CRICKET LITTLE PLAY IN SHIELD

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28162, 28 December 1956, Page 8

CRICKET LITTLE PLAY IN SHIELD

Otago Wins On First Innings Many hours of conferences, cards and cricket talk at Lancaster Park yesterday were relieved by only 90 minutes’ play in the Plunket Shield match between Otago and Canterbury. Very light rain fell all the morning and early afternoon, but a start could not be made until a few minutes after 3 p.m. The subsequent proceedings were of interest only to the statistician, and the rain had the last word: it began to fall fairly heavily just before 4.30 p.m. and the game was abandoned, Otago winning by 36 runs on the first innings. During the hour and a half of play, Canterbury advanced its second innings score from 58 to 117, for the loss of a second wicket, that of B. M. J. Dineen. J. W. D’Arcy, who had scored 85 in the first innings, batted two hours and a half for 38 not out, a solid if not enterprising innings. P. G. Z. Harris, in something under an hour, scored 29 not out, and played some splendid attacking strokes. Three sharp chances were missed in the field. Dineen hooked a flier from F. J. Cameron and J. C. Alabaster just failed to hold a very difficult running catch. Harris slashed at B. Allan and Alabaster, this time at second slip, could not hold a very difficult chance on his right hand. Later. Harris turned Allan at catchable height and J. R. Reid, leg slip, made a valiant effort to convert it into a catch. Harris, nothwithstanding these errors, made some bold square cuts and forced the ball away off the back foot cleanly. Scores:—

CANTERBURY First Innings .. .. 229 Second Innings J. W. D’Arcy, not out .. 38 M.. B. Poore, c Cameron, b Reid . ..38 B. M. J. Dineen, c Flaws, b Cameron .. 4 P. G. Z. Harris, not out .. 29 Extras (byes, 2; leg-byes, 5; wide, 1) .. 8 Total for two wickets 117 Fall of Wickets.—One for 55 (Poore), two for 69 (Dineen). Bowling

W. S. Haig ..2160 Watson bowled one wide. OTAGO First Innings .. .. 265

O. M. R W J. R. Reid .. 7 1 24 1 B. Allan ..14 9 15 0 E. A. Watson .. 10 4 24 0 F. J. Cameron .. 18 7 20 1 J. C. Alabaster ..10 6 20 0