make half a dozen runs from well-pitched balls or half-volleys his first over than to see him stop four straight long-hops. On the fall of a wicket the bowler should always remember that the new batsman is entirely unaccustomed to the light and not yet warm to his work, and that consequently the pet devices which may have been clearly seen through and mercilessly punished by the retiring batsman are for the present quite fresh for the new one. He should consequently begin by doing all he can to get rid of him at once before he gets ‘set.’ He should in the first two or three overs try every effective ball he knows--and certainly in the first over he should try a ‘yorker.’ This ball, called in days gone by a ‘tice,’ an abbreviation of ‘entice,’ is certainly one of the most deadly balls that can be bowled, if not absolutely the most deadly. We believe that, if statistics could be kept of how every wicket fell during the course of a season, more would be found victims to the ‘yorker’ than to any other ball. We can find no derivation for the word ‘yorker,’ but are told that it came from the Yorkshiremen, who were fonder of bowling this ball than any other. A story is told of a famous old Yorkshire professional who, on being asked whether he knew why this ball was called a ‘yorker,’ replied, ‘Of course I do.’ ‘Well?’ said his questioner. ‘Why, what else could you call it?’ was the answer, with a puzzled look and a scratch on the top of his head. The ordinary definition of a ‘yorker’ is a ball that pitches inside the crease, and this, no doubt, is correct so far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. It really should be, any ball that pitches directly underneath the bat. It is quite possible for a man to be bowled out with a ‘yorker’ when he is two or three yards out of his ground, if he misjudges the ball, and allows it to pitch directly beneath his bat, although the ball pitches as far from the crease as he is standing. The most deadly sort of ‘yorker,’ however, is the one that pitches about three or four inches inside the crease. One mistake which the batsman makes with this ball is that he imagines it is going to pitch shorter for a half-volley, and gets ready to hit, when he finds the ball coming farther than he expected, and is then too late to stop it. Another grave error which many batsmen fall into is that of lifting their bats up, after judging the pace and pitch of the ‘yorker,’ intending to come down on it as it touches the ground, which really is at the very last moment. It seems an easy thing to stop a ‘yorker’ in this way, but it really requires the greatest nicety in timing, and a moment late means that the ball has passed and the stumps are down. Whenever a batsman is playing ‘yorkers’ by chopping down on them inside his crease, it is as certain as can be that he is not at all at home with them, and the bowler may hope for success with every one he tries. Even if the