CRICKET

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25081, 13 January 1947, Page 5

CRICKET

AUCKLAND BEATS CANTERBURY FINE BATTING BY TAYLOR AND SUTCLIFFE (PA.) AUCKLAND, January 12. Two colts, D. D. Taylor and B. Sutcliffe, in an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership for 160 runs, gave Auckland an easy outright win by six wickets in the final day’s play in the Plunket Shield cricket match against Canterbury at Eden Park on Saturday. Taylor scored 98 not out ip 123 minutes, and Sutcliffe batted for 130 minutes in making 62 not out. Canterbury made 299 and 194, and Auckland 258 and 237 for four wickets. • Weather .conditions on Saturday were ideal. The wicket and outfield were fast. Gate takings for the match amounted to £Bl4. With 22 runs on the ooard without loss at stumps on the previous day, Auckland still required 214 in - the second innings for an outright win when play was resumed on Saturday morning. Auckland’s stocks slumped when the four best batsmen were back in the pavilion with only 76 on the board. From an Auckland viewpoint the result seemed to depend largely on Sutcliffe and Taylor. Both batted with the nonchalance of far more experienced players. Taylor Misses Century Batting with grit and determination from the first ball he received, Taylor gave easily his best exhibition in Plunket Shield games this season. He used the full face of the bat both on attack and defence, and his footwork was good He brought a wide variety of scoring shots into use, notably powerful drives and hooks. His placements to the on were excellent. It was a pity that he did not get more of the bowling during the last few overs so that he could have made his first century in Plunket Shield cricket before the Canterbury total had been passed. After the match had been won play was continued for a few minutes, and Taylqr ran to 101, but his official score stands at 98 not out, including 11 fours.

Sutcliffe’s performance was a splendid one, surpassing even his century in the first innings. He tempered his batting on Saturday to suit the occasion, and his defence was excellent He hit seven fours. Scores:— CANTERBURY First innings .. .. .. 299 Second innings .. .. .. 194 x AUCKLAND First innings .. .» .. 258 Second Innings P. E. Whitelaw, run out .. ..28 G. C. Burgess, b Parks .. ..23 V. J. Scott, b Parks ..14 W. M. Wallace, c Cromb, b Scott 2 B. Sutcliffe, not out .‘. .. ..62 D. D. Taylor, not out 98 Extras .. .. .. ..10 Total for four wickets .. 237

PLUNKET SHIELD AVERAGES With only one match (between Otago and Wellington) to be played in the Plunket Shield contest this season, B. Sutcliffe (Auckland) and D. S. Wilson (Wellington) head the batting and bowling averages respectively of players in the contest. The 13 batsmen who have averaged more than 30 runs, and the 14 bowlers who have taken more than five wickets, are as follows:

PLUNKET SHIELD POINTS Auckland’s outright win over Canterbury in the Plunket Shield match which ended on Saturday gave the side a total of 18 points, made up from a first innings loss against Wellington, and eight-point wins against Otago and Canterbury. Wellington, with a match against Otago still to be played, has 12 points; Canterbury has four, and Otago two. Wellington will have to beat Otago outright to win the shield. The match, which will be played at Dunedin, will begin on January 31.

BOWLING O. M. R. W. J. H. Parks .. 43 16 61 2 R. H. Scott ..26 11 51 1 C. Carston .. 14 2 33 0 I. B. Cromb 3 0 18 0 W. McD Anderson .. 2 0 20 0 T. B. Burtt .. 11 0 43 0

Batting Ins. N.O. H.S. Agg. Av. B. Sutcliffe (A.) 5 1 111* 339 84.75 W. A Hadlee (O.) 4 0 166 240 60.00 A. W. Roberts (O.) . 4 1 110* 170 56.67 C. S. Dempster (W.) ..2 0 104 112 56.00 V. J. Scott (A.) 5 1 79 207 51.75 D. D. Taylor (A.) 5 1 98* 205 51.25 F. B. Smith (C.) 5 0 106 212 42.40 R. H. Scott (C.) 5 0 86 200 40.00 D. S. Wilson (W.) 4 0 90 157 39.25 W. M. Wallace (A.) .5 0 86 178 35.60 I. B. Cromb (C.) 5 0 78 177 35.40 E. W. Tindill (W.) • ..4 0 91 126 31.50 J. A.Ongley (W.) 4 0 98 124 31.00 Bowling O. M. R. W. Av. D. S. Wilson (W.) 68 17 118 10 11.8 B. Sutcliffe (A.) 61 20 122 7 17.4 H. B. Cave (W.) 86 19 185 10 18.5 C. Snedden (A.) 128 48 256 13 19.5 G. W. Overton (O.) .. 85 24 198 10 19.8 A. W. McDougall (O.) 82 23 171 8 21.4 R. O’Neill (W.) ..74 23 138 6 23.0 J. H. Parks (C.) .. 248 87 448 19 23.6 J. Cowie (A.) .. 204 52 429 18 23.8 T. Burtt (C.) .. 116.5 22 266 11 24.2 R. Robinson (O.) 65 10 166 6 27.7 R. H. Scott (C.) .. 158.5 44 363 13 27.9 C. Burke (A.) .. 133.2 33 292 10 29.2 A. V. Wiles (A.) 133.2 39 298 7 42.6