CRICKET CHAT

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8965, 1 December 1894, Page 4

CRICKET CHAT

.♦' Weekly Press add Referee."

By Dark Blue.

No Senior Cup matches were played in Christchurch on Saturday on account of Lancaster Park being engaged for the Canterbury Amateur Athletic Club's sports. I hear that neither Lawrence nor Pearce i will be able to play for Canterbury against i Wellington next week, as their Club is sending a team North at Christmas and they can Hot get away from business to take part in both contests. I am sorry to record that the practices at Lancaster Park in connection with the match between Canterbury and Welling, ton next week? have not been nearly as well attended as they should be. If the pUyers themselves fail to take an interest iv the game how can they expect the general public to? Medlow, the Hagley Park ground man, has been chosen to practise in view of next week's match. He is a bowler likely to get wickets and if report speaks truly he is a difficult batsmen to dispose of. Many j think that Medlow is too old to play in a i big match, but his appearance is mislead- ! ing, as he is the junior of a number of j players who are taking part in Senior Cup cricket in the district.

At a meeting of the Hawke's Bay Cricket Association last Thursday a long discussion took place in reference to the conference of delegates to the New Zealand Cricket Council. Canterbury having fixed the date for December 6th without consulting the other Association*. A resolution was pasted suggesting that the date be altered to Christmas week. If the alteration is made Mr E. H. Williams will represent the Hawke's Bay Association. Otago Cricket Association has passed a similar resolution to the above, having received a communication from Hawke's Bay on the subject, and I hear tbe wished for alteration will probably be made.

Owing to pressure on space the Dunedin and Wellington Cricket Notes are crowded oat of this issue.

The Secretary of ths Midland Canterbury C-ieket Club has written to Mr L. Cohen, who is au ex-member of the club, and now captain of the Marton Club, asking him to arrange* match robe played at Wanganui or PaJmerston Nbr<h between the Midlanders and a West Coist team.

The takings at the gate at Adelaide for the English match amounted to £730, and £871 IS* was paid for admission for the first three days of the Victorian match. There cannot be much doubt about the batting; strength of the English team now in Australia. They totalled over 400 in their first innings against South Australia and Victoria, aud against N.S.W. they wanted only six runs to reach that number.

J. Darling, the South Australian batsman, is left handed. Turner, the "Terror," was unable to bowl for his club on Saturday week, having strained the sinews to one of his legs. This partly, no doubt, accounts for his poor average—one wicket for 100 runs— ag»inst tho Englishmen. The Gregory brothers were in great batting form in Sydney on November 10th. S. Gregory sored 152 not out for South Sydney against Waverlcy, A. Gregory made 72 not out fer Bedfern against Canterbury, and H. Gregory contributed 108, retired, for the School v. Lawson at Mount Victoria. Th« three between th«*m thus scored 332 runs without either being out, and S. Gregory scored 353 runs during the week The English cricketers met with an enthusiastic re •eptioti on their arrival in Melbourne, tho Mayors of Melbourne and Sydnt-y being amongst tho-** present at the Town Hall to receive them, in replying to the toast of "The English team." "Mr A. E. Stoddart said he could not sufficiently express his appreciation of the hospitality which had been showered upon the team. He was already heavily indebted to the Australians for the hospitality of two tours which had been the most*pleasant periods of bis lif<>. As he had selected the team their failure iv Adelaide bad ruined his reputation at a judg.-. (Laughter). But the opinion in England was that ht team was one of the strongest that had ever visited the colonies, and he predicted they would uphold the glory of English cricket. The English team play at Arraidale (N.S.W.) to-morrow and Saturday and then make their first trip to Queensland, playing two matches there before commencing the first test match in Sydney on December 14th.

I notice by Australian papers to hand that it was Ward, not Maclaren, as mentioned by the cable, who was missed when he had scored 4. The only chance the amateur appears to lave given in compiling bis 228 was a difficult one to Blackham at the wicket when he had made 158.

Severne, of the Napier High School, must be a bowler above the average, as in two successive matches recently he took twenty-three wickets at a cost of but 52 runs.

The following items are from the Sydney Bulletin :—S cod dart's team look better in the flesh than they do on paper. The remarkable thing about them is their average height. Leaving out Briggs and Peel, tbey are all six-footers. Humphreys is stout, grey haired, and middle-aged, and will hardly be equal to continuous work. Ford the hitter, is about as tall as Bonnor and as thin as Bruce. Brockwell, Albert Ward, and Richardson are all big, powerful fellows and just the sort of men for a heavy trip. Brockwell will be the success of the tour on his form at practice; but Ford, who is a left-hander and bits hard, will be as popular with the public as "Billy" Bruce, simply because Che public love batsmen far removed from the genus stonewaller. J. T. - Brown, the Yorkshireman, Albert Ward (Lancashire) and Brockwell (Surrey) are- all splendid safe bats, nnd will, with Stoddart, do most work. All tbe team have a high opinion of Richardson's bowling and expect great thiiibts f rom the Surrey demon.—The sensation of this English Eleven's visit may be the lob-bowling of Humphreys. We have never had a real lob-bo >* ler here, and Humphreys (now about 46 years old) has more than once played the deuce with the peers.ot Australian batsmen.—Stoddart's amateurs and pros, keep up the old obnoxious English tradition by staying at different hotels. —Brown is said to be the finest" point" in the world—better even than Shrewsbury or Walter Read.—The S resent English team has more vonng liiod than previous teams from "'ome," and headed by Stoddart they are the most dashing batsmen that have visited Ana tralia. Feel and Humphreys are their only slow hcorers, and for* the Britishers to be all day at the wickets means over 300 runs. In first match against the Gawler (S.A.) 18 they put up 368 runs—a great day's score agiinst any 18.