CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 274, 18 November 1899, Page 4 (Supplement)

CRICKET.

Rain threatened to put a stop to cricket last Saturday afternoon, but fortunately the weather cleared about one o'clock and play was started as usual. In the senior grade the matches in the second "draw" were, commenced. Gordon won the toss against Auck-

land, and went to the wickets, Batting two men short, they nevertheless manged. to put on 129, a very creditable total considering the slow state of the wicket. Williams and Kyd opened the innings, but the latter was dismissed in the second over by a fullpitcher from Hawkins, off which the batsman was caught, Williams after scoring 9 was also caught off a rather wild hit, Hawkins again claiming the ' wicket. Kallender and Moore-Jones then became associated and made a 'good stand. The latter batted very ; steadily for 14, contenting himself for ] the most part with keeping his wicket I up, while his partner put on the runs. | Kallender hit out freely for his 33, getting several fine boundary hits to '.square-leg off Hawkins. He took some risks, but nevertheless played a good I innings. Moore-Jones was eventually ! given out leg-before, although neither the bowler nor the wicket-keeper appealed. Dr. Pabst played a sound injnings, compiling 28 without a chance, lie "pulled" in his old style, and like Kallender was severe on Hawkins. Lusk was in good form, and put together 2G in nice style. These scores would have been worth a great deal more on a fast wicket; as it was the wet ground retarded the "carpet" strokes considerably. The wicket waited watching, but could not be called bad, despite the recent heavy rain. R. Neil! (2 wickets for 19) was about the best of the Auckland bowlers. The fielding was good on the whole, and undoubtedly; saved a good many runs. Hicks and Shepherd were both conspicuous for good work in the field. With half an hour's play left, Auckland commenced their first innings, and at the call of time had lost 3 wickets for the small score of 15. The Ponsonby thirteen made a capital start against North Shore, getting rid of their opponents for 71 in the first innings. Although the wicket was good and lasted well, the bowling of Langsford and Wallace, particularly tiriT former, apparently presented many difficulties to the batsmen. Towards the end of the innings, indeed, Langsford proved almost unplayable, his last eight overs resulting1 hi 7 maidens, 5 wickets and 1 run. He finished up with G wickets to his credit, at a cost of 2G runs. G. Wallace, who was tried for the first time, also bowled well, but seemed to tire. George Mills was practically the only batsman who made a stand, and his 44 runs were as usual the result of sound, steady cricket. Beck, the only other batsman to reach double figures, made 14, but his innings was flukey, the bowlers beating1 him three or four times. Of the rest, no' less than five were dismissed without scoring. Play was very slow during the .Shore's innings; 12 of Langsford's 20 overs and 6 of Wallace's 20 were maidens. Ponsonby on going to the wickets scored 43 for the loss ■ol 5 wickets before stumps were called. Simms (13) and Noton (9) shaped well, and Eobertson (14) hit out hard for his runs. The field-

ing- on both sides was good. Parnell have got rid of United in the hitter's first innings for 110 runs, and if the wicket is fast to-day the Parnellites should be able to improve on their opponents' effort. D. Hay was in good form, top-scoring for United with 46; F. G. Clayton (10), A. Brown (14), and IV Hay 13 not out) were the only other double figure scorers. J. Gavin, who played In i junior cricket last season, was the ' most successful of the Parnell bowlers, getting 6 wickets for 24. Restieuux,1. Mills, and J. Young were responsible for oiio each. Walne, Walker, McDonald, Jackson, Forbes and Beauehamp are the scratch men in the Austral. E. Lewis is next to scratch, with Sutherland, Body, Kellow, Barker and Mutton on | the same mark (20yds). Jack Parsons has a handicap of 90yds. John S. Johnson, the' American flyer, has retired from racing. He is quoted ;as saying that there is nothing now in the racing game; it is played out. Those who have saved hi past years may have a chance to do well, but for those who have scattered their wealth as they went. Johnson predicts a hard time. ;It is the ordinary rider, with ' nothing but a certain amount of speed I that cannot be marketed, who will : really suffer from the collapse of the racing game, Holdsvvorth, the Wellington player, j scored a century last Saturday in club cricket. His innings was a first-rate , display of vigorous bait ting, marred Iby very few weak strokes and sandwiched with good defence. T. Hogne, a young N.S.W. cricketer, scored 245 the other day in a match at Sydney between the Northern and Southern districts. Hogue is a tall young fellow of the wiry build. He played a fine, sound inning's, but his style is not polished. The Northern District's innings yielded 726 runs. i Ranjitsinhji's English team began a match against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia on September 29th. The latter scored 15R. Batting on a sodden wicket, the Englishmen gave a rare display, and for . a time completely mastered the American bowlers, Maclaren's boundary hits being quite a revelation1, while the captain's offdriving was another prominent feature. Gilbert Jessop was at the wickets only 35 minutes for 64. In the end ■ the Englishmen's total reached 435: Bran 0, Maclaren 149, Townsend ; 28, Eanjitsinhji 57, Stoddart 56, Woods 7, Jessop 64, Bosanquet 42, Llewellyn ;6, Robertson 0, Eobsori 0, extras 26— total 435. The Englishmen won easily with an innings to spare. In the next match played by th» English team, against Fourteen of New York, some remarkable hitting was seen. Jessop scored ' >in 15 minutes; and "Robson 41 in 25 minutes. The Englishmen put on 330 for four wickets, and then "declared." Brann I

was batting 3 hours and 16 minutes for 137 not out. New York made 149----in the first innings, and 132 for 11 wickets in the second.

A. E. Stoddart,. playing for Hampstead C.C. this year, finished up the season with the following splendid average:—l 7 innings, 4 times not out, 1363 runs, average 104.84. He made no less than seven centuries (163, 154, 130, 126 not out, 123, and 100 not out twice) and captured 60 wickets for 11.90 runs apiece. The last contingent of the Australian Eleven reached Adelaide on Sunday, sth-inst. Clem Hill, reported to have thoroughly recovered in health, left the Ormuz there, with Major Wardill, H. Trumble, McLeod, and Layer, who caught the express and reached Melbourne next day. M. A. Noble continued the journey round to Sydney in th e Ormuz.

The feat of catching a swallow on the wing is credited to W. G. Grace on September 22 at the Crystal Palace whilst inspecting the cricket ground. The birds were flying low, and W.G. succeeded in taking one, low down, with is right hand. The swallow will become, after mounting, a trophy of this event. xhe story, remarks a Londoner, reminds one of this passage from Mr Haggard's diary in "Longman's" for October: —"I was walking up one of the long tunnel-like drives when a woodcock sprang from the bushwood. ... So .close did it

pass that my loader put out his hand and caught it, much as a clever field will take a ball at point." Apropos of W.G.s feat, a few years ago, whilst bowling in a match in Melbourne, Albert Trott killed a swallow with the ball.

The Australian cricketers from an English point of view:—"The Australians proved themselves to be capital cricketers, but if we are to believe various interviewers they like beingwell paid for their services, and consider thait they don't get a fair proportion of the receipts —0u in 35/ is what their manager is reported to have put down as their share of the "gates." Major Wardill is a very pleasant gentleman, but is not a mathematical genius. The financial side of the question has always entered largely into negotiations between English and Australian cricketers, and up to the present the Australians have had matters pretty much their own way. They take half gross entrance from us over here; pay our men so much per head when in Australia, and collar the rest. Last time we went out they practically selected our team, but that is another story. They may feel annoyed to find* clubs getting huge sums in the shape of stand money, but the stands have 'to be erected, and it doesn't make one pin of difference, to the Australians, who ■take their share of the amount paid to enter the ground. This is their usual arrangement, and close upon £2,000 for three days' work at Old Tratrord is not 'bad even for them."—"Athletic News."

Tt is not surprising to hear (says the Melbourne "Leader") that ittie South Australian Association has resolved that if the New South Wales Association persists in refusing to allow the former a reasonable participation in the receipts from the match played between the two colonies at Sydney, matches between South Australia and New South Wales will have to be discontinued. The published figures have forcibly demonstrated that a colony handicapped as Sowta Australia is could not possibly keep these matches goingl under the old system, and surely there are sportsmen at the head of cricket affairs in Sydney who will think twice before precipitating- such a disastrous and humiliating result as the discontinuance of two matches a yenr, in which the giants of the game, who have beaten England, should be engaged, to the delight and. satisfaction of the public, and to the great benefit of A\istralian cricket. Although New South Wales once talked of sending to England a team of her own, oim-Sydney friends may be reminded that players like Giffen, Hill, Darling; Jones. Lyons, and .Xarvis don't pop np every day, and when they do appear on the scene, intercolonial cricket cannot, afford to lose them. It certainly is most unfortunate that the New South Wales Association, as at present constituted, seems bent on "running unkindly. at every opportunity, ft has stumbled and sat upon its own players: objected to the Melbourne Cricket Club carrying out the most successful undertakinc" on record, and now refuses to join Victoria in dealing decently with South Australia, which colony, with its limited opportunities, has produced several of the best batsmen of the present- generation, and the best allround player that Australia has'ever known, ito say nothing of several other

top sawyers. . . . Surely it is high time the lending- players of Nev^oxith Wales asserted tMmselves in their own interests nn« in those of their colony and of United Australia.