Rain Halts Auckland In Full Flight

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30953, 8 January 1966, Page 15

Rain Halts Auckland In Full Flight

(Neto Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND. The Auckland weather, already the despair of holidaymakers, turned its spite on the Auckland cricket team yesterday and prevented it from bowling itself into a strong position in the Plunket Shield match at Eden Park.

In 215 minutes Auckland took seven Northern Districts’ wickets for 116 runs.

Forty minutes’ play was lost in the morning, and at 3 p.m„ after Auckland had taken Northern’s fifth, sixth and seventh wickets at 108, 109 and 109 respectively, more rain prevented any further play. SUTCLIFFE BOWLED

At the start Northern did everything right, for B. Sutcliffe won the toss and first use of a grassy but good pitch. There was sun about and a warmth in Sutcliffe’s early batting. Perhaps it was the languid atmosphere which persuaded Sutcliffe to play a leisurelylooking stroke at a ball from R. E. Sutton which left him a little and took the off stump. From this moment the game swung Auckland’s way. Sutcliffe went at eight and after the rain R. S. Cunis beat and bowled G. V. Giles with an excellent ball at 25. After lunch, at 66, Cunis hit W. J. Mitchell’s off stump and at 90 he persuaded H. T. Schuster to give a simple catch to R. M. Harris at third slip. APPEAL FAILED W. P. Bradburn, the opener, and B. Dunning were pinned down by accurate bowling and by 3 p.m. the clouds were looming so large

and low that Dunning tried I and failed with an appeal against the light. As if to lend strength to his argument he was immediately out to J. T. Sparling, and then D. J. Millener quickly picked up the wickets of J. Bailey and E. C. Petrie. He seemed on the verge of getting more when the rain came. All this time Bradburn fought along stolidly. He found H. J. Howarth a puzzle and never quite took command of the other bowlers either. VALUABLE INNINGS He was a puzzling mixture of anxious and carefree batting. He pottered away against Sparling as if he had never seen him bowl before, apd then with a stroke of superb riming hit him over the long-on fence. However, even if Bradburn was exasperating he was also invaluable to Northern Districts, for so far he has scored half their runs and the innings might well have been in complete ruins without him.

NORTHERN DISTRICTS First Innings W. P. Bradburn, not out .. 58 B. Sutcliffe, b Sutton .. 7 G. V. Giles, b Cunis .. 7 W. J. Mitchell, b Cunis .. 21 H. T. Schuster, c Harris, b Cunis .12 B. Dunning, lbw, b Sparling 5 J. Bailey, b Millener . 0 E. C. Petrie, c Morrison, b Millener .. .. 0 N. Puna, not out . 1 Extras (byes 1, leg-byes 3, no-balls 1) 5 Total for seven wkts. 116 Fall of wickets: One for 8, two for 25, three for 66, four for 90, five for 108, six for 109, seven for 109.

Bowling 0. M. R. W Cunls ,.. 16 8 22 3 Sutton ... 12 4 27 1 Millener ... 13.3 8 11 2 Sparling .. 12 4 27 1 Howarth .. 14 6 24 0