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wicket is going to do even before he begins batting, the state of the weather for a week previous and the reputation of the ground will be enough; and he will go in with a light heart and look forward to a pleasant hour. There are many sorts of players. There is the batsman whose temperament, if he is not sure about the length of a ball, will lead him to try a smack, while another will play at the same ball carefully. There are some, like Abel, who absolutely refuse to hit at any ball except those that exactly suit their fancy, and those particular balls they will hit for four; there are others, on the contrary, like O'Brien and Jessop, who, when they get set, seem to have the power to hit balls of any length or pace. W. G. Grace in his prime did not appear to hit, in the sense of putting out the whole of his strength; in fact he did not hit, strictly speaking, except sometimes to leg and a cut, but he had the supreme art of pushing the ball for four and placing it out of the reach of the field. Of course Grace's play is a feature by itself, unique, un-