CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 279, 22 November 1913, Page 16

CRICKET.

For some time past it has been ] noticed that numbers of the promising boys, after leaving school, drift away from cricket, and are lost to the game. I A suggestion was recently made that ; the various clul« should endeavour to ! get hold of the youngsters and provide | a practice wicket for them, and also to j get one of the older players to give them I a little coaching, so as to keep up their j interest in -the great summer pastime. Parnell have already taken up the matter in real earnest, and it is understood ! Eden will follow shortly. Other clubs . t-hould give the matter their early consideration, for it is one that is going to : have a big .influence on the game in ! Auckland, i A start has 'been made with the proposed testimonial to the well-known player C. OllilT, and cards have been distributed amongst the delegates of the various clubs. So far the Association have not set aside a match for the .benefit, 'but probably this will be announced during the next few davs. I j Time has worked its way, and the i values of Bulli soil have now 'been disi covered to be faults, and faults, too, of | the wore: kind. Here they are (says I Frank Iredale, the well-known Australian cricketer):— grass won't grow through it; it won't assimilate with other soil, and it won't roll hard. All ■these factors taken together are making for the worst possible effect on the : future -of our cricket. ' It is true that it ■is not so marked on the Sydney Cricket , Ground, but this is only he-cause of the j fact that the whole of' the middle portion is not entirely Bull;, and, besides", I the foundation there is ideal, being sand. jOn our suburban ground.*, which have a | clay subsoil, aud which hive had large [quantities of Bulli soil, the effect Is I disastrous fo-,!ay. Xo grass. al „] every j second kill a grubber. J think the matter iso serious that the association j should, in the ■in'o.res',3 of the future of i the game, take steps to remedy 'the evil j and to discountenance the use of Bull: i soil. Only the oilier il-iv at M.uil.v I jws talking- t.i V-itur Trumper, and he | quite agree 1 with ni" that the use <-f i the Bulli soil is detrimental to game. | "How long ■» it t,',nco v.-.u pr-^c-lv li-oii.-irr-eni a hail'-" I- smked him. '"Six ■ years," he said, .Inst fanev, six years since Trumper square-out a b.i'l.' an I this stroke the finest in cricket! T sail! to him: "If they persist in using this ■s-vl. cutting will be one of the losl arts in the game." "'Quite right." be said. "All that now is necessary on grounds like, say. Man!---, Ch.ntswood. ami Birchgrove is for the batsman to cultivate tin? art of batting on their knees." V. T. Trumper. the well-known champion batsman, recently made 157 not out j under dillicnlt circumstances. In connection with the innings, a Sydney writer says:—Tmmper's effort, which must I rank as one of his finest innings, has j taken him well out in front in the bat-' ting averages. His average is now 103 for four innings, three of which have been completed. Kelleway is next with 77.(3 for four innings, three completed, and Folkard third with (i5.25. Before Gordon entered upon the big task set them by Glebe, it was suggested to Trumpcr that his team was" likely to have to content itself with "a point saved." The champion said, "Well, I don't know." After the game was over, and his wonderful display had made a meritorious draw of the game, and congratulations were handed him, he said, "Oh, I had a bit of luck." That is Trumper all over. ( As a matter of fact, ha had played one of his finest innings, and no one could have known better than he the strain of it. For three and a quarter hoursand 157 in that time is not slow going, since the average English professional takes three hour3 to make a century-—Trumper kept the Glebe fieldsmen on the move. There was a lot of restraint about the effort necessarily, but it was nevertheless a punishing one— collection of pretty well everv stroke in Tmmper's big calendar of strokes, perfectly executed. He gave chances, and was once caught off a noball. But the chances were not cinches by any means. They were given during periods of aggression, and were warm very. They may very well be overlooked when the general merit of an innings which started with the loss of three partners 'in half a dozen balls delivered by Kelleway i« considered. The Australian cricketer Kermode. who ' is playing in Lancashire League cricket ! for Bacup, has had an extraordinary j successful season. With two matches to go. he had taken 113 wickets for an I average of 9.44 per wicket. His feat is the more meritorious in view of the fact that during the season thirteen other players had bowled for the club, and only two of them had taken more than ten wickets—one eighteen and the other j fourteen. Up to the time of the last j mail leaving England lie had bowled 420 j overs, while the next bowler to him had I sent down only 122. It will thus be seen I how- far the Bacup Club have to rely j on him in attack. It is not surprising ! that Bacup has re-engaged him at a figure higher than the club has been ! paying him, and so Kermode has abnn- I doned his intention of returning to Aus- ! tralia—at anyrate for'the present. In a ' mutch played on dune 11. against. Church, ! he took all ten wickets for twenty run-. and writing on the subject, a local critic said:—"Alex. Kermode, the popular professional to the Bacup Clu'b. accomplished one of the ambitions of his life on Wednesday, when he succeeded in capturing all the ten wickets in a single innings of an important match. Surc'iv Alex, can look upon the achievement with pardonable pride, and carry with him to the Land of the Kangaroo-, pleasant memories of his association with the Bacup Club. What a scene there was after his feat! The few delighted Bacupians present scampered to the crease, and, willy-nilly, hoisted the pro. shoul-der-high, and carried him in triumph to the pavilion. Kermode is one of the only four players who have ever taken the whole of the ten wickets in Senior Lancashire League cricket. There is probably not. a club in the league at the present time, who. recognising the value of his abilities, would not sign him if the opportunity was a Horded." Of Kermodt's ten wickets, eight. were bowled, and at one stage he had nine down for twelve runs. At one period of the innings rain fell, and there was a delay of thirty-five minutes. When play v.ms resumed, it was in favour of the batsmen, for the bowlers found a difficulty in securing a footing.

The Auckland members of the New Zealand team to tour Australia 'have undergone the vaccination process, necessary for the trip. They leave Auckland on December 3, and Wellington on December 5. The Grammar School team intend journeying South next month in quest of the Ileatheote-Will-iame Shield, which was taken from them last year, by the boys of the C'hristchureh High .School. The team its practising hard under the tuition of F. Ward, and as the whole of last year's players are available, they should put up a good right for the poseeeeion of the trophy. PUBLIC SCHOOLS , CRICKET. In ideal weather yet another series of primary school cricket matches was completed on Saturday last, and the. end of the second round is now in sight in the A and B grades. Tile (J grade cha.zupionships reached the tinal stage with last week's matches, and Edendale drawing with Ellerslie improved Epeom's position, 'though, too late to affect the result, the Ellerslie boys securing the championship of the grade, which carries with it a set of caps donated by the Public- Schools' Cricket Association. Ellerslie have now won this grade for two successive seasons. The following table indicates the positions of the teams of the C srade at the close of the 1913 season:—

In the A and B grades there is no doubt as to the ultimate winners, but chances for the remaining positions vary week by week, and some unexpected results, eventuate. ! Those doing hot with the bat last I Saturday wc-ri-:- -Dut-re (Shore), 102 rot out; Rtilfc (Shove), fill; Watts (Par-! Nell), 57; K; i<l v. (Newton Ktmil, -JS; j K. Wright (Kpsiunl, 42 not out; Alex- 1 ander lilt. Kdenl. 3'Jn V. ltobiiiaon j (Bayfleld), 39; Ilondy i Nelson Strei-i,,! :'..■!: Henshaw (Shore)'.;:!;; Flower (ill. ] Albert). 31. I With the ball, MeT.eod (Parnell. six j for S, Taylor (Parnell), six for 0, obtained the lust averages. In t!:e A gnidi- nt Shore. I>»-onpoi"t n-.et Orafton. the bitter's fir-t innings realising 3!), m wh : e!i Shore rrapondod | v.ith 241 for fiv-e wi"kel«. Dat»re again 10-2 not out. brim ably supported by Vn\to (3!M. Henslmvr (.10). ami s'mmdors 1-271. C-rafton's howling b'fks sting at! present, not heiny up to t* , ? standard • obtaining during the first round. j Richmond Road easily succumbed to I Parnell. the redoubtable Smith failing to j oot croir."'. ,-.s Richmond's scores (24 and j 17i 'indicate. i\V:•.•;.< .bitted splendidly for Parnell, jetting plenty of power into bis stro!:is; while bowling for the winners \rcT.cod, Kietards.m, Taylor and Me(lregor trundled with much succeed.l Remucra and .Mount Eden are old j rivals, anil a close game resulted at , their last meeting. Kemuera opened I with 60 for the first innings, Badeley top- ! scoring with ii), Johnston compiling IB by good strokes, and Roseman 14 by hard hitting. Mount Eden ran up 70 in reply, of which Alexander secured 39 by very forceful cricket. This left-hander appears to be the mainstay of the team in the batting department, and Baxter and Carrie, by making a game ladtwieket stand "pulled the match out of the fire. The latter played very correct defence, while the former looked after the necessary runs. Closing their second innings with 35 for six wickets, Remuera found their opponents overhauling this total with the loss of one wicket, Gilleepie obtaining '25 not out by good cricket. Alexander was likewise unbeaten with 12 to hie ere,lit. Newton East effected another surprise by defeating Ponennby by the narrow margin of four runs on the first innings, Knowlcs, Plank and Marsden 'hatting in good style for the winners. Arneil and Johnston divided the fowling honours for Poneon*>y. Biyliold continues to play very consistent cricket, and accounted for liereeford Street by 77 Tuns on the first innings, Craig .and Robinson bowling with much success for the winners. Xelr-on Street secured a well-earned victory over Normal, the latter doing licet in their second attempt. For Nelson Street Ilendy (30) played the game of his side, being -well backed up iby Manlcy with 18, the latter also running up 20 not out in Iveleon Street's second innings. Hendy, with fifteen, wickets at -the expense of 29 runs, was a tower of strength in bowling, I'Urquhar and Stcphenson doing beet with the ball for Normal. Fifteen runs separated Vermont Street and Newton West at the close of the j first innings, but the latter failed to 'score heavily enough in their second ati tempt. Shanaghan (15) and Wilson (26 not out) batted best for Vermont Street, while for Newton West Bieknell and Lock secured the wickets. Epsom defeated Newmarket on the first innings. Stanley Bay accounted for Maungawhau, and Edendale drew with ElWslie. tluio ending the C grade com- ; F. Ward, the well-known coach, has at Jin-sent Ho less than nine public schools under his charge, and the resulta can be fcen in the Saturday morning matches i between the youngsters. !

Schools. P. Ellerelle in Eiwom 10 Siuuley Boy ... lu IvlPiulule li» .Unungawhau ... m Newmarket .... In VT. S s -I 1 D. 1 1 L,. Pts. 1 17 •i Iβ 4 12 5 n 8 4 t» -