AMONGST THE JUNIORS

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9253, 2 November 1895, Page 4

AMONGST THE JUNIORS

[By Light Blue.]

All the Junior Cup matches commenced on October 12th were continued on Saturday week, but as none of them were brought to a definite conclusion the Junior Cup committee granted a third Saturday to enable them to be completed.

The principal interest in the junior com- • petition was taken in the match between the ! Midland and Lancaster Park teams. The ! latter appeared to have a lot the best of the | game at the close of the first day, but the 1 Midlanders played up so well on the two last afternoons that they won a wellcontested game by 7 runs. Garrard, Barry and Lane batted best in the victors' second venture, the form displayed by the first named being a treat to see, while Barry showed good defence. Mahar, Cant, Washer and Smith played up well to avert defeat in the Lancastrian's second innings, but the good trundling of Haldane and Barry carried the day. United administered a severe drubbing to last season's winners, St. Albans, in their match, the latter being beaten j by eight wickets. Longden, Wilson, Fish and Day all scored well for the winners, while for the losers Lawrence, | Jackman, and C. Colville saved the innings ■ from mediocrity. The wicket was in firstrate order on the two first days, but on Saturday it favoured the bowlers, which partly accounts for the smallness of the scoring. TheHigh School, asanticipated, beatSydenham and Addington United by an innings. O'Brien, for the School, increased his score to 117, while Barnes also batted well. The losers managed to top the century on each occasion, and Jones and Rowe were the principal contributors to their totals. The fielding of the boys was only moderate, and their Ixwling does not appear particularly formidable. In the President's Cup competition on Saturday week the Lancaster Park No. 1 and No. 2 teams won both of their matches easily, by more than an innings to spare, and on paper they appear to be the strongest teams in the contest. The No. 1 team had a meritorious win over the United No. 1 by an innings and 75 runs. Manning and Hamil- I ton both bowled well for the victors, and for the United Hale and Jamieson played up well to avert defeat. I The Lancaster Park No. 2 team, thanks I principally to the good bowling of Johnston, beat Warwick House by an innings and 4 runs. The Midland No. 1 team gained an unexpected win over Sydenham and Addington United by four wickets, their captain's hard hit 40 ana M'Gnire's carefully played 32, not out, being chiefly responsible for the result. Goodman contributed a useful 24 for the combined team, whose bowling and fielding were much below the standard displayed in these departments on the opening day. The result of the first day's play pointed to the St. Albans team defeating the Midland No. 2 team by an innings, and early in the afternoon they accomplished that feat. Young Gerard made 20, not out, in promisingstyle in the losers' second venture. Thanks principally to the good batting of Atkinson, who scored 85 and 38, the United No. 2 team beat the High School by 89 runs, which is exactly the total made by the winners in their second venture. The all-round cricket exhibited by A. Reese, who is a younger brother to the players of that name who represent the Midland Club, was the principal feature of the cricket on the school side. The contest between Christ's College No. 1 and No. 2 teams was won by the former by an innings and 76 runs. H. Harman, who is a younger brother to the well-known cricketers of that name, scored 102 for the winners, while C. Louisson contributed 46, and K. M. Oilivier 34. The principal scorers for the losers were Hamilton (29*), Ormsby (14), Lindsay (13, not out), and Fryer (11). K. M. Oilivier also bowled well "for the victors, taking six wickets with his leg breaks. ,

The chief event in Saturday's fixtures was that Lancaster Park No. 1 "team put tip a record against the College No. 2 for President's Cup cricket in Christchurch, making a total ot 379, while Stringer's 147 is also the highest individual score. Several others made good totals, but the out-play of the College was very weak, and the captain appeared to have no idea of placing his men. He had them in much too close to the wickets. In the other contests the College No. 1 should defeat the Midland No. 2 ; the JJ nited No. 1 have a decided lead over the Midland No. 1; St. Albans should just about defeat the High School, who cut up badly in their second innings ; Sydenham had all the best of their game with Warwick House, and the match between the Lancaster Park and United teams is in a fairly even state. On Saturday week the College No. 1 team beat a mixed" team of the United Club by six wickets and 142 runs, the scores being :— College, 220 for four wickets (K. M. Oilivier 67 not out, M. Louisson 50, Grant 46 and C. C. Oilivier 44); United, 78. It is not often a batsman scores over a century with only one hit of greater value than a three, but O'Brien's 117 for the High School against Sydenham only contained one four, his other hits being forty-nine singles, fourteen 2's, and twelve 33. Stringer's 147 in the President's Cup match were obtained in a style which was a direct contrast to O'Brien's century. The latter was batting for nearly four hours for his runs, but Stringer rattled up his score in about a quarter of the time, and his hits were one 6, five s's, seventeen 4's, ten 3's, three 2's, and twelve singles. The High School's total of 369 against Sydenham is the second highest scored in Junior Cup matches in Christchurch. The totals of 300 and upwards made in this competition are as follow: — November. 1893, Lancaster Park v. College .. 396 October, 1895, High School v. Sydenham .. 369 January, 1893, United v. Warehousemen _. 340 March. 1892, Midland v. United .. -.334 It may interest readers of this column to know that the Sydenham and Addington bowlers sent down 688 balls from which the High School scored their 369 r*uns. The Lancaster Park No. 1 President's Cup team in the two innings they have played this season have scored 598 runs. The poor displays by some of the teams in the President's Cup competition make it evident that the time has arrived for a fourth competition to be started in Christchurch. Some of the No. 2 teams of the clubs and the school teams are no matches for the stronger elevens, and by starting another | competition the latter would not only have better cricket, but there would be a chance of getting through the competition, which is impossible now owing to so many teams i being entered.