Auckland Overwhelms Central Districts

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28782, 31 December 1958, Page 7

Auckland Overwhelms Central Districts

(New Zealand Press Association)

NEW PLYMOUTH, Dec. 30. A better all-round side, Auckland made no race of its Plunket Shield cricket match against Central /Districts at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, and today finished an easy winner by eight wickets, with a day to spare. Auckland scored 163 and 52 for two wickets, to Central Districts’ 59 and 155.

When Auckland began its second innings today it had 66 minutes in which to get 52 runs if it wanted to avoid the match going on to the third day. It got them in 56 minutes, in what was one of the brightest periods of the game. For a while it seemed as if D. L. Perry and R. M. Harris would score the runs without loss. Both had their moments of disquiet but the runs came at a steady clip, and they had 41 on the board before they were separated. By that time they had run the gauntlet of most of the recognised Central Districts’ bowlers and were into what might be regarded as the second string.

Two wickets fell fairly quickly, both to N. S. Harford, but there was never any doubt of the issue.

It was the first occasion on which Central Districts had lost a Plunket Shield match at New Plymouth and it could scarcely have done so more comprehensively. Swashbuckling With the exception of a typical swashbuckling innings by D. D. Beard, a hard-hitting innings by the captain, H. B, Cave, and, to a lesser extent, by G. Bartlett—all bowlers—most of the Central Districts’ players were bogged down by their own negative approach. Beard hit 28 in 31 minutes, including two mighty sixes in the same over off J. T. Sparling, and Cave, punching the ball powerfully off his back foot and ondriving, straight-driving and cover-driving with refreshing freedom, heavily underlined the, failure of those players in the team for their batting. The bulk of the Auckland bowling in Central Districts’ second innings was carried by the off-spinner, Sparling. He had seven overs before lunch and with the exception of one over immediately after he had been trounced by Beard was in the

firing line until the end of the innings. He bowled a tantalising length on a wicket that did not offer him quite the assistance that was expected, but for all that he occasionally turned one very sharply. At the other end most of the work fell on R. Sutton, the young medium-fast left-hander. His 24 overs cost only 23 runs and yielded three wickets. Auckland fully deserved its success. There was more variety in its bowling, greater solidity in its batting and more polish to its out-cricket. With two outright wins in two games it is happily placed in its bid for the Plunket Shield. There was a crowd of about 1120, who paid £l6B for admission.

Scores: — CENTRAL DISTRICTS First innings .. .. .. 59 Second Innings G. Rose, c Belsham, b Hough .. 18 P. Coutts, c Hough, b Sutton .. 0 E. Meuli, b Sparling .. .. 22 N. S. Harford, c Hambrook, b Sparling .. .. 4 R. Small, c Harris, b Sutton .. 2 K. F. H. Smith, c Hough, b Sparling .. .. .. 19 D. D. Bearu, c Belsham, b Hough 28 G. Bartlett, lbw, b Hough .. 10 H. B. Cave, not out .. .. 36 I. Colquhoun, c Harris, b Sutton 0 P. Bloomfield, run out .. .. 5 Extras (byes 7, leg-byes 4) 11 Total .. .. .. 155 Fall of wickets: one for 2, two for 31, thfee for 44, four for 51, five for 51. six for 88, seven for 108, eight for 120, nine for 121.

AUCKLAND First Innings L. L. Perry, b Bartlett .. 0 R. M. Harris, c Smith, b Bloomfield .. .. .. 22 S. G. Gedye, c Small, b Bartlett 30 W. R. Playle, c Cave, b Beard 11 R. N. Farman, lbw, b Smith .. 26 J. T. Sparling, b Beard .. 3 J Marsdon, c Rose, b Bartlett .. 11 T. S. Hambrook, b Cave .. 34 K. Hough, lbw, b Beard .. 3 S. Belsham, b Beard .. .. 0 R. Sutton, not out <. .. 3 Extras (byes 10, leg-byes 2, no-balls 8) ..20 Total .. .. ..163

Fal) of wickets: one for 1, two for 55, three for 59, four for 85, five for 101, six for 101, seven for 133, eight for 141, nine for 141.

Second Innings Perry, b Harford .. .. 24 Harris, not out .. .. 20 Gedye, lbw, b Harford .. 1 Playle, not out .. 4 Extras (leg-byes 2, no-ball 1) 3 Total for two wickets .. 52 Fall of wickets: one for 41, two for 43.

Bowling O. M. R. W R. Sutton ..24 11 23 .3 K. Hough ..21 5 43 3 J. T. Sparling .. 33 10 61 3 J. Marsdon .. 2 0 12 0

Bowling O. M. R. W. G. Bartlett .. 22 6 51 3 P. Bloomfield .. 16 4 45 1 H B. .. 14.5 6 20 1 D. D. Beard ..18 8 23 4 K. F. H. Smith 2 14 1

Bowling O. M. R. W Bartlett .. 3 2 12 0 Beard .. > 7 4 7 0 Cave .. 3 0 7 0 Harford .. 4 1 18 2 Meuli ..2 0 5 0