{"id":2892,"date":"2024-11-28T09:16:03","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T09:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/?page_id=2892"},"modified":"2026-01-06T16:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:35:22","slug":"felix-on-the-bat-nicholas-wanostrocht-1845","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/felix-on-the-bat-nicholas-wanostrocht-1845\/","title":{"rendered":"Felix on the Bat &#8211; Nicholas Wanostrocht (1845)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-page pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2892?print=print\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>The classic early instructional cricket book by the renowned Kent and All-England batsman, Nicholas Wanostrocht, who played under the name Felix, was a schoolmaster at Blackheath and played cricket as an amateur in the early Nineteenth Century. This famous work gives a fascinating insight into the techniques employed by cricket&#8217;s earliest batsmen, with strokes like the <em>Draw<\/em> and the <em>Home Block<\/em> being part of batting technique. It is particularly famous for the six illustrations of such shots, produced by Felix and prints which have graced the walls of many an Olde Worlde setting, although such prints tend to be of slightly altered versions of the original drawings, for instance, lacking the bargee&#8217;s cap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further discussion of batting techniques is to be found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/techniques\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1661\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"382\" height=\"491\" data-id=\"2917\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-Play-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-Play-edited.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-Play-edited-233x300.jpg 233w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 382px) 100vw, 382px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"375\" height=\"445\" data-id=\"2908\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-block2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-block2.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-block2-253x300.jpg 253w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"370\" height=\"455\" data-id=\"2907\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-forward2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2907\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-forward2.jpg 370w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-forward2-244x300.jpg 244w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"374\" height=\"483\" data-id=\"2909\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-Draw.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-Draw.jpg 374w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-Draw-232x300.jpg 232w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 374px) 100vw, 374px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"372\" height=\"498\" data-id=\"2911\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-leg2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2911\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-leg2.jpg 372w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-leg2-224x300.jpg 224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 372px) 100vw, 372px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"379\" height=\"493\" data-id=\"2910\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-the-cut2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2910\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-the-cut2.jpg 379w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-the-cut2-231x300.jpg 231w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 379px) 100vw, 379px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:36px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:34px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"423\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-strange3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2898\" style=\"width:210px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-strange3.jpg 423w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Felix-strange3-263x300.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 423px) 100vw, 423px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:67%\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Felix produced this drawing as a supposed example of a guard sometimes taken but which is not advised. It is the most ridiculous cricket illustration I have ever seen, I ran a contest to see what people thought was going on &#8211; the best suggestion was rowing without a boat. It may also be of some use as a Pilates exercise, I am not qualified to say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The book also provides advice on how to build a capapulta, the first bowling machine ever. A working model did exist and a <a href=\"http:\/\/cricmash.com\/pre-test-match\/the-catapulta-match-the-tale-of-the-early-bowling-machine\">game of some sorts was played<\/a> in 1844 in which the machine was a key bowler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"676\" height=\"345\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/catapulta.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2915\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/catapulta.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/catapulta-300x153.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The classic early instructional cricket book by the renowned Kent and All-England batsman, Nicholas Wanostrocht, who played under the name Felix, was a schoolmaster at Blackheath and played cricket as an amateur in the early Nineteenth Century. This famous work gives a fascinating insight into the techniques employed by cricket&#8217;s earliest batsmen, with strokes like [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2892","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PdOpLv-KE","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2892"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5292,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2892\/revisions\/5292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}