Of course the amount of twist the ball will take depends on the state of the ground, and this should at once be apparent to the bowler. The danger most to be apprehended by the batsman from the off break is that in playing forward, if not quite on the pitch of the ball, he is very apt, owing to the twist, to play outside, and allow it to pass between his bat and right leg to the wicket. It is never a wise thing for the bowler to use the ‘off break’ every ball, although there are many who do so. Even if he is devoid of all other artifice, and has no command over the arts of ‘change of pace,’ ‘flight,’ or the ‘leg-break,’ he should often vary his style by a ball without any twist at all, and this should not always be straight. If a batsman has been playing over after over nothing but good-length ‘off break,’ a ball pitched about the same spot, two or three inches outside the off stump, and without any off break at all, will very often be found to go to hand in the slips, because the batsman is expecting the break and plays inside the ball. [Illustration: The off break.] The fast ‘off break’ is a most deadly ball, and Lockwood, Richardson, Mold, and Hearne are four bowlers who have a consistent break. A slight slope in the ground from the off side is always a great advantage to fast bowlers who try the ‘break-back.’ This comparatively rare ball, when it does come, is sure to try the very best batsman. Its difficulty arises from the fact that the ball is of such a pace as to necessitate quick forward play, when the sudden turn after the pitch causes it to be missed. For playing ‘off breaks’ of all paces, it is a great and golden rule for batsmen to remember: _Never allow space between the bat and the left leg for the ball to pass through_. This rule, which insures the left leg of the batsman being placed well across the wicket when playing forward, if followed, will render it almost impossible for him to be bowled out with an ‘off break.’ It is an astounding fact that this simple rule, which should be patent to everyone, seems unknown to all our best batsmen with one or two notable exceptions. W. G. Grace has always played with his leg up to his bat, thereby preventing the ball from finding an opening between the two. W. W. Read, of Surrey, is another who plays thus. We do not express any opinion here as to the bearing of this rule on the leg-before-wicket question. It is sufficient for a batsman at present, as the rule now stands, that so long as the ball does not pitch between the two wickets he cannot be given out ‘l.b.w.’ [Illustration: ‘Off breaks.’ A, B, C, all good ones; D, if the batsman stands with his legs some way from the leg stump, this is likely to bowl him off his legs; but it is a beauty to hit on the on side.]