Untitled

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31865, 18 December 1968, Page 17

Lack of concentration is a deadly sin in cricket, and it is not found only in batting. At Hagley Oval on Saturday a fieldsman was indulging in a little mild putting practice—without a putter or ball, of course —on the assumption that the ball had been fielded elsewhere. And he was still exploring the mysteries of grip and swing when the fieldsman returned the ball somewhat erratically and it rolled past the golfer-cricketer. The incident caused some amusement: but it was typical of the lack of discipline to be found every week in most senior teams. * * A St Albans player win- . ning a good reputation for his fielding is R. J. Mather. Earlier . in the season Mather made a magnificent running cateh against East Christchurch - Shirley—a considerable sprint, and the ball taken with arms at full stretch. On Saturday he held a spectacular diving catch to dismiss P. E. Wallace. Already Mather has made five catches this season. He will increase the tally substantially if he retains his alert attitude and speed of reaction. * * * With one "more day’s play remaining before the half-way stage is reached in the dub competition, Riccarton’s wicket-keeper, B. P. Isherwood, has 16 victims. Five more rounds of the championship could give him many opportunities. and he must at this stage be given a fair chance of beating the senior record for a season of 33 dismissals, set by R. C. Bums for Old Boys in 1928-29. Bums, in that, and other, seasons had a particularly effective combination with the New Zealand leg-spinner, W. E. Merritt. The best postwar aggregate is 32, by

R. J. B. West, also of Old Boys. * * * In their final club matches before the start of the Plunket Shield series, Canterbury’s cricketers in Christchurch did not enjoy much success on Saturday. B. R. Taylor made 80, G. T. Dowling 69, P. G. Coman 28, B. F. Hastings 21 not out: but after that came K. Thomson (12), R. C. Motz (9), J. M. Mclntyre (7), J. W. Burtt (5), R. W. Anderson (2) and J. D. Riley (T). N. A. Huxford did not bat. The bowding figures were rather more encouraging— Mclntyre 4 for 26, Motz 3 for 25, Coman 1 for 12, Huxford 1 for 21, Taylor 1 for 25. * * * The Sydenham and Old Boys senior teams have at least one objective in common; they both need one more senior championship to equal the record held

by Lancaster Park. On 13 occasions Linwood and Lancaster Park teams have won the title, Old Boys and Sydenham each having 12 successes. In the post-war years Old Boys has had most victories, eight, followed by Lancaster Park (6) and St Albans (5). s: $ # N. Kelly’s inclusion in the Canterbury B team is a warranted one as he has bowled extremely well all season. Kelly is an inconspicous cricketer but his medium-paced deliveries are accurate and often menacing. His best performance was in the last round

against St Albans when he took four for 46 off 20 overs and he has a total of 11 wickets. * * t< W. M. Duncan played an unusual role in his side’s success against Riccarton —that of an opening batsman. Duncan, however, displayed a liking for the new ball and showed that he had at least mastered one shot—a slashing cover drive to the third man boundary. * The tally of sixes this season is steadily mounting but the strokemakers are most often fast or medium pace bowlers with a flare for the “village blacksmith’s swing.” R. C. Motz heads the lists with 11. He is followed at a distance by B. R. Taylor and K. Thomson (6), K. I. Ferries and I. D. Shewan (5), and G. T. Dowling 4.