CRICKET.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 100, 8 February 1936, Page 2

CRICKET.

N 0 PLAY AT NAPIER. M.C.C. v. HAWKE’S BAY. , NAPIER, Feb. 7. After morning play had been cancelled through the bad state of the wicket, caused by rain a few hours earlier, a torrential downpour shortly after 2 p.m. ended all hope of play in the cricket match between Malylebone Cricket Club and Hawke’s Bay at Nelson Park, Napier, this afternoon. The cancellation of play means a loss to the Hawke’s Bay Cricket Association, which did not insure against wet weather. The association guaranteed £125 to the New Zealand Cricket Council toward the expense of the tour. An arrangement has been made between the teams that in the event of the weather clearing, enabling play tomorrow, Hawke’s Bay will bat in the morning, from 11 a.m., and the Englishmen during the afternoon. Indications to-night were that more rain was likely. " 1 PLUNKET SHIELD MATCH ... DELAYED. WELLINGTON, Feb. 7. No play was possible to-day in the Plunket Shield match between Auckland and Wellington. Rain made the wicket unfit for use. Rain was falling at 11 o’clock, when the wicket was very soft through overnight falls. A postponement was made till the afternoon, hut after an inspection by the captains it was decided to postpone the opening till 11 o’clock to-mor-row. QUEENSLAND’S HOODOO PITCH. FAILURES AGAINST VICTORIA. Queensland’s hatting failure this season in the first innings against Victoria raises an interesting point: Do the Queenslanders regard this as their hoodoo ground? Past performances by them suggest that either that this is so, or that they have an inferiority

complex when they meet Victoria in Melbourne. j It is a strange thing, but they have a remarkable list of batting failures there. Since the two States first met in 1893 the Queenslanders have had 25 innings against Victoria on this ground, and in only two have they done anything noteworthy. Eight years ago they made a second, innings score of 407 after being 604 runs behind on the first innings dismissal for 97 with a second innings score of 456. On no other occasion have they made 300, and 16 of their totals have been under 200—two of Jhem under 100. They have made some poor scores in Brisbane, yet they have made a fail* number of big ones. Their highest is 504, while they have made, a couple exceeding 400, and several of more than 300. Indeed, in recent years they have often surprised the other Shield States by an unexpectedly good performance in Brisbane, wfqile failing badly when away. In these Victoria v. Queensland games, indeed, it seems to be largely a case of horses for courses so far as Queensland is ‘concerned. Why it should be so is hard to understand.