M.P. DONNELLY’S BATTING

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 67, Issue 236, 18 July 1947, Page 3

M.P. DONNELLY’S BATTING

“BEST LEFT-HANDER IN WORLD” HIGH PRAISE BESTOWED (N.Z. Press Association— Copyright.) LONDON, July 17. “Martin Donnelly is the best left-hand batsman in the world. That is a plain statement, and it is true,” says the “Daily Express.” “His 162 not out for Gentlemen against Players at Lord’s was exquisite in its mastery, full of —the grace that seems to come naturally to most left-handers but which is superlative in Donnelly. His footwork is so sure and swift that he is always playing the ball with room to spare.

“The force that springs from his lightly-wielded bat is sometimes astonishing. He hit 26 fours in his innings of 22 hours, and one-third of them were to the furthest possible boundaries.

“He has a complete absence of flamboyance, as one would expect in a New Zealander, but it must, have been with the flicker of a smile that he played with the professional fieldsmen towards the end. They moved Gladwin, and Donnelly glanced for two the next ball to the exact spot where Gladwin had been. In desperation they took all the slips away and spread them in the path of his off drives. Donnelly immediately tucked a foug through the gap left yawning empty.

“It is a great pity that this magnificent player is denied his rightful place in test cricket. His loyalty to New Zealand is admirable. He will play only for his native country, no matter what other qualifications he may incidentally acquire. It is a worthy decision, but it keeps him out of the highest class of cricket, and the highest is the only class appropriate to Martin Donnelly. “Australia’s Arthur Morris is the next left-hander to compare with him. Donnelly has''not perhaps the superb impregnability of Morris (he was missed at 39), but Morris has not the elegant force, the effortless excellence of Donnelly.” Other cricket writers laud Donnelly’s innings. The “ Daily Telegraph” says: “It was one of the classic innings of modern cricket history. Donnelly, in a short time, has come to be accepted universally as comparable to the left-handers, Woolley and Clem Hill.” The “Daily Mail” says: “Donnelly is the world’s best left-hander. No field could be set for him. As soon as one gap was closed he found another. He hit fast and slow, bowlers to every corner of the field.”

RAIN STOPS PLAY (Rec. 10.15 a.m.) LONDON, July 17. Having passed Gentlemen’s first, innings score, of 302, Players declared their first innings closed at 334 for eight wickets. Washbrook scored 101 and Fletcher 75. Gentlemen lost one wicket for 8 in the second innings when rain stopped play.