OLD BOYS TAKE LEAD

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25954, 7 November 1949, Page 9

OLD BOYS TAKE LEAD

CRICKET

SENIOR COMPETITION MATCHES

big hitting by a. r. MACGIBBON

churSh staled "a a M« day - J ast liststruggle to l«rt oumgt deleat’bTg? 1 ?„ oUe e* a "o Batted brighW ta 8^ n^^??stch U rch, n a I ko r s^nsd O! fas Boys nS but d n ne recover y against Old damage had been done °\“?e first day ’ and Old Boys won bv team margin, and is now the only ° outrlght w >ns to its credit O “blrt S St a A?£?„ l ?- , “ f ° Ur wteketj - bans 6 ’ 181 By six Lancaster Park 162 and 131 for eleht 1?8 CI IIS l»‘t re ‘ 1 « beat O!d colleglfnl fo T five wickets by four ri E? s on the first ‘J'Jiings 11 Ttl“?na 9 tai l " ! ? t E" 1 Christchurch 141 X or ® ev en wickets by w On t he firat innings. w est Christchurch 203 and 216 for four first tasta? s . CkCtS by 13 runs °* e S the re W e £ st th Chr^t y “haS Pta K’ ft W G Satal’t 59. ‘a h n e d T£. Ker? 8 the ' ♦ Ze re P resen tative, scored R ' Mac Gibbon hit splenL F 76 > for Old Collegians, chur^h T R d iad , e 65 for East Christro««Ch; R V. T -, Dowker 60 not out for Park and R. C. Webb 63 foist. Albans. The Sydenham captain, A '^ ho had score d 43 not out rn o th^ 1 first u da v v ’ went on t<> make 64. y bowler to achieve an out4.an^iys,is was p - Small (Old Boys), who took six for 40, but two of day wickets had been taken on the first

A . ~ Old Boys v. St. Albans with s , ta - rt , t he da y St- Albans, wickets down in its second innings, was only 21 runs ahead. J. KidhnwiJrf a n out L- With . e eight added, ?vhioh d a b e auh tul ball from Small off Ver -V quickly, but V Smith and R. C. Webb batted with skill the hSl lOn ' Webb, getting most of tne bowling, scored very fast, and hit frwn ff T Ur ri in A ii he course of three overs D- Alderson. One of them was extraordinary stroke. Alderson bowled a full toss and Webb ducked, rather levAi ea h y ' Wi^ h his head almos t at knee level, he employed a Wimbledon smash 5C h r lh £ J fou £ a t square leg, an original and highly effective blow. Alderson, whose four overs cost 28 runs, had a bad spell, and his length was extremely rregular. Smith, playing a more passive psirt, helped Webb score 41 in 24 minutes, the eighth wicket had fallen Webb scored a six and two fours from successive deliveries by C. G. Snook, who is noted for his steadiness. At the end « Jx e lnnir >es A. Laing made some useful hits, and Webb was finally bowled m an attempt to put the ball into Riccarton road His 63 was a gallant affair, alive with character, and with good and hearty strokes. Small bowled with purpose and life and. even when the batsmen counter-attacked, did not lose his air of superiority. Reid, the most successful Old Boys’ bowler so far this season, was rot asked to bowl. Old Boys needed only 125 to win, and J. G. Leggat and W. McD. Anderson scored 32 of them for the first wicket Leggat batted solidly, and L. H. Fisher Played some of the left-hander’s best strokes in a polished innings of 36 which nelped take the score to 80 before the second wicket fell. W. Bell, who had not bowled in the first innings, then took two wickets in an over, but the danger was no sooner admitted than it was dispelled by C. G. Snook’s phlegmatic bat, and I. A. Baxter’s watchfulness. Bell bowled a few bad balls, but spun his leg breaks quite quickly. His wickets were taken with the assistance of two quick stumpings by Webb. The umpires were Messrs R. V. Taylor and T. H. Garbutt.

East Christchurch v. Riccarton East Christchurch, with a first day score of 81 for three wickets, never looked like catching Riccarton’s total of 297. W. H. Walters showed a monumental patience, scoring 15 singles and a two in an innings which lasted 162 minutes. He played some pleasing strokes, but almost invariably they went, without undue speed, straight to a fieldsman. When six were down for 137, there was some prospect of the fol-low-on being averted, but three more fell before lunch for only 20 runs. M. K. Lohrey and R. Taplin, as might have been expected, were all defiance for half an hour or more, but East Christchurch finished 126 behind.

For Riccarton. R. H. Scott bowled steadily, but he was given little help by the pitch. F. Dawson had an extraordinary analysis. Although a useful bowler, Dswson is no match v/inner, and his return of two for 12 off 17 overs was a true reflection of the strokeiessness of the innings. In East Christchurch’s second innings, the first three wickets fell for 42, and Riccarton seemed to be on its way for an innings win. L. F. Townsend played his best innings since coming to Christchurch for 65, however, and his splendid effort took a lot of the steam out of the Riccarton bowlers. N. Bennett, a young player of promise, made some good strokes with Townsend as his partner, but the seventh wicket fell at 121, .with East Christchurch five runs behind and more than half an hour to play. Lohrey played with the solidity expected of him and R. Cassidy played out a critical maiden over from Scott. A four by Cassidy off Scott put East Christchurch ahead and the match was all but over. Dawson, who had bowled 11 overs for two runs and two wickets, was hit for a four and a six in one over by Cassidy at the end of the day, a gesture of urchin defiance. Nevertheless, his match figures of 29 overs, 19 maidens, 24 runs, and four wickets point a moral which the East Christchurch batsmen should not fail to observe.

The umpires were Messrs H. C. Moore and T. Hastings. Lancaster Park y. Old Collegians

Old Collegians’ failure to gain a first innings lead against Lancaster Park was almost as inexplicable as it was unexpected. When play began Old Collegians were only 10 runs behind with four wickets in hand, but G. Smart accounted for all four in the course of two overs. Assisted by a fresh breeze, he swung the ball sharply, but the batsmen were not flattered by their performance. Lancaster Park made a bad start, losing two wickets for one run, but C. V. Walter, a consistent performer this season, and F. Dennis scored 48 for the third wicket in a careful partnership. Later T. Dowker struck form for the first time this season, and although he was not always as assured as he is when at his very best, it was good to see him recovering form so well. P. H. T. Alpers was again Old Collegians’ best bowler, and at one stage he had taken three for 24 off 22 overs. The declaration left Old Collegian's with 90 minutes to score 196, and A. R. Mac Gibbon set about this task with such a will that when his opening partner, F. J. Shaw, was dismissed with the total 54, his own share was 50. scored in 32 minutes. This measurement makes no allowance for the time lost while two colossal sixes were sought and retrieved from houses near the other end of the electorate. Mac Gibbon, given his head on such an occasion, can play magnificent cricket and, while he hit with tremendous power, there was nothing about most of his strokes at which the student of the game could raise an eyebrow. In spite of his efforts, or perhaps because of them, Old Collegians fell behind the clock but at the end D. R. Farrant went for his shots in a manner his efforts as as opener would not have suggested. A young player, Farrant must be forgiven for his caution at the start of an innings, but this brief innings must have done him g°The umpires were Messrs Crowson and Bowers.

Sydenham v. West Christchurch Sydenham finished its first innings only 13 runs behind West Christchurch’s 203, although at one stage the score had been seven for 112. The Sydenham captain, A T. Burgess, was mainly responsible for his side’s recovery but without the support of S. M. Cameron and J. Harliwich this would not have been possible. West Christchurcn opened quietly in its second innings but again Burgess came to the fore and collected the wickets of P. Arnold and D. T. Ager when the score was only 38. After this lapse West Christchurch set about the bowling. L. W. Smith and R. W. G. Emery started the good work and when Smith went, J. L. Kerr joined Emery, the pair adding 83 in 37 minutes. Kerr was dropped when only five but this did not deter him. for his next three shots were boundaries. Some of his strokes were not what is expected of such a batsman but they produced runs quickly. Emery (84) played very well and when associated with Kerr produced excellent cricket. The Sydenham bowling never looked really dangerous and it was only in going for the runs that the West Christchurch batsmen got out Sydenham’s fielding was particularly clean and H. G. McCree took a splendid catch to dismiss Arnold. Not to be outdone by West Christchurch Sydenham started its second innings as though there would be no difficulty in getting the 230 runs needed m 132 mlnutes to win. McCree made a very, attractive and forceful 39, and I Cummins also batted well for 33. After R. Gerrard (32) and J. Reece (14) Sydenham s batting slumped and at half past five the ; side faced the prospect of an outright defeat. Solid batting by Cameron D. McKnighL and Harliwich enabled Sydenham to play ° U 'k t e m West Christchurch bowlers were cteadv with J. S. Patrick, who was getting a great deal of turn off the wicket,

the best of them, but it was Emery, the captain, that had Sydenham in trouble. His quick changing of the bowlers before the batsmen could settle down was in keeping with his general skilful, allround captaincy. The umpires were Messrs L. Brook and E. Milne. DETAILED SCORES Old Boys 122 and 128 for four wickets (J. G. Leggat 36, W. McD. Anderson 14, L. H. Fisher 36, I. A. Baxter 17 not out. C. G. Snook 18 not out; J. McMaster one for 51, G. G. Coull one for 27, W. Bell two for 22); St. Albans 65 and 181 (J. Kiddev 17, V. Smith 17, R- C. Webb 63, A Laing 11 not out; P. Small six for 40. J D. Alderson two for 53. Snook one for 42, R. F. Cook one for 18). 'Riccarton 297; East Christchurch 171 I (W H Walters 17, J. McNaughton 13, G. Gearry 12, R. Cassidy 10. M. K. Lohrey 14- R. H. Scott four for 53, A. Candlish three for 50, F. Dawson two for 12) and 1 141 for seven wickets declared (M. W. 1 Stanley 15, L. F. Townsend 65, N. Bennett 15, Cassidy 17 not out; D. Thomas one for 21, Candlish one for 55, Scott three for 32, Dawson two for 12). I Lancaster Park 162 and 191 for eight wickets declared (C. V. Walter 18, F. Dennis 37, M. Chapple 12 R T Dowker 60 not out, G. Smart 12, R. Tabb 12 not out - G. L. Perry one for 30, A. R. MacGibbon one for 29, P. H. T. Alpers three for 47, J. C. Saunders two for 36. C. G. Hamilton one for 21); Old Collegians 158 (Hamilton 17; Chapple one for 26; Smart four for 28, C. Lloyd four for 43, Tabb one lor 49) and 129 for five wickets (MacGibbon 76, Perry 14 not out, D R Farrant 26 not out; Dennis four for 30, Lloyd ° n West r Christchurch 203 and 216 for four wickets declared (P. Arnold 59, L W. Smith 15, R. W. G. Emery 84, J. L. Kerr 52 not out; N. V. Burtt one for 49, A. T Burgess three for 57); Sydenham 190 (Burgess 64; L. Denia two for 62, J. F. Booker four for 48, J. S. Patrick three for 42) and 185 for eight wickets (H. G McCree 39, I. Cummins 33, R. Gerrard 32 J Reece 14, D. McKnight 30 not out, J ’ Harliwich 12 not out; Booker one for 56 Emery two for 36, Denia three for 41j Patrick three for 23).