A book to wander through with enjoyment rather than read
with application is Mr. Samuel J. Looker's anthology of Cricket (Simpkin Marshall). The history and literature of the game are both well represented. We read, for example, that the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV., had a keen interest in it : he played " with great condescension and affability." One of the most interesting discussions in the anthology occurs in an article on "Cricket Superstitions." In it we have recalled to us the special code of cricket as played by small boys in streets, parks and playgrounds. There is great logic in their rules : a " no-ball " is a " no-ball " through and through—a player cannot be out for it, nor can he score runs from it. Another interesting rule is the one under which a batsman is out if he drops his bat ; and the most strange and persistent superstition of all is that a batsman loses his wicket if he hits with the wrong side of the bat. " One would like to know," wrote Mr. A. E. Evans, " if anyone has ever seen a real cricketer make this mistake."
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