Chips versus dogs

SIR – The Rev Christopher Roberts (Letters, June 8) suggests fitting a chip inside cricket balls to aid their recovery. In so doing he would deny young cricketers a valuable lesson, from the persistence and ingenuity required to track down a lost ball, and the euphoria of discovering it.

The cost of the occasional lost ball, gone forever, is a small price to pay. In any case it might deny my labrador the excitement, perhaps several years hence, of emerging grinning from thorny scrub, tail-wagging with a filthy, split, red trophy. Simon Olley Sevenoaks, Kent

SIR – When I played cricket on my parents’ lawn, the ball was often hoiked over the fence into deep brambles. But we had a secret weapon. My parents’ Sealyham-Norwich terrier cross, Paddy. On the command “Find”, Paddy would rush off to retrieve it. He always came back with the ball in his mouth and his coat beautifully brushed. Duncan Rayner Sunningdale, Berkshire