Runs Scarce On First Day Of Senior Cricket

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32117, 13 October 1969, Page 15

Runs Scarce On First Day Of Senior Cricket

Runs were in short supply when the Christchurch senior cricket competition began on Saturday. Five sides completed innings, with Old Collegians faring best with a total of 195. Two other teams are nine wickets down for about 100.

The introduction this season of pitch covers for senior wickets bore immediate fruit, for although the rain and snow of Friday caused the cancellation of most lower grades the senior competition began at the appointed time of 10.45 a.m.

The covers, however, did not provide complete protection from the weather, but without them it seems certain that the starting time of play would have been delayed. The two Hagley Oval wickets in use for senior matches were affected to a greater degree by dampness than those at Elmwood Park and Burwood Park, where the other matches were played. Both B. J. Salt (Sydenham) and P. A. Sharp (West Christ-church-Umversity) had little hesitation in relinquishing first use of the Hagley wickets when they won their tosses and the problems encountered by batsmen in the pre-lunch session served, to justify their decision. However, after wind and sunshine had dried out the pitches considerably and removed to a large extent the

inconsistencies in bounce and turn, neither the Sydenham nor the West-University batsmen were able to fare any better collectively than their opposites. The champion side last season, High School Old Boys, had a particularly trying time facing the Sydenham attack on the No. 1 wicket, but its total of IX3 proved sufficient to give it a first innings lead, if only of one run. Scores:— High School Old Boy* 113 and 4/2; Sydenham 112. Riccarton 145; West Christchurch -• University 97/9. Old Collegians 195; St Albans 62/3. Lancaster Park 164; East Christchurch-Shirley 110/9. Topecorer of the day was A. M. McKendry, who amassed a bright 75 for Lancaster Park. R. C. Motz scored 74 for Riccarton in a rollicking dis-

play of hitting that relieved the boredom for spectators at Hagley No. 3. The only other batsman to pass 50 was D. S. Banks, the opener for Old Collegians. Bowling honours clearly went to East ChristchurchShirley’s A. C. Nottingham, who tok six for 66 against bis former club, Lancaster Park. No other bowler managed more than four wickets. Even though his bowling days were supposedly over, the lure to .“toss a few down” proved too great for Motz and before the West-University innings was very old he was in the attack. From a run of about two shuffling paces, Motz bowled seven overs in two spells and finished with two wickets for seven runs.

One of his victims was the former New Zealand opening batsman, T. W. Jarvis, who discovered that a Motz off-spin-ner can be just as lethal as one of his former express deliveries.

The new rule aimed at cutting out excessive pad play appeared to have had some effect on batsmen, but in the Old Boys-Sydenham game there was some conjecture on whether the rule had anything to do with the fact that eight batsmen were given out Lb.w. If so, it could be the batsmen who are going to be hardest bit by this aspect of the rule, and not bowlers as was previously thought.