WELLINGTON OUT FOR 245

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25703, 15 January 1949, Page 8

WELLINGTON OUT FOR 245

CRICKET

OTAGO TWO DOWN FOR 23 GOOD BOWLING OF I. WALSH (P.A.) DUNEDIN. January 14. After a day of sombre cricket, punctuated with rare dashes of enterprise, Wellington was in a slightly better position than Otago in the final and vital Plupket Shield match of the season. After a bad start Wellington finished with the moderate total of 245, but Otago failed to consolidate its advantage and had lost two wickets for 23 runs.A newcomer to shield cricket, I. Walsh, took five Wellington wickers for 76 runs with his right-hand medium-paced bowling. The Wellington innings was otherwise marked by the monumental patience of F. L. H. Mooney, who was at the wickets for 231 minutes in making a painstaking 89 not out. Walsh clean bowled Rabone, Reid, and Kemp before lunch, and Wellington had their backs to the wall with three down for 35, but Ongley and Mconey came to the rescue. That Mooney failed to reach the century he deserved was largely his own fault, as it was not until the ninth wicket had fallen that he went after runs. He and Cresswell added 31 for the last wicket, chiefly because Mooney opened his Shoulders and treated the bowling on its merits and cleverly retained the strike. He took nearly 200 minutes to reach 69, but scored the rest of his runs in better than even time. His valuable innings included only two fours and one five. The crowd was disappointed that the Innings of the Hutt Valley colt, Reid, was so brief, but his 19 runs came from shots to all parts of the field, and his calibre as a batsman was apparent from the moment he arrived at the wicket. Ongley played a captain's Innings, and his stroke-making was as easy as ever. He nibbled at a rising ball from Overton soon after lunch. D. S. Wilson attacked the bowling, but paid the penalty aftep hitting several hearty fours. His z partnership with Mooney was worth 61, the best of the day. Walsh was the outstanding bowler, as his figures suggest. Apart from a brief lapse after lunch he bowled a good length, varied his pace successfully, and made the ball swing sharply. Overton was lion-hearted and with a more responsive pitch might easily have added several wickets to his tally. His accuracy was reflected in his figures The fielding was of a high order with Smith and St. John outstanding. Clever placing by Smith increased the task of the Wellington batsmen and saved many runs. When Otago opened, 40 minutes remained for play, but two valuable wickets were lost. Both Cresswell and Cave bowled with hostility and none of the batsmen was really comfortable. Extras was the largest contributor to the stumps score of 23. Scores:— WELLINGTON First Innings G. Itepone, b Walsh .. .. 2 E. W. Tindill, c McGregor, b Groves 21 J. Reid, b Walsh .. .. ..19 R. J. Kemp, b Walsh .. .. 0 J. A. Ongley, c Milnes, b Overton .. 48 F. L. H. Mooney, not out .. .. 89 D. S. Wilson, c Robinson, b Walsh .. 36 T. P. Reaney, b Walsh .. .. 1 H. B. Cave, c Groves, b Overton .. 6 C. L. Randall, c Milnes, b Smith .. 1 A. E. Cresswell, c Walsh, b Robinson 5 Extras (byes 10, leg byes 7) .. 17 Total .. .. ..245 Fall of wickets: one for 10, two for 35, three for 35, four for 57, five for 122, six for 183, seven for 189, eight for 213, nine for 214, 10 for 245. BOWLING

O. M. R. W. G. W. Overton .. 27 8 66 2 I. Walsh ..32 8 76 5 L. D. Smith ..21 5 34 1 R. H. Robinson .. 19.5 11 22 L. J. Groves ..8 1 30 1 D. S. St. John ..1 1 0 0 OTAGO First Innings R. T. Hunt, b Cave L. A. Watt, not out . 6 R. H. Robinson, lbw, b Cresswell . 0 D. S. St. John, not out . 2 Extras (byes one, leg byes 7) . 8 Total for two wickets .. 23 Fall of wickets: one for 9, two for 14.“ BOWLING O. M. R. w. A. E. Cresswell ..6 2 9 1 H. B. Cave ..6 2 6 1