Century by Calder stood out in senior cricket

Press, 29 November 1976, Page 17

Century by Calder stood out in senior cricket

A century by the Old 1 Boys captain, John Cal- ’ der, was one of the few ' features to mark the i opening of the fifth i round of the senior * cricket championship on 1 Saturday. I Rain during the week had 1 left the pitches damp and I soft, and there were delays ; of varv ing lengths in starting i all the senior games. The I Old Boys-Riccarton match i was held up only a few min- < utes, and this was the only one in which runs were s scored with much freedom, i Calder, enjoying a good I season — even if his club, I the championship pennant I holder, is not — gave a thor- < oughly sound display in mak- 1 ing his runs. The only other 1 batsman to go as far as 50 i was Calder’s rival captain, 1 David Stead. ’ Although there were some good — and perhaps flattering —bowling figures, rio-one achieved the distinction ofl ' five wickets in an innings. Scores were: i Old Boys 202/5 dec; Ric- j carton 107/2. f Old Collegians 111; East- i Shirley 61/3. Sydenham 102; Lancaster Park 31/2. Bumside-West 86; St Al - bans 92/5. STILL LIFE Although there was play* for five hours and three-quani ,ers at Hagley No. 1, only 178 runs were scored as 15 wickets fell. It was an Hwkward pitch on which to r nake forcing strokes, for it was damp, and the ball tend led to hang after landing. Bt it the batsmen of both sides made unduly heavy weath'M ■ of it, rarely challenging tfj e slow bowling, which was /ised extensively. The batsmen of tilth sides seemed to read tern! rs in the pitch which were wot there, given quick feet ai» d aggressive intent. Bumside-West at :ored two runs an over, after I a slow but solid start. Two run-outs compounded the si ide’s problems, and then Stephen

Boock and’ Joe Harrison went through the lower order steadily. Barry’ * Thomas batted 95 minutes f< ?r 21, the top score, and he pit iyed some attractive strokes iij a determined innings. St Alb ans lost its four top tatsmen for 36 to some assertive b owling by Kevin Wiliams and Stephen Bateman, tefore I SJeil Francis and Donild Ambrose added 50. Batenan, a. very promising young >owlec, impressed with his noven? tent and sharpness of .ttack.. It i cas a dreadfully dour trug? fie; Francis was in 105 ninut tes for his 20 runs. Amtrose : was a little more entertrisii ig, and for a very young >lay» er showed admirable consent ration and a sound deencje. Care was certainly leaded after the early losses, tut the Bumside-West bower 5 w r ere allowed to dictate at Tier too easily. TIGHT ATTACK When Lancaster Park won J ne toss it began with a con--5 iderable advantage. With a : ,ange of medium pace bow'ters and Bruce Irving, Park was able to dominate the batsmen on a pitch of varied, but generally slow, pace and irregular bounce. The long grass surrounding the block further hampered the batsmen. Dave Gallop batted for two hours for his 15 runs, a complete contrast to his previous week’s endeavours. But wickets fell regularly as batsmen tried to solve their problems with big hits. With eight wickets down for 60 runs before tea, Lancaster Park was well set to take a commanding position. But Bill Aldridge led a long rearguard action. With Denis Smolensk! showing admirable concentration and a model forward defence, 26 runs were added for the last wicket. Not only did this partnership add valuable runs, it consumed an hour’s time and reduced Park’s bowling points. All the bowlers enjoyed some success and were able to bowl to attacking fields as "they were never put under any pressure by the

batsmen. Bruce Irving was accurate and economical. Sydenham gained early success when both openers mis-hit indiscreet shots. But Bevan Congdon was droped before he had scored and then played confortably to stumps. Bill Aldridge again bowled well and again lacked in luck. Denis Smolensk! bowled a less consistent line and length but produced some very good deliveries. MEDIOCRE CRICKET Little cricket of quality was seen at Burwood Park. A damp pitch delayed the start of play until 12.30 p.m. and Old Collegians, after winning the toss batted poorly. Only Derek Banks showed any form on a pitch which was slow and gave an uneven bounce. The EastShirley bowlers were accurate and steady, but the low score of the opposition was flattering to them. The pitch played more easily when East batted, but again the batting was mediocre against bowling of average strength. After three wickets had fallen for 21, Reeves, Banks and Keith Hartshorne put their heads down and batted to the close of nlay in a stand of 40. The most interesting bowling came from the off spinner, Terry Mcßride, who maintained a tidy length and also contributed to the game with a fine catch close in to dismiss John Grocott. CALDER IMPRESSIVE

In scoring the second cen-

tury of the season in senior cricket, Calder gave a firstclass display. His innings was chanceless, and he scored steadily, if not spectacularly, as he countered Riccarton’s spirited attack for 220 minutes. It must have been compensation for losing the toss for the fifth time in five games. This match, at Hagley 3, was also played on a pitch which did not make things easy for the batsmen, but Calder, whether going forward dr back, profited from timing far more certain titan that of the others. He batted coolly and capably, to lead the way to a substantial score, made at a brisk pace. Martin Hadlee contributed some attractive strokes and Murray Mowat maintained the very good form he has shown this season. There was a good chance here for Riccarton’s promising young left-arm spinner, Andrew Nixon, for there was turn in the pitch. Although Nixon bowled some ver.' good ones, his regular attack on the line of the leg stump, or outside it, was expensive. Riccarton, showing some of the assertiveness which took it to its victory a w r eek earlier, also scored briskly, with David Stead taking his season’s aggregate beyond 300 with another halfcentury. Geoff Allen, downwind in the absence of Dayle Hadlee, bowled with accuracy and purpose. At day’s end, Lindsay Thom put more colour into the affair by scoring 15 not out in eight minutes.