that the Aus
tralian custom of play ing all “ big"
matches out, even though *hey some
times run into six days, and rarelyuntOi
fewer than four, also has it« AlaadrAnt-/.
age, spectators—even, tho most enthusij
ostic—tiring of the play long beforo tin!
finish of the gnme. ■ l
Iu suggesting that come rational and
feasible reform ehould bo attempted. 1
ill at once express my.positive , opinioj
that tho ordinary mutch of the futurq,
to command support, will have to be a
match of only one day’s duration. The
pyviliindnattt matter of .*‘^gat?’! vA1" un
fortunately *&fdcfc such a desirable inno
vation in connection with hi"’’ crick
et; but for .club contests and all except
matches between countries and perhaps
States, I am satisfied one day-will have
to be the limit, unless cricket is to be
ullowcd to *di?. as I have suggested it
may, of senile decay. Considering the
rate at which tho world is travelling and.
the umdly duties and claims upon his
time which the ordinary citizen has to
consider, it is ridiculous to expect him
to spare more than one day in order to
see a game of cricket—or of anything
else-—decided. Tho four biggest^sport
ing draws in the. world are horse rac
ing. ’boxing, football, and ini America,
baseball, becatiso in each separate con
test finality is reached promptly in' a
few minutes, or, at the outside, hours’.
Hie spectators in thousand* - pay their
admission money cheerfully, because they
know’ they are going to see a contest be
gun and finished before they come
through the gateu again.
None of the objections that I havo
heard urged against one day cricket
matches appear to me to be sound, but
I dosiro to say emphatically that I do
‘ approvo of tho suggestion to award
imaIapw 4 Iia oirfn O r,frntltll.
the victory to tho side " aggregating
tho greater number of runs" in’a'given
time. It must not bo forgotten that
cricket ia a game of skill, but it would
assuredly fail to remain so if it were
sought to sacrifice to hitting all the oth
er points of batting. I admit that it
was delightful to see H, H. Massio go
ing at foil speed, but I also reindmber
that Now South Wales, and Australia
owed a far greater proportion of vic
tories to the imperturbable W. L. Mur
doch than even to the dashing Hassle.
Jes*op is a veritable* cricket tornado, .but
stolid Tom Hayward lma been more to
Surrey than Jessup has been to Glouces
tershire, No! The attempts* to make a
Bonnor of a Bannerraan could never
bear a satisfactory result, and as long
cricket remains u game of skill the
merit of the well placed single must be
cognised, or at least hot quite ignored
solo admiration of the boundary hit
the soaring sixer,.
The moat reasonable, dwirablo and
equitable way in which finality could be
assured in matches restricted to one day
appear* to me to be allowing each side
to bat for exactly half the time avail
able for play, and to award the victory
to tho team securing tho better average
of nms per wicket, or to dcoJie on the
aggregate would bo to simply reduce
batting to a slogging competition, and
thereby entirely sacrifice skill to force.
The admitted decadence of public in
terest iu cricket matches of ordinary
character assuredly suggests the desiral)
ility of some drastic change from the ex
isting system of unreasonably protracted
play. It in not the character of the,
game, but the old fashioned method of
conducting it, which is unsuitable to the
spirit of the times, mid there is no rea
son why this greatest of all British pas
times should continue to lie the victim
of slavish conservatism which refuses to
have it brought u up to date.”
Hero is the. opportunity for some rul
ing power to show its worth and energy.
The programme of club matches for the
present season cannot of course be in
terfered with, but iu making arrange
meats for next scnson the Victorian
Cricket Association might surety consider
the feasibility of adopting the herein
suggested mean a, or seme other way, of
resuscitating the grand old guire,* nnd
re-establishing its popularity. Innum
erable details 'might be suggested with
a view to popularising any scheme of
reform which may he considered worthy
of consideration, such for instance ns
the abolition of fixed allowances for
bounlianr hits, the runs for ull strokes
inside the playing area to bo run out,
thereby infusing extra life into the play.
Cricket is too good and too desirable*a
national pastime to he killed by neglect
and inertia, and the prominent position
which Australia has gained in the world
of sport justifies the hope that its reviv
al may be secured by Australian energy
and enterprise.
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