CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 268, 9 November 1895, Page 4 (Supplement)

CRICKET.

The championship crickeb matches under tho auspices of the Auckland Crickeb Aa. B ociation wero commoncod on Saturday last in most unfavourable weather. Showers of rain foil throughout the morning and up to elevon o'clock it looked aa* if the matches would again bo postponed. However, the weather cleared sufficiently to allow tho matches to commence, although the turf waa sodden and heavy uftor about an hour's play.

l.one of the games proved of a very interesting character. The contest between Parnell and Cordon waa tho principal attraction, Gordon batted first and made a poor commoncomonb, four good wicketa being down for 11 runs, when Lieut. Hume and Dr. Pabsb gob togethor and placed a difl'eronb aspect on the game. Hume was favoured with somo full toesore from the alow bowler Edmonds, and thoy mot thgr deserts from the ex junior, who is v<Vy . brong on the leg aide. After acoring 24, Hume was clean bowled by Law.on. Dr. Pabsb ana Dr. P^amsay carried the acoro to 75 when rain interrupted proceedings. Dr. Pabat haa 29 to hia credit, and Dr. Ramßay 14.

Lawaon captured tho five Gordon wickets which'foil at a cosb of 18 rune. Ho kept well on tho .pot, and tho batsmen could take no libprtio. with his dolivoriee.

In the Auckland-United contest, the lattor batted first, and whon stumps wore drawn had scored 60 runs for the loss of 6evon wickets. Of bhis total, Hawkins contributed 2<\ by froo cricket, and was caughb in the outtiokl by Wynyard. Simpson, who recently returned from Fiji, hit out merrily for 12, nnd is not oub. He mado ono fino stroke, lifting the ball over tho boundary;

Trapp, who has represented Victorig in bho cricket field, waa the moab auccoßsful bowler, capturing six wickots for 27 run.. The majority of his victims succumbed to a ball which worked in from the leg side.

Considering the stato of tho turf, Belmont's - score of 104 for nine wickots againßb Ponsonby is a very good one. Alf Seccombe waa the principal scorer with 36 (not out), and Brierley assisted with 18.

The contesb ab North Shore between the home team and Gordon 11. proved Bornewhab of a surprise. Gordon 11. who had eighb wickete down for 35 runs, conbinued bheir innings and were dismissed for 49 runs, and the gume looked a good thin^ for the Shoreitea. Bub tho glorious uncertainties of the game were once more exemplified, the Shoreitea boing quickly got rid of for a total of lOruns, no losb than" five of the batsmen having ' blobs ' to their credit.

For Gordon, Fairburn was in greab form with tbe ball, and assisted by aßbicky wicket, he captured nine wickets at a cost of seven runs, which is an exceptional feat for a trundler to boaeb of. Fairburn got a tremendous lot of work on the ball, and his deliveries, aa the reaulb shows, caused greab destruction among the Shoreitea' wickets. In their second venture Gordon were dismissed for 20 runs, G. Mills securing six wickets at the small cost of 8 runs, and R. Wynyard captured three for 10 runs. Time did not permit North Shore having a second innings, and Gordon therefore won by 39 runs. In Parnell 111.-Belmont B. match the latter were dismissed for ten rune, E. Lynch capturing 6 wickets for 4 runs and W. Cornell 4 for 5. Parnell batting two men shorb totalled 45, Thorpe (11) being bhe highosb scorer. Wilson took 3 wickets for 4 runs. In their second innings, Belmont totted up 20 withoub tho loss of a wickeb.

From the neighbourhood of Thornton Heath, England, comeß the reporb of a match between eleven Bacons —a Bacon sire and ten Bacon boob—and an eleven ot local posbmen. The writer says it is quite a rarity that an eleven can be so constituted, and ib ia mournful to relate that the sido of Bacon—l mean Bacons —was not in sufficiently prime condition to win. Still, it is to be hoped thab it will nob be cured of its cricketing propensities, and that at some future time it may find among its components the material for a ' -an-acore.' On tho occasion referred to no Bacou was quoced at double figures, and the batting was decidedly mild. Perhaps, bad tbe hitting been rather raeher, the total of a score and five mighb have been improved. Some one rather unkindly suggests bhat the ODly fitting match for the Bacone of Thornton Heath would be the Piggs of Hertford. This eort of man would, without question, go the whole hog in making a joke. But there was no gammon about the play of the smallest Bacon on the field, who made hie eeven runs—the highest score on bhe side—in very good form, though it cannot be eaid that the bowling waß ever collared. In the end the flitch of Bacon was bbng up for tbe want of bwo-and-twenty runs.

True bo bheir calling.—An English paper relates thab a picked eleven of lawyers from Liverpool once played a crickeb match with the same number of the ' De'il'a Own ' from Manchester. The day was fine, so a large company assembled to see which set of «limba ' had the moat practice. With the firab ball of the second over, a dispute arose, and the 22 lawyers gathered around the umpire to argue the point. The argument continued with no sign of abatement till 5 o'clock ip the evening, when the umpire died ! The greateat aßtonishmenb was felb by bhe onlookers bhat he held up so long aa be did considering what he had gone through. During the season no les3 than 117 centuries were scored in first-clasß matches, of which W. G. Grace made nine, Abel five, and Ranjibsinjhi and Maclaren four each. Maclaren's 424 ia bhe highesb score, and bhere are eighb obhor contributions of over 200. Grao», ib may be mentioned, scored a century in each month of the season. Of the 117 hundred., 69 weremado by. amateur and 48 by professional erickebers ; 33 wero recorded in May, 43 in June, 22 in July, 15 in August, and four in Sapbember, bbc effecb of bho rain ab the end of July and in early Augusb being clearly shown. Thab excellenb judge, W. L. Murdoch, says an exchange considers Kuma Shri Runjitainhji, an Indian prince at Cambridge, Univereiby, the fineat batsman now in England, not excepting W. G. Grace. Unable to negotiate hia Hindo appellation, his brother-players mostly call him 'Smith,' while the crowd outside tho cbaina has penned his name inbo Ramsgate Jimmy. Ho will probably captain Susaex next year. Stoddart finished up the season ab Home by making 68, 71, 55 and 59 in his four last innings. Victoria meet South Australia at Adelaide to-day. A number of Sydney ladies are practising for a match to be played on December 21st in connection with a carnival in aid of the Benevolent Society. J. Gould scorod 132 for Easb Sydney -gainst South Sydney on October 19bb and 2 6th. FOOTBALL. Laat woek Mr A. Bayly, the welUknOwn Taranaki footballer, was presented by his frienda with a handsome marble clock on the occasion of his marriage and retirement from football. The clock bore the following inscription:—'Presented to Mr AlfBayly by his New Plymouth admirers, in recognition of hia brilliant services' to Taranaki in bhe football field from 1885 to 1895.' Mr Paul made the presentation which was got up by Mr Fred Newell. Tbe English Association Challenge Cup, which was won by the Aetoa Villa Club,, was stolen from a bootmaker's shop in Bir-' mingham, where it waß placed for exhibition during the nighb of September llth. The Club had given tha übuul guarantee of £200 for tho cafe keeping of the cup, and the occupier of the chop gave a heavy guarantee for its safe cv.tody to tbo Club. Tho cup was first pub up for compotibion in 1871-2, and waa won outright by the Wanderers, but restored to tho Association by that club on condition of it being made a porpotual tropby. Up to the time of tho lasb mail to arrive leaving England nothing had been heard of tho missing cup and the police were withoub a clue. ATHLETICS. The feabure of the Wairarapa Amatenr Athletic Clubs Carnival held on October 24bh was the successes of Bagge, who was in good condition, and on hia las- year's performances ho wue certainly well treated by the handicappors. Ho started by winning the High Jump, clearing sfb2in, Mowlens being second with an inch less. Bagge with 4yds (start then annexod bhe 100 yds Handicap in 10.cc; with Byds he won the, 220ydn in 23 3-sth ace ; with 15yd« he was first in the 440 yds in 53sec, and he wound up a good day's work by winning bhe 300 yds Handicap from the Byde mark in 33 l-sth sec. At the fourteenth athletic meeting of the Ranelagh Harriers held ab Stamford Bridge, London, W. J. Sturgess, the champion walker, covered two miles in 13tnin 48 2-oth eoc, which is a world's amateur record. Sturgess walked tho first mile in brain 40 2 sbh sec. Tbo North Shore Amateur Athletic Club bold their summer carnival oa Saturday, December 21ab. Entries for tho Cambridge Wesb Amateur Athletic Club's sports, which tako placo on Wednesday, November 27th, close on Saturday next. Auckland entries will be received by Mr W. C. Spoight, tho Secretary of the Auckland Amotour Athletic and Cycle Club. Several Aucklnnders, iucluding E. Reynolds, T. Roberts, C. Hoskobh, Fairweather and Symono intend competing ab the .ports. Tho entries received by tho Auckland Amateur Athletic and Cyclo Club for their Spring Carnival, to be held on Saturday next, art most satisfactory, in facb, they are tbe largeab bhe Club has ever received for a spring meeting. Tbe gathering promises to bo a great success in evory way. The meeting of A. A. Davies, the champion of New Zealand, and G. B. Beere, in the one mile run, Beere and Jamea McKean in tho half mile, Roberts and Martin in the hurdles, and Brady and Creamer in the walks are already being looked forward to with great interest, and bhe trials between these cracks shauld be worth going a long way bo see. The handicaps were due on Thursday, too late for me to comment on in this issue. I would remind our athletes that acceptances for the Auckland Amateur Athletic Club's Carnival are due thia evening ab bhe Metropolitan Hotel. The race for tho 150 yds school championship of Auckland, to be decided ab the Auckland Club's Carnival, is causing a greab Btir among the pupils attending the yaripus schools, and although H. R. Hesketh ia favourite, I hear he will have to run hie besb bo win. Athletics at New York.—s_{G__A_.r> v. America. The resulb of bho international athletic contest at New York was a crushing blow to the supporters of the Old Country's team, wribes our London correspondenb. The conbesb waa arranged aa New York Athletic Club v. London Athletic Club, bub aa by mutual consent each club elected members bo Buib the occasion, the contest really resolved itself into England v. America. Unfortunately for the Old Country the London Athletic Club could not ship some of the besb athletic balenb. E. C. Bredin, for instant, found himself unable to make the journey. F, E. Bacon, the champion miler, cried off; Horgan, the weight putter, and Barry, the hammer thrower, were also unable to tako the trip, as were Dr. Munro, the distance runner, and J. M. Ryan, the besb high jumper in the United Kingdom. In epite of these defections, however, we had every reason to look for succesß in two or three events. Bradley waa thought a certainty for the hundred, and, Godfrey Shaw looked ' a plum ' for the hurdles, whilst Lutyenß and Horan seemed likely to want a power of boating for the mile and tho half, as did Fitzherberb for tbe quarter and A. R. Downer for bhe 220 yards. Our men we know had boo libtle time for training, and we recognised the dan^or threatened in climatic differences, but I think every man on this side was hopeful for at least three or four events. Alas! tho New Yorkers beat our champions in every one ot the eleven events decided, and ono can plead neither bad luck nor * weather 'in mitigation. The cables say the day was tbe hottest tbat bad greeted New York for the season, and that the Englishmen were almost prostrated by tbo heat. Bub bhis second _ tatemenb must b'. taken with several grains of salt, tor on a strange track our men whipped their home times in almost every evenb. There waa F. S. Bt/.an in the Half-Mile doing

bebber than lmin 55.cc. He wa3 beaten ten yards by C. Kilpatrick, who made a world's record of lmin 53 2-sth see. Was Horan ' prostrate ?' Then in the 100 Yards C. A. Bradley was beaten a bare foot by Wefers in 9 4 sbh sec. The Englishman's performance equals anything he has ever done at Home, so ' prostration' can't count hero. In the High Jump, Reggie Williams was known to have no chance against Sweeney of New York, who can clear 6ft 4in easily (he jumped 6fb s§in after the actual conbesb), but here again Williams cleared sft lOin, which is within 2 inches of his own record. In the Mile, Lutyens wa3 our only string, and he fell 150 yds from home, leaving F. P. Coneff to waltz home in 4min 18 l-sth sec. In the 220 yds, A. R. Downer and C. Jordan were the English strings, and Wafers and Crum oppoaed. Downer'a leg gave at 50yda, and Jordan wae beaten 7yd. by Wefera and 2yds by Crum, the former's time, 21 3 s.hs sec, being a world's record. So Jordan ran right up br- his very boab form. The weighb-putbing waa of courso a gifb for bhe American champion, G. R. Gray, whose backer up, Hickok of Yale, 'put' nearly eighb feet more than E. G. Watson, tho L.A.C. representative. In the 120 yds hurdles, Godfrey Shaw and W. J. Oakley opposed S. Chase and E. H. Cady. Chas_ tipped over bia first hurdle, bub pipped Shaw on tho posb in 153-sth sec. This waa a world's record also, ao Shaw's * prostration ' did nob amounb to much. Oakley finished three yarda behind .hia fallow countryman, and ao confirmed bhe home form to aT. Fifczhorbert and Jordan were our quarter-mile strings, Burko and Sands representing America. Sands piloted to the half distance, and then Jordan took the lead, bub was collared by Burko and beaten on bhe tape in 4950... Fitzherbert was half a dozen yarrda behind and therefore ran to within a yard or bo of■ his besb form. Jordan has never been known bo beat 51 for the Quartor, so he also must be put down as ' prostrate.' The Hammer was another ' gift' to the Yankees, for Robertson was our only representative. He could only manage 94ft, aa against Mitchell's I37fG sJin and Cross's 124fb lOin. The Long Jump alao was regarded a cafe thing for the Americans, since Oakley waa not righb up bo hia beet form and Mendolson is ever uncertain. The lather couldn't get 20 feet, and though Oakley managed 21 feet Gi inchea, Sheldon, of Yale, leaped 21 foot 11 inche_ and Bloea 22 feet 6 inches. Tho final event, bhe Throe Miles, saw Conoff and Kilpatrick opposing K. J. Wilkins and F. S. Horan. Wilkins was practically untrained, and Horan evidently felb bhe effects of his previous exerbiona. The pace killed Kilpatrick at a mile and a quarter, and in bbc third mile Horan retired. Wibh Wilkins labouring hard, Coneff had only to canter, and finally won by 150yda in 15min 30 15th see. The only consolation we can find in looking ab theeo performancea is tho fact that Sweeney, the American high jumper, Coneff, the American amateur mile record holder, and Mitchell, the hammer thrower, are all British born. Here are tho effects of tho American climate on tho English performed tabulated. Best Eng. Time TimoatN.Y. 100 yard's— C. A. Bradley 9.-sthsoc 9.-sth-l_t 3tev«n.r.n .. 10 2-sth _.-sth-5.t Half-mile— F. 8. Horan „ 1-54 3-sth 1-53 2-sth-10yds C. 11. Lewin .. 1-53 2-sth fell ,\<jjj e __. Luty.ns.. .. 4—19 4-sth fell 220 Yarda.lordnn unknown 213-sth—7yds Downer broke down .40 Yarda— Jordan 51 apo -J9soo—in Fitzherbert 49 4-sth .9sec—syds High JumpIt. Williams .. 6ft sft lOin A. H.Johnson sft lOin sft Din Loiifi JumpOakley .. 22ft Bin 21ft--Jin ilendelson .. 22ft 4_in 19ft llin WeisrhtWalson ... 37ft 9in 34ft 7in HammerRobertson .. 94ft Hurdles— Shaw ... .. 154-sth grass 153-sth—lft CYCLING. The Now Zealand Cyclists' Alliance have re-inetaced Ken Lewi.. Zimmerman (says tho Sydney 'Bullotin') has good flhoulders, and ia surprisingly muscular for a mt.n of his build, bub his lege—ah, there we have it. They are long and sinewy. From hip to knoe Zim.'s legs are extraordinarily long, whereas, from knee to ankle, thoy are peculiarly short— in fact, his kneea'almost touch the handles when he is going easy. Wore Zimmerman a new ridor—say an amateur taking a turn on the track tor the first time—he would nob bo treated _eriously. Ho looka ridiculous on hie machine—resembles a giraffe on wheels —and when he ie going steady the spectator momentarily expects to see him fall oil from sheer weakness. But when he spurts—his long knees bob quicker, the Parkosian hair floats in the breeze, and Zim. is half-round the track in a few seconds. Zimmerman will meeb Parsons and Meg80H in Sydney on Saturday next. A Sydney scribe considers thab Megson will win. The enbrieß for bhe cycling events to be decided at the Auckland Club's carnival on Saturday next are a record, there being no less than seventeen in the majority of the evenbß, while in the five-mile class nKie there are nine riders. Reynolds ia in good form, nnd although he will no doubt be called on to give long starfce, thoee in front of him will not require to linger on the journey. Among the entries for the two-mile roadster handicap ia our old champion, A. G. Buchanan. It looks strange on paper to see ' Buke,' who in the days of the old ordinary machine was always on scratch, now on the limit. Buchanan is riding a geared ordinary machine, .which is much inferior to the othor bicycles. Tho Faiibank's Wood Rim Company of America booked orders amounting to over 100,000 rime, before September leb 1895 for delivery in 1896, and other big contracts are pending. Jusb aboub the time the new factory at Tonawanda was started, tho fnccory ab Boston was burned oub. Then the Tonawanda factory was torn to the ground by a cyclone. All the difficulties were surmounted, and the new place was run up in record time and started sooner even than ib was contracted for. Deliveries of rims will not be affected, and none of the contracts giveu were cancelled. To the breaking of cycling records there is no end (writes our London correspondent). They are booked to-day and buried to morrow, and the cycling reporter soarches hastily around for fresh adjectives wherewith to adorn his praises of the ' brillianb feat' which he knows will be done before Sunday comes again. On Saturday—a glorious day for fasb wheeling —bhere were five fresh records created : Three ab Herne Hill, one at Catford, and one on the London bo Babh Road. At Herne Hill, bhe piece de resistance of the day's programme was the Fifty Miles Amateur Championship, for which twenty first-class licensed men turned oub, including C. G. WridgQw»y(Anerly Bicycle Club), F. D. F#.st (Bath Road Cycle Club), D. DaJglei.h (Kensington Cyclo Club), and M. Balian (Surrey Bicycle Club). The field had gone bub a few circuits when a collision occurred and four riders parted company with bheir machines. The thinned field proceeded on bheir journey aba spanking pace, Wridg.way leading. He reeled off 5 milus in 11 mm 12 2-sth sec, and continued in front bill bhe 27th, when Dagleish displaced him. Ab 31 milea, however, Scott rushed to bhe fronb, and led unbil tbe 40th milo waa paeeed. Then Wridgeway spurted to the fron bonce more, and, riding grandly, began to get near record figures at 45 milea. Four miles later he had got Usee ineide tbe previoua beat amateur record, and, epurting home, beat the fifty mile amateur record by 27 3-sth sec. Wridgewfty's time wae lhr 53miu 5 3-_bh Bee. D-ftleL-h was second,

and accomplished the distance in lhr 55min 23 l-sbh sec, and Frost (third) occupied lhr 57min 0 3-sbh sec. Scott retired at 43 miles. The track was afterwards cleared for T. Gibbon-Brooks to have a cut at Piatt Betba' mile safety record of 2min 1 2-sth sec. Brooks succeeded by riding bhe quarber in 31 3-sbh sec, the half in 58 4-sth see, threequarters in lmin 28 3-sbh sec, and the full distance in lmin 59 4-sth see. Three Putney Athletic Club men, viz., Buller, Piatt, and Clarke, then essayed to beat the mile triplet record of 2min 13 4-fith sec., and managed unpaced to reduce the same to 2min 2sec. Riding on another quarter they besb the flying start record of 2min by 1 2-sbh sec. The great event ab Catford was the Polytechnic CO. 100 Miles Championship. A.E.Walters, the holder, was among the fifteen starters, hia principal opponents being Leitch, Provost, and Webber. From the start Walters dashed away, a strong ' quad ' leading him aba merry pace. He reeled off the first mile in 2min 9 2-sbh sec, and keeping up top Bpeed began to create new unlicensed amateur records. At 5 milea (10'min 29 2 sbh sec), he was 38ec outaide Palmer'a best' pure amateur' figurea, bub ab 10 milea he had cub Wridgeway's record by lmin ssec. Improving as he rushed along Walters creabed a world's, record ab 18 milea, which distance he accomplished in :.Bmin llaec. After this he slowed down a bit, but at 50 milea (lhr slmin 33 4-sbh sec) was etill all but 2mina ahead of Wridgeway's time, and riding vigorously ta the end achieved the 100 miles in 3hr 54min 29 2 sth sec. Frost's pure amateur record for bhia dißtance is 3hr 57min 47aec, and the previous besb unlicensed bime waa 4hr 6min 33 3-sbh see by Shocks. The Bath Koad Club's Fifty-mile Road Race was won by Bowell, who beat the record for tho distance by 3min 38aec. Hia time waa 2br 34min 48sec. AQUATICS. A hastily arranged double-sculling match between Charles Stephenson (once champion of New Zealand) and C. See on the one side, and S. Emmett and T. Green on the other, wae decided on the Thames on September llth. The former pair trained Sullivan for his match againsb Harding, and the latter pair accompanied the Englishman in his spins, and the race was for £5 a Bide and a case of champagne. Emmett led for about half diatance, and was then rowed out, Stephenson finally winning by a couple of lengths. The new two and a-half rater Rarere, built by Logan, senior, was out for her trial spin laeb Saturday. She proved very faßb while running down bhe harbour with tho fishing boatCo-ee. There is some talk of a race being arranged bebween the two and a - half rater Rarere, and the steel boab being built by Seagar Bros., for £10 a-side. The latter has not yet been named, but ib is probable she will be called' Undesirable.' Arrangements are being made bo sail the fishing yacht Uo-ee South to take part in tho Lyttelton and Wellington Regattas. The yachtß Mahaki and Mizpah were launched early this week, and their owners expect to have a trial Bpin thia afternoon. A description of the two yachts appeared in lasb Tuesday's Star. SWIMMING. Aba meeting held in Christchurch of the delegates from the various swimming clubs in Canterbury, tbe opinion waa expressed that tho New Zealand Polo Team to meeb Auatralia at Sydney in January next ehould coneiat of five men from Canterbury; and one each from Auckland and Welling- j too.