FLASHES FROM SATURDAY'S SPORT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 304, 23 December 1940, Page 10

FLASHES FROM SATURDAY'S SPORT

With fi.st conditions in ilipin favour several batsmen took lull advantage %*i their opportunities in • tliP.Au.kland crick** championship conLeMts* and .some attractive performance* were- witnessed. Loading the way wan tlio ftipnkum (amp captain J. , . K. Whitelaw, with 110, while J. Jilliott. of Irniriiii- C.Jlcc.-. aluo parsed tju; three-figure mark in enrrying on from the previous Saturday. At North Shore H. G. .Walters ran into the nineties. It was not eurprisinj? that the lending toam. University, i went down to North Shore at Devonpoct, an tlio home sid<; wan in a strong position after tlie h'rwt day of play. The rcwultaVif the matches were as follow', all wins, menept in the match between Eden and Training College, -which was drawn, being on j-the first innings. Y.M.t'.A., 24,1, beat Fnpakura Camp, 218, by 27 inns. Parnell, 220. beat Grafton. 197, by 23 rune. Training College, 238 for nine wickets declared, drew with Eden, 150 for eeven wickets. Middlemore, 240, beat Ponaonby-Bal-moral, 182 and &i for one. wkket, by 58 rune. North Shore, 230 for seven wickets declared, bent University, 101 and 90 for six wickets, by 129 runs.

Best Performances.— P. E. Whitelaw (Papaikiira Oiinup), 110;" J. H. .EHiot't (Training CoHego), 105 not out: H. G. Walters (Xorth Whore), 90; V. J. Scott (Y.M.C.A.), 80; L. K.Maivin (Parnell), 78; D. D. Tuylor (Middlemore), 4»; W. Wheeler (North Shore), 48; J. E. Mills (Eden), 45; H. O. SniiUh (North Shore), 45; H. J. H. Harviaon (Kden), five wickete for 48; Alan AlcLean (Pnipnkura Camp), five for 75; J. Coivie (Xorth Shore), four for 32; S. R. Harrison CY.M.C.A.), four for 37; R. H. Bentley (Poneoniby-Bal-inoral), four for 48.

Century By J. H. Elliott.— The feature of the batting by the Training College team against Eden was the contribution of JOS not out by J. H. Elliott. He carried on fnom hie opening day score of 05 not out, and by sound and patient methods, wan still there when the teachers closed with nine wickete for 238 runs. Elliott took no risks, and always waited for the ball that could be hit. Ilia stroke play was riound all the time. When Eden's turn vjamc ito bat, he gave hie team good, service with accurate medium-paced' bowling. Whitelaw's Century.— TPhe New Zealand ami Auckland representative opening l batsman, P. E. Wlhitelaw, has rarely been seen to better advantage tihan he was in registering hie 110 againet Y.M.C.A. - 'He scored at a fast rate and introduced a. wide variety of rthote, hiw driving and leg hits being particularly ipowerful. He received a fine round of appkwiee on his return to the pavilion. Lewie (32) and FleetwiQod (25) were the only other batsmen to'give the Y.M.C.A. attaidk any trouble, tout the winners were fortunate that Camp wae two men nhort, one being blie good all-rounder, McLean.

Well Held I—Fielding a.t first slip for Y.M.G.A., Verdun Scott took a remarkable catoh to diamine Iturt off the .bowling of S. K. Harrison. The ibateman snicked a delivery just off the ground and Scott, i-';illi>ni( full length iba«kiwa.r'<l» with both ainifl outstretched, Jield the ball in hit* left hand. He fully deserved the applause which greeted 'hie effort from all wtho saw the catcih. In addition, Scott, who had eared the team from a bad {position with 52 not oat on the previous day of play, carried his score to 86, the highest, and took the bowling honour* with three wicket* for 50. A Hard Fight—Parnell had to figiht all the way to overtake Grtaifton's total of 107 the previous Saturday and the result •warn in doubt until an eighifh-wicket stand eaved the side. Thie wae between Haimbrook and J. Lewie, tne former dTivint? etrongly for 31 and Lewie defending etuibbornly in the early stages, to open out later and register 27 not out. Promising Young Batsman.—Parnell has a very promising young Ibateman in L. Marvin, w*ho was topecorer with 78. He has A good defence and some nice scoring mote and should go further in the game providing he fulfils promise.! Mairvin -was ably aswirrfred .by his cafpbain, Mervyn Wallace, who, in Jii««eual delijfht*ul etyle, knocTced inp 4».»pfere he was caught near -ttie boundWy.';;|rom a drive off Felts, BHis .iireH-jiKlged caitoh. •'V

Praiseworthy Effort.—A fine effort to dismiss the >ha.rd-(hitting Camp batsman, OHrvder, .was made, by Jones, a Y.M.C.Av fieldn.ni.nm, near the iboundairy. '" Ollivier opened hie shoulders to Harrison, the fast trnmdler, and the ball went soaring to the fence over inid-on. Jones made a jumping effort «nd almost heft* ihe eatch, but crashed into the fence in doing eo. At first it seemed tlhat he was injured, but (he carried on after a couple of minutes' respite.

, A Winning Stand.— H. G. Walters and W. Wheeler, the Shore not out ibatemen against University, soon eettlecl down, and rune came quickly from the start. From 48, laet week's score at efiim.pe, they pa»e<l University's total of 101 before the partnership was broken, when Wheeler warn caujtht for 48. The third wicket had added DO runs. Wheeler batted well and hit eix boumlariee. H. G. Smitlh followed, and nnatiher excellent partnership with H. Wakere was witnessed. Both batsmen attacked the bowling -in'l few dhances of Bcoring were missed. At 196 Smith was caught by W. H. C/ ,per off Caddie fo» a fine 45, including six boundaries. Three nine later Welters ;wae well,caiiffh,t on tilie boundary by James, who wne stiljetitutiii"for University. Walters had played 'brilliant cricket, and iiow seems to be rijfli* at the top of his form. He hae scored 235 rune in hie last four He was rather unlucky to miee his century, ne he was forcinfr the pace when he wae caught on the boundary.

Stevenson's Great Catch.—A remarkable catch was taken by J. li. t-ievenson, ot the Training College team in the match against Eden, and the bnt.sman who made the stroke was A. J. Postles. Bets his runs by quiet methods, but as Eden -><--xieil runs against the clocft. Postlc; showed i-'x , he could make slroke.- that had plenty of |)o.;« Me .swung hard at a ball on the leg side. :>nd r. .tishecl to Stevenson, who was fairly close in at leg. The ball came head high. It reboiindcd when he got his hands to it. Then he made another "grab" to complete a spectacular catch.

J. E. Mills Shows Form.—Good form was shown by J. E. Mills in scoring 45 for Eden against Training College. One of the greatest stylists in the game, he drove with precision and showed perfect timing In glancing the ball. He was caught nnd bowled by H. S. Mills, who was the most impressive bowler for Training College.

Taylor Strikes Form.—Top scorer for Middlemore, which XI., in spite of the good batting conditions, had to play hard to pass PonsonbyBalmoral's total of 182. was D. D. Taylor an opening bat, with a total of 49. He has not struck form since his 49 against Training College at the beginning of the season. Playing confidently with frequent boundaries, together with J. A. R. Blnndford. who opened with him. they put 44 on the board fairfy c.uickly before the latter was dismissed by Benlley lor 31. He then formed a partnership with H. T. Pearson (32) which aeklcd 76 runs, but finally v.ent l.b.w. to Bentley (who was bowling well), after a good exhibition of batting. Rentley Worries Middlemore.—A bowler whom Midcllemore found a force to be reckoned with was R. H. Bentley. who took four of their best wickets for 48 with his medium deliveries. Three were l.b.w. and the fourth was clean bowled. Largely owing to this bowler. Middlemore had to play carefully to pass Ponsonby's total of the previous week, and seven wickets had fallen when the winning hit was made. Snedden Saves University.—A solid knock in University's second innings was played by Warwick Snedden, and he undoubtedly saved his side from outright defeat. Going in first wicket down, with the score at 10. he was sixth man out for a most useful 42. Schnauer helped Snedden in an excellent partnership for the fifth wicket when they carried the ocore from 29 to 76. After Snedden had been dismissed D. R. Connell and Bell played out time in a most exciting finish. AT THE DOMAIN.

The conclusion of the fourth series of matches in the Suburban competition at the Domain on Saturday eaw a change in leadership on the championship table. Air Force, which ha<l hitherto held the lead, gave way to Green .Lane and Biixton. who are now level. The games resulted: — Brixton. eight wickets for 147 declared, beat Tui, 83 and 32, by an innings and 32 runs. Green Lane, fioiur wicueta for 228 declared, beat Air force, 178, on the firet innings. Dilworth, 120 and two wickete for 176, beat R.V., 79, on the first inninge. Manukau, 231, beat Roskill, 26 and 70, by an innings and 135 runeChampionship l'oints. —Brixton IC. Green Lane 10, Air Force 14, Manukau 13. K.V. 10, Dilworth Old Boys 7, Tui 5, Roekill 4.

D. Hetherington —a Century.— Associated with Dilworth's return to form on Saturday was a fine unbeaten century by the opening batsman D. A difficult chance at the wicket while lie was in the nineties almost robbed Hetherington of the honour. It wae a good knock .punctuated by frequent boundary shot*. He hit 14 fotire during his stay of 100 .minutes. » Hchefle In Lively Mood.—The Brixton fast bowler and big bitter achegie played a big part in Brixton's success. His bright half century, which included nine boundaries, enabled Brixton to establish a good lead over Tui. In Tui's second venture lie obtained five wickets lot 13 runs with his fast bowling. The ball that bowled Horrocka sent - the ball flying 39 yards. Benrsal of Farm.—After losing tbree matches on the first innings it looked as if Dilworth had little chance against the strong K.V. team. On the first day the Old Boys batted unimpressively, aggregating only 120. R.V., however, found this task too much for them, and batting two men short the innings closed 41 runs short of Dllworth's score. This pleasing return to form was maintained throughout the latter part of the afternoon, when Dilworth put together 178 runs for the loss of two wickets. Air Force Fades. —For a time it looked as if Green Lane's declaration, with the score at 228 for four wickets, would place them in Jeopardy. The Air Force hoisted seventy without losing a wicket, but after this stand was broken the resistance was not sustained. Both teams played below full strength. Oreen Lane missed Kerr and McCormack at the bowling crease, while Air Force was without the services of Ellis, McSherry and Gregson, all useful batsmen. Adjournment for Holiday*.— Owing to the wickets being unavailable on January 4 the competition will not be ■ resumed until the following Saturday, when the fifth aeries of matches will commence.