GOOD START.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 202, 27 August 1931, Page 7

GOOD START.

KENT MATCH.

New Zealanders Get 326 Runs

In First Innings.

PINE BATTING BY MILLS.

(Special to N.Z. Presa Association.)

(Received 9 a.m.)

CANTERBURY, August 26,

The JSTew Zealand cricketers to-day began a match against Kent in fine weather. The teams are as follows: —

New Zealand. —Lowry, Allcott, Blunt, Dempster.. James, Mills, Merritt, Matheson, Page, Weir, Vivian.

Kent.—Chapman, Legge, Hardinge, Woolley, Ames, Todd, Ashdown, Levett, Valentine, Freeman,. Marriott.

Lowry won the toes and the visitors batted. They made 326 runs, and at stumps Kent had lost two wickets for four runs.

Freeman retired early. He injured a shoulder in attempting to stop a powerful pull by Milk.

A brilliant century by Mills was the feature of the day. Dempster was diemissed shortly before lunch, when he skied a catch "to point. Weir was run out after lunch, failing to start quickly enough. Blunt and Vivian were caught in the slips, and four wickets were down for 161 runs.

A valuable partnership by Mills and Lowry added 80 runs for the fifth wicket, before Lowry .was caught down the gully in-attempting to drive a ball, which was going away. Meanwhile Mills was playing all the bowling with ease and confidence. He gave a delightful exhibition of stylish batting, his driving, hooking and cutting being snperb. He was bowled in. attempting to pull a straight ball. In four hours' batting he gave one difficult chance at 145, and his 163 included 23 fours. Page batted steadily, but the others were disappointing.

Kent batted for 10 minutes, with the order of the batting changed to save the best batsmen. Matheson bowled at a considerable pace to capture two wickets. The attendance numbered 6000. Scores: — NEW ZEALAND.—First Innings. Dempster, c Ashdown, b Marriott .. 34 Mills, b Marriott 163 Weir, run out ~...' 8 Blunt, C; Woolley, b Hardinge 9 Vivian, c Woolley, b Hardinge ...... 14 Lowry, c Chapman, b Ashdown .... 34 Page, not out 26 James, b Hardinge 8 Matheson, st Levett, b Marriott ... 1 Merritt, c Levett, b Marriott ...... 8 Allcott, c Todd, b Marriott ........ 17 Extras 4 Total ......................... 326 Bowling: Ashdown took one wicket for 63 runs, Freeman none "for 29, Marriott five for 102; Hardinge three for 83, Woolley none for 21; Ames none for 24. KENT.—First Innings. Ashdown; hot out ................ 4 Levett, b Matheson 0 Marriott, b Matheson 0 Total for two wickets 4

EX-GOLFER'S DEATH.

B. C. BETTINGTON, OF MERRIWA. (Received 11 a.m.) SYDNEY, this day. The death is announced of Mr. B. C. J. Bettington, grazier, of Merriwa, a prominent golfer and cricketer of New South Wales, aged 32. He is an elder brother of Dr. R. H. Bettington, the Oxford, Middlesex and New South Wales cricketer.