CRICKET STANDARDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 57, 8 March 1932, Page 8

CRICKET STANDARDS.

NEW ZEALAND'S PLACE.

bowling and fielding WEAK.

AFRICAN STAR'S OPINIONS

Until the bowling and fielding of New Zealand representative cricket teams is considerably improved, the Dominion is not entitled to claim a place among the foremost cricket countries of the world. This, at least, is the opinion of Mr. Herbert W. Taylor, star batsman of the South African touring team, who sailed bv the Aorangi to-day for Vancouver, en route to England.

Mr. Taylor is recognised as one of the leading players in the game, and his opin-. ions concerning the standard of play in New Zealand arc well worth having. A master of footwork, with a great eye for placing the ball, he has been nicknamed the Macartney of South Africa, and is regarded as the most accomplished batsman that country has produced for years. He is 42 years old, and first represented his country 21 years ago. He is the only man who ever made seven centuries against England, and he has scored a hundred or more in every country in which he has played South Africa," Australia, England, and New Zealand. His century against Auckland in the match at Eden Park two weeks ago is regarded as one of the finest ever seen here. Up till the fourth Test

in Australia, Mr. Taylor had scored nearly 11.000 runs in 253 innings in first-class matches, an average of 47.44. Africans' Team Work. "I am inclined to think that the results of the two Test matches between South Africa and Xew Zealand were not quite a fair indication of the standard of play of the respective countries," Mr. Taylor said generously. "Our team had the advantage of having been on tour, the side had settled down, and the team work was good. There is no doubt about that. On the other hand, the Xew Zealand team had not played together before, and consequently their team work was bad. Fielding Unsatisfactory. The Xew Zealand bowling, said Mr. Taylor, was not as good as it might be; in fact the best of the Dominion bowlers was only of medium eiass. It was unfortunate that the country had lost the services of Merritt, as the Xew Zealand captain ij> the recent matches had little material to work with. The fielding of the Xew Zealand team was definitely not up to international standard. Far too many mistakes were made, and the team paid dearly for them. If the fieldsmen took all the catches that came to them they would get their opponents out comparatively cheaply. Good team and field work, as shown by the South Africans, was usually worth somewhere near a hundred runs in an inninss.

"If the bowling and fielding are improved I do not see any reason why Xew Zealand should not take her place in international class with the other cricketing countries of the world," observed Mr. Taylor. "UntiL this in£ provement takes place, however, I don't see how she can." Value of Footwork. The batting, said Mr. Taylor, was good, although perhaps not quite as good as it might be. Footwork meant a great deal to a batsman, and in that respect some improvement might I>e shown. Mr. Taylor declined to pick out any individual players as likely to go far in the game, but expressed the view that there were a number of the younger men who showed much promise.

The wickets in New Zealand, as far as the South Africans had been able to judge, were slow and easy. "They are rather ton easy, I am inclined to think," said Mr. Taylor. The tourists had been struck with the keenness and enthusiasm shown by the average New Zealander, not only for cricket, but also for every other sport. Room Tor Improvement. Asked how he thought a New Zealand representative team would be received in South Africa, Mr. Taylor said he believed they would be given an excellent reception, but personally he thought that the time foT such a tour was not yet quite ripe. Bowling and fielding in this country would have to be improved, and it would be better to wait for a few years. A New Zealand team of the present standard visiting Africa might lose the first two or three matches, and the tour would suffer considerably. "In the near future New Zealand will knew more of what we call 'Test atmosphere,' and a tour then will probably be more successful," Mr. Tavlor concluded.