Winona placed her field at once, and Dora, after a whispered word or two
to her team, selected her first bats. One was a business-like looking
girl who hummed a tune as she came, with ostentatious carelessness; the
other, stout and dark, blinked her eyes nervously. It was manifestly
impossible to judge their capacities beforehand. Betty Carlisle was to
take the first over. She had a high overhand action, and sent the ball
down the pitch at a good pace. Lottie Moir, the dark-haired damsel who
faced the bowling, was cautious. She played the first ball respectfully
back to the bowler. The next, being of good length, she played quietly
to long-off for one. She was evidently not out to take risks, and the
rest of the over she did not attempt to score. Her partner, Meg Perkins,
was a fairly brilliant, but more reckless player. The first ball she
received came down at a good pace, but well on the off-side of the
wicket. A well-timed cut sent it flying to the short boundary for two.
Perhaps the success turned her head a little. The next ball pitched well
to the leg-side; she made a mighty stroke at it, not allowing for the
break, and missed it altogether. Next moment she was walking ruefully
back to the pavilion.
Phyllis Knight, the next bat, was evidently regarded by the Binworth
team as a champion. She was tall, and decidedly athletic looking. Winona
nodded to Irene Swinburne, celebrated for her twisters, and Irene went
on to bowl. Phyllis had a long reach, which she employed successfully in
driving the first ball she received right along the ground into "the
country" for three. Seaton began to look rather glum. The next ball she
stone-walled. Irene was growing desperate. Phyllis was waiting with her
bat slightly raised. "Now if only I can drop the ball just under that
bat, out she goes!" said Irene to herself, and sent the swiftest she
knew how. Phyllis made a slash at it, evidently thinking it a half
volley, but alas! her bails flew, and the Seaton contingent were roaring
"Well bowled!"
None of the rest of the Binworth team approached to Phyllis' standard,
though they played with caution, and their score mounted up steadily. At
the end of their innings sixty was up on the board.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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