Page:Cricket (Lyttelton, 1898).djvu/28

the pace and direction of the ball—great and important characteristics for any bowler—but without the aid of one or the other of the natural gifts no man can hope to be a great bowler. There are other causes of success for bowlers; one of these is action, and one which cannot readily be altered. But, whilst some actions make it easy for batsmen to see the ball, others make it difficult; so that it often happens that though one bowler has more spin, more break, as much accuracy, and, in a word, is a better bowler than another, the other has an action which makes it difficult for the batsman to judge the length of the ball. In the long-run, therefore, though the latter is the worse bowler of the two, he is the more successful one. Left-hand bowlers seem to bowl round the wicket more than do right-hand bowlers; consequently there is no umpire, white-coated or otherwise, in the line of sight, and such are nearly always easy to see. Tall men, like Lohmann and Spofforth, who deliver their balls from a great height, bowl