Auckland Recovers After Losing Five For 48

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28783, 2 January 1959, Page 10

Auckland Recovers After Losing Five For 48

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, January 1. After losing five wickets for 48 runs the Auckland cricket team recovered well enough to score 229 in its first innings on the opening day of the Plunket Shield match against Otago at Eden Park today. Auckland followed this score—its highest of the shield series so far—by taking three Otago wickets before stumps for 70 runs and may well, even after its bad start, have come out of the day on even terms with the shield champions. It was a perfect day for cricket and, even if the cricketers did sometimes seem less than first class, the 2500 spectators saw some lively cricket. For most of the morning session the Otago bowlers, led by F. J. Cameron, held' command and the batsmen had little time to be dull. For a short while before lunch and for more than an hour afterward J. Marsdon. J. T. Sparling and T. S. Hambrook held command and runs came at a merry clip. After tea, when the Otago innings started, the cricket was a little less lively but. as the bowlers and batsmen were more or less level pegging, there was still plenty of interest. The pitch helped to create some of the interest throughout the day for one or two balls came up quite sharply, several others were vintage “Eden Parkers” and even before lunch the spinners, notably A. M. Moir, were able to turn the ball handsomely. However, even if the strip did look rather threadbare it could not be blamed for the batsmen’s failure as Marsdon and Sparling later showed that runs were there for the taking. Cameron ended the innings with four for 49 from 29 overs, a fine piece of accurate bowling under the hot sun.

Marsdon’s 55 was a fine innings. He is a hitter by inclination and clouted one fine six, but for all that his batting never appeared rash or without purpose. Sparling was, perhaps, even better. His batting was correct and technically sound and there was hardly a time when a loose ball or a scoring chance went undetected. The 133 minutes of the Otago innings passed rather more slowly. The batsmen, apart from brief flashes from J. R. Veitch. S. N. McGregor and B. Sutcliffe, who was not out for 11, at stumps, lacked any ambition to force the score along. Scores:

AUCKLAND First Innings G. O. Rabone, c Veitch, b Cameron 0 R. M. Harris, c Dick, b Clark .. 15 S. G. Gedye, c Edmonds, b Cameron .. .. ..28

OTAGO First Innings J. R. Veitch, b Sutton .. ..10 S. McKnight, b Hough .. 14 S. N. McGregor, b Hough .. 14 A. E. Dick, not out .. .. 9 B. Sutcliffe, not out .. ..11 Extras .. .. .. 12 Total for three wickets .. 70 Fall of wickets: one for 20, two for 39, three for 50.

W. R. Playle, c Veitch, b Clark J. Marsdon, c Cameron, b Clark 1 55 R. N. Farmhn, c Edmonds, b Cameron .. .. '.. 0 J. T. Sparling, c Edmonds, b Moir 69 T. S. Hambrook, b Moir 30 A. Ritchie, b Cameron .. 13 K. W. Hough, not out .. R. Sutton, b Moir 13 Extras .. .. .. 1 Total 229 Fall of wickets; one for 0, wo for 43, three for 43, four for 48, five for 48, six for 150, seven for 193, eight for 212. nine for 216. Bowling

nvwnng O. M. R. W F. J. Cameron 29 14 49 4 L. A. Clark .. 27 6 71 3 B. Sutcliffe ..5 0 23 0 A. M. Moir ..9 0 45 3 J. C. Alabaster 12 1 40 0

Bowling O. M. R. W R. Sutton ..11 5 16 1 K. W. Hough ..15 6 16 2 T. S. Hambrook 6 5 2 0 J. T. Sparling .. 14 5 24 0