CANTERBURY 261 IN 390 MIN. Hastings, 121, Brightens Dreary Batting

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30667, 5 February 1965, Page 13

CANTERBURY 261 IN 390 MIN. Hastings, 121, Brightens Dreary Batting

Scoreboard

CANTERBURY Fir«t Innlngi «. T. Dowling, c and b Howarth .43 I. R. Hartland, lbw, b Cunls 33 B. F. Hastings, not out . 121 B, C. Hadlee, c Jarvis, b Horgan .17 K. Thomson, c Jarvis, b Spariling .19 R. H. Gearry, st Speed, b Sparling 0 J. T. Ward, not out 19 Extras( byes 3, leg-byes 6) 9 Total for five wickets .. 261 Fall of wickets: One for 74, two for 96, three for 154, four for 191, five for 191.

[By Our Cricket Reporter]

AUCKLAND, February 4.

Canterbury trudged a weary road to nowhere in particular on the first day of the Plunket Shield match with Auckland at Eden Park today.

Although B. F. Hastings made a fine century, Canterbury’s score of 261 for five wickets in 390 minutes has not assured it of the five points for the first innings lead which seemed, from the start, to be the only issue in dispute.

Canterbury has a long and fragile tail and now the game seems certain to be a first-innings affair only. A good many more runs will no doubt be sought, for the pitch played so easily today that it was difficult to imagine anyone being bowled out on it.

Hastings, 121 not out, scored the second century of his firstclass career and he must have found the going difficult.

His w'as an excellent innings, for if he was unable to score quickly, he made some splendid strokes. It was, however, a bitter battle from the start.

G. T. Dowling’s success in winning the toss for the first time in the series was an important one, and Auckland

must have been as conscious of it as Canterbury. Even with the new ball, the Auckland bowlers were short of a length or well wide of the stumps, and throughout the day the pattern of Auckland’s play was to wear the batsmen down and persuade them into indiscretion. R. S. Cunis, as a strong candidate for the New Zealand touring team, was disappointing. He hardly ever kept the ball up, and there were many overs in which the batsmen did not have to make a stroke more than once or twice.

D. J. Millener did have a period in which he attacked, but it was followed by one of a defensive length. J. T. Sparling dropped the ball a shade short and H. J. Howarth, who flighted the ball well and turned from leg a little, fitted into the general pattern by bowling a generous width for much of the time. With his field of seven on the off side, he was difficult to counter. Eager Fielding For all that, Canterbury should have made more runs. Only Hastings, and, briefly, K. Thomson, used their feet to Howarth, who is slow through the air. Hastings was often able to convert the ball into a full toss, and they brought him some runs, but very often firm, clean shots were cut off by quick and eager ground fielding. All in all, it was a rather dreary day, but with the air of sophistication now common in Plunket Shield cricket, it might have been expected that this important fixture would be fought out on such dreary terms.

The gate takings were only £62: but if the game continues along the same lines, the first day’s receipts might be the best. Frustrating Hour The first hour was frustrating for Auckland, as I. R. Hartland fought to rid himself of a disconcerting inability to do much more than make passes at the ball and occasionally to edge it through slips. He was badly out of touch for a long and embarrassing period. He was droped at nine, a hard chance to P. B. McGregor in the gully off Cunis, and was missed again at 14 off Millener when the ball flew at convenient height between Howarth and H. T. Schuster in the slips. Dowling also played a few edgy strokes, but if he was pegged down to a trickle of runs just as firmly as Hartland, he was much safer.

Hartland’s emergence from the mists of uncertainty was marked by a fine cover drive for four off Cunis but he was so contained by the bowling and field placing that when Cunis had him, with one which seamed

back quite sharply, he had been in two hours for 33 and the score was only 74. It was l the tight grip Sparling exerted which cost Dowling his wicket. He was in 160 minutes for 43, and had in it a long period in which he could not make progress against Howarth and his heavily packed off-side field. It was a desperate effort to hit Howarth over the top which had him out, Howarth himself making the catch somewhere about the position of extra cover. B. G. Hadlee was never r.eally at ease. It took him nearly half an hour to get off the mark, and although he was in for an hour and a half, there was not one of the really firm, free strokes which usually decorate his innings. His way was made the more difficult because the bowlers, no doubt aware of his driving ability, bowled a, shade short to him. Gearry Stumped Thomson, however, was certain of touch and firm of stroke from the moment he went in. He used his feet confidently, and he struck one particularly fine blow, an off-drive off Howarth for six. With quick running, this pair added 37 in 35 minutes, the only period of play when the scoring kept pace with the clock.

R. Gearry, however, was quickly out, drawn forward by Sparling’s flight and swiftly stumped. With Gearry’s dismissal, Canterbury was 191 for five, and in some difficulty. But J. T. Ward, if restrained, batted soundly for the last hour and a half, helping Hastings add 70. Hastings must, with this innings and some good performances earlier, have been added to the candidates, impressive in numbers at least, for the forthcoming overseas tour. He gave two very sharp chances. At 27, he lay back and cut Howarth fiercely, and McGregor, short at second slip for the outside edge from the forward stroke, could hardly be blamed for failing to hold it. At 47, Sparling made one jump, and Hastings was missed at the wicket, but again the change of direction was very late, and it was not an easy catch. Never Wavered Otherwise, he batted soundly and attractively, for he made some beautiful strokes which did not yield runs. He cut well and drove firmly on the offside, but his most profitable shot was an elegant on-drive with which he sometimes managed to counter Howarth’s heavily peopled off-side field. So far Hastings has batted 268 minutes, so he is not far short of a run a minute at his end and that, today, was exciting cricket. His concentration never wavered for a moment, and if he can get a good start in the morning he could carry Canterbury into a safe position. Ward, never a pretentious batsman, although one whose technique usually looks sound, did an excellent job for his team.

Cunis looked a tired bowler from the start df the day. He plugged away stoically enough, he dismissed Hartland, but he never looked like doing much more than apply a brake to Canterbury’s modest . scoring rate. It was disappointing to see him bowling on such negative lines.

Millener seldom troubled the batsmen, but Sparling made a few turn, and his command of length and direction set problems. He did not hurry the ball through, but he was able to drop it just a shade short. Howarth, when making the batsmen play him, looked a useful bowler, for he has a lovely arc, and although he is slow through the air he drops the ball quickly enough to defeat all but good footwork. He had one spell of 140 minutes which cost few runs, but later Hastings was able to extract runs from him more readily. S. R. Speed kept wickets efficiently, although all morning he and the slips were clearly too deep for the rather slow pitch.

Bowling M. R. W. Cunls 31* 11 58 1 Millener H. 1* 3 38 0 Sparling Howarth Morgan H. 34 .. 31 .. 10 12 11 4 59 75 22 2 1 1