CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 43, 20 February 1926, Page 25

CRICKET.

'THE JUNIOR TEAMS.

The following are the positions of the junior teams in the A.C.A. grade championships. It will be noted that North Shore is at the head of the list in all three grades in which the club has a team: — SECOND GKADE. (End of Sixth Kouud). Ch. ' Team. M.P. W. L. D. Pts. Forth Shore A fi 5 ft l +14 Pnrnell A ... 5 5 Of-13 —-f-13 North Shore B l> 4 2 — 4-5 Varsity Colts 5 .'i 2 — 4.4 Papatoetoe .. J! •" - — -f3 Grafton .... •> "> 3 — — Varsity <> 2 4 — —4 Parnell B ... r, l 3 1 —5 Eden 0 2 4 — —7 rnnsonby ... ■" 1 4 — —0 Windmill ... 5 0 5 — —14 THIRD GRADE—A SECTION. (End of Twelfth Round). Ch. Team. M.P. W. 1,. D. Pts. 7;nrth Shore 12 31 1 — +25 Grafton .... H !1 2 — 4-21 Windmill ... VJ J :'• 1 4-1" Ponsonby .. 3- •"•_ 7 — —1 Eden 1 - ; ~> 6 — —i> Auck. Gramranr 10 .". 5 1 —7 King's Collage 11 1 S 1 —10 Parnell 12 1 10 1 —24 THIRD GRADE—B SECTION. (End of Eleventh Hound. Ch. Team. M.P. W. L. D. Pts. Hobsonvillc in 8 2 — 4-13 Epsom-United 11 8 3 — 4-12 All Saints .. io 7 :t — 4-10 Swanson ... 11 7 4 — +10 Kingsland .. 10 4 6 — —r> Onehunga ..10 1 '.) — —IS Ponsonby B 10 1 9 — —22 FOURTH GRADE—A SECTION. (End of Eleventh Kouud). Ch. Team. M.P. W. 1... D. Pts. leys Institute 11 11 0 — +32 All Saints A 11 S 3 — +15 Kingsland ..10 6 4 — +5 Comrades .. 11 5 4 — +1 P. and T. A. 11 4 7 — —8 Windmill ... 10 2 ti — —10 King's College 11 3 S — —15 W.Y.M.I. ... 11 2 9 — —21 FOURTH GRADE —B SECTION. (End of Tenth Round). Ch. Team. M.P. W. L. D. Pts. jtfortb Shore 10 it 1 — +24 P. and T. B .. i) 7 2 — +15 Herald 0 r> 3 — +7 R. Methodists 10 a 3 — —1 Swanson 9 2 C — —12 Korthcote 10 2 7 — —15 All Saints B 9 1 7 — —.IS

». KEMP, the well - known Auckland ownertrainer. In 1913 he won the Avondale Cup with Prince Merriwee and in the same season finished second in the A.R.C. King Edward Handicap to Colonel Sou It, and second in the Auckland Cup to Sir Solo. He also are in Jolie Fille and others Maveelisli, a 'rince Merriwee and

If Sutcliffe is at the wickets for only a quarter of an hour his batting is an intellectual treat, even though he may score only half a dozen runs (states the "Field"). When he scores a century and is able to make use of his great powers of attach there is no batsman in the world, not even Hobbs or A. W. Carr, who gives greater pleasure to the spectator. Worker, who is under medium' height, ■was destined not to reach the century against Victoria, much to everyone's disappointment (writes "J.W." in the "Australasian"). He has not many graces of style, but watched the ball closely, being exceedingly hard to shift. Hβ obtained most of his runs on the leg side. Like a vast majority of batsmen who learn the game on slow wickets, he was rather adept at pusiiing the ball off the leg stump to the on for a single. After reaching the alluring figures of 89, made in 199 minutes, with five boundaries, he hit with a cross tat at a straight ball from Wilkinson, in an endeavour to make an on drive, and paid the penalty. "You iried to lit that hall to the on," I said to him after the match. "Yes," he said, "but I was in a long time, and was a bit tired." In the circumstances it was an innings of prime merit, helping considerably in cementing the side, and he was warmly and deservedly applauded also upon retiring. It is rather remarkable that the two highest scores ever made by New Zealanders against Victoria in this country should have been accomplished in this match, and to further accentuate its notability the three highest scores made by New Zealanders on the Melbourne ground have been compiled by left-handers—a rather remarkable occurrence. The scores are: Allcott 107, Worker 89, Recce 88. The bat dominated throughout the match between New Zealand and the* second New Soutli Wales eleven (says a Sydney writer). There were periods when each side might have been dismissed for the modest total if the catching had been up to the mark. In the circumstances, it seems hypercritical to stigmatise the bowling as having failed. But even with the missed chances the bowlers, as a rule, were far from deadly on a wicket that helped them not. The visitors were thrown into the background for a time through the failure of their fieldsmen to. hold, the chances. Fielding is an essential in the game, and the side that never drops them will rarely lose against opponents of their own calibre. The New Zealand bowlers started ably, and latei some of their batsmen played with skill, punch, confidence, and good 6tyle. Perhaps the men were tired after their travelling, but, whatever was the cause their missing of chances, especially in the slips, proved their undoing. Slip fielding in Australia seems to have become a lost art, the only men among N.S.W: representative players now noted for gathering them in being J. M. Gregory and A. Mailey, while those who drop the ball at first, second, and third slip are legion. The New Zealanders are a fine set of young fellows, and it would not be surprising to find that a year or two hence they have developed an eleven fit to fight it out hotly with any of the Sheffield Shield States, on their own wickets, and to make a very creditable showing against the best teams on, Australian wickets.