CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 286, 4 December 1886, Page 4

CRICKET.

The ' all-absorbing topic in cricketing circles this week is, of ccurte, the Australiiin Eleven match, and vho aro to bo tho twenty two. Up to the time of writing tbo Soleotion Committee had made no further move than tn choose the thirty-two players from whom tha final selection was

to bo made. A match is to be played this afcernoon between teams composed of these men ; but; we aro hardly likely to be able to guage a man's real play by what ho will do thcu. On tho good wickotsno .v prep ired in tho CrieketGround, in spite of the be?t bowling, a good bat generally manages to make a fow runs, so there is very little probability of both toioia peeing an innings each. Practice (it the nots and the play in club matches up to the present date will be what the Committee will have to work on I think we can trust the gentlemen who have been appointed to tiia onerous position of Selection Committee to pick a toum that will uphold the credit of Auckland, and I will be very much mistaken if next week, provided the wicket 13 a good one, we do not rnaVe a very close thing indued of it with our visitors. Our bowlers, of whom we have a good variety, are not to be dcs pised. and are butter than when we defeated Canterbury three years back, leaving W. Lankham out of the question. If the twenty-two batsmen cannot make at least the second century, they will not bat up to promise Barton is in grand form at proBent. Jack Arneil is hardly as brilliant ac he once was with the bat, but I fancy he will dowell enough, Yates, though not scoringso freely as of yore, is to be depended on, while Teatro, Lynch, Board and the others, if they do not get funkey, ought to contribute their quoca. I have not montioncd the Gordon men, who will ■undoubtedly be in the front rank. The blue nnd gold cup tuin ia a patient and reliable bat, while Moresby, though a young player, and apt to got tho Bhivera when opposed to big guns, has performed creditably already this season. B'.. P. Kiesling last Saturday treated the Auckland to some splendid hard and clean hitting, and as ho 13 a player who is never at a loss for confidence, even against the best bowlers, he should render a good account of himself if he is not too anxious to score. In the Star of Monday last there .appeared a letter ; from "Fair Play," and I must endorse that writer's remake. So sure was I that A. M. Beale was in tho lirst selection that I did not even notice his absence until my attention was drawn to it. I sincerely hope that tho omis.-ion of his name, was only a mistake; for ho is far and away ahead of some of the bowlers in the thirty-two, and if he is not in the final selection I think it will be a great pity, for ho is a bowler who can bo depended on to keep down tho runs even where ho does not gat wickets, while his analysis in past seasons (ov Ins club tostifiud to his usefulness. Nono of the matches last Saturday were very exciting. A little iutereot was evoked in the Hollands and United match, owing to the long stand of Lynch md Testro, but the bowling of the Hollands was too good, and the Holding too smart, and the old club suffered a defeat by US rants. Auckland won their match with Gordon very easily on the firifc inniuga with 173 to 09. Barton was to the fore with 74, thus topping the score of the blue and golds. When the Gordon men started their second innings things looked very shaky until Killing made his appearance at the wicket. Four \% ickets were then down for 15, and McCausland shortly after took his departure, clean bowled by Arneil, leaving the score at 22. However, Moresby joined Kiesling, and the two blues were treated to a long hour and a half's leather hunting ; SO, 50, SO, 100,110, went up, and at last Moresby, in his eagernoßß to put Beale away, was* smartly etumped. Kiesling ran up his score of 66 in a remarkably quick manner, playing tho bowling with perfect confidence, being very seldom stuck up by a ball, and the way he treated the leg ones was a pight to see. Last season this plnyer did not seem to .care to oxert himself when he was batting, being content to get his runs in ones arid twos, but on Saturday nearly every hit wag a two or c four. The Rev. I. Richards showed some splendid fielding, and saved any number of ruvss at fquare-leg. As the Gordons were batting, and aa they still had some good wickets to fall, it is vary doubtful if the match had been played out whether Auckland would have come off so well as they did. Another argument in favour of what I foXi last week re three doysf matches. Josh Downa, playing for Mr HaiJedine's eleven against. Alma, captured moat of the wickets for a very Bmall number of runs, and aleo went in first and carried his bat through for 57: I noticed lait Saturday among the junior players, in tbe Paraoll- Waitemata match,-a bowler who throws as fair as ever bowler threw. Umpires ought to have more knowledge of whatftrue bowling is than to allow that caper to go on. Phillips, who wae sent eve:- to take Bonner'a place in the Auat- alian Eleven, played for Victoria against Shaw's team. He was put in to bowl first, bat was not successful; however, he went in second last, and by good cricket put up 10, and in tho second innings, whan things looked shaky for Victoria, went in last, and with Sam Morris put on 77 before time was called. Of this his share was 31 (not out).

By th.9 last Sydney files I have received fall particulars of the defeat of the Englishmen by New South Wales. It must have been a splendid match. . Tho wicket was nofc an extra good one on the first day, as it had rained in the morning, and when the sun came out tho turf baked and made the ball almost unplayable. Shrewsbury, however, thought it good enough to go in first, when ho won the toss. The credit of winning the match is to be attributed to the splendid fielding of the whole Australian team, the exceptional bowSing of Turner and Ferris, and the batting of McDonnell, Moses and Alec Banntirman. In the second innings of New Soufih Wales ifc took 20 miautes and 1 wicket to make 2 runa, aud 38 minutes' play to brin* up double figures. Ths last 10 runs were put on after time, Percy McDonnell wisely determining, in spite of the disapproval of the spectators and the fact that it was nearly dark, to finish the match. The following are the bowling analyses during the match.—

Kxgt.tsh JKlbven.—Jfirst Innipes: Tcrner. LOS balls, 20 runs, 11 mnidens, 6 wickets; Worris, 100 ball?, 50 runs, 7 maidens, 4 wickets; Ogib/y, 8 balls, l ran, I malrien. S'tcocd Inriners : Ferris. 158 bnlle, 49 runs. 22 maidens 3 wickers; Turner, 153 balls 3t runs. 23rn5i(JenB, 7 wickHts; Mdrr. 12 balls, 2 runs, 2 maidens; Ogilvy, bi'lls.,9runs, 1 maiden. New South Wales.—First Innings: Lohmann, 64 balls, 32 rnns, 7 maidens; Barnes, 6S. balls, 26runs, 9maidens, 2 wickets; Brlgga. G8 balls. 20 runs. 10 maidens, 2 wickots; Flowers, 20ball8, i runs, 3 maidens, 3 wickets; Barlow. 58 balU-, 22 rune, 6 maidens, 2,wickets. Second Intiin(?s: Lohraann, 117 balla, 30 rur.a, Ifi maidens, 2 wickets; Bates, 68 balls, 10 runs, 10 maidens; Briggs; 44 balls, 5 runs, 9 maidens; Biirlow, 20 balls, 4 runs, A maidens; Barnes 56 balls, i runß. 11 maidens; Flowers, 68 balls 8 i runs, 12 maidens, 2 wickots.