LEADING TEAMS CHALLENGED

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26030, 6 February 1950, Page 3

LEADING TEAMS CHALLENGED

CRICKET

LANCASTER PARK’S GOOD EFFORT

J. JACOBS MAKES CENTURY FOR RICCARTON

Both the leading teams, Old Boys and St Albans, were in precarious positions at the end of the first day of the eighth round of matches in the senior cricket competition on Saturday. Against Lancaster Park, Old Boys lost four wickets for 61 in reply to a score of 234, and East Christchurch, after making 221, took three St Albans wickets for 53 runs. In the other two games, there was little to indicate which way the games would go on the second day. The weather was perfect for cricket, but the pitches were soft after Friday’s rain. The spin bowlers were able to turn the ball, but it came through fairly slowly, and the scoring was not quite as high as might have been expected on such pitches and with such very fast outfields. Scores were:

Lancaster Park 234; Old Boys 61 for four wickets. East Christchurch 221; St. Albans 53 for three wickets. Old Collegians 204; West Christchurch 111 for six wickets. Riccarton 394; Sydenham 95 for one wicket Only one century was scored during the day, J. Jacobs of Riccarton reaching IM in a bright display. It was the twelfth century for the season, and they have been made by 12 players. In the previous game Jacobs had made 89. Three of his team mates passed the 50 mark. They were R. Cullen (89), F. Dawson (66). and W. M. Strachan (59). Other good scores were made by R. T. Dowker (Lancaster Park) 56, M. W. Stanley (Fast Christchurch) 55, and M. J. Moffat (Old Collegians) 62. The only bowlers to take five wickets were R. W. G. Emery, of West Christchurch, with five for 45, and T. B. Burtt (St. Albans), five for 46.

Old Boys v. Lancaster Park Lancaster Park made a poor start on a pitch which was easy, although at the pavilion end the ball sometimes came through unevenly. Making the most of this help, C. G. Snook bowled accurately and wen To P. O’Malley, he had a leg field rather like that which had caused the batsman concern in the representative fixtures, and O’Malley, although apparently playing quite confidently, scored only six m cr. hour and was then bowled by Snook. The fourth wicket fell at 65, but Dowk*r * ar l d Si alter took the score to at lunch, a laborious morning's work After the Interval they both batted much more freely Dowker, in particular, going for shots confidently and with success. They transformed the situation by •coring 95 together in better than even time. Dowker’s was a fine innings, but Walter also deserves great credit for his share in the partnership. He has only once scored 50 this season, but he has made useful totals nearly every time he r has batted.

[As soon as R. F. Cook was brought on. Old Boys regained control. He had Dowker caught off his first ball, and also dismissed Walter. In his first five overs he took three wickets, and the ninth, man was out with the score only 1787 Then there was another swing of the pendulum when the last pair, G. Smart and L. A. Mahoney, scored 56 in half an hour. Mahoney, known for his liking , of a difficult situation, hit sixes off Cook - and W. A. Hadlee with obvious enjoyment, and Smart, who has been out only once this season for under double figures, again demonstrated his usefulness as a batsman. The partnership, perhaps more than any other, reduced Old Boys’ prospects of scoring an outright win. Cook had easily the best bowling figures for Old Boys, but Snook also bowled well. It was strange to find that in a team embarrassed with bowling talent, Hadlee should have been called on to bowl most overs. Alderson, a representative player, and Reid, acclaimed as a real find at the start of the season, together bowled fewer overs than Hadlee. Good bowling by Chapple and two very flne catches by Walter, first at slip and then at leg slip, gave Lancaster Park a good start. Hadlee, F. B. Smith and W. McD. Anderson were all out for 16, and although Leggat batted doggedly for an hour and a quarter. Walter’s second catch ended his innings with the total at 51. At the end of the day Old Boys, with six wickets in hand, were still 174 runs behind. The umpires were Messrs T. Hastings •nd A. Winter.

East Christchurch v. St. Albans In spite of a good first wicket partnership of 53 by R. G. Condliffe and W. H. Walters, the East Christchurch batsmen permitted St. Albans to regain and retain a firm grip of the situation, and the moderate total of 221 was achieved only after more than four and a half hours’ struggling. tScrne of the East Christchurch batsmen, notably Walters and N. Gallaher, quite often seem to go into a cricketing trance from which they seldom emerge in time to do anything really useful. Walters was in 130 minutes for 20. Gallaher, slightly faster on this occasion, 96 minutes for 21—and this, against a side which was without two of its best bowlers, J. McMaster and A. Laing. Certainly T. B. Burtt bowled with his usual accuracy and P. Z. Harris also did well, but the tactics of Walters and Gallaher seemed designed more to lose matches than to win them. N. Bennett was also slow, but he played some attractive strokes and later Stanley attempted, with a little more sucto push the score along. Stanley, a fine batsman, scored 55, and although the runs were not made in his very best style, it was a good innings. It was left to M. Sibley, taking part in his first •enior game this season, to put some life into the batting. He hit up 38 very brisk•ly. It might be said that some of the credit for his effort should be given to the earlier batsmen, but they over-did the wearing down process; batsmen in a timeless test show more initiative. No more could be said for Burtt than that he bowled as well as he is now expected to bowl. Harris, with his off spinners, kept the ball well up and on a more helpful pitch would have got results. M. B. Poore, given the new ball, also bowled quite well and the St. Alu11? ca Ptain, J. Smith, took three cheap wickets. However, Canterbury’s spin bowling hope, W. Bell, was given only six of the 120 overs bowled. St. Albans made a bad start, after Burtt and Harris had batted solidly. CondUne, the East Christchurch wicket-keeper, caught all of the three batsmen who were cut at stumps. The umpires were Messrs H. W. Gourlay ®nd H. Moore. Riccarton v. Sydenham Although one of Riccarton’s best batsmen, L. Newman, was run out when the score was only four, the side gave another of its bright displays in scoring 394 against Sydenham. Whatever its shortcomings, _ Riccarton rarely fails to play entertaining cricket, and Saturday’s Innings was no exception. For the first r al f, °f the day the scene was dominated by Jacobs and Dawson. Jacobs had D. Thomas to help him score 64 for the second wicket, a partnership which paved the way for faster scoring later. Jacobs oegan his senior career almost 25 years ego, but on Saturday he looked anything cut a veteran. He used his effective pull often, but drove very strongly, noth straight and through the covers. He k ♦ m °st entertaining cricket throughout his innings of 160 minutes. Dawson £ a . v ® a display rather out of his usual cricketing character. Instead of his customary cautious approach to the start ™? in g s - he hit with complete abandon. His fifth sixth brought him his Z”. * n , only 42 minutes, and his third P artne . r ship with Jacobs realised tv?, ln minutes’ stimulating batting. Mwson s best stroke was his pull, which ne timed to perfection, but* one of his „L, es . W , as a straight drive on strictly Classic lines. £ er L a very shaky start Cullen showed ms best form since ‘the early rounds in •raking 89. He made light of the bowling, i., r , i £ lg , s ru ns in even time, with many or the left-hander’s best strokes. The mccarton captain. Strachan, also showed *us best form for a long time, scoring 59 ini • minutes and with Cullen he added i“*. P l . only 69 minutes, thus applying the batting g toucb es to a successful day’s tiiP 16 Sydenham bowlers had a trying , - A. T. Burgess, the captain, came out with the best figures, and although ** e . Was , severely punished by Dawson, in »’ be bow Jed a persistent length v - Burtt bowled his usual quota oi nn °Pif s but sent down more x eally goon bis two wickets would suggest iH"Oueh I. E. Cummins was bowled y D - McKay for 12, D. Wilson and Bur--8 ss put Sydenham into a promising by stumps, taking the score to S without being separated. Wilson was thi c not out at tbe end - bis best score season, and Burgess played yet anTv, r good in nings for 43 not out. »„ e umpires were Messrs B. Vine and • V. Taylor. Christchurch v. Old Collegians Cobegmns made a fine start agairM \bristchurch. F. J. Shaw and D. R Shaw nt . scor ing 63 for the first wicket showing his customary good new tlzF, „£° rrn - made 34 and Farrant s 41 «- ll ~ g ht his total for the season to 439, a s re exceeded only by Emery and L t a fc. m Z OWnse nd. Farrant was brilliantly of th « 016 sI ’PS by E - Holland, a son It S® "jme Minister (Mr S. G. Holland! was Holland's firs* senior match. R "J-ouh and M. J. Moffat both snowed t “ 'orm, with Moffat being particularly in» ° n anyt hing hittable, but after losnirt ? Ur J vick ets for 164, the side was all for 204. Thp? ery bowled very cleverly Indeed, whink as a spot at the north end from cou,d make the ball get up, and hnwi<l de tbe most of it. He seemed to be mdvL‘rt e *i. a httle slower than usual, and th* tbe ball about in the air and oft hm»ii^ Orn P at ch. J. S. Patrick, although wung short of a length a little too much.

troubled batsmen who seldom seem at home to spin.

When West Christchurch went in, A. R. Mac Gibbon got the ball up at the north end and B. E. Kennedy was struck three painful blows, Mac Gibbon had most of his successes at the other end, however. Wickets fell regularly, and had it not been for another stout-hearted effort by Emery, West Christchurch would have been in an almost hopeless position at the end of the day. Emery scored 31, making his aggregate 548 in 11 completed innings, with a lowest score of 17. He was sometimes in trouble to Mac Gibbon, but played the innings of a cricketer of experience and mature judgment. The umpires were Messrs H. Wilson and A. Liddicott.

DETAILED SCORES Lancaster Park 234 (D. King 27, M. E. Chapple 17, C. V. Walter 34, R. T. Dowker 56, G. Smart 21 not out, L. A. Mahoney 32; J. D. Alderson one for 17, D. J. Reid one for 24, C. G. Snook two for 37, R. F. Cook three for 26, W. A. Hadlee two for 50); Old Boys 61 for four wickets (J. G. Leggat 23, L. H. Fisher 11 not out; Chapple three for 15, Mahoney one for East Christchurch 221 (W. H. Walters 20, R. G. Condliffe 35. N. Gallagher 21, N. Bennett 29, M. W. Stahley 55. M. Sibley 38; M. B. Poore one for 39, P. Z. Harris one for 46, T. B. Burtt five for 46, J. Smith three for 36); St. Albans 53 for three wickets (Burtt 19, Harris 14; M. K. Lohrey one for 23, Stanley one for 14, R. Cassidy one for 1). Old Collegians 204 (F. J. Shaw 34, D. R. Farrant 41. M. J. Moffat 62, R. H. Gould 37, J. F. Booker two for 37, M. Tindall one for 18, R. W. G. Emery five for 45, J. S. Patrick one for 55, E. Holland one for 41); West Christchurch 111 for six wickets (L. W. Smith 23. B. E. Kennedy 20, Emery 31 not out, W. Burton 17; A. R. Mac Gibbon four for 46, J, C, Saunders two for 26). Riccarton 394 (D. Thomas 22, J. Jacobs 114. F. Dawson 66, R. Cullen 89. W. M. Strachan 59, D. McKay 15, G. Anderson 13 not out; S. M. Cameron two for 71, H G. McCree one for 51, N. V. Burtt two for 58, A. T. Burgess four for 103); Sydenham 95 for one wicket (D. Wilson 33 not out, I. E. Cummins 12, Burgess 43 not out; McKay one for 30). LOWER GRADES

Second Grade A Riccarton 248 (King 89) met West Old Boys 138 for two wickets (Prebble 74 not out). For West Old Boys, Moynihan took five for 61. St. Bede’s Old Boys 303 (Stuart 104) met Lancaster Pai< 77 for seven wickets. High School Old Boys 274 (Waters 66. Britton 55) met St. Albans 191 (Kiddey 113) and 31 for no wickets. -•- West Christchurch 159 (Hay 63) met Sydenham 181 for five wickets (Thomas 64. Watson 54 not out). For Sydenham. Mui cock took five for 54. Second Grade B University 131 (Edgely 52) met High School Old Boys 244 for seven wickets (Powell 106 not out). For University. Griffen took five for 60. St. Albans 269 (Langley 69, Boland 53) met Technical Old Boys 129 for two wickets. Sydenham 226 (Young 68) met Lancaster Park 126 for six wickets (Dennis 63 not out). For Park, McNicholl took six for 46. Old Collegians 258 (Broadhead 80) met East Christchurch 49 for two wickets. Second Grade C Riccarton 230 met Sydenham 82 for three wickets. Boys’ High School 210 for eight wickets declared met University eight for one wicket. President’s Grade Riccarton 177 beat East Christchurch 126 by 51 runs on the first innings. For Riccarton, Johnson took five for 28. Sydenham 112 for four wickets (Hay 61) btfat Lancaster Park A 107 by five runs on the first innings. Lancaster Park Br 90 and 108 for four wickets beat St. Albans 31 and 153 for seven wickets declared (Crawford 50) by six wickets. For Lancaster Park, Hancock took five for 16 and five for 72. Third Grade A West Christchurch 55 and 19 for three wickets met Sydenham 117. For West Christchurch, Jenkins took five for 24. Riccarton 185 for six wickets declared (Carter 79) met High School Old Boys 40 and 53 for five wickets. For Riccarton, Greenwood took six for 13. Third Grade B Lancaster Park 122 met Sydenham. East Christchurch 159 (Haworth 54) met High School Old Boys 102 for four wickets. Fourth Grade A Riccarton A 109 for four wickets declared beat West Christchurch 35 and 151 tor three wickets (Miller 50 not out) by 74 runs on the first innings. For Riccarton. Geddes took six for 11. Riccarton B 141 beat Sydenham LI (Cook 55) by 20 runs on the first innings. For Sydenham, Miles took six for 33. St. Bede’s Old Boys 153 beat Lancaster Park 90 by 63 runs on the first innings. For St. Bede’s Old Boys, Archer took five for 23. For Lancaster Park, Chapman took five for 29. St. Albans A 107 and 61 for six wickets beat Cathedral A 93 and 60 for six wickets by 14 runs on the first innings. For Cathedral, Butler took six for 23. Fourth Grade B Riccarton B 125 (Angus 70) beat Technical Old Boys A 117 (Boyle 57) by eight runs on the first innings. For Riccarton, Downie took four for 22, including the hat trick; for Technical, Ditford took six for 32. Riccarton A 93 and 67 for six wickets beat St. Albans 36 and 119 (Jay 52) bv four wickets. For Riccarton, McLeod took six for 13.