CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3, 3 January 1903, Page 4 (Supplement)

CRICKET.

Hack, the South Australian representative, is coming to New Zealand. Which centre will be fortunate enough to get him? George Gift'en is still in form with the ball. He took seven wickets for T5 against West Torrens recently. He was unable to get away to represent his State.

The English team playing- in India under the name of the Oxford Authentics, were beaten in their opening match by Bombay Presidency by 46 runs. The victorious side was mainly made up of Englishmen, one of whom, Captain Greig (Hampshire), reatle 204 in the second innings. The Presidency scored 204. and 412 and the Authentics 313 and 257 (E. A. Williams 105 and 25 and F. G. Clayton 68 and 59). The second match, against Hindus, was drawn, but it war a moral win for the Englishi) en. who rcored 356 (F. H. Hollis 141 and A. H. Hornby 44) against 158 and nine for 927.

At a dinner given to the Australians at Capetown, the Hon. Mr J. D. Logan said thvt if all went well he hoped to take a team over to Australia shortly. Major Wardill remarked that Mr Abe Bailey was going to take aiiother team Home In 1904, and South Africa could play Australia just before that.

The Wangamii Cricket Association has decided to, meet Lord Hawke's team on even terms. Wairarapa, it is understood, will play 22, and they will in all probability be captained by the ex-Sydneyite, L. T. Cobcroft. An English professional cricketer named A. E. Jones has settled in Christchurch, and should, if reputation goes for anything, be of importance to Christehm-ch cricket. J'ricr to leaving England Jones was head groundsman and coach to the Enfield Club, North London. The new arrival's strong , point is said to be

batting. The following is clipped from the "Free Lance":—"l have been asked to recommend a junior clerk to a mercantile house, the principal qualification being that he can play cricket. Any lad who has recently left school or college, and can give a reference as to his cricketing , abilities, is invited to send his name along. The opportunity is a good one. An opening for a prominent cricketer a year or two older than the above is also at my disposal. He need not necessarily have clerical abilities." How would this rejoice the heart of Mr Kipling? The paragraph is certainly a "rich" one.

The ground bowling staff of the M.C.C. has just suffered a severe loss by the death of George Davenport, who for 20 years had been engaged at Lords.

Playing for Captain Cook against Crystal Spring at Moore Park, Sydney, recently, a young cricketer named E. Collins was responsible for a performance worthy of being recorded. Collins hit a full-pitched ball, which did not touch the ground until 114 yards had been covered. It then travelled another 21 yards before it stopped. For the stroke 8 runs were made, although the last two were really only walked, the batsmen having lost the-ir wind. Collins finally crowned thia effort by making 37 runs out of a total of 60 scored by

his side.

Speaking of the unpleasantness over Worrall's letter to Phillips, "Notout," in the "Eeferee," says:—"lt is to be regretted that criticism of the personnel of the Australian eleven should have been made in such unkind terms, as marked the writings of more than one Australian critic. A strong, fearless and thoroughly honest opinion may be easily expressed without introducing personally offensive matter. And one is quite sure that any cricketer who is a genuine sportsman, while he may not agree with one's views of his ability or achievements, will not take serious umbrage at any such oomment. He may possibly feel a little hurt,' for he is human. The chief matter of complaint in the case under notice deals with a letter written privately. It is to be deplored that such a letter ever was written. That it has turned like a boomerang on the writer is not astonishing. There is another phase of the matter, wnlch leaves an ugly impression in the public mind..,It is that Phillips should have thought? fit to have made the letter public. Worrall, on his own admission, committed a grave mistake, but it was one he made while what may be termed the heat of battle had taken hold of him. While in no way palliating what he did, in my opinion Phillips seriously transgressed an unwritten law of honour in showing the letter to the Australians. There can be no possible doubt about that. The statement made by Worrall, to the effect that 'Phillips wanted to : know the disposition and charaoteris-

tics of the new men, , ' and what he had written was in the nature of a reply to Phillips' request, leaves a I case to be answered by iPhillips."

i "Felix," in the "Australasian," has ! remarks on the pro- ! posed widening of the stumps. He says: —"The proposal to add an cxi tra stump has been discarded in fay- : our of the present suggestion of having stouter stumps, so that the width of the wicket shall be an inch more i than it is now. In almost every i cricket report we read that the bowl--ler missed the wicket by a 'coat of varnish.' In all such cases the extra inch would mean the exit of the batsman. Leg-before wicket verdicts would also be more frequent than at present. In my opinion, the proposal is well worth a trial, and as the Marylebone Club is always actuated by a desire to give every legitimate experiment a fair test, there seems no reason to doubt that we shall next i season have a series of matches in ! England with batsmen defending a i wicket 9in wide. Should the experi--1 ment prove a success, ana the overwhelming superiority of batsmen over bowlers in fine seasons be in some measure diminished, lovers of the game will regard the change as a boon. I presume the alteration would extend to air grades of cricket, and if so } proprietors of cricketing depots and\ manufacturers of stumps holding large stocks of the present size will suiter loss unless the introduction of the stouter sxumps be delayed for some time. If the suggestion had been to lengthen the stumps by an inch or two instead of widening the wicket, many lovers of the game, including myself, would express cordial approval. Time after tome we have heard a bowler say, 'Just missed the bails,' and the additional height would, I think, be even more telling against the batsman than the increased width. I have heard wicket-keepers say that adding to the height of the stumps would mean added chance of injury to them, and perhaps they are right, but I must confess I cannot see that any such result would ensue. The diminished width of the bat is another suggestion that received large support in England, but, in my opinion, if this change were made, real batting stars, who do the big scoring that has caused all the trouble, would be affected very little. The' real batting star gauges the flight of the ball so accurately and makes his strokes with such scientific precision that even an inch less in the width of the bat would make hardly any difference to him. In cutting, driving, leg-glancing he does everything with the hand of the.master, and so true Is the concert between hand and eye that I have known a first-class batsman to successfully defend fhis stumps against really good bowling with an ordinary pick-handle, and make firstrate strokes too. However, the present suggestion is the main thing to be considered, and if the Marylebone Club adopt it, as I hope they will, they can, if it does not fully meet the difficulty, make other alterations, either by adding to the height of the stumps or by a diminution in the width of the bat."