CRICKET Canterbury Loses On First Innings

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28169, 7 January 1957, Page 8

CRICKET Canterbury Loses On First Innings

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, January 6. For a day which showed promise of dullness and indecision, much excitement and incident, was provided on the final day of the Auckland-Canter-bury Plunket Shield cricket match at Eden Park yesterday. After a hard and tense struggle, Auckland dismissed Canterbury for 440 runs and the home team, with 443 runs, gained a three-run lead on the first innings of this high-scoring match.

The runs were scored at much the same pedestrian pace of the first two days of the match, but as the Canterbury total crept towards the Auckland score in mid-after-noon the excitement grew and for the first time in the game the 3000 crowd became genuinely absorbed. Indeed, the score might have been even closer if young D. Gallop, a fresh-faced 19-year-old. who with M. E. Chapple made a heroic stand for the ninth wicket, had not twice failed to ground his bat correctly when turning for the second run.

Although the struggle yesterday was only for first innings points the fortunes of the game varied just as dramatically on the final day of the match against Otago last week.

Canterbury started the day at 203 for one wicket. Within 100 minutes Canterbury’s position had deteriorated to 240 for four and then 279 for six wickets. Then came a stand by Chapple and B. A. Haworth, followed by the Chappie-Gallop epic which took the score to 437 for nine wickets. Three runs later, the youngster mishit an easy catch and Auckland gained the major points. Two Centuries There were two centuries during the day. M. B. Poore, who was not out 86 overnight, discarded his tired stroking and bustled past the hundred soon after play resumed. Just at that time H. Moyle, the Auckland medium-fast bowler, struck an inspired patch and in one over dismissed S. C. Guillen (who was brilliantly caught by E. Dunn close-in on the leg side) and Poore, who played on a ball which had him completely beaten. Several balls later, Moyle removed P. G. Z. Harris with a fine ball which took the off-stump. The fine bowling by Moyle was the first Auckland break-through. The second came when G. O. Rabone sent back Dowker and B. M. Dineen.

However, both these winning opportunities were temporarily foiled by Chapple whose 146 was probably the best innings of his career. Chapple, who hit 18 fours, seemed very much at home to all bowling except the occasional quick one outside the off-stump. This proved his undoing as D. Taylor dismissed him with a remarkable, diving catch which scraped the ball off the grass tops at first slip. Scores:— AUCKLAND First Innings .. .. .. 443 Second Innings D. L. Perry, st Guillen, b Dowker .. .. 2 T. S. Hambrook, c Dineen, b Dowker .. .. .. 13 B. J. Postles, not out .. ..53 S G Gedye, not out .. .. 3 Extras .. .. .. 3 Total for two wickets .. 74 Fall of wickets: One for 2, two for 23. Bowling O. M. R. W R. T. Dowker 6 0 25 2 P. G. Z. Harris 3 18 0 D. Gallop ..6 1 26 0 I. McK. Sinclair 3 2 10 B. Haworth ..1 0 11. 0 CANTERBURY First Innings J. D’Arcy, lbw, b Moyle .. 60 M. B. Poore, b Moyle .. 103 S. C. Guillen, c Dunn, b Moyle 56 P. G. Z. Harris, b Moyle .. 6 M. E. Chapple, c Taylor, b Harris 146 R. T. Dowker, lbw, b Rabone .. IV B. M. J. Dineen, b Rabone .. 1 B. Haworth, lbw, b Harris .. 11 G. Gearry, c Hambrook, b Harris .. .. .. 2 D. Gallop, c Rabone, b Harirs .. 20 I. McK. Sinclair, not out .. 3 Extras .. .. ..22 Total .. / ..440 Fall of wickets: One for 133. two for 230, three for 231, four for 240, five for 273, six for 279, sCven for 354, eight for 360, nine for 437. Bowling O. M. R. W T. S. Hambrook 26 12 36 0 H. Moyle ..48 13 110 4 R. M. Harris ..39 6 105 4 E. Dunn .. 28 6 74 0 D. Taylor ..2 0 10 0 G. O. Rabone .. 54 24 78 2 S. G. Gedye ..2 1 5 0