Best 'Keeper In N.Z. Cricket

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 65, 17 March 1945, Page 16

Best 'Keeper In N.Z. Cricket

AUCKLAND DISPLAYS

Southern Rivals Did Not Overshadow Kent

With great interest in the merits of the various ' provincial wicketkeepers, the North-South match.gave Aucklanders a chance of ■watching the Otago man, Mills, in action, for the first time in years. Neat and unobtrusive, Mills lost nothing m comparison with Mooney, whose taking of the ball appeared better than in the Auckland-Wellington match last month. . - Mooney showed up well with his leg-side work. Neither,'keeper got many chances. Moonqy catching Mills in South's second innings, while Mills showed real.speed in stumping Sutcliffe and Wheeler, though both were well out of the crease. Mooney missed : a stumping when Freeman went out of his ground to Burke on Monday' afternoon, failing to take.the rising ball cleanly. Actual byes were kept to a minimum by both men, Mills allowing two and Mooney three in the first innings of each, side. .In the second innings Mills again allowed two, while Mooney repeated-his performance for Wellington against Canter- ! bury in the second innings "of the match at Lancaster Park in January by letting none go through, though there were three extras. •

However, the impression was gained that the Aucklander,. Kent, is the equal of either, and he may well be the best in the Dominion, this season. Kent excels in muck stumpings, and without his aid ,or that of another first-class 'keeper Burke would not have had the same success with the ball. Kent had a hand in 12 of the 20 wickets Burke obtained in inter-provincial matches this season. , „, . . Neither Milts nor Mooney .had any real success with the bat, though both are good in this respect,,. Mills having scored a century for Otago against Auckland in Plunket Shield cricket before the war. ~ . ,