N.Z. CRICKET TEAM.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 243, 14 October 1925, Page 14

N.Z. CRICKET TEAM.

TO TOUR AUSTRALIA.

FOURTEEN PLAYERS CHOSEN.

THREE AUCKLANDERS INCLUDED. (By Tel<>pr!r'.! - Press Association.) Clll;>T< HURCH, this day. The crick': tr:un to represent New Zealand in :'.:u tour of Australia this season has becti selected. Three of the 14 players chosen for the trip are Aucklanders. Six come from Canterbury. All have had considerable experience in representative cricket.

The players are: Alcott (Auckland), A. W. Alloo (Otago). Blunt (Canterbury), Crawford (Canterbury), Cunningham (Canterbury), Dacre (Auckland), Dempster (Wellington), Dickinson (Otago), Hiddleston (Wellington), Mcßeath (Canterbury), Oliver (Canterbury), Patrick (Canterbury), Rowntree (Auckland), Worker (Otago).

The team, of which Air. J. F. Peake is manager, is to leave for Australia on November 20.

The appointment of captain will be made by the Management Committee of the council within the next few days, but Patrick is almost certain to. be offered the position. Patrick explained to-day that he was by no means certain he would be able to get-away with the team owing to business reasons. The committee had pressed him to take a place in the side, and it was only because it was represented to him that it would help New Zealand cricket that he decided to endeavour to make arrangements to be absent from the Dominion.

One of the surprises is'-that T. Lowry. of Hawke's Bay, who had a brilliant cricket career in England while at Cambridge University, and who made many runs for the M.C.C. side which visited the Dominion, is not included. He is a good wicketkeeper. The wicketkeeper chosen, Rowntree, is a fine player, who has not been available for several New Zealand teams owing to business reasons.

One disappointing feature of the team which, of course, was inevitable, is that there are no good all-rounders, although Alcott, besides being a bowler, is a fine batsman. There has been a big query in the minds of followers of the game as to whether Alcott or Mcßeath would be chosen. Mcßeath is the better bowler on New Zealand wickets, but he probably could not turn the ball on Australian pitches. Alcott has the advantage of being able to do a little bit with the ball in the air. Possibly it is because both Mcßeath and Alcott were wanted that the side was increased to 14 players.