SENIOR CRICKET.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 55, 7 March 1939, Page 15

SENIOR CRICKET.

SEASON NEARLY OVER.

ANOTHER ONE-DAY SERIES.

FAST SCORING AT EDEN PARK.

A peculiar feature of the Auckland Cricket Association's senior cricket matches on Saturday waa the success of the left-handers. W. N. Carson (119) and J. E. Milk (85) enabled Eden to share the points despite Parnell's great total of 414, while F. W. Byerley ma de 61 for Grafton and L. Archer 47 for Wnrtl. Shore. The last-named couple of run out incidents lately.

A. E. Wilkinson, one of the best all- ™™ players in Auckland, scored 73 for 1.A1.C.A but he is a right-handed bateman, although lie bowls left arm.

It seems like "painting the lily" to make any further reference to V. J. Scott—a batsman of his defensive calibre may easily be needed at Wellington this week. He has been dismissed, four times only this season, and needs but 151 more to complete his second consecutive 1000 runs in club cricket.

I he highlight ©n Saturday was reserved until the last hour of play, when the New Zealand Soccer representative. O. S. Cleal followed his 93 in Ponsonby-Balmoral's first innings .against Grafton with a cyelonic century.' At one stage consecutive scoring shots earned three sixes and three fours,. V How They Stand. The points in the championship now are: —Eden 33, North Shore 28, Grafton 27, Parnell 25, Y.M.C.A. 24, 'Varsity 21, Ponsonby-Balmoral 20, Middlempre 18. As the season closes with lower grade finals on April Jjs, afld Easter falls in the previous week, apparently there will be only three more days available for the senior competition. ■ With the Englishmen here on Saturday week, the prospects are definitely for a one-day series ou March 11 and a two-day programme for March 25 and April 1. Y.M.CA,'i FINE EFFORT. Although- everything favoured them, it was a fine achievement by Y.M.C.A. to overtake Middlemore's first innings score of 313 for the loss of three wickets and gain a-four-point win.- The opening pair carried on in fine ftyle to put on 117 for the firat wicket, Both Sutherland and Steveiison played polished cricket and the former, who went on to score 81, gave a fine exhibition of strokes all round the wicket. The bowlers, of whom Cleverley and Matthews were the-hardest-worked, had a thankless task with all the Y.M.C.A. batsmen in form on a perfect batsman's wicket. The attack lacked «ting. and, the. trouncing it received did not improve it.

Scott and Wilkinson,-who followed: $he opening men, Increased the rate of scoring and the former batsman's innings for 138 runs not out wa« a treat to watch. Scoring freely throughout, at the rate of just over a run a minute, he gave an attractive display of stroke play, timing perfectly and placing his shots nicely in his usual effortless style. The second-wicket partnership was worth 198 runs. Of these, who batted soundly and force fully, raised 73. When he was caught "off a hard, low 'drive to mid-off from Martin's bowling,. Irtind came, in', and rattled on 23 runs, including four fours, before the innings closed" with him and i Scott unbeaten; The latter had hit 18 fours and a fiv«, -and had given,only one diffi-' cult chance; off" Clevefley, during his innings.

WINTER SAVES 'VARSITY. Hesitant tactics on the part of the home team and a dogged defence by W. M. Winter for 'Varsity, found North Shore balked of an outright win at Devonport, with the students' last man in and a hundred runs needed. Shore started off with a useful lead of 53 from the two completed innings the previous Saturday, and there was a large attendance in the expectancy that the home side would go all out for the full points in their belated move up the championship ladder. But 'Varsity, with Garrard an absentee and Schnauer not available for the game, had a weakened attack, which gave them little hope of dismissing Shore cheaply and pulling the match out of the fire. With the attack well off the wicket for a start the Shore batsmen were, upable to force matters much, though Dacre (26) *ith quick footwork late cut some wide ones to the boundary. The highlight,of Shore's innings was the manner in which Cliff Walters (61) opened' out when he got his eye In and again proved himself one of the best opening men who ever missed selection for the Auckland team. Archer (47) played a patient innings, which would have been more valuable if made in half the time, and at tea- Shore declared to give 'Varsity Vk hours to make 241 for * full win. Winter (51), the frigid left-hander, ▼»• will be remembered for a two hour kneek at Papatoetoe for 14 runs, again proved a cool customer and held up the Shore attack for two bours, after a close call tor stumping in Ms first wer. Then another

barWgeVith 52^J?i? Wl,sd the Sho « a^Vl b \? t£^as S| d^ e aC o^ n nfl a delay ear * Si" tK L« craShW tJ \V"*P** was called No 4 Sit WH. - Critkal - Ute of *»nt , JCKet - With only one wicket tn g a mefv C a^ h and . E s a<ie " -tuck* out I f?r.f • d Shor ? had to be content with beS lorm l tT ! impson was but th/nH, f CU ! e hve wicket * *or 27, ous Th» fi^ bowlers were never dan e«' ous. Xh e fielding wae not up to standard.

EDEN PLAYS THE CLOCK. parX n t)T * tena^°, us ™Y in the latter part of the game, Eden made a draw of riw^' ll^ 11 ParneU ' des P St « theVf I a *\*\ Ml - lls and Postl es gave Eden a good start with 50 runs and when G L Weir was dismissed for nil the Parnell s P on1 Pe wV PP r edgood - Then came Car! attack J ° med Mills the Pa ™ e ll a 7 the vl 8 u e H T Mills contributed 85 w»J i« 166l 66 " 1 * -° f fluent battin S form that C™ ke T ag J Wlth his best in the past. Carson gathered in 119, which included some powerful off-driving mc ™ e * wilh D h! ay + - ba " ed b »Bbt]y, but had treble JJ*> tuning. Towards the end of the tt,A ?«?!!! a S d Th o m Pson got together * t the Parnell bowlers to dislodge them. In the last half hour scoring was a secondary consideration. H. G. Vivian bowled slow full tosses in an endeavour to ettect a separation, but without avail «.-> a. C °"' eaf errors were expensive. At 52 Mutton dropped Carson off his own bowling and at 99 Vivian miss.nl a hard low return. Again when the Harrison! inowpson partnership started there was a bad return to the wicketkeeper when a run-out seemed certain. The Parnell ground fielding was keen, setting a line example at mid-otf. At the moment Parnell« main requirement is at least one bowler of class to support Vivian. H 0 was the only one really to trouble the k.den batsmen.

P. S. CLARK'S CATCH. Holding a winning position all the way, 1 onsonby-Balmoral team scored a first innings victory over Grafton by 39 runs in a match which was not without itg highlights. First of these was the 112 made by O. S. Cleal in vigorous style and he punched the bowlers out of the ground. He made his century—his first in senior cricket by the way—>n 65 minutes, and he put together a string of boundaries and sixes with that apparent reckless abandon which is characteristic of his hitting. He was a shade lucky, because he was dropped by Parkes when he had made 73. Byerley put Grafton in a position where a win was possible by an attractive 61, but

the tail did not do and "when the tenth wicket fell Grafton were 39 short of Ponsonby's effort. Fred Clark really won the match for Ponsonby when he brought off a brilliant one-handed catch which sent Byerley back to the pavilion. C. Burke knocked up a nice 48 for Grafton. but his was a quiet innings and well over half his score was made up of singles. The match was interesting all the way.