Page:Cricket (Lyttelton, 1898).djvu/51

I may attach too much importance to the aesthetic side of cricket, but nobody can deny that really good fielding is a lovely thing to see. The quiet, neat field, with a low, easy return, like the Rev. W. Law, Royle, and A. Bannerman, is a mixture of skill and grace that makes fielding, along with batting and bowling, the aesthetic treat that any game to be called great must have. I have discussed wicket-keeping; but if you want to teach a youth to keep well, you must first of all instil into his mind the cardinal principle that both feet must be kept still; and next, that, as there are at least three times more catching chances given than stumping, this must be first of all attended to. So do not let him play to the gallery by laying himself out to stumping off leg balls, for three catches out of four are on the off side, or just over the wicket. Let the fieldmen also remember that the man who is keeping wicket stands more chance of getting his hands bruised than all the rest of the field put together, so don't throw in hard unless there is good reason.