CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 38, 13 February 1904, Page 4 (Supplement)

CRICKET.

Slow wickets were the order - of the* day on Saturday, and in most cases tire bowlers got the better of the batsmen. Auckland cricketers apparently get too much fine weather for cricket to be successful when slow wickets come along. As was anticipated, Grafton failed to reach Eden's total of 224. The slow wicket handicapped them, but it is very doubtful if they would have succeeded on a fast one. Of the 113 scored by Grafton. the new men Hill and Graham each got 23. and Sloman got a similar number. Mills and Douglas were the destroyers, the former getting 5 for 53, and the latter 4 for 59. Eden went in to bat again, but tbeir display was feeble. Smith top-scored with 23, but he was missed two or three times, once by that usually safe field, D. Hay. Stemson helped his bowling analysis along by getting C for 36, and Kallendar followed up his first innings success by getting 3 for 29. Grafton's batting this season has been very much below expectations. Take the following figures of some Of the men. Kallendar has scored 12. 9, 10, 10, fi, 12, 77, 0 and 7; D. Hay 7, 40, 2, 3, 24, 47 (not out). 0, 29. 6 and 5; Tatman 6, 13. 5, 1, 50. 16, 11 and 2; Aylee 4, 10, 8, 5, 12, J. 17 and (5; C. Hay IS, 15, 3, 7, IS, 0, 29, 3, 0 and 0. The Parnell-Ponsonby match was the only senior match in which any interest was taken. It was generally recognised that Parnell had a good chance of victory, and when they dismissed Ponsonby in the second innings for 8S and started out to got the 140 required for victory, tbeir chances still looked good. A promising start was made, for the halfcentury went up in twenty-three minutes with the loss of one wicket. Then, however, came a sudden collapse. Wicket after wicket foil in trying to force the pace, and the side, batting one man short was out for 77. Only two mm did anything, Murray (37) and Lusk (17). Murray again demonstrated how valuable a man he is when runs are wanted quickly. Parnell, of course, were unlucky in not having the services of Oliff and Mason, but Ponsonby's victory was a very meritorious one. Murray's figures for the sea-son are 30. 4-2. G. 18. 4, 13. 3-2, 6 and 37; Mason's are 13. 27, 27. 6. 94, 54 and 4. Mason by the way has been suffering from influenza since he came back from Wellington and was not able fo bat on Saturday. N\ B. Lusk has been decidedly "off" this year, his figures being 1,0, 8. 2. .52. 24, 2 and 3, while Ohlson and Sale have failed repeatedly. Ohlson, once a very consistent club bat, has scored 4, (i, 16. 4. 1, 12 and 0. and Sale 11, 6 (not out). 1(5. 4. 1. 7 and :i. Parnell have lost the services of Gleeson, who has gone to Wellington to continue his law studies. Gleeson was one of our most promising bats, and his departure will mean a groat deal to ParHell in particular, and to Auckland cricket in general. Pavnell were to take the field against Grafton this afternoon under conditions which promised to be well night desperate. Gleeson has gone away, OlifF is laid up. R. B. Lusk was away on business, and Mason, at the time of writing, was unlikely to play. Oliff received a nasty blow while practising .at Wellington, and his doctor lias ordered him to rest for a month. The North Shore-City match was practically over on the first clay. On resuming on Saturday Hemus was quickly caught by Harrison, who immediately afterwards missed MaeCormiek. This was rather an expensive miss for MacCormiek stayed right through the innings for 00. The most noticeable feature of the Shore batting was the performance of Bush. who. in his first senior match scored 31 and 20. City 11. stopped the victorious career of Parnell 11. on Saturday,, and won a good match by 20 runs. Parnell are now level with Grafton and Eden A, and the championship should be fought out very keenly. Parnell 111. "and City ITT. played a somewhat remarkable match. City had to get 44 to win in their second innings, but. with two men short, they were dismissed for 13, the scoring of which occupied about an hour- No less than 10 maidens were sent down by the Parnell bowlers. An interesting point in cricket ethics arose in a junior match on Saturday. A player who has the misfortune to be lame was, as usual, allowed to have someone to run for him in the first innings. In the team's second innings they had to get a small total to win, and when this player, who had top-scored in the first innings, came in to bat he was not allowed to have someone to run for him- The argument was apparently that if he could bowl, as he did with success, he could run. Now this player only lasted an over and made nothing. The side were out for an unusually small total, and the side whose captain declined to allow a man to run for the lame player won. Now T feel certain that the captain, in granting the permission in 'the first innings and refusing it in the second, made a serious mistake in cricket ethics. He was, 1 think, legally within his rights in granting the permission and then refusing, though I have heard it argued that he was obliged to do in the second innings what he did in the first. It is impossible to lay down a general rule as to rwhat course captains shall take when permission is asked for men to run for players who have not been injured in the course of the game, though personally I think the permission should be granted in cases such as the one I have mentioned. But to grant the permission in the first innings, and then refuse in the second. seems to be decidedly contrary to the true spirit of the game- Unfortunately, the beaten side were not quite sportsmanlike

themselves in the affair, for instead of accepting the opposing teaptaijn's answer in good part, one or two members indulged in some audible growimg, intended for the ears of their opponents. I understand that the Auckland Cricket Association will be some £30 to the good as the result of the Wellington and Canterbury matches. The season was started with a debit balance of over £9, but the refund of £45 from the N.Z. Cricket Council, and the surphis on the interprovincials. will place the Association in a sounder financial position at the end of the season than it has occupied for many years. Our London correspondent writes on January I:—"Apropos of that second test match. I read with great interest the comments of the Home papers, and was agreeably surprised to disc-over on all hands the frankest admissions of the fact that England had all the luck, Great praise is given to Tyldesley and Rhodes for their sharp in the Old Country's triumph, hut Trumper is held up for ladniiration as 'the Oicro of t',he match by all scribes, and Australia commiserated with on having to fa-ce the 'Yorkshire pet , on a wicket which was, for him. quite up to concert pitch. Generally speaking, it may be said that the Home press is disposed to minimise the victory of Warner and Company, and, with a magnanimity born of two successive triumphs, the papers here express the lfope that before the next test ■the Australian Selection Committee will be able to discover some new bowling talent. On all sides it is suggested that the -old bowling hands on the Australian side are "not what they were. , ' but, ■personally, I cannot see that there is much wrong with a set of bowlers who ■can take 17 wickets for ]fl" runs as the Australian trundlers did during the last days of the match. Under similar conditions the English team captured 20 for 333. which is a much inferior performance. The suggest ion of this comparison is indeed that given 'blue-pot' wickets, Australia is more likely to win ithe irubber [than Trumper keeps well. To-day the English papers unhesitatingly dub him tlie best bat in the world on all kind* of wickets, and he seems to well deserv* the title of champion batsman now that the great 'W.G. has passed his prime." Messrs. Fowke.. Raphael, and Thomson have been elected a sub-committee in Christchuxch to collect subscriptions for a testimonial to Mr S. Callaway. in recognition of his performances in the season's intorprovincial matches. Ft was agreed that the thanks of the association should he accorded to tho Wellington, Auckland, and Hawke"s Ray Associations for (heir treatment of the Canterbury team during it* northern tour. Bosanqnet hit 17 fours and four fives whiles making 121 (not out) for Kngland against Tasmania in thr first match. He gave a brilliant exposition of hnrd hitting, and his scoring was probably the fastest ever seen on the ground. This can be imagined when it is considered that 8S of the runs came from 21 strokes. Rosanquet is noted for this kind of hitting. The possibilities of Victor Trumper and R. A. Dulf appear to be limitless (says the "Referee"). By making over 100 runs for the first partnership in each innings against Victoria they created a new record for Australian batsmen, though it is not unequalled by Englishmen. In the first innings they made 113 in 60 minutes; in the second innings 119 unsepnrated in b'i minutes. The latest is their tenth first -wicket century in first-class cricket, four of them against Victoria. v New South Wales has won the Sheffield Shield Competition for 1003-4 with three wins and one. defeat. During the last five seasons N.S.W. has won the shield four times. Savigny, who made 104 (not out) for Tasmania against the English cricket tram, has secured the honour of having recorded the second highest sc-ore against the visitors (says the "Town and Country Journal"). He is be.iten by that sterling player Trumper. who compiled 185 (not out) in the first, teat match. In some ways. Savigny resembles Trumper. lie generally goes in first, and is a most prolific run-sretter. Quite recently Savigny made 219 (not out), and his display was really splendid. His form was said to be better than in recent years, and, as one critic said, that is saying a great deal, for-in the opinion of good judges, he has for a long time been absolutely the best batsman of Tasmania. After his score of 21D (not out). Savigny made A\A runs in three innings, (nice no' o.ut. or an average of 207 runs per innings. Often in cricket matches umpires have narrow escapes from being injured. An official in Adelaide recently was not so fortunate, for he was struck on the side with a terrific straight drive, and two of his ribs were broken. CALLAWAY OX NEW ZEALAND CRICKET. On his return to Christrhureh Callaway was interviewed by the "Lyttelton Times" on cricket in New Zealand, and gave some very interesting opinions. Aaked what the effect of the English team's visit last year had been, he replied unhesitatingly that it had been good. He had always, found, to put it baldly, that New Zealand cricketers kad not sufficient confidence in their own abilities, and it was only lack of confidence that had been oiten at the root of failure. In this respect they had improved since their meeting with a team of "experts." and the gaJn in confidence had resulted in other improvements. In Canterbury, several of the batsmen had "livened up," and the bowling had benefited, but, unfortunately, the fielding seemed to have gone back. On the reCent northern tour it was very bad indeed, and it was almost a miracle that a team which earned a great reputation for fielding last season should have gone back as it had done. Auckland had had the honour of bringing , out two first-class colts in the recent matches, namely, Mason and Oliff.| The former was a versatile and attractive bat&inan °aid a superb field, and quite one of the best colts seen out for many yea-rs. Hawke's Bay had shown nothing new, and Wellington

was represented by familiar faces, while Otago had still to find its mainstay in the veterans Dowries and Fisher. The season's interprovincial cricket bad been remarkable chiefly for its failure to produce new players of any satisfactory ability, and this feature cauld not but be deplorable. The player of fourteen or fifteen years ago rras still playing, and playing with the men he had played with away back in the dark ages, and as long as this state of things remained unaltered the future prospects of the game could not be called rosy. Of course, if the old hands retained their form, and were still the best men available, they could always earn their places in representative cricket, bat it was only natural to suppose that there should be youngsters coming on fully equal to the task of ousting those who had so often caught the selector's eye. If there were really no young players to take the places of their elders, the supposition was that some day the bottom would fall out of the concern, hut Mr Callaway did not think the future looked so black as that. He believed there were good men to be found, and if they were given a chance they would q-nickly "find themselves." But in marry cases a "colt" would be given a trial, would fail to enmc up to expectations, and would be discarded without being really tested. In every centre the game could be vastly improved by the careful selection and training o f young cricketers, and in Canterbury it might be benefited by a little a-ttention to the country districts. In his own experience he had known of "provincial" players quite worthy of selection in representative teams, but they had never got ' ; a Kr-aring," and the province had been the loser. The proposal to adopt the district scheme in Canterbury was an excellent one. and he trusted that it would be well supported. Its value to the /rarne couii not be overestimated, aiwi it would prouaMv be a.s successful in Canterbury as it had been in other places. Another improvement might be made in Cup cricket by the extension of the matches to three'days. The disadvantage of the prestmt system of two days' matches was sufficiently obvious to ne.ed no explanation. With three days' play the teams would always have a reasonable chance of completing a match, and interest in Ou p cricket woiHtf become much keener than it was Y\ith proper attention to these matters the Canterbury Cricket Association miglit make its next northern tour even more suocesrfri; than the last. It eonld not ensure a more enjoyable trip for its future representatives, for the 1003-1904 team had been splendidly treated wherever it had gone, but it" might at least ensure a more satisfactory result ' in pou»i of play.