COMPETITION MATCHES

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27274, 15 February 1954, Page 3

COMPETITION MATCHES

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eighth round BEGUN CONSISTENT SCORING interest in the Canterbury Cricket iSciations senior competition was on Saturday, when first series of games in the second 2nd was commenced. "•n. e matches were played on hard, 3 wickets, with dry outfields, and J teams that had first use of the all made reasonably good Old Boys, leaders in the commade a disappointing start Sjnst Old Collegians, but should at secure first innings points. Ricon, second in the competition, with /. eE wickets in hand still requires S runs to overtake the first innings of West Christchurch. The game Sween Lancaster Park and SydenQm is in an interesting state, and Jgj* no doubt be keenly contested the second day. Although conditions favoured the i the highest score was that of • G Snook, who made 69 playing I Sqinst Old Collegians. Other bats-I who passed the half-century were ’ i T. Ager, Of West Christchurch (57), I i T. Burgess <56), D. McKnight (57), odi of Sydenham, and L. Mummery, f St Albans (65). Several batsmen -red 40 or more runs, the perUiance being that of S. M. Betty. Irito in making top score for East Kjfttrhnrch scored 49, a bright nnings which included 30 runs from ■pffpdarv shots. limits: Old Boys 217 met Old Collegians for six wickets. East Christchurch <5 met St Albans 210 for eight wick- « West Christchurch 275 met Ric«nac 69 f° r three wickets. Sydenham 5 met Lancaster Park 144 for four rickets. OLD COLLEGIANS V. OLD BOYS taking five Old Boys wickets for c mns in the first hour of play Old Colrfjans failed to held its early- advance, and at the end of the day appeared piftrty to repeat its good performance - the first round of taking a first inlead from the competition leaders, li Boys fought back strongly, to score 57 runs befoie the innings closed, and ■hgi.went on to disauss six Old Colgjj batsmen for 101 runs. Once again - ns the middle batsmen who placed te! Boys in a winning position, and again j was I- A. Baxter who, in scoring a god 42 runs, was one of the main ot—jades in the way of Old Collegians. Baxzr was partnered by C. G. Snook, who Eide a very’ sound 69 runs in a partnerop that produced 96 runs, the fifth ocgson this season that Baxter has assisted j ssrJig more than 90 runs. Tie Old Boys innings opened sensafreally when, after J. W. Darcy and B. grftoa had taken 10 runs from T. D. Gibits first ever, Gibson clean bowled yam in his second over. In the folpring over, from P. H. T. Alpers. J. G. Leggat mistimed a pull shot, and gave L C. P. Beadel a good catch almost bead the wicket. Two overs later F. B. boh hit two hard cover drives to the eendary before Alpers clean bowled Srcy. Three wickets were down for 23 se. and with keen fielding assisting the bowling of Alpers and Gibson the Sd Boys batsmen were sorely pressed. - Alpers’s next over Smith was well dd at backward square leg by M. J. beat, another good catch. Snook and I. A. Hadlee, however, appeared to oe almg bwn well, but only 15 runs had be added when Hadlee was bowled by L L Perry, to make five wickets down r C runs. Old Collegians, in spite of sae good bowling, had few successes te that stage, for Baxter and Snook ated with determination until lunch. r.es the total had been taken to 105 Shout further loss. Snook had reached I with the soundest of batting, and nter had scored 22, in a valuable partrship. The scoring rate increased after luncn. ben both batsmen were looking for runs, arter was the more aggressive, and toox s total to 42 before he was caught of? C. Saunders after another excellent tings. Although he seldom scores his ms quickly. Baxter has this season ’oved the value of solid batting in the iddle of the innings, and Old Boys owes ceh to his consistent scoring. Snook ed R. Copp were quick to exploit the cvar.tage gained by the partnershio and hacked the bowling to add 49 good runs i less than half an hour. Snook reached I with~a wide range of scoring shots efore Perry took another good catch in ips, tc give Gibson his third wicket. Coop

ev<£ scorin S 30 run, in In a tenthlwicl/,“ e „SJ' er ?4 ■**«. added a bSkSr^ l „J’^ ta^ sl ?P t which wicket intact while ri a* ■ e ’d nis 2J before he Cume ancP Ah>^A rl^ot ageS garae Gibson fe'Sd t *a C ?X^ O, S h later s£bv » hey were weU supported slow%ewlS: f e e X en tg£ a r JSbt-hand medium-pace bowler Boys ’- 111811 School laTt an im P re ssive start in senior F h J%n lth ? rst baU he clean a?^^ d <=uk J k Sh o W *t nt ? had Moffat caught In th® mith - lr L his second over. !Sn?RpoL h k of two wickets for 3 SS^P eadel bat l ed with confidence and some good strokes for his 15 runs he was caught off Kent. Ten runs Ka«V £rao^ as <? au g h t in the gully by Jnih tl ? e b °wling of Reeves, and four C °.l le ?. an s wickets had fallen for 37 G ’ c - Gardiner and N. L. Macbeth ™something of a recovery by adding X- runs. Neither batsmen took risks, out the runs came steadily and the partnership appeared to be well set when Hadlee, in one of his rare bowling spells, had Gardmer, on 20. caught by Baxter at deeo mxcl Macbeth, after scoring 17. was caught behind the wickets. P. C. Sheopard carried on until stumps, when lie had scored 21 not out with some bright batting. With Saunders he should score the 16 runs necessary to avoid the follow-

In his firrt spell Kent bowled well with the new bail, which he moved in the air appreciably. Twelve runs came from nis 11 overs, but with the shine eff the ball he gave the Old Collegians batsmen less trouble later in the innings. Scores:—Old Boys 217 (J. W. Darcy 11. F. B. Smith 13. C. G. Snook 69, I. A. Baxter 42. R. Copp 30. D. E. Currie 20; T. D. Gibson three for 85. P. H. T. Alpers four for 56, J. C. Saunders one for 32, G. L. Perry one for 22). Old Collegians 101 for six wickets (G. C. P. Beadel 15, G. L. Perry 11, G. C. Gardiner 20. N. L. Macbeth 17. P. C. Sheppard 21 not out; J. Kent three for 22. W. A. Hadlee two for 19, J. W. Reeves one for 24). The umpires are Messrs H. C. Moore and A. Smith. EAST CHRISTCHURCH v. ST. ALBANS East Christchurch gave one of its brightest batting displays this season, when at Hagley Oval, on a batsman’s wicket, the side scored 176 in 146 minutes against St. Albans. St. Albans, after a minor collapse of the early batsmen, was in a very strong position at stumps, having lost eight wickets for 210. East Christchurch started badly, N. V. Bennett being dismissed when only 10 was on the board. Six runs later B. Haworth was also dismissed. But there, for a time, the rot was stopped, until the middle of the innings, when another procession seemed imminent. East Christchurch was, however, saved by two fine innings by M. K. Lohrey and S. Betty, both of whom showed scant respect for the bowling. Lohrey has been a consistently good batsman for East Christchurch this year, and his innings on Saturday was in every way up to his former performances. He began slowly, but at no stage looked unhappy with the bowling, and anything not of a good length was treated severely. His leg shots were perhaps his best and most lucrative source of runs. S. Betty had done little this season to justify his inclusion in the side as a batsman alone until Saturday. With the team in sore straits, however, he played an admirable innings for 49 much-needed runs. His score included two sixes off consecutive balls from T. B. Burtt, and he was prevented from securing a third when he was well caught on the boundary by N. Penlingtori. Off eight balls he scored 25—13 of which came from M. P. O’Malley. After East Christchurch had scored 101 for the loss of five wickets, another minor collapse threatened to overtake the side, three batsmen falling to the bowling of Burtt (2) and L. Mummery. Betty and N. C. Orr, however, stopped the procession, and 61 runs were added before Betty’s wicket fell at 170. The last two batsmen, however, failed to add more than six runs, and the side was all out for 176 shortly after lunch. T. B. Burtt, with four wickets for 49 off 18.3 overs, was the most successful St. Albans bowler, and E. T. Mulcock, with three for 41 off 10 overs, also bowled well. St. Albans began even more disastrously than East Christchurch, the first four wickets falling for only 66. But Mummery, a Manawatu representative, who has just joined the club, F. P. O’Brien and M. Le Mesurier. a South African who is teaching in Christchurch, took the initiative out of the bowler’s hands and never gave it back. Mummery, an opening batsman, made a very favourable impression in his first senior match in Christchurch. He scored an excellent 65 with supreme confidence. It was not a particularly fast 65, but it was entirely chanceless and perfectly played. He is particularly strong on the on side, and it was from here that many of his runs came. Le Mesurier, besides proving himself a more than able wicket-keeper, showed

master of many strokes, and in fiiii u' ngS x_he used every one to the His straight driving was both powe~, ui . and well directed, and on many S^l ons x. he showed a nice sense of juagment when playing balls on the leg. ft® was still at the crease for 43 at PS ‘ and he bats next Saturday with Sa I r F e ® on fidence, he shoud have little difficulty m reaching his century. His ’S.W’as made m 51 minutes. G’ Brien played his usual solid FFJ 1 *?5 s * for 34 - By n°w bowlers have ceasea to concentrate on his leg, for his major strength lies in that direction. He, also, seemed set for a big score when unex Pectedly beaten by R. Tapwas out lbw. J. Smith made a good if not spectacular 22 when runs w ®£® sorely needed. Tbe Christchurch attack was T ’ J ° nes managed to get a lot perhaps too much—on the ball, i en E th was not very consistent, •ma nis figures suffered accordingly. Benother hand, kept a good ? and brought the ball across late, tseiry was the most successful bowler, fo T, 46 ’ and Lohrey bowled exceedingly well to take two wickets for balls^ 118 * W ° Wlc^cets came successive Details were:—

= Christchurch 176 (M. K. Lohrey 47, T 49 A L 7 Clanville 15, N. C. Orr 16; , Burtt lour for 49, E. T. Mulcock three for 41, M. P. O’Malley one for 42, L Mummery one for 26) met St. Albans 210 for eight (Mummery 65, M. Le Mesurier 43 not out, F. P. O’Brien 34, f«r^T lth ,o 22 4, Betty four for 46, Lohrey two for 18, Bennett one for 34, R. Taplin one for 34). Messrs W. Banks and A. L. Winter are the umpires. WEST CHRISTCHURCH v. RICCARTON A perfect batsman’s wicket was used to good advantage by West Christchurch in its match with Riccarton. In 270 minutes, this strong batting side made a very useful 275 runs. At stumps Riccarton had lost three wickets for 69, leaving y, est Christchurch in a farily sound position. Throughout the innings runs kept pace with the clock, and although several individual scores were not made in very fast time, others again were well ahead of time. P- T. Ager celebrated the return match with Riccarton by scoring a good though not entirely chanceless 57—his highest score this season. Perhaps he did not hit as hard as many of the West Christ•church batsmen, but he made up for this with some beautifully-placed covex and on drives. His was a cautious innings—his 50 came up in 125 minutes—but valuable, FL f bat b - e kept his wicket intact until 147 were on the board, w r hen the third wicket fell. R. W. G. Emery, the other opener, was not so successful, being bowled by J. A. Hayes with the score at 23. P. Arnold, the incoming batsman, added to his reputation with a fine 47. Like Ager, his first approach to the bowling was cautious, but he soon settled down, and played some very attractive shots. Towards the end of his innings, the fluency with which he had been hitting deteriorated slightly, but even then he still had complete command of the bowling. His innings was chanceless until he went out lbw to J. Albertson. S. C. Guillen, whose reputation as a hard hitter grows with each innings, took some time to settle down, but he was soon sighting the ball clearly and the attack began to wilt under a succession of boundaries. He went out to a beautiful catch to W. McKenzie behind the wickets. Throughout the season W. M. Duncan, one of West Christchurch’s youngest players, has shown great improvement. On Saturday he again batted well for an excellent unbeaten 42. He is especially strong on the off, and with perfectly placed shots breached the defence in the covers on many occasions. With C. Carston. the last batsman in. he took the score from 239 for nine wickets to 275. Carston has also been showing improved form, and he gave the bowlers no lattitude. His 18 included two glorious sixes —both hit off Albertson. One he pulled to leg and the other he drove over the lons-on boundary.

Another who had the distinction of hitting a six was B. E. Kennedy, who gave another solid display for 30. Kennedy is a stylish batsman, who knows all the strokes and just how to use them. A feature of the Riccarton fielding was the success of McKenzie behind the stumps. He took three good catches and of 22 extras only eight came from byes. Riccarton began its innings confidently, but at stumps was very shaky. L. Newman and R. King, who opened, were cautious for the first two or three overs, but once they were in their stride the runs began to come more frequently. This partnership lasted to 53, when King was caught by Emery. Just at this time Newman gave an ea§y chance when he was dropped by the bowler, W. B. Bridgman. Within minutes, however, he fell lbw to J. S. Patrick. Newman’s 35 was mainly made up of some fine late cuts, which he plays with considerable verve. Except for one or two occasions, he has batted well throughout the season.

After King’s dismissal. Newmrn and McKenzie took the score to 60 before Newman was dismissed by Patrick. W. Muncaster remained one minute at the wicket—just long enough to snick one into the very capable hands of Guillen, to give Patrick two wickets off successive

balls. F. F. Dawson and McKenzie were still at the crease when stumps were pulled. Scores were:—West Christchurch 275 (D. T Ager 57, P. Arnold 47, W. M. Duncan 42, S. C. Guillen 32, B. Kennedy 30, C. Carston 18, R. W. G. Emery 16; J. A. Hayes three for 80, J. Albertson three for 74, J. Warwick two for 54, R. H. Scott, two for 45) plays Riccarton 69 for three wickets (L. Newman 35. R. King 18; J. S. Patrick two for 7, W. B. Bridgman one for 15). The umpires are Messrs L. Johnston and H. Borland.

LANCASTER PARK V. SYDENHAM Lancaster Park and Sydenham are approaching a crucial stage in their match at Sydenham Park. Sydenham scored 220 in an innings which included four noteworthy scores, but terminated in a fivewicket collapse. Lancaster Park has scored 114 for four, after beginning its innings very weakly. Although Sydenham lost a wicket during the first over of the match, J. Harliwich and D. Wilson scored 50 in the first hour of play, and although Wilson was dismissed when Sydenham’s score had reached- 55, Harliwich continued to score at a rate which brought Sydenham’s total to 85 for the loss of the third wicket and to 93 before he was dismissed lbw. Harliwich had scored 48 in 90 minutes of solid batting; but Lancaster Park’s biggest problem was caused by McKnight and Burgess. They began batting at 12.30 p.m., and their partnership was still intact at lunch, in spite of a concentrated bowling attack from Hill and F. Dennis. After the adjournment, 81 runs were scored in an hour, bringing Sydenham’s total to 196.

Sydenham, with six wickets still intact at this stage, seemed in a very strong position. A few minutes later, when Sydenham’s score had reached 206, McNaughton and Davies began a devastating bowling attack. The lucrative partnership between Burgess and McKnight was brought to an end, and the remaining five wickets were captured in seven overs for an additional 14 runs.

Lancaster Park began its innings at 3.30 p.m., and in the first five overs only two runs were scored for the loss of one of the opening batsmen. All of Salt’s first six overs were maidens, and he was unlucky not to have taken a wicket. Lancaster Park’s total was 30 when its second wicket fell, but in a good recovery, which produced some fine batting, the score was increased to 70 by Davies and McNaughton. After the dismissal of McNaughton, who was run out at 31, Davies and Royfee were associated in the second good partnership of the innings, and added 50 runs.

Lancaster Park’s score was 126 when N. Burtt bowled a wrong-un, which took Royfee’s wicket. Davies and F. Dennis are the two not out batsmen, and Lancaster Park’s score at stumps was 144 for four wickets.

Except during the short period immediately after lunch, the pitch was very fast, but tended to favour the batsmen. Burtt was able to turn the ball quite viciously during the last few overs of play, and several times the batsmen were completely beaten by a delivery which rose sharply from a good length. Salt bowled splendidly during his 11 overs, but failed to take a wicket, even though nine of his overs were maidens. J. Davies, who took three for 19, also bowled attractively, but by far the most successful bowler was J. McNaughton, who took four for 24.

Scores were:—Sydenham 220 (D. Wilson 31, J. Harliwich 48, A. Burgess 56, D. McKnight 57; R. Hill two for 51, J. Davies three for 19, F. Dennis one for 44, J. McNaughton four for 24). Lancaster Park 144 for four (W. Walters 10, J, McNaughton 31, J. Davies 54 not out, G. Royfee 18. F. Dennis 12 not out).

The umpires are Messrs E. Milne and A. Liddicott.