CRICKET.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 258, 4 December 1914, Page 11

CRICKET.

NOTES FROM OTHER CENTRES:

A cricket prodigy!— Cecil Dacre, the Devonport (Auckland) schoolboy, aged 15, who in previous seasons made some phenomenal scores, is right up to his best form this season. His scores ;m school cricket since the season opened are:—l4o not out, 143, 108 not out, 8, 140 not out, 114 not out,, 105 not out, 107 not. Thus his aggregate for eight innings, of which two 1 have been completed, is 965 runs, as average of 482.5. Dacre is also a very promising, bowler. Lieutenant A. C. . Johnston, of the Army Signal Service, who is reported 'from the front as being amongst the missing officers, is the well-known Winchester College and Hampshire County cricketer. He has played fbr Aldershot arid the Arniy, in addition to helping the shire Regiment, to which he was originally gazetted; but it is in connection with county cricket that his prowess as a batsman will" be chiefly, remembered. He made many valuable scores for Hampshire,, and,in the season" of 1912, when Hampshire had three of their players at the head of the, county averages, he was second ; to Ci B. Fry, with a record of 1044 runs for nineteen pleted innings.. • v, . SENIOR GAMES ELSEWHERE: -• In Auckland senior crieket last Saturday, Eden A defeated Parnell by 76 runs, University defeated , Eden B 21 runs, North Shore.defeated Porisonby by 43 runs, arid. Graf ton. defeated Waitemata by 306 runs, all on, the first innings' score. Some.go.bd bowling performances were registered, the best being those of A. M. Howden (North Shore), seven wickets for 29. runs; ; W. McMath (Ponsonby), 5/39;-.Cummings (Eden A), 6/30;-Mulgan (University), 5/35; Harvie (Grafton), 5/31 and.3/26. Individual batting scores exceeding 50 were: Blair, Eden B, 85; Heighway, Eden A, 65; Sale, Eden.B, 53; Young, Waitemata, 51. .. The senior grade matches played in Duriedin last Saturday resulted as follows: —Opoho 57 (Crawford seven wickets for 21 runs v. Colts 142 (Crawford 40). Eckhoff took seven wickets for 45 runs. Carisbrook A declared at ; five wickets for 2.16 . (Siede? berg 122');* v. Carisbrook B 96; A. P. Alloo took five wickets for 29 runs, Siedeberg; four for 2.8. Grange 136 v. Dunedin 65 (Wi Beeby took six wiekets for 44 runs). Albion 242 (Baker 65) v, St. Kilda nine wiekets for 111; Stiglich took eight wickets for 47 runs. ~ The match was drawn. ~ Four individual centuries were made in Wellington senior cricket last Saturday, the scores being Mid-lane (East) 171—it was Midlane's second century this season—Wilson (North) 165!, Hiddleston (North) 115, and Baker (East) 112. The Midlane-Baker partnership produced 206 runs, which is only 15 below the Wellington record, made about twenty years ago. These two scores, with a contribution of 60 froni Hughes, enabled East to rattle up 464 against Old Boys. . Bowling for East, Tueker took seven wickets for 165 runs. Thanks very largely, to the batting of Wilson and Hiddleston, North put up 436 for nine wickets against University, arid then declared the innings closed. Dickson took four of the North wickets for 97 runs. Central met Petone, and made 133 in their first innings. Petone responded with 100; and in their second innings Central made 24 without the loss of a wicket. For Petone Barber took three wickets for 29 runs, and Finlayson three for 28. For Central, Robertson took six wickets for 32. CONCERN IN SYDNEY.

The financial aspect of cricket in Sydney is causing much concern among the authorities of the game"' there. Says the "Daily Telegraph":— "Every Thursday night since July a special committee of the New South Wales Cricket Assocfation has been considering ways and means for the popularising of the sport, last season's deficit having made it imperative that something should be done to get cricket back financially where it was before. The committee has not yet finished its labo\irs, though the taking of evidence has been practically finished, and the report will not be ready for presentation to the association before January or February. Such reforms as may be agreed upon will have no bearing on the present. season, the intention being to introduce them next spring. "Meanwhile, cricket is up against it, for, while it is eminently satisfactory to know that there has been small, if any, diminution in the number of men and youths playing the game, it is, nevertheless, patent even at this early stage of the season that the association is going to be worse positioned financially than it was at the end of last. On Saturday, when the two best elevens in the State took the field to play a game that on paper looked to be quite up to interstate standard, and when the publie patriotism was appealed to, inasmuch as the takings were to be devoted to the Lord Mayor's Fund, the attendance was niisei-ably poor. As a result the whole afternoon's cricket was dispiriting; you could feel that atmosphere oppressing you all the time. This condition led a representative of the 'Daily Telegraph' to ask one of the star players whether it might not have been better from a financial point of view to request all the clubs to arrange that their takings should on.one Saturday be devoted to patriotic purposes. His reply was: 'I don't thiiik you'd get anywhere on those lines. So far as I know, our club, playing on its own ground, has not drawn more than £3 "on any Saturday this season. And some of them have been matches that were expected"to draw.' ;" Taking "a 1 survey of the past few seasons, it Seemed that - "'cricket had established a certain minimum of public support, and it was not anticipated that the disturbance occasioned by the war would materially affect interest. But so far the evidences are, according to those who should know, that cricket, like every; other sport, is dimmed by the 'fog of whr' that envelops'the'earth."