"TONS OF TALENT."

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 56, 7 March 1931, Page 10

"TONS OF TALENT."

CRICKET IN AUCKLAMD. BETTER BOWLING THE NEED. MR. A F. WENSLFTS OPINIONS.

£ *Ahkoti|r& the "howling strength, of | the New Zealand team which is to tour England is certainly below represents- J tjve standard it must be remembered thai the English bowling also lacks the strength it has possessed in other Tears, and I expect the team to do a lot better than some people think it wiH" This interesting comment was made this morning by Mr. A. F. Weneky, the English professional cricketer, -who has now completed his second season's eoachiwr engagement -with the- Auckland Cricket Association. Mr. Wensky leaves for the south on Monday and sails for Home by the M&taroa on Wednesday morning. The New Zealand team, in Mr. Wensley's opinion, is very strong in batting, and should make plenty of runs during its tour. The 'wickets at Home, he said, were not greatly different from those in New Zealand, and he looked to the side to get good scores. There was a possibility that

the English crowds and the general conditions under wkkh matches were played at Home might upset the visitors in the first two'"or three games, but once they got over those, he thought they should perform very creditably. It fortunate that there were several players in the team who had had experience of English, cricket. Improvement in Standard. "I honestly consider that I have had a successful season and that cricket in Auckland has improved during the last couple of seasons," said Mr. Wensley. "My business in Auckland is to coach, and even if I had not made a single run or taken a wicket, I would still feel satisfied." Bowling was the great weakness in all classes of New Zealand cricket at the present time. Players, from the primary school boys upwards, seemed to have a notion that the making of runs was the only thing to be considered in cricket. If young players could only be convinced of the real enjoyment that was to be had out of bowling, the standard would surely improve. Bowling in Auckland, he believed, had improved somewhat in the last two seasons; more attention was being paid to a good length. In the primary schools the boys were very keen on batting, but should be more enthusiastic over bowling. There was some excellent material, and at the Devonport public school alone there were three boys who, if they improved in the way Mr. Wensley believed they would, would be every bit as good as the Auckland colts who had won places in the New Zealand team. "But they axe only youngsters, and they will have to be kept at it," the coach added There were perhaps a dozen outstanding players in the secondary schools; they were lads who should develop into first-class cricketers. Taken all round, the Takapuna Grammar School appeared to have the best material this season, but the Auckland Grammar School also had some good boys. "I said some time ago that I would willingly play with the Takapuna boys as a team, and I meant it," said Mr. Wensley. % In club cricket, the teams generally needed to pay more attention to their bowling. "I regard Ron Bush as a very promising all-rounder, and in my opinion : be was decidedly unlucky in not win aii!<T a place in the Auckland representative team," said Mr. Wensley. The Eden Park Wicket. After mentioning that the, English bowling strength was not a 5 great as some people in New Zealand believed |± was. Mr. Wensley said that the pilches at Home were such that, unless they were affected by rain, they gave the batsmen a very decided pull over the bowlers. In speaking of New Zealand . wickets, he mentioned that in all his cricket he had seldom played on a better . citch than that on which Canterbury met Auckland in the Plunket Shield . match at Christehureh ,this year. The on© fault about the Ed*n Park representative match wieket was that a bats- ■ man had. constantly to guard against ( the ball, which kept low, and his style ■ was naturailv cramped. The notorious , "Eden Parker" was not something that , did not exist. It could not be denied ; that on the Auckland ground the pitch , was responsible for occasional dead ( shooters.* At Home good wickets were earefnliv nursed during the winter sea- } soil, and it was hardly fair to expect a ; wicket that was in the centre of a football field in the wet months to be per- J feet in the summer. , "The weather this summer has been, ( all in favour of cricket, and I have been < able to accomplish three times as much ( as last Tear," Mr. \\ ensley said. "1 3 should have liked some of the committee' 5 to come round with me and see the , promise displayed by many of the young players. There is tons of talent." **Xeed you ask 5!" smiled Sir. Wensley when he "was asked whether he wouldj Hike to come back to Auckland next* season if re-engaged by the association, j