CRICKET CHAT.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9651, 13 February 1897, Page 2

CRICKET CHAT.

IBy Dark Blue.]

" Weekly Press and Referee.' , \ Once more Christchureh cricketcca Ww . L favoured witU fine weather on Saturday™? # as a gentle breo» was bWinJit 2S T Ihe United Klovon appear to wfif' upper hand of the SydonlW team X t> former have already scored more thaiS rivals and they liavo «till five wicUt. • i hand. For Sydenham Malono pW W steady innings of 29, while Ayrey■<,&&»* rattled up one less. On the UiuKP Wigloy and Clark wore responsible for «!«? of tho runs, but the latter should have W dismissed before ho was. Ho was taJfi missed at long on. Frankish and Jledlow fc£ the United bowled unchanged, while MaW appeared to he. the only Sydenham trnndW to give tho opposing side much trouble in the Midland Kleven—Lancaator Part Thirteen contest the principal feature of the play wa3 the lino innings of D. Reese A? the outset he displayed very vigorous cricket hitting four s's and two 4's in Ms first 40 and he reached tho half century in a very short space of time. Although still scoring freely he slowed down considerably law „ besides which his partners appeared to "et more than their share of tho bowling, N e drove a couple of balls back to the bowlers but the catches were too hot to hold an* he gave another possible chance besides but each was from hard hits. Lawrence gave a good exhibition of hard hitting and made his largest score of the present season while De Maus and Wheatley. also batted well.

For the Park Pavitt and Jacknua were the only ones to make double figures and the former hit freely, as jg ltsua j him. Pearce and l)e Maus proved too good for the others, wJio only scored 13 runs between them, Jive of the "nine failing to score.

The match between the Lancaster Park Eleven and United Thirteen was principally noticeable for the fine batting of Wilding, for the former, whoso 89 were compiled in a style worthy ol his palmiest days. He gave a difficult chance iv the slips when he had made about 60, bufc on the whole it was the best display ho lias given U3 lor some time past, and hie hitting all round was extremely free. Hasell's 30 were put together in neat style, and Fowke, H. 0. Ridley and Orchard also reached doubles. For the TJiuled Vincent showed good defence, but he had luck in being missed at the wicket.

" Comparisons are odious." In the match United v. Sydenham the latter's total of 131 included as many as 30 byeaj'but the former's 133 did not contain a.single, bye. . Pearce, of the Midland team, hit Smith clean out of the ground on Saturday, but in trying to "repeat the dose" an over latex he was clean bowled.

D. Reese? had never reached the century in any match before Saturday, hie previous highest score being-(j)6 against Wellington a fortnight previously. Included in his 122 on Saturday were four s's, eleven 4's and five 3's. Reese's last three innings have been 96, 57 and 122 riot out.

P. O'Brien of the Midland senior team was "given a chance of distinguishing him* self on Saturday by being put in fourth wickot down when tho bowlihu was thoroughly coHarod, but after scoring five singles in a streaky manner ho was bowled. Outsiders cannot understand the reason of this player being retained in the Senior Eleven. ..

Tho Sydenham Club'e Selection Committee rightly believe in promoting a batsman when he is in run-getting , form. Ayroy, who scored 28 for the seniors on Saturday, began the season in the olub's President's Cup team and as he soorcd well playing for thorn he was given a place in the Junior Cup team. His success continuing, ho has now a place in the senior team. Not many players take part in three competitions in one eeason.

Owing to a discrepancy in the soore book, D. Eeese is credited by the Lancaster Park scorer in only making 122, but the Midland book makes his total 1?<8, Tho former gives him credit of only four s'e, but the latter has fife hits of that value against his name, and has also a single more than the Lancaster Park scorer has.

Sims appears to have run. to the end of Ms tether, co far as run-getting is concerned, i when he eoorerl his 103 not out against Wellington on Saturday fortnight. Up to then he had made double figures in every innings this Reason, but his contributions the last two weeke have been 1 and 5. Perhaps he is hanging back for the Otago match. Thanks principally to the fine batting of . R. D. Harman, who scored 102 not out, the United Eleven defeated the come club's Thirteen on Wednesday last by five wiokets, while T, D. Harman also batted well. This if the first century that the elder Harman has made in Cup crioket, although he has twice previously run into, three figures in other contests. He gave a hard chance wuen ho had made about 60, but otherwise made no mistakes, and his innings was characterised by sound defence, while he meted out punishment to the loose bowling. ~. "Light Blao " writes:—There was nothing of exceptional interest in the junior cricket in Chrlstehuvoh on Saturday. In the Junior Cup competition St. Albans gained a decided lead over the Park, thanks to good-batting by several of the former team, and the excellent bowling o! Chapman, while the Midland and Post and Telegraph have a slight advantage over Sydenham and the United respectively. Fov the President's Cup the Midland A. team ran tip the largest score yet made against Upper Eiocarton, but the latter have made such a good start that at present the firm issuo is in doubt. It should be ateted that Riccarton were without tho services of Buen. who has taken.so many wicketsjot' ttwn, while in Ashby's absence the Midlanoore batted a man short. . T I regret to announce the death or •». Garty, who some soason's ago was awetnMr of the Midland Club and subsequently playeo for Ashley County. As a youngster heffjw promise of boing a good batsman, but aiwr a season or two he developed into ft good break bowler and so rapidly did he come w the front that he was chosen to P»J »J .Canterbury against Otogo in 1889, when M met with considerable success in «J. southerner's first innings. Of liter veare W appeared to have lost a good deal oj j»» command over tho ball and was compara lively easy to play. The deceased had no* been in very good health for some time past, but nothing serious was anticipated. Aiew rnonthe ago he went to Sydney and a.w«* before his death news was received by juw friends of his illness. Galloping consomp tion subsequently set in and he ™g' ™ Sydney on January 28th. "J"* %2 was of a genial disposition and a large eire« of acquaintances will regret to learn of W untimely death. _■ /ifo-trf* In a recent match not far km <*«« church an appeal wu made for a oatduJHJJ wicket. The umpire asked ™ e .g?SS where the ball hit him and, on Jwfjg pointing to a place between £» •»» «g elbow, the umpire gave him "out ™£ d ball hitting him below the elbow I *P« the batsman went out, too. . ■ ■ . 4 In tho bowling averages of the team published in last week* f l «! figures of the Gore match were omitted. I made out tho a»aag»«to»J Southland match, and at the the tour I made them out in ««* • *| fT oti scribing the figures on to my" copy J J hold ofthe wrorig list, and did not iW «» my error until too late to be rectified. , jf» figures for the whole tourareasjonder^^ • Name.- f f'J^jL^ Byrne, .. 85 Miller ■ - - » » g S OH Lewis «. - «l S §». j, i3r Wilson .. - 3 2? ft 31 2 15 § Bradley .. ~ .% 2 ' B 3 ft 82P . - r iS I c? o - Some weeks ago a South. Canterbury correspondent forwarded mc an what he called atie match between ««»g™J and Waimote played on .X**■*£*' when tho former scored 105 and 71 to i£°g 104 for eeven wickets byJ 8 S and I pointed out that the maT £ not being played out, was won oj Geraldine on the first innings. ""* ruling was correct is borne out by «"■" authority than " Felix » of the who after quotine the scores addi»•— * was hard lines on Waimate that an. ««• run was not obtained, for, Wng • °n»jley» match, Geraldine won on the first One of tho most decisive wins on tewv*. was achieved by the Hunter River dirtn*

'/tit the Robertson district on the West illillund ground on J.-inuary 261h. The forWr who declared their first inninge at a clo6e with tlioir total nt 295 for four wickets iff. Hivi-dcn 137 ami V. S. V.'addy 92) won L an innings and 121 runs. I notice that Mr F. C. 11.-.phaeJ, the lion, ace. of the Canterbury Crickcl Association, was present at the complimentary social and smoke concert given by tli.i Now South Wales Association to the Victorian team at Quong Tart's Konms, Syimey, on January 271h, and he coiitiibutcu to the harmony. I)'U'in# the above social Air C.irruthera, the Chairmrui, presented Mr T. \V. Garrett with a unique trophy to commemorate the fact that he had played in inoro interccloni:tl matcher* th.in a*»y other cricketer. The tropliV wa« the ball with which the winning hit was in.nl'i in the contest between New South Wales and Victoria at Christmas. It was beautifully mounted in solver, forming the central portion of a flower vase, and on the Irophv were inscribed the names of the players who visited Adelaide and Melbourne this season. Tiie J'n's J inloiv-oloni.i.l mafuii p , ' rocor.l was played b-Uvcen Ta3iuat>ia .'viul Victoria in •• One of the Team" has supplied the Sydney llrferee with an account of the Queensliuiders tour in New Zealand, and in iuiDjnaii*i»B the trip ho writes:—lE Napior has the best wicket, Wellington Imstlu- most jjgpartiul artd enthusiastic spectators, but on the point of hospitality ChrisUhurch stands on Alpine lu-ight*. The Queenslanders desire through the Jlrfrree to acknowledge the invariable kindncs* met with throughout New Zealand at the hands of its good people, and to add a special rider in graeful acknowledgment of the magnificent treatment the team received at Ch'ristchureb. If you are a cricketer going to New Zealand, and desire to mike a big score, go to Napier ; if you seek impartial applause and generous critics, go to Wellington ; if yon want to have a " howling eood time," go to Chrisichurch; and if you have a good story, toll it anywhere-except Duneuin. New Zealand is a charming spot —a veritable garden, where fields aro v. foot deep in green grass and wild flowers ; a place where each field is surrounded by exquisite hedges, poplar trees and weeping willows. Truly, New Zealand should be a happy country, and yet they seem to have difficulties —it least, one fair girl told M'Glinchey that "they had mortgaged every thing in New Zealand except the atmosphere. ,, _ The glorious tour throughout Maorilund convinced the Qucenslandere that if one is not born a Lord Braesoy the next beat thing is to be born a cricketer. The Green testimonial was presented to Mr C. E. Green, who has clone so much lor cricket in Essex, at a complimentary dinner held in the Holborn Restaurant on December 15th, when there were between 250 and 300 gentlemen present. During the proceedings tbe guest ol the evening was presented with a handeomo silver gilt trophy which had been subscribed for by, and confined to, Essex men and limited to 10a. I have to thank an old Christchurch resident for a menu card of the dinner. On the following night, England's veteran, Mr C. Absolon, was given hie testimonial at the same place, when the presentation took the form of a loving cup, the ball used for the Absolon benefit match last season handsomely mounted, an album containing the names of the subscribers to the fund, and lastly, a purse containing £126. Southern Tasmania defeated the Queensland cricket team by nine wickets. Titnaru were beaten at Winchester by the local team oa Thursday iv the South Canterbury second cup competition, scoring 54 to Winchester's 89.

In commenting on a match between Northcote and Brunswick "Batsman" of the Melbourne Sportsman says:—During the second innings of Brunswick Ahem was noballed several times for doubtful deliveries, the action of the umpire creating a sensation. I understand some of the Northcote players have previous to last Saturday expressed their opinion that the delivery is questionable.

M. A. Noble won £5 2s from an advertising firm in Sydney, by making 224 runs in tho recent mutch ugainst Victoria. The firm offered £1 to each batsman making fifty in an innings and sixpence for each additional ran. There were nine innings of fifty and upwards scored during the contest, and £6 15s 6<l was earned in sixpences. The captain of the New South Wales team, Mr T. W. Garrett (says a Sydney writer), is one of those popular and important personalities which bind cricket ana cricketers of the present day with those of a pant generation. . He flourished in that bright cricketing epoch known as " the eigutiee," wherein Murdoch's famous 1882 team defeated England; aye, and before that, when the first Australian Eleven vanquished the Marylebone Cricket Club, nearly nineteen years ago, at Lords. He was a groat all-round cricketer then, and, although his quab'fications for greatness have, to our mind, somewhat changed from bowling to batting excellence, ho still is a fine player. As a leader and batsman to-day New South Wales has cause to set high value upon Mr Garrett's services. The last contest is the thirty-second between New South Wales and Victoria in which he haii figured, and in this respect he stands •h<&d of all others in either colony, J. M. Blnokham, with thirty matches, being his closest rival. Up to this match bis records ore as under :•— * BATTINQ. Inns. Not out. H. score. Runs. Avge. 64 7 163 1091 23-21 BOWLING. Balle. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Avge. 5736 616 1865 86 21-68 The New South Wales captain ia not so old as such records as these imply—born, July 26th, 1868. The West Australian Cricket Association will t give £1200 and train fares between Perth and Albany if tho next English eleven tleoiUe to play matches in Perth on their way to the eastern colonies. L. Cohen, the eret Midland Canterbury UU player still keeps up his cricket a bit at JaiMtton, m I notice he represented the local dub against Upper Tutaenui at Morton on January 27th. He did not bat in the first wmngs, but in the second venture he contnouted 12 before being stumped, and in his opponent! first Innings he took six wicketa. « A^ ?* h K 3 tma » scoring 37 aud 64 to 55 •fdoS by Upper Tutaenui. At Adelaide on January 23rd Clem Hill increased his score of 193 not out made on the previous Saturday to 241, and be was then caught out. North Adelaide's innings cweed for 462, Adelaide responding with « .t A ye On the same day ■Booth Adelaide scored 270 for seven wickets against Hindraarsh, Reedmau conwonting 170. o In . h er fifty-eight matches against New South Wales Victoria has compiled 18,943 «uw for 1032 wickets-an average of 18.355 fM 0 ** 1, New South w »les has scored iH , nm for IOSI wickets-au average of «j926 per wicket. Thus while the mother cotaoy has obtained a larger aggregate of *m Victoria's average is a fraction of » run per wicket better. . J. Phillips, the Anglo-Australian cricketer, MS received a cablegram from England conthe news of his wife's death. When we last Australian team lift England for America Mrs Phillips was so ill that her eusband could not proceed with the team, Dut she subsequently rallied and the genial JUnplre followed the Australians on their t«ur. Phillips has the heartfelt sympathy of all cricketers. J

"No one I ever saw," remarks the veteran V isannerman, "co\tld upset a side like Jtfons. Let him be in five minutes and he •**» tied his opponents in a knot. I remember on one of the occasions when I •rood umpire for New South Wale* in Adelaide. Lyons came in; took block; hit * four; wiped his forehead; hit another «OT; iped his forehead j hit two or three fflore fours which the fieldsmen stopped for •angles ; hit a fiver; changed ends; wiped «« forehead and hitched up his pante. I looked up ac the board thinking that he B«wtbe twenty ; he was fifty ! It was the Wggest surprise I ever got in cricket." *gopot, Sydney Gregory relates that once wnen Lyon3 was batting in England, Gregory went from the pavillion into the dressing*w>m for his pipe and coat. He put on his *°»t, ■ filled his pipe, lighted it, took half-a--<««en draws, and came back." The game **» over. The mighty smiter had played *ne devil in those few moments on a bad ticket.

"J Jarvis was within an ace of being killed oy that ball from lightning Jones in the w>uth Australia-Victoria match, eaye the *«#«Un. Dr Barrett says that had it hit Oa « an inch lower down Jarvis would hare jessed the river. As it is, the bone is bent juw the. handle .of a jug, and A. H. save he «taking no more " Jonah."

WELLINGTON. Wemjkonoj?, February 8. The Senior Cup matches resumed on Saturday were Wellington v. Phoenix anS Midland y. Hivals. Wellington continued batting with six wickets down for .231, B. Gore being 45 not oat, and at the fall of the last wicket on Saturday (Hales 24), he had compiled 107 rnns by faultless cricket. Total, second inning.", 355. This left the Phoenix 315 to win, bat they only managed to reply with 142, losing by 173 runs. The Midland first innings closed with the sensational total of 55G. The Rivals went through the f:;ro« of f. second innings, but oniy succecJo.l in making I1C; their two imiings thus only producing 150 runs, and the Midland won by an inninge and 404 rnns. In the Junior matchop. Excelsiors made 122 against Wellington Second, 80 for 5. Midland Second, 175 (Jones 111), against Kilbirnie, -iG for 2. At Petonc, the Phoenix Second scored 81, the Petone Club 71. Three centuries were recorded on Saturday, C. Gore (Wellington), 107 not out, Jones (Midland Second), 111, and Woon (Wellington Third, 117 not out.