CRICKET YOUTH

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32234, 28 February 1970, Page 20

CRICKET YOUTH

The Junior Advisory Board’s Saturday morning competition for primary schoolboys was interrupted last Saturday by the Canter-bury-Australia match. This game contained many lessons for the attentive young cricketer—splendid fielding, aggressive batting and some excellent spin bowling. Even those junior cricketers who prefer participation to observation would have found Saturday’s play well worth the effort. The art of field-placing should concern both bowlers and captains. In junior grade cricket, such positions as gully and slip are probably unnecessary refinements. Captains should concentrate on field placements in front of »he wicket. The value of a fieldsman at short mid-off or (hort mid-on cannot be underastimated, for it means that the batsman is continually under pressure. Bryce Nicholson, a WestUniversity player, has fielded all season close in on the eg side. Before Christmas he had already taken 14 catches, some of them requiring quick reflexes. On the last playing Saturday he added to his tally with a quick one-handed catch off a full-blooded pull shot. The West-University C grade team has two batsmen enjoying good form despite the disjointed nature of the season. They are Ricky Nicholls and Duncan Harris, who, in their last match, were

largely responsible for their team’s total reaching 79 in only 23 minutes. Both batsmen retired in the late twenties. but looked capable of even heavier scoring. An innings of a totally different character was played by.Riccarton B grade batsman, Grant McWhirter, who came to the wicket when his] team had lost five wickets | for only eight runs. When he; was finally dismissed the l team's total was a respectable 51, and he had scored 26 runs with a mature mixture of j caution and bold stroke play. { Teams from St Thomas of Canterbury College are earn-: ing a fine reputation for punctuality and smart appearance. Its C grade side did not perform with great success on the first Saturday, but when matched against a B grade side (whose opposition had failed to appear) it showed a pleasing improve-: ment in batting: an indication, that this team could be a strong candidate for top honours in their grade. The Hornby Club’s B grade side has performed with dis-;

: Unction in recent games. I Gordon Bean, who is a strong - leg-side player, looks likely - to score consistently while f Steven Pullman is another promising prospect in this - inexperienced side. I The disappointment of -i travelling to Hospital Corner (from outlying suburbs, such ;ias Sumner and Hornby, to ; find that the opposing team •1 has defaulted is understands I able. < Notification of a .team's r intention to default is a '{courtesy whit’ll suburban teams in parUcular would ' appreciate. The effort of • i arranging transport for • eleven players is well worth- • while when a game results, I but a return journey with • eleven embittered cricketers , is a prospect which no coach I relishes. Please remember to' - let your captain know early I in the week if you are not - available for Saturday games, l and try to find a substitute i; yourself if you have to be > out of town or not available. {for various reasons. Don’t let :your team down, if you can. ; avoid it. __