Underarm bowling
Encyclopedia
In cricket
, underarm bowling is as old as the sport itself. Until the introduction of the roundarm
style in the first half of the 19th century, bowling was performed in the same way as in bowls
, the ball being delivered with the hand below the waist. Bowls may well be an older game than cricket and it is possible (although unlikely) that cricket was derived from bowls by the intervention of a batsman trying to stop the ball reaching its target by hitting it away, though bowling per se continued as in bowls.
Cricket's first great bowling revolution occurred probably in the 1760s when bowlers started to pitch the ball instead of rolling it along the ground. The change was evolutionary and has been described as the event that took cricket out of its "pioneering phase" into what may be termed its "pre-modern phase" (i.e., which ended when overarm bowling
ushered in the modern game in 1864) and effectively created a different code of cricket, just as there are now two different codes of rugby football
.
The pitched delivery was established by 1772 when detailed scorecards became commonplace and the straight bat had already replaced the curved one by that time. There is no doubt that the straight bat was invented to contest the pitched delivery. It has been said that the inventor was John Small of Hambledon
but it is unlikely that he actually invented it; rather, he was the first great batsman to master its use.
The 1760s are one of cricket's "Dark Ages"; a good deal more is known about the decades 1731-1750 than of 1751-1770. This has largely to do with the impact of the Seven Years' War
of 1756-1763 which not only claimed the sport's manpower but also its patronage. Pitching may have begun during that period but little is known about it for it seems to have been introduced and widely accepted without the huge controversies that surrounded the later implementations of roundarm and overarm
.
It is interesting that the first known codification of the Laws of Cricket
, created by the London Cricket Club
in 1744, makes no mention of prescribed bowling action and does not say the ball must be delivered at ground level, which suggests a pitched delivery would not be illegal. The rules for bowlers in the 1744 Laws focus on the position of the hind foot during delivery (i.e., it had to be behind the bowling crease) and overstepping is the only specified cause for calling a no ball. The umpires were granted "discretion" and so presumably would call no ball if, say, a ball was thrown by the bowler.
One of the first great bowlers to employ the pitched delivery to good effect was Edward "Lumpy" Stevens of Chertsey and Surrey. There is a surviving rhyme about him to the effect that "honest Lumpy did allow he ne'er would pitch but o'er a brow". In those days, the leading bowler on each side had choice of precisely where the wickets would be placed and Lumpy was adept at finding a spot where the turf was uneven on a good length so that he could use his repertoire of shooters, twisters and risers. Lumpy was a true professional who studied the arts and crafts of the game to seek continuous improvement as a bowler. He is known to have observed the flight of the ball and experimented for long hours with variations of line, length and speed of delivery until he had mastered the art of pitching.
Other great bowlers of the late 18th century were Thomas Brett
and David Harris
, both of Hambledon
. They were fast bowlers whereas Lumpy relied on variety of pace. An interesting bowler of the time was Lamborn
who spun the ball in an unorthodox fashion and may have been the "original leg spinner".
Underarm bowling was effective while pitch conditions were difficult for batsmen due to being uneven and uncovered. In time, especially after the opening of Lord's and the development of groundsmanship, pitches began to improve and batsmen were able to play longer innings than formerly. In the 1780s and 1790s, one of the best batsmen around was Tom Walker
, who was also a very useful slow bowler. Walker was another improviser like Lumpy and he began to experiment by bowling with his hand away from his body. It is not clear how high he raised his hand but it could have been waist height. He was accused of "jerking" the ball and so delivering it in an unfair and improper manner. He was suitably censured for his trouble and was forced to return to his normal underarm lobs, but he had sown the seeds of bowling's next revolution.
This was roundarm, so-called because the hand is held out from the body (i.e., between waist and shoulder height) at the point of delivery. The roundarm style was promoted successively by John Willes
, William Lillywhite
and Jem Broadbridge
until it was finally legalised, amid furious controversy, in 1835 with an amendment to the rule in 1845.
Roundarm did not mean the end of underarm, which continued well into the overarm
era that began in 1864. William Clarke
, founder of the All England Eleven in 1845, remained a highly effective underarm bowler long after roundarm began. Others who sometimes bowled underarm into the overarm era were James Grundy and James Southerton
.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, underarm had more or less disappeared and was rarely seen thereafter, although exceptions did occur. There were cases where a bowler had been injured and so completed his over with underarms. In more controversial circumstances, there were instances of bowlers who had been no-balled for throwing who decided to bowl underarm in order to get through the over.
George Simpson-Hayward
was an England hero of the 1909-10 series in South Africa with his underarm bowling. Reference books often refer to him as the "last great lob bowler", but other descriptions suggest he was a ferocious under-arm spinner of the ball, getting immense turn off the pitch through a fairly low trajectory, rather than being a true "lobster".
, who represented Surrey
in three matches in 1921, is considered as the last lob-bowler to play first class cricket primarily as a bowler. However, Gerald Brodribb
in his book on this subject lists about twenty-five instances since that time when underarm bowling was employed in first class matches. The list of bowlers who have tried this includes Hedley Verity
, Jack Iverson
, Mike Brearley
, George Brown
, Wilf Wooller, Maharaja of Patiala
and Fred Root
.
Bowlers have employed underarm bowling for a variety of reasons. When the Trinidadian
cricketer Syed Mubarak Ali was no-balled 30 times for throwing
in a match against Barbados in 1942, he resorted to rolling the ball along to avoid more no-balls. In similar circumstances, South African
bowler Geoff Griffin did the same in an exhibition match that followed the Test against England
at Lord's in 1960, where he had already been no-balled. As rain threatened to end the match between Victoria
and MCC
in 1928-29, the MCC bowler Fred Barratt
rolled the ball along to allow Bill Woodfull
to score a four to complete his hundred and Victoria to win.http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/13/13310.html But most of the modern underarm bowlers did it to register some form of protest.
Graeme Fowler
in his book Fox on the run records that Dilip Vengsarkar
bowled an over of lobs in the match between West Zone and England in 1984-85 when the latter delayed their declaration
http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/45/45364.html. When Lancashire
batted on for too long against Oxford University at Oxford in 1990, Phil Gerrans, an Australian playing for Oxford, bowled a ball underarm http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/52/52943.html. Since he had not informed the umpire of the change of action, he was no-balled. These appear to be the last instances of underarm bowling in first class cricket.
now (2000 Code) declare that an underarm delivery is illegal unless otherwise agreed before the match.
A delivery is a no ball
if it bounces more than twice before passing the popping crease: an underarm delivery cannot be performed rolling along the ground. A pitched underarm delivery is a good ball, providing it only pitches once, and providing the opposing captain has agreed beforehand that the style may be used. It is unlikely that any bowler would reintroduce the style, given modern pitch conditions.
at the MCG
in 1981 when Australian bowler Trevor Chappell
rolled the final ball along the ground to avoid the possibility of it being hit for the six runs that New Zealand needed to tie the match.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, underarm bowling is as old as the sport itself. Until the introduction of the roundarm
Roundarm bowling
In cricket, roundarm bowling is a style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and had largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowler has his arm extended at about 90 degrees from his body at the point where he releases the ball...
style in the first half of the 19th century, bowling was performed in the same way as in bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
, the ball being delivered with the hand below the waist. Bowls may well be an older game than cricket and it is possible (although unlikely) that cricket was derived from bowls by the intervention of a batsman trying to stop the ball reaching its target by hitting it away, though bowling per se continued as in bowls.
History
For centuries, bowling was often performed exactly as in bowls because the ball was rolled or skimmed along the ground. The bowlers may have used variations in pace but the basic action was essentially the same. There are surviving illustrations from the first half of the eighteenth century which depict the bowler with one knee bent forward and his bowling hand close to the ground, while the ball trundles (if slow) or skims (if quick) towards a batsman armed with a bat shaped something like a large hockey stick and guarding a two-stump wicket.Cricket's first great bowling revolution occurred probably in the 1760s when bowlers started to pitch the ball instead of rolling it along the ground. The change was evolutionary and has been described as the event that took cricket out of its "pioneering phase" into what may be termed its "pre-modern phase" (i.e., which ended when overarm bowling
Overarm bowling
In cricket, overarm bowling refers to a delivery in which the bowler's hand is above shoulder height. This is in contrast to a roundarm delivery, where the hand is between shoulder height and waist height; and an underarm delivery where the bowler's hand is below waist height.After roundarm was...
ushered in the modern game in 1864) and effectively created a different code of cricket, just as there are now two different codes of rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
.
The pitched delivery was established by 1772 when detailed scorecards became commonplace and the straight bat had already replaced the curved one by that time. There is no doubt that the straight bat was invented to contest the pitched delivery. It has been said that the inventor was John Small of Hambledon
Hambledon Club
The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.-Foundation:...
but it is unlikely that he actually invented it; rather, he was the first great batsman to master its use.
The 1760s are one of cricket's "Dark Ages"; a good deal more is known about the decades 1731-1750 than of 1751-1770. This has largely to do with the impact of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
of 1756-1763 which not only claimed the sport's manpower but also its patronage. Pitching may have begun during that period but little is known about it for it seems to have been introduced and widely accepted without the huge controversies that surrounded the later implementations of roundarm and overarm
Overarm bowling
In cricket, overarm bowling refers to a delivery in which the bowler's hand is above shoulder height. This is in contrast to a roundarm delivery, where the hand is between shoulder height and waist height; and an underarm delivery where the bowler's hand is below waist height.After roundarm was...
.
It is interesting that the first known codification of the Laws of Cricket
Laws of cricket
The laws of cricket are a set of rules established by the Marylebone Cricket Club which describe the laws of cricket worldwide, to ensure uniformity and fairness. There are currently 42 laws, which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game, how a batsman is...
, created by the London Cricket Club
London Cricket Club
The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...
in 1744, makes no mention of prescribed bowling action and does not say the ball must be delivered at ground level, which suggests a pitched delivery would not be illegal. The rules for bowlers in the 1744 Laws focus on the position of the hind foot during delivery (i.e., it had to be behind the bowling crease) and overstepping is the only specified cause for calling a no ball. The umpires were granted "discretion" and so presumably would call no ball if, say, a ball was thrown by the bowler.
One of the first great bowlers to employ the pitched delivery to good effect was Edward "Lumpy" Stevens of Chertsey and Surrey. There is a surviving rhyme about him to the effect that "honest Lumpy did allow he ne'er would pitch but o'er a brow". In those days, the leading bowler on each side had choice of precisely where the wickets would be placed and Lumpy was adept at finding a spot where the turf was uneven on a good length so that he could use his repertoire of shooters, twisters and risers. Lumpy was a true professional who studied the arts and crafts of the game to seek continuous improvement as a bowler. He is known to have observed the flight of the ball and experimented for long hours with variations of line, length and speed of delivery until he had mastered the art of pitching.
Other great bowlers of the late 18th century were Thomas Brett
Thomas Brett
Thomas Brett was one of first-class cricket's earliest well-known fast bowlers and a leading player for Hampshire when its team was organised by the Hambledon Club in the 1770s.-Career:Noted for his pace and his accuracy, Brett was a leading wicket taker in the 1770s and was lauded by John...
and David Harris
David Harris (Hambledon cricketer)
David Harris was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1782 to 1798....
, both of Hambledon
Hambledon Club
The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.-Foundation:...
. They were fast bowlers whereas Lumpy relied on variety of pace. An interesting bowler of the time was Lamborn
Lamborn
Lamborn was a significant English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club in the 18th century and is recognised as one of the greatest innovators in the history of bowling.-Career:...
who spun the ball in an unorthodox fashion and may have been the "original leg spinner".
Underarm bowling was effective while pitch conditions were difficult for batsmen due to being uneven and uncovered. In time, especially after the opening of Lord's and the development of groundsmanship, pitches began to improve and batsmen were able to play longer innings than formerly. In the 1780s and 1790s, one of the best batsmen around was Tom Walker
Thomas Walker (cricketer)
Thomas "Tom" Walker was an English cricketer who played for Hampshire in the days of the Hambledon Club and later for Surrey. He was famous for his brilliant defensive batting. He is also credited with introducing, roundarm bowling, the predecessor of modern overarm bowling.-Career:Walker was born...
, who was also a very useful slow bowler. Walker was another improviser like Lumpy and he began to experiment by bowling with his hand away from his body. It is not clear how high he raised his hand but it could have been waist height. He was accused of "jerking" the ball and so delivering it in an unfair and improper manner. He was suitably censured for his trouble and was forced to return to his normal underarm lobs, but he had sown the seeds of bowling's next revolution.
This was roundarm, so-called because the hand is held out from the body (i.e., between waist and shoulder height) at the point of delivery. The roundarm style was promoted successively by John Willes
John Willes (cricketer)
John Willes was an English cricketer who, though he made only five known first-class appearances, had a significant impact on the game's history and development...
, William Lillywhite
William Lillywhite
Frederick William Lillywhite was a famous English cricketer during the game's roundarm era...
and Jem Broadbridge
Jem Broadbridge
James "Jem" Broadbridge was an English professional cricketer who is widely accounted the outstanding all-rounder in England during the 1820s. He is best remembered for his part in the introduction of roundarm bowling...
until it was finally legalised, amid furious controversy, in 1835 with an amendment to the rule in 1845.
Roundarm did not mean the end of underarm, which continued well into the overarm
Overarm bowling
In cricket, overarm bowling refers to a delivery in which the bowler's hand is above shoulder height. This is in contrast to a roundarm delivery, where the hand is between shoulder height and waist height; and an underarm delivery where the bowler's hand is below waist height.After roundarm was...
era that began in 1864. William Clarke
William Clarke (English cricketer)
William Clarke was an English cricketer and team manager who played first-class cricket from 1826 to 1855...
, founder of the All England Eleven in 1845, remained a highly effective underarm bowler long after roundarm began. Others who sometimes bowled underarm into the overarm era were James Grundy and James Southerton
James Southerton
James Southerton was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1854 and 1879....
.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, underarm had more or less disappeared and was rarely seen thereafter, although exceptions did occur. There were cases where a bowler had been injured and so completed his over with underarms. In more controversial circumstances, there were instances of bowlers who had been no-balled for throwing who decided to bowl underarm in order to get through the over.
George Simpson-Hayward
George Simpson-Hayward
George Hayward Thomas Simpson-Hayward was an English cricketer who played in 5 Tests in 1910...
was an England hero of the 1909-10 series in South Africa with his underarm bowling. Reference books often refer to him as the "last great lob bowler", but other descriptions suggest he was a ferocious under-arm spinner of the ball, getting immense turn off the pitch through a fairly low trajectory, rather than being a true "lobster".
Underarm in the modern game
Underarm bowling became virtually extinct after the First World War. Trevor MolonyTrevor Molony
Trevor James Molony was a cricketer who played for Surrey. He is considered as the last lob bowler to play first class cricket purely as a bowler....
, who represented Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in three matches in 1921, is considered as the last lob-bowler to play first class cricket primarily as a bowler. However, Gerald Brodribb
Gerald Brodribb
Dr. Arthur Gerald Norcott Brodribb was a cricket historian and archaeologist.Born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Brodribb graduated from Oxford, where his tutor had been C.S. Lewis, and became a schoolmaster...
in his book on this subject lists about twenty-five instances since that time when underarm bowling was employed in first class matches. The list of bowlers who have tried this includes Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and in 40 Tests he took 144 wickets at an average of 24.37...
, Jack Iverson
Jack Iverson
John Brian Iverson was an Australian cricketer who played in 5 Tests from 1950 to 1951. He was known for his unique "bent finger" grip, with which he briefly perplexed batsmen across Australia as well as the touring English cricket team...
, Mike Brearley
Mike Brearley
John Michael Brearley OBE is a former cricketer who captained the England cricket team in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 17 and losing only 4. He was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2007–08.-Early life:...
, George Brown
George Brown (cricketer)
George Brown was an English cricketer who played in 7 Tests from 1921 to 1923. George Brown was born in Cowley, Oxfordshire, the son of Edwin Brown and Sarah Ann...
, Wilf Wooller, Maharaja of Patiala
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, GBE was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala from 1900 to 1938.- Biography :...
and Fred Root
Fred Root
Charles Frederick Root was an English cricketer who played for England in 1926 and for Derbyshire between 1910 to 1920 and for Worcestershire between 1921 and 1932.- Early career :...
.
Bowlers have employed underarm bowling for a variety of reasons. When the Trinidadian
Trinidad and Tobago cricket team
The Trinidad and Tobago cricket team is the representative cricket team of the country of Trinidad and Tobago.The team takes part in inter-regional cricket competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, with the best players selected for the West Indies...
cricketer Syed Mubarak Ali was no-balled 30 times for throwing
Throwing (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, throwing, commonly referred to as chucking, is an illegal bowling action which occurs when a bowler straightens their arm when delivering the ball. The Laws of Cricket specify that a bowler's arm must be fully extended and rotated about the shoulder to impart velocity to...
in a match against Barbados in 1942, he resorted to rolling the ball along to avoid more no-balls. In similar circumstances, South African
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
bowler Geoff Griffin did the same in an exhibition match that followed the Test against England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
at Lord's in 1960, where he had already been no-balled. As rain threatened to end the match between Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
and MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
in 1928-29, the MCC bowler Fred Barratt
Fred Barratt
Fred Barratt played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire from 1914 to 1931 and represented England in five Test matches, one in the home series against South Africa in 1929 and four on the inaugural Test series against New Zealand in the 1929-30 season.From a mining background,...
rolled the ball along to allow Bill Woodfull
Bill Woodfull
William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
to score a four to complete his hundred and Victoria to win.http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/13/13310.html But most of the modern underarm bowlers did it to register some form of protest.
Graeme Fowler
Graeme Fowler
Graeme "Foxy" Fowler is a former English professional cricketer, who played for Lancashire, England, and later for Durham...
in his book Fox on the run records that Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar is an Indian cricketer and cricket administrator. He was one of the most stylish batsmen of his time, known as one of the foremost exponents of the drive. He was also known by the nickname 'Colonel'....
bowled an over of lobs in the match between West Zone and England in 1984-85 when the latter delayed their declaration
Declaration and forfeiture
In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/45/45364.html. When Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
batted on for too long against Oxford University at Oxford in 1990, Phil Gerrans, an Australian playing for Oxford, bowled a ball underarm http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/52/52943.html. Since he had not informed the umpire of the change of action, he was no-balled. These appear to be the last instances of underarm bowling in first class cricket.
Definition
Technically speaking, an underarm delivery is one in which the bowler's hand does not rise above the level of the waist. The Laws of CricketLaws of cricket
The laws of cricket are a set of rules established by the Marylebone Cricket Club which describe the laws of cricket worldwide, to ensure uniformity and fairness. There are currently 42 laws, which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game, how a batsman is...
now (2000 Code) declare that an underarm delivery is illegal unless otherwise agreed before the match.
A delivery is a no ball
No ball
In the sport of cricket a no ball is a penalty against the fielding team, usually as a result of an illegal delivery by the bowler. The delivery of a no ball results in one run to be added to the batting team's score, and an additional ball must be bowled...
if it bounces more than twice before passing the popping crease: an underarm delivery cannot be performed rolling along the ground. A pitched underarm delivery is a good ball, providing it only pitches once, and providing the opposing captain has agreed beforehand that the style may be used. It is unlikely that any bowler would reintroduce the style, given modern pitch conditions.
1981 Incident
A controversial incident occurred in the final of the Benson & Hedges World Series CupWorld Series Cup
The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
at the MCG
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in 1981 when Australian bowler Trevor Chappell
Trevor Chappell
Trevor Martin Chappell is a former Australian cricketer, a member of the South Australian Chappell family which excelled at cricket...
rolled the final ball along the ground to avoid the possibility of it being hit for the six runs that New Zealand needed to tie the match.
Informal Cricket
Underarm bowling still plays a role in informal garden cricket games, which are often played by less athletic people or young children. Novices at playing the game are often unable to bowl overarm effectively or accurately, so can be allowed to bowl underarm by general consensus. Since underarm bowling is also slower than overarm, it is easier for novice batsmen to hit the ball, making it ideal for informal and children's cricket.External sources
Further reading
- Gerald BrodribbGerald BrodribbDr. Arthur Gerald Norcott Brodribb was a cricket historian and archaeologist.Born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Brodribb graduated from Oxford, where his tutor had been C.S. Lewis, and became a schoolmaster...
, The Lost Art, Boundary Books, 1997. ISBN 0-9522070-8-7 - Rowland BowenRowland BowenMajor Rowland Francis Bowen was a cricket researcher, historian and writer....
, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970 - Arthur HaygarthArthur HaygarthArthur Haygarth was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians....
, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826), Lillywhite, 1862