CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 54, 5 March 1898, Page 2 (Supplement)

CRICKET.

I hear that Wellington Avill be unable to send up a team to Auckland this season, as originally intended. All Cup matches had to be suspended again last Saturday, as the Domain Avas engaged for the Fire Brigades' Demonstration. The seventh round Avas begun this afternoon, and Avill be completed next Saturday. . , During the present season, writes' Point in the Adelaide ' Observer,' four test matches have been played, and in three of them Trott, the Australian captain, has Avon the toss. ' What wonderful luck,' you hear people on all sides saying, but it is only the hiAv of compensation working out its just ends. These test matches were begun twenty-one years ago, and for some time the spin of the'coin invariably favoured the English captains. In ISSI-82 Shaw's team played four test games against Australia, and Alfred Shaw actually won the toss on each occasion. Then a year later during the Hon. Ivo Blah's pilgrimage alter the ashes, Ivo avoii the toss three times out of fonr. The pendulum continued its long swing in favour of England throughout the eighties, for at the end of the tour of the ISSS Australian Eleven the English captains had had the choice of innings in eighteen out of thirty test matches. Since then the luck has been all the other Avay, and the Australians have got in first in fourteen out of twenty matches. Three years ago, when Stocklart was here before, they Avon the toss four tiwes out of live, but that good fortune in conjunction with Trott's, aggregating as it docs seven successful tosses out of nine, no more than compensates for the seven tosses out of eight which Murdoch lost in 1881-82 and 1882-83. Directly, no doubt, the pendulum will swing back in favour of Ihigland.

Sure enough, the Englishmen won the toss in the final test match.

Clem Hill has done what no other batsman— Australian or English — had ever before accomplished ; he has got 1,000 runs in Australian lirst-class cricket, his aggregate noAv standing at 1,054. Furthermore, remarks 'Not Oub' in the 'Referee,' in three consecutive matches he has compiled a century, a feab which, amongst Australian contemporaries, ranks with I'Yank Iredale's great sequence—94 not out, 22, 114, 9, 40," 106, 171, 0, 108, 11, 73, in England in 1896. Hill's form is Avonderful. He differs from most others players of the day in the great number of his on-side strokes and the extraordinary accuracy with which begets the ball away on that side. In some of these strokes he reminds one of Moses.' He is, however, more successful in executing those forward of the wicket (especially the hook), of which be has a greater variety than bhe old champion left-hander, bub is less precise and sure in the glance. Hill is also clearly improved in his ofl'-side play ; but here he i.s not yet quite up to Moses, whose cutting and driving Avere usually harder than those of the yoiing South Australian were in this innings. He is a wonderful batsman, possessing a Avonderful eye, for be scores from balls most other men are content to play. And he is not yet 21 years of age ! Hill has made eight centuries in lirstclass cricket —fonr of them • this season. They are: 206 not out, 200, 188, 170, 150 not oub, 135, 130, and 118 nob out. He Avas comparatively fresh at bhe finish of his innings—a fact which gives one an ictea of his greab strength and power of endurance.

"K. S. Kanjitsinhji's scores during the presenb tour have been: 189, 10/04, 10, 112 not oub, 175,8 not oub, 71, 26, 77, 6, 24, 55, 97, 44, 33, 2 and 12. Aboub a certain Australian batsman and his dislike of Peate's bowling a good story reaches us (says a London paper). The Yorkshiremau beat him with a clipping leg break in one innings. The batsman, determined that it Avould nob happen again, gob hold of a bat in his room at the hotel, and began to make strokes ab bhe imaginary balls. At one he would play bade, and mubter: 'That's the Avay bo play you, Peate.' Then he Ayould play forward, remarking, 'Nob bhis time, Peate, my boy.' At last he ventured upon a big hit aba leg ball, and swinging round with a ' How do you like that, Peate ?' sent the toilet set, which he had forgotten all aboub, in fragments to the floor. Later on in the day, confident bhat he would make a score, he faced the real Peate, and Ayas clean bowled first ball.

This hardly finishes the story, Avhich, continued (says another English paper), is bo the effect bhab on the morning of a subsequent match the same batsman Avas describing flourishes iv bhe bedroom airhaving carefully put toilet sets and gas globes and Avindows and what nob oub of reach, and was making a big phantom leg hit with comments thereon in expectation of a third meebing wibh Peate Avhen a friend suddenly burst in on the scene. ' Hallo, what's to do ? Have you gone off it?' 'No, just rehearsing what I'm going to do with Peate to-day.' 'Ah, that's a bit unfortunate noAV.' 'Why?' 'Well, Peate isn't playing to-day.' And then the batsman dreAV a bath toAvel over the proceedings.