Sport Today

I had many years ago acquired a copy in Bombay of this 1906 book by
George Bledam and C.B. Fry. It has a couple of hundred photographs and
a discussion of the art of bowling, one-to-two page descriptions of
the best county bowlers of the time, discussion of wicket keeping and
fielding.

The book is dedicated to "Demon" Spofforth, and he has an article on
fast bowling.

That is an authentic classic you've got there, Ramani.
Congratulations.

Now, would you mind terribly if I asked you to share a bit of info.
from the Spofforth piece? I would be more than happy to return the
kindness by delving into my own library for you.

Cheers,
Rodney Ulyate
The cricket blog to which I grudgingly contribute: http://crickex.blogspot.com/
My Wikipedia talk page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Robertson-Glasgow

Looking at  my copy I see that it bears an inscription
"Presented to,
 The Islam Gymkhana
By
Ismail Peerbhoy

19/9/21"

Ok here goes ... since this is a 1906 book there is no more
copyright.

Looking at  my copy I see that it bears an inscription
"Presented to,
 The Islam Gymkhana
By
Ismail Peerbhoy

19/9/21"

Here is some stuff copied from the book. Of course I can't copy any of
the 465 "plates". One thing about the photographs that strikes the eye
is that most professionals and some amateurs have a thick moustache
with its tips curled.

Contents

BOWLING

 On Bowling, by F.R. Spofforth

Individual Bowlers

Fast Bowlers

W. Brearley
G.H. Hirst
A. Cotter
J.J. Kotze
A.R. Warren
Walter Lees
T. Wass
A. Fielder
H. Hesketh Prichard
G. A. Wilson
W. Bestwick
G.J. Thompson
S.M.J. Woods
G. Gill
W.H. Lockwood
J.H. Hunt
T. Richardson
E. Smith,
A. Kermode

FAST MEDIUM BOWLERS
J.T. Hearne
Hon. F.S. Jackson
W.P. Howell
E. Arnold
J.R. Mason
M.A. Noble
F. Laver
J.H. Sinclair
C.E. Mcleaod
H.J. Huggins
S.F. Barnes
W.W. Odell
E. Robson
J.T. Rawlin

MEDIUM PACE BOWLERS
A.Hearne
W.R. CUttell
S. Haigh
J.N. Crawford
W. Mead
W. Reeves
A. Hallam
A.E. Relf
F.W. Tate
E.H. Killick
J. Vine
G.W. Beldam
W. Brockwell
George Cox
Hugh Trumble
John Gunn
S. Hargreave
J.H. King

SLOW MEDIUM BOWLERS
A.E. Trott
C.M. Wells
W. Rhodes
C. Blythe
J. Hallows
W.W. Armstrong

SLOW Bowlers
L.C. Braund
E.G. Haye
W.G. Grace
C.L. Townsend
A.O. Jones
C. McGahey
B. Cranfield
G. Dennett

"The off-breaking Leg-break," by B.J.T. Bosanquet and R.O. Schwarz

"Googlies," by R.O. Schwarz

FIELDING

On Fielding by Gilbert J. Jessop

INDIVIDUAL FIELDERS

Cover point, Etc.
S.E. Gregory

Mid-off
G.H. Hurst
W.W. Arm

On bowling by F.R. Spofforth

I may sagfely say that bowling is not nearly so popular with the
players as batting for the reason that there is not he same amount of
immediate pleasure to be derived from it, and a great deal more hard
work is required in order to reach a standard of moderate proficiency.

In all games where there is any pecuniary benefit to be derived the
professional invariably beats the amateur, and the reason is easily
found in the fact that the professional works harder than the amateur.
Of course it may be pointed out that a team of Gentlemen do hold their
own in the great match that takes place every year at Lord's, but the
Players as a rule hardly do themselves justice in this match; and
again there must be at least ten amateur cricketers in England to one
professional. So I think it may be taken for granted that no one can
excel in bowling unless he is prepared to work really hard at it while
he is young.

In all games the early work and teaching have much to do with success
in after life; only in bowling it is even more so.

At the time of writing there is hardly one first-class amateur bowler
in England, and in my opinion laziness is one of the main causes of
this, and another is the employment of professionals at Schools and
Universities. I have never heard an amateur say, "I am going to have a
bowl"; it is always a "knock." Take Lord's practice grounds, for
instance; one hardly ever sees an amateur bowling. The professional,
or should I say, the would be professional, is well aware of this and
practices bowling on some village green, knowing perfectly well that
if he bowls only moderately he is sure to get a post as a bowler. The
result is, and has been for years, that bowling is almost altogether
in the hands of the professional; and I think it is likely that it
will always be so.

If my readers will look at any infant, they will perceive that in
infancy one arm is as helpless as the other. But as time goes on the
fond parent and the nurse continually encourage the use of the right
hand and arm until the child thinks he must always  ....

...

...

Bowling is just as artistic as many of the so-called higher arts and a
great deal more manly and healthy, and therefore should be much more
seriously than it is by the average amateur. To be a really first-
class bowler qualifications are necessary. You must have elasticity of
muscle and great patience, quic, and a sort of "Japanese"
determination to attack and not to give in when yo are having "no
luck." Always be on the offensive; directly you are on the defensive
the batsman is on good terms with himself. Nothing worries a batsman
more than always trying to get him out, instead of waiting for him to
make a mistake. Nothing is more stupid for a fast bowler to waste his
strength bowling quite wide of the off stumps ...

....

Many pages skipped

....

SOME POINTS

1st.  Learn to bowl with a high action, but not so high as to receive
no help from the back of your shoulders.

2nd. Try to master one break before you experiment on others. Study
each spin separately, and try to find out the exact direction of the
spin. If you spin a bal with no result in break, you are not doing it
properly, and must at once endeavour to find out what is wrong, and
learn to obtain more purchase on the ball.

3rd. If, in practice, you feel tired or lose interest in your bowling,
retire for a time.

4th. Always attack the batsman. Bear in mind that batsmen are
sometimes nervous creatures, whose first object is to score one run
and then ten, and it is during this period you have your chance. Go at
him for all you are worth and don't let him get the pace of the wicket
by bowling fast and outside the stumps. By bowling at the wicket you
keep the early chances in your favour.

5th. If a batsman confides in you that he does not expect to make
runs, encourage his idea; if you can make him believe he is in for a
duck, he will probably get it.

6th. Mind you have in your cricket bag everything you are likely to
want. Many bowlers lose their spikes and have none to replace them.
This may lose a wicket and a match.

7th. Never give a match up. Recollect it only takes one ball to get a
man out, and there is such a thing as a "hat-trick."

8th. When meeting with bad luck, as when catches are missed off you,
don't let it worry you, simply start again and try to forget it.

9th. Pay particular attention to how batsmen take up their position at
the wicket, and if you find they are "one-eyed," vary if possible both
pace and point of delivery, and always try and remember how you get
the various batsmen out.

Very interesting.

A few things that struck me from the listings given:

Quite a breakdown of bowling speeds (as distinct from bowling styles).

SF Barnes listed as fast medium, rather than medium. I knew he was
much quicker than a traditional spinner, much quicker than, say
O'Reilly, but I guess I was unsure as to how quick he actually was.
I wonder what sort of speed he would equate to in modern terms, who
would he be as quick as?

George Lohmann not listed.
Surely he wasn't long out of the game when this was published?

I probably shouldn't say so, but WW Armstrong listed as slow medium,
rather than slow.
And also listed as a notable mid off fielder!

Higgs

<snip>

Beldham was the first great cricket photographer. The primitive
equipment of the time had meant that all photos had to be "staged", and
he was I think the first to manage genuine action photographs.
--
John Hall

     "I am not young enough to know everything."
                                                 Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

<snip>

This is very valuable, in that it is a contemporary ranking of bowlers
in terms of their speed. Although it may not be 100% accurate, it
probably gives a better overview than anything else that I've seem
--
John Hall

     "I am not young enough to know everything."
                                                 Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

His last match in England was in 1896, and his last match of all was in
South Africa in early 1897. He died in 1901. Fry may have confined
himself to cricketers still playing at the time he was writing
(Richardson's last match was in 1905).

Rhodes is also listed as slow-medium, so I shouldn't read too much into
that.

No doubt in 1906 Armstrong was a much lighter and more agile figure than
he had become by 1921.
--
John Hall

     "I am not young enough to know everything."
                                                 Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Well I did wonder about the criteria for inclusion, it isn't clear.
But WG Grace is listed.

I'll revise my opinion.........

No, actually I'm curious.
This was a contemporary account. The authors surely saw the bowlers in
action.

Indeed, I mentioned just that fact earlier in the thread.........

Higgs

His last f-c match wasn't till 1908, though I don't suppose he was
bowling very often by this stage.

Yep, but they were obviously trying to distinguish between different
speeds of slow(ish) bowler. Nowadays I suspect that all their
slow-medium bowlers would be described as one of OB (off-breaks), SLA
(slow left-arm) or LB/LBG (leg-breaks and googlies).
--
John Hall

     "I am not young enough to know everything."
                                                 Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

<snipped very valuable information>

Thanks a plenty for posting that, Ramani. Might I ask if Spofforth has
anything anecdotal or autobiographical in that piece, more to do with
his playing days?

Rodney Ulyate
The cricket blog to which I grudgingly contribute: http://crickex.blogspot.com/
My Wikipedia talk page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Robertson-Glasgow

Of course they did, but (as Robert Henderson indicated recently) our
classification of bowlers' paces has altered somewhat since 1906. Of
course, we do not use "slow-medium" at all today.

Personally, I feel that the term was most likely used to denote the
quicker spinners of the age - mainly due to the "slow" part. Spin
bowlers, as you undoubtedly know, are often described as slow bowlers,
so I would assume that a relatively rapid spinner was rated slow-
medium back then.

Rodney Ulyate
The cricket blog to which I grudgingly contribute: http://crickex.blogspot.com/
My Wikipedia talk page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Robertson-Glasgow