INTERPROVINCIAL CRICKET MATCH.

Press, Volume XL, Issue 6019, 31 December 1884, Page 6

INTERPROVINCIAL CRICKET MATCH.

OK-S& t CANTSB3UBY. Ibis now ssresdjjHßte yeara sines the a-*ea-tast took, place between the rival «_fc_6-ascf t_eeetwoprov_je_dd_4ncts, aad the mate- coataneaeed ca Dee 26 ia «__*&» _»twe_ty-secoadocote__ This 9«ar * departure is —tads Sewn theordi-_-syoou-fe, as tie present match is the 4m of fee _a_te and home games. _t Is r_t_a_ appropriate that this __saia eo—__a—_ sow. as they may _a aaiS to have eoaae of age last .. y_ _*. As is frequently the case in <aeaa-—_a__«_lisg over anumber of years, Jgefe-H»aefi-a for a time to favor one side _tazafh-U the ether, sad the past in this £b_t—see baa ao& been as exception, as ■Ofisqo peeved too powergnl for ite rival in __> <__y period of theae matehfw. ASSuissSbt -tha Q—i—eriKuy exit—eters 9-eag£se&_aa-£r» is waa net until 1871 that i-etim set in t_e_r favor, and continued _it_ only one e-oss&oa up to 1882, when O-tgo obti-ned a well earned victory- In .IS—t Canterbury won by _ runs, but last se-Kgi Otago again secured the coveted "ricfeory. . . ...-.- _&e some __» past Ffeeach has been actively employed f_ep_ri_g a number of _4c_ete for the aeries of _st_rprovi_cial; _—t^ahee,—adtheonenp—iw—i<—i play was <sam-«-cedya3tarj-y refiected great credit _p«« idmf<_ _s excellence. The ground lacked we_, the grass being nicely cut, mid giving the hafts-tea every opportiinity to <e_t_mf__y_tuefOTt____itß. -_ewe_feer m the morning was all that 4*38-1 _c de__s|»bu& during the luncheon a^o__u——it _—»__&eo_——iooedfrom the -3rs_-«_st, and interrupted slay for about sal—«_v _2_s was su advantage to Otago, -who was. ia, as it made the ball wet, but ifidaofc prevent tea wicket playing true. _H_i_gt_o_ftsr_oanh_t BxeefieseySir ¥a Jervois sad Misa Jervoia visited the src-odfsrabou-sa he—r_—la___. The -S-te-daace of the pubEc was not great, &_«e b—ing e_ly abo_t 800 spectators pre- ___. T__i Is to be aoco—afced for by the __s.———_g <m at the tune when the jaaj&arify of peggts would visit the ground. €b-_&e_tisg en the play we may remark -bast—c batting of the v—uting team was tame with the exception of McGregor and A_at»n. The farmer eerf__dy played the "fcasS innings of the day, some of his hits __;ex very good. Co____n playod in his ___1 _ea& ____ear, but £_led to punish the bowling as usual. The bowling at times -_«.good,a_d tiie ___!_g of theCanter__ry _3sveß, eo_si_3__g the wetness of the fea—« was __rly good, hut there were some -siatskes mads which should not have occurred. Stat_go, tor the ahari> time he had to _£uv was wo—derfa_y lucky, being xaissed _->e_i———.threat—nes,wbikta—it to leg aS__t-i}x_t passed Cooke's left hand. __a —b_r. ™I—a—y after _oon the C__terbury cap's-*, having lost fee toes, placed his men aatha Said, the chief places being taken by —-tasiop, bewler sad jpo—_; Wilding, SKa_£ and bowler; Fowke, wickets; _fer»_»,jßh_*_ip; B. J. Cotterill, cover_«mii W. J. CoiferiU, a_d_fj Ashby, g^m»St-_igßilo!Hg_%j_ongdan,Bhort-_Jfcffl_» started the bow Hag from the f»oS_ e_i to the third 3__Uwaytoleg tor 2. Wilding took up rij s__*___ t**** ■«* *» Cooke, who ovct-wit-o-j scoring. In -.yaj-op'afo-rtfeover Cooke tried to hit a'

Yorker to leg, and lost his middle stump— ; one wicket tor 3. Dixonallowed the last ball ■ of the same over, a yorker, to bowl him— two wickets for 3. Battray was joined by ; his captain, but after playing steadily for , a few overs the former placed the ball neatly in the hands of Ashby at third man , —three for 15. Parker came to Collinson's assistance, but did not seem able to score, and at last was dismissed leg before wicket ; to Wilding for 2. Colliiison in the mean• time having materially increased the score by a fine leg hit for 4, a cut for 3, and smaller figures—four wickets were now down for 33 j but with the advent of Austin , a stand was made. Off his first ball from Wilding he might have been caught at third man, bnt Buchanan apparently was not looking until too late—3 runs resulted, after this he played steadily. At 42 Barnes relieved Dunlop, who was not well, and at times evidently in pain. The change did not effect a separation, although the scoring was very slow. At 45 Ashby took the ball from Wilding Bnd Austin sent his first to square-leg for 4. This, with a few singles, brought the score to 53, when an adjournment wag made to lunch at 145 pja. While the cricketers were partaking of the refreshments provided by Mr Geo. Collier, of the Boyal George, rain came on. and play was not resumed until about 3 45 p.m. JThe grass had become wet, and the ball soon resembled the proverbial lump of soap, rendering it difficult to bowl or field with smartness. Messrs Col—nson and Austin continued to play steadily, bat the former let a great many balls on the offside pass untouched, and Dunlop once or twice nearly bowled him. During his , second over after lunch Dunlop suffered ,to the extent iof 5 runs, a good on-drive by Collinson going for . 4. ' Wilding soon afterwards'received punish--1 ment, Collinson making a good off- ; drive for 3, and Austin effected a > serviceable hit to leg for a like number. > Barnes therefore took the ball at the north b end, bnt it remained for Dunlop to effect [ the separation. An appeal for leg before i was answered in the negative, but two balls . later a yorker clean bowled Collinson. The ' Captain played a steady game just when ' runs were required, and showed that he ' has lost none of his style, if he be not so k punish—ig a bat as in days of old. Two ' 4's, three 3*s, and four 2's chiefly made up ■ his tot—l of 35. Dawes filled the. vacancy, > but soon afterwards lost the assistance of [ Austin, who, after nearly being caught by Longden at short-leg, gave that fields- ' -ian a chance at point, which was ' promptly accepted. 83—6—36* appeared 1 on the telegraph at his departure, the » retiring batsman having made a very » useful 36, including a fine cut for 5 (one the i result of an overthrow) a 4, two 3*s,fonr 2's, : and singles. Drabble came in to see . Dawes bowled by Barnes with a half I volley.—9o—7—2. McGregor now came in, and aster playing several maidens successfully, began to score more rapidly than 1 any of his predecessors, (causing Wilding ! to take the ball from Barnes. With the 1 score at 113, Drabble waa bowled by Wild--5 ing, only having made 4. Fairbaim joined

McGregor and drove Dunlop to the eastern boundary for 4 McGregor also, effected a cut for 3, causing Barnes to! bowl at the south endi The next over from Wilding proved fatal to Fairbairn, a good catch by Barnes making a vacancy for C Frith, who was greeted with some applause by his numerous friends. The end was not long coming, as after McGregor had increased the toted by some good cuts for a 3, a 2 and a single, his companion was bowled by Wilding, McGregor thus carrying out his bat for SO, and is considered to have played the best innings of the day. Hia hitting was well timed, and good all through. His score was made up chiefly by a 4, four 3's, and five 2s. The innings closed for 131, which, considering the perfect wicket, the ground being fast, and the assistance of the rain, must be considered a small score. Wilding bowled very straight, and the Otago batsmen seemed unable to score off him, his first twenty overs producing only ten runs for two wickets. Barnes commenced steadily, bnt was too short in pitch to be effective. Only 3 runs came from his first nine overs. Dunlop, with the exception of four overs, bowled very well, but these overs helped to spoil his analysis. Considering that he was not well, he bowled with great pluck, and deserved great credit for sticking to h_ work as he did. „. ' After the wicket had been rolled, Ota*o took the field, Collinson placing his men as follows-.—Drabble, wickets; Cooke,bowler and short-leg; Frith, slip and bowler; Dixon, point; Collinson, mid-on; Austin, short-leg and mid-off; Parker, cover-point and deep field; Dawes, slip and deep-field-off; Battray, cover-point and mid-on; McGregor, _dd-off; Fairbairn, third man. At 5.40 p.m. Canterbury commenced their first innings in a very bad light with C. Strange and J. Fowke. Cooke seemed to puzzle Strange, who gave two chances in a short time off him, one to cover-point, which Battray unexpectedly dropped, and one to mid-off, but McGregor; although he made two attempts, failed to hold the baJL He soon afterwards gave a chance to Dawes at short-slip off Frith, but again escaped. Fowke played in better form, and at call of time the score stood at 19, with no wicket down, Strange being credited with 12, including a fine straight drive to the canvas for 4, and Fowke with 7.

S-COHD BAT. This match was resumed on Saturday > last. The weather waa at time* delightful i for the game, bnt as on the previous day a : slight shower, although it did not stop the . play, made the grass wet to the ihcon- . {venience of bowlers and fieldsmen. The - attendance was a little larger than on the ' Friday, but much smaller than at any of the previous Interprovincial Matches. Whether this be attributable to the people who attend these contests being away holiday making or to other attractions, we do not pretend to say, but the fact remains that the number of spectators was less than half the ordinary attendance. The' wicket again played very true all day, but notwithstanding Borne of the Canterbury batsmen failed to play the bowling with that confidence which is necessary to ensure success. W. J. Cotterill waa a notable exception, and his innings, waa one which does bfm infinite credit. Going in as he did when six wickets had fallen for only 53 runs he played the bowling properly from start to finish. He made one or two had strokes, but only one chance, and that a difftc-tt one, to the bowler when he had made 65, can be recorded against him. His hitting was well timed and nicely along the carpet, while his defence was very stubborn. He was deservedly cheered when he returned to the pavilion with 7- not out to his credit. F. Wilding and E. J. Cotterill played in good form and with eon-dense for 19 each. Cooke performed the unusual feat, and one which has never before happened in any of the contests, of taking all the wickets, except the one run out. He certainly bowled with great judgment, and varied his pace in a manner which has caused many batsmen to fear his attack. C. Frith bowled as straight as ever, but the wicket played too true for him to prove dangerous. Variety in pace would perhaps make him more successful, but on a good true wicket he should not be difficult to play. The fielding of Otago was much better than on the previous evening, some very good catches "being made, McGregor being specially worthy of mention. Fa-bairn's we think doubtful, but it was well taken nevertheless. As might be expected when the grass was wet, the fielding became a little loose. The Canterbury team fielded well in the second innings, scarcely a mistake being made. , At noon Otago took the field, and a few ] minutes afterwards Messrs Strange and | Fowke (the not outs) resumed their places to the bowling of Cooke and Frith. Strange did not play any better to Cooke, and after adding a single was well caught at the wickets. Impatience to score proved Ashby'a ruin, a good catch in the deep field by Dawes being the immediate cause of his retirement. A. Longden ——ted to his first bail from Cooke, and 23-3—l was shown on the telegraph when F. Wilding, the captain, came in. Careful play was now the order of the day, a sue- i cession of maiden overs being interrupted J by a few singles, until at last Wilding sent a ball from Frith nicely to the boundary for 4, an example which Fowke followed a few overs later on, causing 40 to be tele- j graphed. Both batsmen now seemed set, but Fowke in playing a wily one from | Cooke did not get sufficiently over it, and j Dixon accepted an easy chance. W. V. Mfllton joined his captain, who soon afterwards suffered that highly unsatisfactory decision to a bat—nan of leg-before. 51— 6—19 appeared on the telegraph oa his retirement, a very poor result from good batsmen, and boded ill for the success of, Canterbury, which was made worse when Buchanan was tempted to hit at a curly one from Cooke, enabling McGregor to make a grand left-handed catch at mid-off. Six wickets down for 63, and doubts were expressed about the century being reached. The croakers about the falling off in the

play since 1878 might be heard exclaiming, "1 told you so," "What can yen expect/ But they were a little too soon with their remarks, for in W. J. Cotterill they found a batonurn fally equal to the occasion. He commenced by Wiring a single of each off the next seven overs, some by fine hard drives along the carpet, but well fielded, and others by neat play on the leg side. Austin took the ball from Frith, but this made matters worse, as runs came faster, MiUton making—isfirst score, a2izltheslips, twenty overs having been bowled since he came in. Sixty was soon followed by 70 on the telegraph, and then W. J.. Cotterill hit Cooke finely to the on-side, for which the batsmen ran 6, the ball not going quite to the boundary. An adjournment was soon afterwards made for lunch, the score being 87, W. 3. Cotterill being 25, Millton 5. Daring luncheon a slight shower of rain fell, and upon resuming the ball soon became slippery from the wet grass. Cooke now changed ends, going on at the southern wicket, and Frith trying his luck from the other end. Buns came faster than before lunch, the wet grass making it difficult to field and bowl the ball, but soon after the century had been put up Millton was caught at the wicket. 104—7—8. The ret—ing batsman, although he did not score well, did great service to his side by keeping up his wicket at a critical period of the game. B. J. Cotterill joined his brother, and the scoring became faster than at any time during the match. W. 3. Cotterill hit Frith to the on for 3, and sent a ball from Cooke to square-leg for a like number, which E. J. Cotterill followed by cutting a "no ball" from the same bowler for 3. Parker now relieved Cooke, and for a few overs runs came with less rapidity, but E. J. Cotterill made a cut off the new bowler for 3, and then made the two best hits of the match, sending two consecutive balls from Frith through the western boundary for 4 each, the 6 scored by his brother not being nearly so big a hit. This rapid scoring brought 130 on the board._ Parker changed to bowl round the wicket, and Cooke took the ball from Frith. The change proved successful, as E. 3: Cotter—l. hit under a ball from Cooke, and . gave the third man a difficult chance. F—-bairn made a good effort, and held the ball, to all appearance, just as it was rising from the ground, but the umpire gave his decision against the batsman. The score was now 140, of which E. 3. Cotterill made 19 in really good style, and showed that he has wonderfully improved in his play. Barnes came, but after stopping a few overs was too late for a straight ball from Cooke—l49—9—2 appeared on the telegraph, when Donlop joined W. J. Cotterill, who still continued to play in grand style. A good stand was made, and more changes of bowling were tried, Dawes relieving Parker. At 157 Cotterill gave his first and only chance by driving a ball from Dawes straight back to the bowler, who, however, failed to hold it. Frith now came on, but the batsmen B—ll played the bowling, and scored some sharp runs. In trying, however, to convert an easy, two into a difficult three, Dunlop ran himself out, the score then being 170, or 39 on. Cooke bowled remarkably well, and obtained all the wickets except the last at a cost of a little oyer 8 runs per wicket, a fine performance on so good a wicket. After the wicket had been swept and rolled Otago commenced their second innings with Messrs Dixon and McGregor. Dunlop, as before, began the attack from the southern wicket, and with his fourth •ball dismissed Dixon—a good catch by Millton at third man being the cause. Austin filled the vacancy, but with the score at 6 Duolop clean bowled the new comer. With the appearance of Co—inson a stubborn stand was anticipated, but beforehehadsettleddowntohiswork Wilding dismissed him with a fast yorker. Three wickets for 7 runs looked cheerful for Canterbury. Parker made a short resistance, and Wilding, who was suffering from a previous strain, had to resign the ball to Birnes. In Dunlop's next over Parker was cl»an bowled by a splendid ball, and Cooke joined McGregor in the hopes of turning the tide of misfortune, but it was not to be, as the latter cut too late at-a loose ball from Barnes, and gave a chance to Buchanan, who made a good catch at third man. Battray and Cooke for a time kept their wickets up, causing Ashby to reueve Barnes, and in his fifth over Cooke gave Millton a chance at mid-on, which was accepted, six wickets were now down for 54, when Dawes joined Battray, with whom he played out time. As on the first day Messrs Sleigh and Ollivier umpired, and Messrs Cohen audi Boss scored.

TUTBP DAT. .It is somewhat sing—l—r that rain should have again come-on about the same time as on the two previous days. La order that the public might have an opportunity of witnessing the conclusion of the game it ws decided to commence at 2 p.m. Shortly after that hour, although raining hard from the south-west, it became necessary for Canterbury to take the field, so that the match might be finished, as it was impossible to say how long it would occupy upon: a wet turf and *ith a greasy ball. At 2.20 S— i. Canterbury resumed their places in a reaching rain, Messrs Battray and Dawes continuing their innings. From the first few overs it seemed as if the score would be materially increased, but when Wilding changed to underhand slows the end came quickly. He bowled Battray with a ball without any other merit except straightness. Dawes hit a ball from Dunlop hard and low down to Wilding, at point. Fairbairn seemed to expect much of a slow which had no twist, and suffered for stopping it with his leg, and Drabble, not to be outdone, gave a chance to Barnes in the slips, a piece of misplaced confidence. The innings thus closed for 62, the four wickets falling for 7 runs, a most unexpected collapse. With 2-4 to get to win, Ashby and Buchanan appeared to make the runs. A bye came, and Ashby then drove. Cooke nicely to the off for 4. Frith had his revenge upon Buchanan by bowling him with a good ball, the bate—tan committing the error of playing back instead of forward—one wicket for 5 runs. If they had 100 runs to get instead of 20, we should be in it yet, say Otago, but Ashby was in good form, and although Longden was nearly bowled by Cooke, the runs were not long in coming. A 2 to leg, a grand cut for _ off Frith, and a fine cut for 3 off Cooke by Ashby, with some byes, brought 20 up. A snick in the slips off Friths next over by Ashby, and a 2 on the on-side by Longden off the same bowlsr, won the match for Canterbury by nine wickets and 2 runs. The full scores are as follows :— Otaoo.

First Innings. C. Battray, c Ashby, b Wilding 5 F. H. Cooke, b Dunlop 0 W. G. Dixon, b Dunlop ... 0 E. T. Collinson, b Dunlop 35 W. Parker, lbw,b Wilding 2 T. Austin, c Longden, b Dunlop... ... 86 A. Dawes, b Barnes ~ 2 A.'Drabble, b Wilding ... ... ... 4 McGregor, not out 30 A. Fairbairn, c Barnes, Wilding ... 6 C. Frith, b Wilding... 0 Byes, 5; leg-byes, 6 .-. — __~ Total ... ... ... ... 131 BOW—OK} AH—LTS—I Balls. Buns. Mdns. Wkts D. Dunlop ... 164 61 18 4 F. Wilding ... 145 33 14 5 E. Barnes ... 84 20 12 1 D. Ashby 12 6 1 0 C—NT—RB—BT. Krat Innings. C. Strange, c Drabble, b Cooke... ... 13 J. Fowke, c Dixon, b Cooke ... ... 14 D. Ashby, c Dawes, b Cooke ... ... 2 A. Longden, b Cooke ... ... ... 1 F. Wilding, Ebw, b Cooke... ... 19 W. V. MiUton, c Drabble, b Cooke ... 8 J. T. Bnch_nan, c McGregor, b Cooke... 2 W.J. Cotterill, not out ...- ... ... 74 E. J. Cotterill, c Fairbairn, b Cooke ... 19 E. H. Barnes, b Cooke ... ... ... 2 D. Dunlop, run out... ... ... ... 6 Byes ... ... ... 7 Lot-byes ;r. 1 Wides ... ... „. ... ... 2 Total ... ... «:.,' ... _. 170 —OW_Ofo _H_Er—_S. Balls. Mdns. Buns. Wkts. Cooke ...... 284 23 . 73 9 Frith 180 18 55 0 Parker ...... 36 2 15 0 -BStia 34 1 12 0 Dawes 24 2 5 0 Cooke bowled two wides.

Otago. Second Innings. W. G _—:on, c Millton, b Dunlop ... 0 McGregor, c Buchanan, b Barnes ... 12 T. Austin, b Dunlop »_ E. T. Collinson, b Wilding ... ' "„■■ o W. Parker, b Dunlop ... ... ~ v F. H. Cooke, c Millton, b Ashby .„* n C. Battray, b Wilding ... ... - ... 14 A. Dawes, c Wilding, b Dunlop... ... 2 — Fairba„n. lbw, b Wilding ... ;[. 0 A. Drabble, c Barnes, b Dunlop..; ... 0 C. Frith, not out ... ... ... ... 0 Byes 7, leg-byea 2, wide 1 ... ... 10 j Total ... ... ... ... ~ 62 First Innings ... ... ... isi Grand total ... ... ...193 ANALYSIS OF BOWL—TO. Balls. Mdns. Buns. Wkts. Dunlop ... ... 116 14 26 5 Wilding... ... 48 7 10 3 Barnes ...... 40 5 12 1 > Ashby 24 4 4 1 , ~ Dunlop bowled a wide. Cants—bust. Second Innings. . J. T. Buchanan, b Frith M 0 D. Ashby, not out ... _- 16 A. Longden, not out 4 Byeß 3, leg-byes 2... ... ... ... 5 With nine wickets to fall ... 25' First innings ... 170 Grand total ... 195 ANALYSIS OF BOWLING. BalL Buns. Mdns. Wkts. Cooke ... ... 12 8 10 Frith ... ... 12 12 0 1