PLUNKET SHIELD CRICKET

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22594, 27 December 1938, Page 6

PLUNKET SHIELD CRICKET

Canterbury Plays Auckland

SLOW BATTING BY BOTH TEAMS

Position Even at End of Second Day

After two days’ play the Plunket Shield cricket match between Auckland, the present holder of the trophy, and Canterbury at Lancaster Park is in a very interesting position. Canterbury, which batted first, made the fair total of 254 runs, and when play ended yesterday Auckland had made 156 for the loss of five wickets. There have been few bright spots so far, and taken all round play has been rather slow, a total of 410 runs only having been scored in about eight hours.

The weather on both days was not favourable to fast scoring, Saturday being dull, with rain falling in the late stages of the Canterbury innings and a bad light stopping play half an hour before scheduled time. The wicket all day was dead and gave no assistance to the Auckland bowlers. Rain on Sunday and yesterday morning made it impossible to start till the afternoon, and then the wicket helped the spin bowlers for a period. A strong wind dried the wicket considerably, and in the latter part of the day playing conditions were greatly improved. The unseasonable weather affected the attendance, there being only a moderate crowd each day.

W. A. Hadlee with 92 was top-scorer for Canterbury, but it was not a good innings for him. He was dropped twice early and some of his cover drives were lifted just out of reach of the fieldsmen. A. W. Roberts batted well for his 57. He made powerful drives on both sides of the wicket, and the only time he did not appear confident was when facing Cowie. M. P. Donnelly, however, has played the best innings to date. Brilliant footwork and quick running between the wickets were seen while he was batting, and it might have been better if some of the others had followed his example. Like Hadlee. W. M. Wallace gave two chances early, but his defence was sound, and he made some good strokes all round the wicket. P. E. Whitelaw was safe, but slow, but both A. J. Postles and G. L.. Weir should have been out much sooner than they were. Impressive Bowling by Cowie J. Cowie, who earned for himself a fine reputation as a fast bowler on the tour of England last year, was easily the best of the visiting bowlers. His five wickets for 60 runs off 23 overs was a good performance. He did not gain his fastest speed till late in the day, but he had all the batsmen watching him carefully. His length was consistently good and he swung appreciably at times. A. Matheson and H. G. Vivian were the other stock bowlers used. Neither was as impressive as Cowie, but they were not easy to score from. Matheson kept a good length and varied his flight and pace cleverly. The left-hander also needed watching and no batsman could take liberties with him. C. A. Snedden, a son of the former New Zealand selector, was not suited by the wicket, while G. L. Weir proved a useful change.

Donnelly Enterprising

The Auckland captain, A. J. Postles, had his field well placed for cutting off runs. He set a fine example by his own clean work, he and W, M. Wallace standing out in a side which made few mistakes, apart from two early easy catches which were dropped. Canterbury’s Steady Bowling The Canterbury bowlers did well to pin down the strong Auckland batting side to such a slow rate of scoring. The wicket in the early part of the afternoon certainly helped the spin bowlers, but poor footwork by some of the visiting batsmen was also a factor. The left-handers, P. W. Bellamy and M. P. Donnelly, were used most. Bellamy had all the batsmen on the defensive. He appeared to be getting most assistance from the wicket and deserved better figures. Donnelly also bowled well and was little inferior to Bellamy. The conditions did not suit E. Mulcock, who, however, was never expensive, a remark that also applies to H. Davis. A. W. Roberts was not used till late, but he got two good wickets cheaply. He was coming off the wicket quickly and had all the batsmen very subdued. The Canterbury ground fielding was generally good with Donnelly saving many runs. Two misses marred an otherwise good display by Mulcock. It was in the catching that Canterbury failed, at least four chances being dropped. The Canterbury innings on Saturday was for the most part slow, with the bowling at no time completely mastered. Most of the batsmen adopted defensive tactics against an attack that received no assistance from the dead wicket. An occasional ball rose sharply, but for the most part the bowlers had to rely on flight and changes of pace to lure the batsmen into making mistakes. After Bellamy had been caught in the first over of the match Stokes and Hadlee, the other opening batsman, took no risks against Cowie and Matheson, neither of whom was bowling at the speed expected of him. Hadlee was getting runs faster than his partner, but he did not appear so safe, and at 18 was dropped in the slips by Weir, off Matheson. Soon after he gave Whitelaw an easy chance behind the bowler, this time off Vivian, but it was missed. Stokes meanwhile was gaining more confidence, but after getting Vivian away to the leg boundary he made a rash stroke in the next over, and was bowled. Kerr, who was next, appeared more at ease than any other batsman so far, and with Hadlee shaping better, runs came a little faster. Hadlee was driving strongly, while Kerr got his runs mostly from defensive stroeks. Snedden had bis first turn with the ball, but it was Weir who broke the partnership. In the last over before lunch Kerr drove a full-toss straight back fairly high. Weir atempted to bold it with one hand, missed, and then tried the other. When it appeared as if he would lose it, he got both hands to it, and held it at the third attempt. It was a remarkable catch. A Good Stand The score was 93 for three wickets when Roberts joined Hadlee after lunch. He soon settled down, but he had some uneasy moments against Cowie. The hundred took 129 minutes, with both batsmen looking for runs. A cover drive for four off Cowie by Hadlee was his best shot so far. Vivian kept the runs down; but neither Matheson nor Snedden was dangerous, although the latter was concealing his change of pace cleverly. Roberts livened the game up by taking two fours and a two off Snedden, reaching 30 himself, and taking the total past 150. Soon afterwards, however. Hadlee’s long innings came to a close. He looked set for a century, but Weir, who had been brought back, got him Ibw in his second over. Hadlee had batted more than three hours, and hit seven fours. Apart from his early catches and a possible stumping chance, his innings was a solid one, perhaps not so sound as some others he has played in -big cricket.

YESTERDAY’S PLAY

Donnelly playing his first innings for Canterbury, was looking for runs from the start. Roberts had not been slow between the wickets, but Donnelly’s speed put him in the shade. Sharplyrun singles brought applause from the crowd, while Donnelly’s footwork was a treat to watch. Neither batsman took risks, but their stand was the highlight of the day. Donnelly’s drives were made with the greatest of ease, whereas some of the others appeared laboured by comparison. One off Vivian, which raced to the fence, was easily the best of the match. Cowie and Matheson slowed the scoring a bit, but 200 was passed in 218 minutes. Another big partnership seemed likely, but after both batsmen had hit boundaries off Matheson, the bowler had his revenge. Roberts lifted one high to the fence near the sight-screen, but the next—a good length one—bowled him. The pair had taken the score from 174 to 216 for five wickets in 35 minutes. Roberts had batted well, and his dismissal was unexpected. Wickets Fall Quickly After the fine recovery from a bad start, Canterbury seemed set for a good score; but the last five wickets fell quickly. Donnelly, after a quiet period, went Ibw to Cowie four'runs later, but the tail-enders made a poor showing. Matheson was still on the spot, and beat Menzies, with a good ball. Cowie was bowling with plenty of speed, and after an extra fast one had beaten Cromb, he was bowled by the next. Webb made three singles before he gave Jackman a catch behind the wicket, and then Cowie took his fourth wicket in succession when he got Davis Ibw. The 254 runs had taken nearly five hours to make, and for the last 20 minutes light rain had been falling. Auckland at the Wickets With nearly an hour left, Postles and Whitelaw opened the Auckland innings to the bowling of Davis and Mulcock. The light was bad, and both batsmen bad- escapes when- the ball just beat the wicket, and it was no surprise when an appeal against the light at 5.30 was upheld, the total then being 13.

Scoring was slow, runs coming mostly in singles when the game was resumed yesterday afternoon. Bellamy, left-hand spin bowler, was used as an opening bowler, Postles immediately causing excitement when he hit one out of Roberts’s reach at fine-leg. After placing another wide of Webb, oil Mulcock, Postles had a let-off when he hit Bellamy tc mid-wicket, where Stokes, looking-into the sun, lost sight of it, and an easy chance was missed. Donnelly replaced Mulcock, and in his fourth over Postles pulled one to midon, -where Mulcock held a splendid catch inches off the ground. Scoring was slow, but Whitelaw enlivened proceedings by straight driving Donnelly for a six, only 38 runs being added in 65 mintues. Wallace, usually a fast scorer, had made two singles in half an hour.

Both batsmen were quiet after the interval against the bowling of Bellamy and Donnelly. The last-named was unlucky when Wallace was dropped by Davis at mid-qn, and then snicked one past Bellamy in the slips. Whitelaw’s patient innings came to an end with the total at 70, Bellamy trapping him Ibw. Wallace was opening out a little, and making some nice scoring strokes off both Bellamy and Donnelly, who had been bowling for a long spell. The wicket had dried out considerably, and Roberts had his first bowl with the total at 90. He had immediate success, Scott, who had been shaping confidently, snicking him to Bellamy at first slip. A four to square leg by Vivian off Roberts, and a cover drive by Wallace off Mulcock were both from good strokes, and brought 100 up in two hours and a half. Roberts had further success when Vivian cocked one up on the leg side, which the bowler just reached after a smart sprint of 20 yards. It was a brilliant effort. With Weir in, Roberts and Mulcock kept the runs down, the only excitement for some time coming when Weir lifted Mulcock to Hadlee at square leg. but an easy catch was dropped, a performance that was repeated by Webb behind the stumps in the next over. Weir was having a charmed life, for, after driving Bellamy to the sight-screen, he stopped one with his pads, the ball rolling, to the foot of the stumps without moving the bails. Further quiet play saw Roberts and Donnelly resume the attack. Roberts troubled Weir, who reached 20 with an off-drive for four off Donnelly. In an effort to break the partnership Cromb was brought on, and Bellamy replaced Roberts. A late cut for three made Wallace 50 in 158 minutes. With four minutes to go Weir drove one to cover and called for a run, but Wallace refused, and a quick return by Hadlee had Weir run out. Time was then called with the score 158 for five wickets, Wallace being 50 not out. Scores:— CANTERBURY First Innings W A. Hadlee. 112142421242211111411132 121121112411111212131111441211, Ibw Id Weir . f . * • • W &. tt«’3 C 22»2!’41" Vivian 2 J A W K Rober“ 22 2n21 C in41212m4241ui2 M. ln Sk^ lbw. "

k Cowi© *» • • • • R E..J. Menzles, 1111121, b Matheson. 8 I. B. Cromb, 221, b Cowie .. • ■ 5 R C. Webb, 111, c Jackman, b Cowie 3 H Davis. 11411. Ibw. b Cowie .. » E. Mulcock. 221. not out .. ■■ Byes, 11214211 .. •• Leg byes, 111 •• •* •• _

Total •• •• ..254 BOWLING ANALYSIS O. M. R. W. J. Cowie •. 23.8 3 60 5 A. M. Matheson .. 22 2 71 2 H. G. Vivian .. 20 6 56 1 C. A. Snedden .. 7 G. L. Weir .. 6 Cowie bowled one no-ball.

Fall of wickets: One for 1, two for 62, three for 93, four for 174, five for 216, six for 220, seven for 234, eight for 236, nine for 243, 10 for 254.

AUCKLAND First Innings P. E. Whltelaw, 111UUU622121231111 22, Ibw, b Bellamy .. .. 36 A. J. iPostles, 4121111111133, c Mulcock, b Donnelly .. ~21 W. M. Wallace, 1X112111321124212412123 11111113, not out .. ..50 V. G. Scott, IUIIIIII, c Bellamy, b Roberts .. .. .. 9 H. G. Vivian. 42. c and b Roberts ~ 6 G. L. Weir. 1111214414111. run out .. 23 Byes. 4 .. .. 4 Leg byes, 12112 ~ ~ ..7 Total for five wickets ~ 156 BOWLING ANALYSIS O. M R. W. H. Davis ..9 4 15 E. Mulcock ..15 6 17 F. W. Bellamy ..18 1 43 1 M. P. Donnelly .. 20 0 47 1 I. B. Cromb 2 A. W. Roberts ~ 9 3 18 2 Fall of wickets: One for 34, two for 70, three for 98, four for 108, five for 156. The umpires for the match, which will be resumed at 11 o’clock this morning, are Messrs T. W. Burgess and J. Young.