The Stumps
The stumps have undergone more change during the last hundred and fifty years than any of the accessories to cricket.
At first they were two in number and only 12 inches high. A third stump, 2 feet in length, was laid across them, although, with the exception of being knocked down by the bowler, it was similar in no respect to the bails of the present day, as the wicket-keeper was obliged, in order to stump a person, to place the ball in a large hole dug between the two stumps. In the year 1780 the width between the two stumps was decreased to 6 inches. It was also at this time that a bail was introduced, for it is almost impossible to dignify the transverse stump, 2 feet long, which was in use till this date, by that appellation. In 1781 a third stump was added, and the height of the wickets increased to 22 inches. The addition of a stump was mainly owing to the fact, that Lumpy, a celebrated bowler of that day, sent the ball almost three times running between the two stumps. This was thought so unfair for the bowler, that it was resolved to increase the number of stumps in order to give him a better chance.
In 1814 we find that the wickets were increased in height to 26 inches, and in width to 8 inches, and in 1817 another inch was added to their length. This, with the exception of dividing the bail into two equal parts, is the last change that has taken place.