Lancaster Park Deserved Success In Senior Cricket Championship

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28552, 3 April 1958, Page 15

Lancaster Park Deserved Success In Senior Cricket Championship

A FTER taking the lead in the fifth round, Lancaster Park went ahead to a very comfortable win in the Canterbury Cricket Association's senior championship, with Sydenham, Old Collegians, Riccarton, and Old Boys all making brief challenges at various stages. Lancaster Park won well, and deservedly, and was clearly the most solid and reliable team in the grade. Most satisfactory, however, was the ability of all the other teams to meet one another on level terms; even East Christchurch, which finished last, was always likely to cause an upset.

Lancaster Park was really quite a remarkable side. Seven batsmen had averages in excess of 20. and in addition P. W. O’Malley averaged 63.3 in his three innings. Six regular bowlers averaged under 19, and this consistent level of performance gave the team- the championship. Although without R. T. Dowker and, after four games, F. Dennis, the side nearly always made reasonable totals, and its bowling was far too lively and accurate for most opponents M. E. Chapple, who led the team admirably, had less success with the bat, his aggregate dropping from 564 to 362. his average from 56 to 36. but the rapid advance of D. Woods and D. McKendry, and the return to form of G. Royfee, who almost doubled his average of the previous season, were important factors. Promise Of the bowlers, R. H. Proutlng showed particular promise; in the last four matches he took 24 wickets for 190 runs, and he must be a representative prospect next season. J. Saunders, unspectacular perhaps, picked up wickets regularly and Chapple again fiddled batsmen out in large numbers. McKendry’s left-arm bowling was also successful; he looks like a Canterbury all-rounder of the near future. Lancaster Park is a very well-balanced team, and a young one. It should be hard to beat again next season.

Old Boys finished second, and its high place was very largely to the credit of C. G. Snook, who had perhaps his best season as an all-rounder. The batting was often disappointing. The Canterbury players, J. W. D’Arcy and B. A. Bolton, failed badly. J. G. Leggat often got a good start but never once reached

40, and although W. A. Hadlee was again reliable, the premature retirement of F. B. Smith cost the side dear. D. J. Reid’s bowling figures fell away a shade, but he was again the outstanding bowler. G. J Franks lost form badly but Old Boys have prosspects for next season, with the success of Bolton’s leg-spin bowling, and with the promise of D Hill, clearly a batsman with a future. With B. M. J. Dineen and R. West likely to make runs, it should again be a strong side. Reverses When the season began. Old Collegians seemed as likely to win as any, but it suffered reverses at the most unexpected

times. However it finished third, and in the last five seasons nas only once been lower than that. D. W. Cross and R. T. Hunt were a very fine opening pair, both improving on their good figures oi the previous summer. P. C. Sheppard was below his best —in 195657 he averaged 52, this season 16, and A. R. Mac Gibbon’s aggregate dropped from 547 to 247, his average from 42 to 17. There was really too little support for Hunt and Crowe for the successful bowling of Mac Gibbon and J. H. Dawson to be fully effective. Crowe filled the team's deficiency of leg-spin fairly adequately.

One of the most heartening features of the competition was

the advance of Sydenham. This team won the first post-war competition, but then slipped, and from 1952-53 to 1956-57 it finished seventh, seventh, eighth, eighth, and eighth. After three rounds this summer, it was again last, but then won a succession of matches, and finished fourth Sydenham and Lancaster Park were the -only teams not beaten outright during the season. Sydenham has a young side of considerable potential—D. L. Gallop’s startling advance as a batsman, the bowling of A. F. Rapley, the 'keeping of A. Pearce, the runs that J. W. Guy, B. J. Bayley, and M. McEwan are likely to make in the seasons ahead, as well as the continued success of J. Harliwich as a bowler are all pointers to a successful future. Perhaps a bowler of real pace, or a left-arm spinner, are needed, but other teams have graver deficiencies.