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Show WOULD UNITE GAMES INTO SINGLE SPORT Englishman Conceives Idea of Merging Baseball and Cricket. English Critics Continue to Offer Suggestions Sug-gestions and Bewail Fact That Foul Is Not Allowed to Figure in Run Getting. There is now .some talk id England, where baseball is invading the sport domain, of a sort of compromise game which should embody some features of cricket and baseball. Nothing will probably ever come of any attempt radically to change the baseball game, as It has been evolved, any more than would any endeavor to adopt some baseball features into cricket. The two pastimes would mix about as well as oil and water. But English critics of baseball continue con-tinue to offer suggestions, and one of Ihera in a recent issue of an English periodical bewails the fact that the baseball "foul" is not allowed to figure fig-ure In the run getting. He thinks it should be as important a factor in the American game as the "snick" in cricket, to which It corresponds Here is how he puts It: "The snick or corner stroke is nn doubtedly the most spectacular hit Ir, baseball ; indeed, It is practically the only spectacular stroke, except the hit out of the ground, which occurs once in a blue moon. "It seems a very great pity that this 'corner stroke' is merely thrown away in baseball. In making the stroke the batsman hits as usual with a horizontal hori-zontal bat, and getting just under the ball sends it at a very great pace to a tremendous height behind Mm, and sometimes to a considerable distance." If the baseball foul were to be treated treat-ed the same as a fair fly or grounder, the grand stand would have to be moved about as far back of the home plate as deep center field Is In front of It und a "back field" that 'would literally be a back field would have to be provided two players at least, which would bring the batsmen up to the cricket number of eleven. All the grand stand fans would have to have spyglasses, and the bleachers never would know which way the game was going, forward or back. The catcher would also have to have eyes In the back of his head If there were men on bases, and the batsmen should knock a nice grounder or lofty "snick" about .r0 or 200 feet back of the home plate. It Is to snicker. No, let both these fine games go along together but , separately, as It were. I |