CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 290, 8 December 1925, Page 13

CRICKET.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. (By ACTAEOX.). The Victorian selectors are shocking judges of howling (writes a Sydney "Bulletin" correspondent). Grimmett, passed over by them for years, won hi"h Test honours in his first season with South Australia. Now Don Blackie, at forty-two, with twenty years' cricket •behind him, has become Victoria's outstanding truudler. During his eleven seasons with Prahran he was kept hovering on the verge of an inter-State career until in 1017 he gave up the struggle. For live years he dropped out of the game. Then Cohen, St. Kilda's j captain, worried him into resurrection, | and Don again climbed to the top of the pennant averages. In his last two matches with his club he took six for 27 and six for 37, and his pennant figures this year are twenty for 137. He is a bowler of the Trumble type—the only one we have. .Ernest Jones, the former Australian fast bowler, considers that if there was more practice in the field, bowlers would not have so much cause for complaint over faulty throwing in. "Intelligent anticipation of shots and running forward to meet the ball would save many runs," he says. "In throwing in fieldsmen often make the mistake of looking to see where the batsman is, before they take up the ball," Jones proceeded. "Fumbling invariably results. Some fieldsmen appear to be rooted to one spot when posted. All should know that half-volleys are driven, long hops hooked, and that leg balls are glanced, and not sent to cover. By carefully watching the 'ball an idea of the resultant shot can often be gained, and the fieldsman should move with the idea of intercept. . ing the leather and not wait until it comes his way." :The incident in tlie match between Victoria and South Australia at Adelaide, when one of the umpires is said to have seen Blackie raising the seam ' of the ball in order to get a better grip of it, and to have hammered the seam down again with a bat, recalls an incident of a similar kind that occurred in England last season, and •tfhich caused some stir at the time . the Melbourne "Sporting Globe" cricket writer). A well-known English howler was concerned in the incident, and he was rebuked for his action. The Marylebone Cricket Club has ruled that the practice is not legitimate, that in such a case the ball should be shown to the umpire, who should call for another hall and warn the captain of the fieldibg side that the practice is unfair. Having beaten a New Zealand team for the first time in three matches, and by the convincing margin of an innings and 02 runs, Queensland indicates the great improvement made during the last two or three, years. The cabled report that the Xew Zealanders were hopelessly outclassed in the second innings, however, shows that no allowance is made for the probability that the wicket on which 650 ni&s had been made, and on which the Queenslanders had pottered about for a whole day in getting only 348 on Saturday, and in crumbling the pitch fay playing countless balls, had probably been left. a.. most difficult - battingjwicket- for Monday.' The failure of the New Zealanders seems.to be more that of the bowlers on Saturday than of the hatsmen in the second innings. The -New Zealanders will play their second match at Goulburn on Friday and Saturday, a two days' game. JUNIOR COMMITTEE. SELECTING THE SELECTORS. i - ■— The weekly meeting of the Junior Advisory Committee was held last night, Mr. W. J. Foster presiding.. Consideration was. given to the matter of the third grade game Grammar v. Grafton, which was postponed last Saturday, and it was decided-to play the game later in the season if necessary. It was decided, to ask the following gentlemen to. act as. selectors:—Third grade: Messrs. R. Davies (Ponsonby), C. Goldsworthy (North Shore) and A Grant (Swanson). Fourth grade: Messrs. Sinclair (P. and T.), Eric Lane (Windmills), J. Cullum ("Herald"). A BIG TASK FOR UNIVERSITY. °4 th ?. bri S. ht «>t anticipations, S.w V^ h 7 arslt y mi eht be inclined to view their chances when they resume at the S*S, "-3 xt .? Etur daj-, the position of li.l '7 aTn ? 11 - Varsity match is one to please the hearts of the Parnell men. They have -oa runs as a result of their first inniiigs strike; and 'Varsity have four -wickets r».{°r ™- But 'Varsity have some nard-hitting batsmen left, and it is too soon either for Parnell to feel the assurance of certain victory or for 'Varsity to view the prospect as one of defeat. Parnell nacl five wickets down for 95, when Somer- 1 veil an(i Badeley made a sixth wicket stand that hoisted the second century, and compiled 106 runs. Anthony had been dismissed for 3—itself a reason for satisfaction—but Somervell upset all calculations t>y his splendid innings of 00. Somervell was in his best form. His achievement at the wicket was lively and spectacular. His four sixes included a couple of the best hits at Eden Park this year; and, if it fiadnt been for Burbidge holding a catch 111 T> hfr had every excuse for dropping, tne Parnell veteran should have topped tho century. And, after all, be it remembered ihat Parnell had four wickets down for ots; 'Varsity have four for 79. What may not the students do? They have a task oerore (hem that is even more worthy of their best efforts than the time when they Put a three-pointer over Ponsonby five weeks ago. > •-.-'■'■" AN INTERESTING GAME. The Eden-Grafton innings on Saturday was never tedious until the last half-hour, t\ hen there was a spell of defensive batting SIL. , 3 part ' wl dch« was effective but very B]ow Simpson, the Eden fast bowler, »„,? i ß^." extra P ace fro™ t h e wicket, anil off the first ball he sent down Horspool ™^L a^ han , cc at the wicket. Then he was .- Milieu.-by the umpire quite a number ot V™l S ' at , least a dozen during the afterJlifv?' ?u , on two occasions he got a wicket «?HL t ■ baU following a no-ball, one of tnese being an extra special that pitched a 22 . TL rt „ but came off the pitch very l" 8 ! 8 ? d bail-high, at the same time nipping back a bit to trim Horspool's bails. With two similar-balls that flew outside the off hr.^? p J™? 1 ?"* coming back, the young th?sf i ™ ad and Taylor caught in t»t«« ps- Early m the innings the speceE2E"3 !B pro^ided *1U» a topic for discalip,? «- when the unj Pire very promptly ca led Simpson and the bowler held the ball instead of delivering it. w™ \ e . es ? Rc l ial Mature of the day's cricket was the innings of 64 by R. Sloman, which V*L £ c ,° « the fineßt knocks played at talX^V 0 !' S very lon 5 *«"C and cerbest given by Sloman for several S»' / r om the outset Sloman was conJ?™ a " d aggressive, scoring a succession •hp,,,,?? 2 anes Wlth hard - well-timed and slin*wl y , ese ™ tC(i leg-hits and slip shots, at a time when the bowling had ine other batsmen in trouble. He never dtivt l»K ate from ,"»? first boundary hflliL Unti i he J? as yorked an hour later, having put on his runs at the rate of one staviS Ute -^ 1 L Ulr ? nsh - While who ?tayed with him to have 60 runs added to T «L£ C °v c ' JPI aa . 10 ' Sloman made 50. Leech should have been caught ia the <>ut-

field - before >;e made double figures, and again whence was in the twenties, but his innings of 53 not out was a valuable one lor Grafton, and with the exception of the mistakes mentioned he played good cricket, varying defence with attack, and hitting °SP. 3 le^ n Blx - Th « stubborn manner in » c he and tte last £ou r batsmen stalled off the attack resulted In another 76 runs bemgaddea to the score after Sloman left with the total at 115, thus giving the innings the respectable proportions of 191. In getting li fop one wicket, Mills and Postles were responsible for putting on an unfinished 50 for' the second wicket, both restricting themselves to defensive play, which is quite the game at the end of the day when the light is doubtful. The present state of the game leaves plenty of scope for possibilities next Saturday. SHORE'S FINE EFFORT. Despite the absence of their popular and capable skipper, Cis Dacre, the North Shore representatives succeeded in hitting up the creditable score of 347 in the first innings of their match with Ponsonby on the Devonport ground. The chief contributors to this large tally were Gerrard and Player, both of whom succeeded in passing the- three-figure mark. Player rattled up a total of 103 before losing his wicket. to Kemp, making his runs in entertaining, fashion. In characteristic style he went for the bowling from the first ball he received, and anything loose he punished in good style. Twice he sent Smith over the fence for six, and he reached the boundary on ten other occasions. His innings was undoubtedly one of the "most entertaining seen on the North Shore ground for some time. In compiling one less than Player, P. Gerrard registered his first century since his entry into senior cricket. On previous occasions he had showed himself a polished batsman, and had put together several high scores. Without doing any big hitting, v be scored steadily, making his strokes in entertaining fashion. He gave only one chance, his shots being low and well placed. Gerrard's success was very popular, and he was loudly applauded by supporters of the Shore club. Johnston and Nettleton were the most successful of the other batsmen. The former, who has lately been doing good work with the ball, put together 36 before a "leg before" decision went against him. Nettleton, who was recently promoted from the junior ranks, was going well, and had 27 to his credit before he made a weak return to Kemp and was caught. The Ponson-by bowling suffered as a result of poor fielding. Smith (none for 83) and Snedden (two for 80) proved most expensive. N.r Kemp captured four wickets for the loss of fifty runs. During the half-hour they were at the wickets the Ponsonby batsmen made a poor showing, and when stumps were drawn they had lost two wickets for eight runs. ' i RAMBLERS V. KING'S COLLEGE' The following will represent the Ramblers against King's College to-morrow:—S. C. Arblnster, E. C. Beale. W. J. Coates, Lieut. Cresswell, N. Ellis, Capt. W Ivory, M. J. Moore, C. R. Nettleton, Lieut.-Col. Robinson, I. G. G. Strachan, and H. Wilson. Umpires: Messrs. Goldsworthy and A. Friend. I WAIUKU GAMES. It has been decided to play three rounds in the competition. There will be no competition matches on' December 26, January 2, and January 9. The following is the draw for next-Saturday : —Pukekohe B v. Waiuku A, at Pukekofie; Waiuku By. Pukekohe A, at Waiuku; Mauku v. High School, at- Mauku. SWIMMING. GRAMMAR CLUB CARNIVAL. The Gram-mar Swimming and Life Saving Club will hold Its opening carnival this evening at the Tepid Baths. The programme is a varied one and includes, besides large entries in swimming events, water polo, a display 'of free end fancy diving by Messrs. Bruton and Welson and a demonstration of swimming by Professor D. B. Anderson. Mr. Ijeo Kronfeld will also attempt to.lower the Dominion record of lm 4.7 4-os for 150 yds free style. The handicaps . -. 150 Yards' Novice.—l/.j Stockley, scr.; T. Beattie scr., D. McKay scr., T. Shearer ls, X. C." Maddox ls, J. R. Evans la, A. Forrest 2s, G, Goodwin 2s, ' R. 'Nicholson 3s, E. E. Crew 3s, R. Blackman 3s, A. Rape 3s, J. Cooke 3s, D. G. -Lee 3s, W. J. Stevens 3s, M. Wilson 3s, H. A. Finney •Is, A. Green 4s, J. Rankin 4s, L. Baker 4s, F. Anstfl ss, G. Gunson ss. 33 1-3 Yards Girls' Handicap.—Misses O. Harvey scr., H. Hedland 2s, B. Hunlon 3s, S. Brown 3s. . 33 1-3 Yards Boys' Handicap.—W. Stockley scr., A. Forrest scr., W. J. Gunn 2s, A. Annan 3s, P. Regan ss, E. Johnson 6s, E. Olsen 6s, H. Ashby 7s, G. Cleaver Bs, G. Malloy Bs, N. Rome 9s. 66 2-3 Yards Ladies' Handicap.—Misses E. Stockley scr., J. Bell 2s, M. Farquhar 2js, P. Page 3s, D. Grant os, E. Grant sb, E. Champion Bs, M.- Bell Os, B. Gaillie 10s. Evans 12s, K. Leonard 12s, V. Rout 12s, E. J.- Clarkson 12s, L. Lovett 12s. 100 Yards Breast Stroke Handicap.—A. J. Morris scr.} E. V. Bruton 6s, Miss G. E. Pidgeon lis; F. Taylor 12s, F. Ansell 14s, T. Lowe 18s. .. oO Yards Inter-club Handicap.—L. L. Kronfeld scr., W. F. Smith ls, N. C. Stockley Is, D. Pelham 1 Js, J. Eales 2s, E. Bradley'2s, W. I. Stevens 2Js, F. W. Edwards 3s, G. Johnston 3s, G. Hedges 4Js, J. Johnston os, R. Bradley ss, J. E. Evans ss, Morrison ss, A. Graham 55,. G. Goodwin ss, M. P. Bales os, R. C. Lynch ss, N. Nelson ss, J. Beattie ss, C. Witten ss, S. Rogers 6s, J. C. Coake »s, N. B. Worden 6s, W. Johnson 6s, B. Bassett 6s, K. Worth 6s, R. Moore 6s, W. Haeres 7s. 66 2-3 Yards Club Handicap.—L. Kronfeld scr., W. F. Smith ljs, F. C. Gould 6s, M. P. Eales 6s, S. Rogers 7s, N. C. Maddox 7s, B. Bissett Bs, G. Goudin Bs, G. V. Thorpe Bs, A. Green 10s,- M. C. Clarke 13s, G. Gunson 14s. 220 Yards Open Handicap.—L. Kronfeldscr., D. Pelham ss, W. F. Smith 10s, iN. C. Stockley 10s, E. Bradley 12s, E. Midgley 15s, S. Klndley 20s, N. C. Maddox 235, K. Worth 30s. 50 Yards Scratch Novice Race for 0.8.— J. Cornwell, G. Gaudin, A. Green, H. A. M. Honeyfleld, J. McCrystal, and j post entries.