# Cricket passage from an Aubrey/Maturin novel - can anyone explain? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 29, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069 "2014-01-29T20:40:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/1 "2014-01-29T20:40:54Z")
I know absolutely nothing about cricket - can anyone explain what is going on in this passage from “The Fortune of War” by Patrick O’Brian? > [@](#): > > ‘Oh pray do come on, sir,’ cried the child again, dodging behind Stephen to urge him to a run. ‘Let me carry your bat. We absolutely depend on you. You are our only hope.’ > ‘Well, I shall do my best, sure,’ said Stephen. ‘Tell me, > Mr Forshaw, the aim is to beat down the opposing wicket, is it not?’ > ‘Of course it is, sir. Oh pray come on. All you have to do is to keep your end up and let the Captain do the rest. He’s still in, and there’s still hope, if only you will keep your end up.’ > They emerged from the tropical vegetation, greeted by a general cheer. Stephen advanced, carrying his hurly: he was feeling particularly well and fit; he had his land-legs again, and no longer stumped along, but walked with an elastic step. Jack came to meet him, and said in a low voice, ‘Just keep your end up, Stephen, until your eye is in; and watch out for the Admiral’s twisters,’ and then, as they neared the Admiral, ‘Sir, allow me to name my particular friend Dr Maturin, surgeon of the Leopard.’ > ‘How d’ye do, Doctor?’ said the Admiral. > 'I must beg your pardon, sir, for my late appearance: > I was called away on -, > ‘No ceremony, Doctor, I beg,’ said the Admiral, smiling: the Leopard’s hundred pounds were practically in his pocket, and this man of theirs did not look very dangerous. ‘Shall we begin?’ > ‘By all means,’ said Stephen. > ‘You go down to the other end,’ murmured Jack, a chill coming over him in spite of the torrid sun. > ‘Should you like to be given a middle, sir?’ called the umpire, when Stephen had walked down the pitch. > ‘Thank you, sir,’ said Stephen, hitching at his waistband and gazing round the field, ‘I already have one.’ > A rapacious grin ran round the Cumberlands: they moved much closer in, crouching, their huge crab-like hands spread wide. The Admiral held the ball to his nose for a long moment, fixing his adversary, and then delivered a lob that hummed as it flew. Stephen watched its course, danced out to take it as it touched the ground, checked its bounce, dribbled the ball towards the astonished coverpoint and running still he scooped it into the hollow of his hurly, raced on with twinkling steps to mid-off, there checked his run admist the stark silent amazement, flicked the ball into his hand, tossed it high, and with a screech drove it straight at Jack’s wicket, shattering the near stump and sending its upper half in a long, graceful trajectory that reached the ground just as the first of La Flèche’s guns, saluting the flag, echoed across the field. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/2 "2014-01-29T20:50:35Z")
Apparently Stephen knows as much about cricket as you, confusing it with [hurling.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgEMvRrOCRI) As he comes out to bat he’s being encouraged to play defensively and let Jack get all the runs. Apparently he’s the last batsman for his side and if he gets out before they match the opposing side’s total the hundred pound wager goes to them. When the ball is bowled to him Stephen hits it along the ground for a while, scoops it up, catches it in his other hand and then hit it into Jack’s wicket. In doing so he’s out at least twice ([hit the ball twice, handled the ball),](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismissal_(cricket))and even if he weren’t Jack would be out if Jack had left his crease when Stephen hit his wicket with the ball. I guess in baseball terms the play would be something like: 2 outs in the ninth innings trailing by 1 run with a runner on third. The batter stops the pitch dead with his bat, picks it up and then runs into the outfield, turns and hits the ball straight to the third baseman. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/3 "2014-01-29T21:17:21Z")
Right - there’s an earlier passage where Stephen reflects that he’s never actually seen a cricket match, but from the descriptions he’s gotten, it sounds like the hurling he used to play at Trinity. He’s too proud to admit he knows nothing about the game, and Jack is too sensitive to question him, even when he sees the hurly Stephen carved from the deadly upas tree. He meant to watch the early part of the match between the Leopards and the Cumberlands before he was up to bat(?), but was called away - that’s why poor Forshaw had to retrieve him. Had he seen it, hopefully he would have figured out some of the rules of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/4 "2014-01-29T21:39:05Z")
What does the ‘Should you like to be given a middle, sir?’ question mean? ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/5 "2014-01-29T21:39:39Z")
[Upas wood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upas)seems a good choice to use - its density is similar to Willow. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/6 "2014-01-29T21:41:30Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > What does the ‘Should you like to be given a middle, sir?’ question mean? The umpire is asking if he’d like to be told where the middle of his wicket is. The new batsman stands with his bat upright on the ground on the crease and the umpire tells him when he’s in line with middle stump. Many batsman mark a line in the crease so they set themselves up properly in line with the wicket. ETA here are [some diagrams](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_pitch)which may help. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/7 "2014-01-29T21:45:03Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > In doing so he’s out at least twice ([hit the ball twice, handled the ball),](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismissal_(cricket))and even if he weren’t Jack would be out if Jack had left his crease when Stephen hit his wicket with the ball. Untrue on the last count. For a batsman to be run out a fielder must have touched the ball (though he need only have made contact and does not have to have influenced the direction of the ball). Note that in the early 1800s underarm bowling was still in force and the bat was indeed shaped much more like a hurley than a modern cricket bat. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/8 "2014-01-29T23:11:45Z")
Good point, I’d forgotten the need for the bowler to touch a ball driven straight on to the non-striker’s stumps for a runout. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/9 "2014-01-30T03:25:36Z")
Thanks for the replies! - I figured Stephen’s play was either completely disastrous or unexpectedly brilliant, just wasn’t sure which 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/10 "2014-01-30T21:41:18Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Good point, I’d forgotten the need for the bowler to touch a ball driven straight on to the non-striker’s stumps for a runout. Used to cause endless arguments in schoolboy cricket. Incidentally, I believe laws like “hit the ball twice” and “obstructing the field” had to be brought in because back in the 1700s cricket used to get pretty wild and woolly, with some scope for disaster when both batsman and fielder were chasing after the ball…! ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cricket-passage-from-an-aubrey-maturin-novel-can-anyone-explain/680069/11 "2014-01-30T22:45:35Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > Thanks for the replies! - I figured Stephen’s play was either completely disastrous or unexpectedly brilliant, just wasn’t sure which 🙂 Both, really. It’s a pretty impressive hurling maneuver for someone who hasn’t even really warmed up…