REP. CRICKET

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 308, 29 December 1944, Page 6

REP. CRICKET

CANTERBURY BATS

131 FOR 3 WICKETS

The fall of a Canterbury wicket in the third over was the signal for a sound stand between the captain, W. A. Hadlee, and the experienced I. B. Cromb, when the representative cricket match between Auckland and Canterbury opened at Eden Park this morning. Cromb opened the innings with the 18-year-old J. G. Leggatt, who was playing his first inter-provlncial match, but the combination of youth and experience was broken with five runs on the board when Leggatt's leg stump was knocked back bv an over-pitched ball from W. J. Brown. The latter opened the bowling with D. C. Cleverley. In the last over before lunch the second wicket partnership was broken, Cromb being dismissed after contributing 44. Fortunately, the Auckland selector, Mr. W. M. Wallace, has recovered sufficiently from the muscle injury he received at practice early last week to captain the side, which also includes last season's representative skipper, H. T. Pearson, who was not available for the Wellington match, and G. Wallace. The three omitted are R. H. Cleave, W. J. Wheeler and B. H. Warner, who is twelfth mail. The teams are:— Canterbury: W. A. Hadlee (captain), I. B. Cromb. T. Waine, T. B. Burtt, J. G. Leggatt, K. F. M. Uttley, D. N. Mcßae, L. A. Butterfield, W. McD. Anderson, D. Dun not, R. H. Scott, J. Smith (twelfth man). Auckland: W. M. Wallace (captain), P. E. Whitelaw, H. T. Pearspn, B. Sutclifl'e, 0. C. Cleal, C. Kerr, L. A. Kent, C. Burke, W. J. Brown, D. C. Cleverley, G. Wallace, B. H. Warner (twelfth man). . With the outfield fast and the pitch in good order, Canterbury gained an initial advantage when Hndlee won the toss. Leggatt, who has made some prolific scores in Christchurch cricket, was settling down to play carefully when Brown gained a rather lucky wicket as the batsman tried to glance the ball. Cromb took advantage of Kent's standing back at short stop to Brown in the first two overs to stand well out of his crease, but the Auckland 'keeper came up to the stumps once he had a sight of tlie ball. Cleverley had an erratic third over, Cromb and Hadlee dividing 10 runs between them, and both hitting boundaries to leg. Brown, too, was erratic in his fourth over, while for Cleverley's next an extra man, was put on the leg side. The batsmen had quickly set about building up a score, excelling in their running between the wickets. The first change in the bowling came when Burke replaced Cleverley, but after three inexpensive overs he was shifted to the end from which Brown had been bowling, Cleverley coming on again to bowl to a leg trap, with Kerr and Pearson close to the bat. With the half-century mark passed, and both batsmen in their twenties, Auckland lost a great chance of separating them when both were dropped in successive overs. Hadlee pulled Burke hard and square, and Cleverley just failed to hold a one-handed catch as he leapt in the air near the umpire. Cleverley's next over saw Cromb almost a victim of the leg trap. He pushed a ball at Burke, square of the wicket, but the fieldsman, reaching forward, failed to hold what appeared to be a simple enough catch. Continuing to bowl with tlie wind, Burke kept an accurate length, occasionally beating the batsmen, but unable to lure them down the wicket with flighted deliveries, as Kent waited for a chance to repeat his numerous stumpings of tlie Wellington match. Cleverley persevered with his leg theory until Wallace replaced him with Kerr, who was so successful in keeping the Wellingtonians quiet. However, Hadlee immediately set about punishing the Green Lane all-rounder with crisp offdriving, Cromb following suit. Burke completed 10 successive overs, the last three maidens, before Brown came on again about a quarter of an hour before the luncheon adjournment. Hadlee survived a confident appeal for leg-before. This bowling change was followed by another, the left-hander, Sutcliffe, coming on in place of Kerr. Both nearing the half-century, the batsmen adopted a more cautious style in order to prevent a wicket falling just before lunch, but Cromb, at • 44, flicked at a rising ball from Brown at the beginning of the last over, sending the ball straight into Kerr's hands at second Sli Waine joined Hadlee when the game was resumed after luficli. A righthander, he used his feet V/ell to bat when the slow bowler Burke fw-as brought on in plate of Brown. Hadlee continued in even style and ran to the half-century with a short single. Sutcliffe was tried again but did not worry the batsmen particularly. Waine paid the penalty for moving down the pitch when he misjudged a ball from Burke, and Kent removed the bail with the total at 131. Scores: — CANTERBURY.—First Innings. J. G. Leggatt, b Brown .. 3 1. B. Cromb, c Kerr, b Brown 44 Hadlee, not out 62 T. Waine, st Kent, b Burke 15 i Extras 7 Total for three wickets 131 I