Almanac Cricket: What is Not Cricket and What is Not Not cricket?

 

What is  ‘NOT CRICKET’?

 

What is NOT NOT CRICKET?

 

My first match, aged twelve and something under five foot tall, in open age cricket (there was no kids cricket for me to play in) was for Mooroolbark in B. Grade Ringwood District Cricket Association in
the1945/46 season.

 

We were playing Scoresby at their home ground. All I can remember of it was that a fieldsman, close in to the wicket, saying to their Captain – Wicket Keeper “Why don’t you stump him out.

 

The wicket keeper replied “If they can’t bowl him out I’m not going to stump him out.”

 

I remember this very well. I did not make many runs.

 

This action by Scoresby could be called “Cricket”

 

Another item that I remember well was my Dad, as Mooroolbark’s Captain, saying to me, after my going to the scorers to see how many runs I had made, ‘What have you just done?’, I replied I went to see how many runs I had made.

 

My captain said to me, ‘Never let me see you do that again; this is a team game.’

 

And I never ever did that again. That’s Cricket.

 

Another snippet that comes to mind of the season 1949/50, in an A Grade match Ringwood v Kilsyth in which a Kilsyth bowler, Jim Dixon by name called a Ringwood batsman back because he believed he was not out. “That’s Cricket!”

 

Kilsyth beat Ringwood for the Premiership Flag in this season. Jim Dixon won the A Grade Competition Bowling average for this season. Jim Dixon played in ‘our’ Mooroolbark team the season before under my Dad as Captain. I beat him to win the Club Bowling in this 1948/49 season.

 

I like to think he was impressed with the ‘Cricket’ my father may have inspired.

 

Another item in the 1947/48 season. Mooroolbark had only five men and two 13-year-old kids as it’s team on the first day. The North Ringwood team batted first. I imagine my Dad won the toss and sent them in. We bowled and the opposition team gave us four subs so we had a full fielding number. We got them out and then had to bat with four short. The two 13-year-olds were in last with about twenty-minutes to the finishing time. We kept our wickets in tact and the local paper recorded that Mooroolbark should win if the rest of the team turned up next Saturday.

 

I have the newspaper copy recording this and we won the match. THAT IS CRICKET.

 

Another item: 16 balls in one 8 ball over.

 

I was ‘Young Jim’ at Ringwood Cricket Club for a number of years. During a match played on the home ground of Ringwood, which is now part of Eastland, I was bowled 16 balls in an 8 ball over.

 

At this time, Ringwood had a concrete wicket that was covered with two lengths of matting pegged at the sides and at two ends. The centre ends were tired together. In the Football season the wickets were covered with soil. In this match the bowler to Young Jim bowled eight no-balls. A no-ball was called if it was bowled in the section between the mats.

 

Eight no-balls were called plus a few more legal balls short on the first mat all of which could whistle past Young Jim’s chest or head. The eight no-balls plus other short balls were bowled at Young Jim’s upper body.

 

Part way through the over, Young Jim walked to the other end of the wicket and patted the matting down with his bat telling the bowler he was hitting his feet. He didn’t like being told this. This bowling was ‘Not Cricket’.

 

How much bowling today is legal but not cricket? Is it time the wickets were made fairer. The luck of winning the toss is just too important.

 

Comment: If you are caught out and you know you are out but you don’t walk. That is ‘NOT CRICKET’.

 

 

 

 

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