Cricket has Drawbacks.

Cricket has never reached the state of popularity in New Zealand that it enjoys in Australia, but has established a following that is to be seen Saturday after Saturday, “sitting in the sun, talking about last season's football.”

The increasing popularity of tennis has taken a number of would-be players away from cricket and the gradual public interest in softball, a modified form of baseball, is also making its presence felt. Softball is providing recreation, too, for a section of the youth that has never found cricket sufficiently exciting in this age of speed and thrill.

Cricket, despite its age-old English atmosphere, is not the truly ideal team game. It is a game where stars are able to get the most enjoyment and the “rabbits” used as stop-gaps. Recently a Wellington cricket club suggested that mid-week matches be organised to provide play for a number of players. During the discussion it was mentioned that some players had not had an innings for seven weeks!

There you have a drawback in cricket. The star batsman is assured of a “knock at the wickets,” but the mediocre batsman is often used only as a fieldsman and, when sufficient runs have been amassed by the batsmen, the innings is declared, leaving the not-so-good batsman, who would dearly love to have “a smack at the bowlers,” to go out for another stretch of leather-chasing.

In softball it is compulsory to provide a batting list and as the innings close—there are usually nine innings each in a match—the man next on the batting list is called on to re-open the innings. This ensures each player getting an equal chance at batting—and who will deny that the weaker batsman also gets a thrill while batting?

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