CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 92, 11 January 1908, Page 9

CRICKET.

. ENGLISH TEAM IN AUSTRALIA. Australia (third test), at Adelaider-January

11, 13, and.l 4. ' Tasmania, at La'unceston—January ;18; 20, and 21. '-; ' : Tasmania,- at • Hobart—January 24. 25. and

''■ 27. ' Victoria, at iMelbounie—January 31, and

'■ February;!, .3, and 4. - . Australia-(fourth test),'at Melbourne—Feb-

. ruary 7', 8,: 10,.and 11. New South Wales, at Sydney—February 14,

.15, 17, and 18. . Australia (fifth test), at Sydney—February ! 21, 22, 24, and 25. • !' • South. Australia, at Adelaide—February' 29, and .March 2, 3, and 4. . ' ' West Australia, at Perth—March 12, 13, 14, ' and 16. . ... . '-' ''

' Zeus is taking, an' active • interest : iiv local cricket'"this .season,' if' the; weather. ..that; has so far. prevailed catl' he taken as an indication.'" '' :/ ■•' '

', The. Canterbury •.match'was commenced on New Year's Day, when Wellington'won.tho toss, and batted'. Hickson and Bcechey opened to the bowling of Williams and Bennett. When his score stood .at 7,. Becchcy was missed by Reese., He continued to.-score in a free manner '■ until dismissed, alter having made 43,' although he ■ very 'rarely kept tho ball down. Mahony shaped' solidly , for 44, when he attempted a foolish run,, whicli proved fatal. Mahony. is" a very bad-judge of a run, but this season ho is the backbono of Wellington batting., . 1 ■ ' . • • Williams was top-scorer with - SS. ' -.- He shaped in a much sounder • manner-: than against ■ Otago, but ho has ,played . many better'..innings. v. ■ ' «-•

Laws,'4s,- made the second, highest 'score. It was; compiled in an indifferent manner, arid whWtlio bowling was ,very tired. ,

Bennett, the principal Canterbury bowler, was suffering, with ail Injured a'rm, arid was not as-lipcful .to his' sido as he' generally is. Of the other Canterbury'bowlers,'little can bo said. Without-doubt, tho visitors!, bowling was the weakest that has been seen hero ia a representative match for many years. For the most part it was without length or anything else to recommend it.' Crawshaw piobably ljowled most accurately in the; first innings, arid he-was used a good deal.-

•With about air-hour loft for -play, Wood and Patrick opened for. Canterbury, and at G. o'clock they had scored 100 botween tnem by solid batting. Thcro-.woro.no. chances given, only two ■■ uppish strokes being recorded. Resuming • on Thursday, tho score was taken'to 110,' when Patrick was: dropped by Bcechey, but at 141 L'pliam clean bowled Patrick. In compiling this score, the batsmen played tho. bowling with ease arid confidence,' and only one chance had been given. It is' a long time sincc such batting has been seen hero. Reefo and Wood then carried tho score further along, the former playing freely and correctly. Wood had slowed down, tho proximity to the century-having appareiiuy aifectcd him. With tho score at 250 for ono wicket,.the Wellington skipper was thinking. None of-the bowlers, with the exception of Upham, had looked, liko getting a wicket. TJplinm had been howling well. C. Hickson was put on, and ho . got Rccso caught in tho slips straight away. Moorehouse, who had been much talked of, followed, but Hickson clean bowled'him at once. Moorehouso said the ball swerved fiom leg, and broke from the off, but it just appeared to he a good length ball. However, if it was a "zig-Mggor," it was unplayable. Wood was Hickson's next victim. He was caught boliind tho sticks after having made 108 by good cricket. | Wood has a very attractive style,, and this was his first representative innings, so that he will probably bo heard of in the future. Hickson thou cleaned bowled Orchard with a

good length ball. He had the remarkablo average of four wickets for 0110 run after lunch. When tlio score Was 272 lie bowled Anthony, and at 30S tho same, bowler caught Boxshall off his own bowling. Norman batted nicely and carefully for 47 before being caught off Hickson.

, Tlio Canterbury total was 3C6. Their innings promised to produce a very largo total at one stage, but five Canterbury men only mado 18 between them.

Hickson's bowling was sensational. When ho went 011 it looked as if Canterbury would bo batting for a couple of days. The other bowlers, except Upham, had not oven been keeping a decent length, and it is certain that but for Hickson, Wellington could never have won.; His averagoWas.7.for 56. , "With a couple of hours left . for" pjay.vWel-' lmgton started its second innings ;-with Boechey and Mahony. - Becchey Wa-s further favoured by being dropped behind tlio wic-kets-by Boxshall when he had mado,-8. Itwas a costly mistake. The--two..'carried,tho score by fairly fast play -to 135,' when' Mahony ran out to a ball,--missed it,. and was stumped. Ho made -59. '.At tlio close of the .day the score read 150 for'one wicket, Beechoy not lout 65. On Friday Boechey and Blacklock . put 011 119. for tho third , wicket. As may be', imagined, -.wjth'.these -.two players associated, "tho scoring was: lively.' The fielding was bad, both placers being let off more than once! With his score at 94 Beecliey was caught by Mooreliousp;. Blacklock followed shortly .after, having made 93,' including Isomo splendid drives. ~ When ' Hickson - was ":bowled by 'Bennett:., after , Having mado 38,-and the, total'was 346 for''7 -wickots, Wellington-.declared,, leaving • Canterbury 310 to got, to win. As there were nearly four hours, to go, the task Was .not. impossible,, -arid' Canterbury's •'• carlior bats-"' mon went in irith tho object of winning,, but the special mission! .of the later oiies wasto " stick there."

Patrick was run out..with the score at 31, and 10 runs later Wood was caught off Upham —2 for 47. Then Mooreliouso completed his "pair of specks," and it .was left to Orchard and Reese to make a few. They carried tlio seoro to 135, ' when Orchard, in attempting'to pull a half-pitcher from Hales, ,was bowled. ' Anthony, who -came next, was at once dropped, by Boechey in tho slips, but ho did not last long. Shortly after, Reeso played one 011. Ho nyido a very plucky 69, marred only by two chances, the first when ho had made 32.

Tilings now looked blue for Canterbury— 6 for 169, and instructions were given to stonewall.

Boxshall was out at 173—stonewalling did not agree with him, and Norman retired at 174.

Williams and Bennett then - played patiently,. and, metaphorically, 'praje'd' for time. Bennett was scoring well,' and batting soundly. Williams, who is not much of a bat; -'was /safisfi'edTto •'•stop -'fhemi'". but ; he put his.leg.in front of 0110 from Mo'iiaghan, and was given out when the score" was 211. Bennett, who was playing a great game— tlio game of his life-Was- joined by Crawshaiv, but- off tho last over ho was-well caught by Laws, mid' Wellington wort by -91 runs. The finish was quite dramatic.

The senior matches were on Saturday. Midland beat Phcenix on No. 1 by 37- runs on the first innings. Phcenix, who had-lost 8 wickets for 76 runs, had mado 94; when AVilson was given .run out. The decision was not appreciated.! • Midland, in the second innings, made 187 for 3 wickets, towards which Bruce made 100 not out. His innings was remarkable for the nuriiber of punctuated it. Williams was lucky in. compiling 33. He received'a nasty knock on the head from a- fast short'ball from Hickcy,- and after that he was careless. Wilson, with 2 for 57, was the only •PlYoenix bowler'who at any time looked like -getting :wickets, j In ono over Bruco was missed three times off him. Requiring 224 Phcenix. opened; with G. BartoiY and Waters to the bowling of Williams. Mt may be explained that Williams is a " tricky " bowser. Anyway, he was tho only Midlander to get any wickets,at all. Waters batted well for 85 not out. He only gave one chanco, and it was a difficult ono. Dakin seems to have struck form. On Saturday lie batted soundly : for 62,- not;oiit. ITo played all, round " .the, wicket,'. 1 and was pleas' to watch., If : Phoenix .had only gono for the bowling. as they should have done, they might havo won this match. On No. 2. wicket Old Boys were half an hour lato in starting. This robbed them of a four-point win, and it' may possibly result in Old, Boys being left out of the final. The Old Boys resumed batting with three for 93, and compiled 283. _ Tucker and M'Gill tied for top score with_ 59' each. ,J. P. Blacklock,-in making 30, hit an 8, : while; s's' and.'jGls , were '.common. ; 'v ~- ; Topp',. with five - for 1 .. 74, was the.most ,s"o-.; cessful .bou'ler on'-', tho 'Gas Company .-side.? He secured more -wickcts on Saturday .than, any othervsenior bowler; Gas Comparty; in their second innings, made 142, Church compiling 33,. not out. Biirlce made 25, and Dredge 17. Old Boys required 28 runs to secure a win • outright, but time would only allow thenr to make 25 for. one wicket. If they should be in tho finals : tlioy.'will, in all probability, be ready to start sharp to time. Tucker did not bowl for Old Boys on Saturday. The present system of playing. senior grade matches by limiting them to two Saturdays came in for. sonic adverse criticism at the last meeting of tho Cricket Association. One speaker contended that tho second Saturday's games wore now a farce, and considered' players would have to take considerably more interest in the. second day's'' play if tho present system was to be kept going. committeeman also spoke against the new scheme,, and meantime, those who opposed the'introduction'of' tho new idea at tno annual meeting; smiled tho "I told you so" smile.

It is understood that in the event of a tio for fourth placo for the senior' championship the qualifying match for the semifinal will probably bo played oil Anniversary Day. -

Moorehouse, Canterbury, has experienced an unusual run of ill-luck. In ' a cricket career of over 30 years, says the "Press," his "pair of specs" against Wellington last i.iveek was the first occasion on which ho had | failed to score in either innings of a match, I but to. return to Christcliurch and make another "pair" on Saturday gives him tho unique record of two pairs in succession.: ; Every English team, including tho present, jj.which has played eloven-asido matches in Australia, has been beaten at least once. The eighth-wicket partnership of-A. I). Fisher and A. J. Bowden for 175 runs in the. match Queensland and New South Wales, is the biggest for New South Wales in ; an interState match, though it was surpassed bv'lt. A. Duff and A. J. Hopkins against Lord llawke's team.

Tho rccont match between New Smith Wales and Queensland was tho 10th elevenaside contest between representatives of these States, 17 having been won by the former,. 1. by the latter, and 1 drawn. As. .Queensland for some years has been generally opposed by what ■is practically tho second eleven of New South Wales, it is quite clear, says tho "Hefereo," that the strength of the Northern State's representative team is not iriiproving. . . Tho general fielding of the Queenslanders was quite the worst seen on a Sydney ground in representative cricket for over twenty years, and probably tho worst ever seen there in a match of that character. . . In the last seven matches New South Wales has five times topped 500 in an innings. The. scores by New South Wales in these matches were GSG, 355, 691, 208, and six for 133, 7G3, 518, and 591.

Says the "Referee":—"The refusal of . W.W. Armstrong to appear for Victoria agaiiist New South Wales at Melbourne, unless paid £1 per day instead of the ruling allowance of ten shillings, as provided by the rules of the Victorian Cricket Association, has met with general condemnation. Armstrong has already twice visited England and participated in the handsome profits made, on each tour, ami has besides played in eight Test matches in this oountry, for which the players receivo £25 each, in addition to most liberal travelling and hotel expenses, so that ho would apjwar to liavo been well recouped for any loss his representative cricket might have ocriasioncd him. Within tho past few weeks the fees, accruing to him from cricket in the two matches at Brisbane and Sydney amount to £50, besides tho travelling and hotel expenses, . , Under these well-de-

fined circumstances sportsmen and the public generally might reasonably have expected Mr. Armstrong, the greatest player in his State, to have been far keener on assisting, when the time seemed ripo, to smash up tho pre-ominenco in Australian cricket so long heid by New South Wales, than on forcing his Association to break its rules over such' u paltry sum. Of tho last seven Sheffield Shield matches played by. Victoria, Armstrong stood out of -four, which docs not indicnto that high degree of enthusiasm in the game and desire for the prestige of Victorian cricket so strongly characteristic of players of the Blackhnm, Horan regimo. The young ,'meii- Coming to the front, upon whom the cricketing reputation of Australia dc:,pends'in: the future, will be well advised to /place -in-thfe'forefront Cricket the Game. The emoluments to him who mounts the ladder ■;of •fanie fire, substantial, but these will depend on cricket being kept a game " Subsequently . Armstrong, wrote to the Victorian Cricket Association? stating that now lie was aware that, the amount had been fixed by resolution; he" admitted that lie was wrong in' refusing'to play: Some members of-the Association were of opinion that Armstrong should'be suspended from playing in liny-. 'matches under its auspices, whilst others held that he should be;warned'that repetition would •; entail life disqualification. The .matter .wais'settled' by Armstrong apologising iii the following now see that my action in connection' with the "New South .Wales .' match was utterly inexcusable . and detrimental to-the best interests-of cricket, lUid'-'as. far as'l am ooncerncd nothing of this sort',.will'.occur ..again."

•' Tho recent match between New South Wales and Victoria was the 79th between rei presentjitires pf the two States. N.ew: South Wales has won 42 and Victoria 37.

i George Gunn, of tho M.C.'C. touring team, is an accomplished pianist, and receives many professional engagements at 'concerts and olsowhero when at Nottingham during the winter season. \

K. S. Ranjitsinhji, who was one of tho greatest batsmen the world evor saw, is reported to havo become a little more serious, and to havo followed the trend of public events ■ with moro keenness than ho did in formor years. It may not bo generally known that "K.S.R-." is a great authority on art, especially on tho history of the Indian school for examples. Ho has for some timeo past meditated a book on this particular suoject, and had lie been unsuccessful in his claims to tho position he now..occupies, would havo devoted himself to ..works of this description. ,Ho has a broad'and comprehensive knowledge of other matters., too,' and 'has the. faculty of making himself very;hicid,::botli : in fcorivcrsation and in writing. 'His Jjvcstern training would havo been .very, useful, tb'ihim had ho become an author by it .•dpubtless:j.s,-in some of the; difficult'poiii.ts '"of domestic' politics which lie now- has tbi encounter. : -- - ■ ■-; v- ;

■ Everyone will be glad to hear that a fund has been opened for tho purposo of presenting a national .testimonial to Lord Hawke, tho famous Yorkshirc'captain, says "M.A.P." His. lordship. is a direct descendant of the great admiral who defeated Admiral CoIP flans of Uelleisle in 1759, and he himself has kept up the flighting traditions of his family in a small:way by having served as an Officer in tho v 3rd, Battalion, Yorkshiro Regiment. Tho' famous cricketer is tho seventh |>aron, and succeeded'to the titlo in 1887. Ho was educated at Eton, .wh'ore ho twice played against Harrow, and at Cambridge,'where,, in 1885, ho became captain of tho University team." liver since those early days he has gone in for tliggame, heart and soul, and his long connection with county • cricket. has : earned for him a reputation almost-world-wide. Lord Hawke has travelled a ;good deal, and musician.v He .'has played ill'lndia, South Africa, the ..Uiiitccl'' St'Sfes,s;,Canada, and Australasia; "and once, in titfawaj/ho had tho curious' Experience of ; part; in ..a ; match in the snow. .

"I think wo arc gradually becoming convinced of ■ tho -.superiorityof the circular or ovnl' ! Square, or oblong field," remarks IlajSV Trevor, manager of the M.C.C. touring team. "No doubt tho former helps thn bowler and captain to p'.aco fieldsmen to better advantage, for the shapqyis an aid to. his sense of proportion. Speaking for. myself, I say frankly that in maiiy important particulars the best grounds in Australia are better than tho best grounds in England. In one respect, however, I prefer our own. It is our custom to givo our members tho privilege of watching tho howling as well as the batting, and 'consequently our pavilions aro built directly behind the spot where tho bowler's arm will bo, or rather the wickets aro pitched in front of the pavilions. I am (veil aware that this is no. boon .to the batsiinon (or, indeed, to the' fieldsman at times '.whon,ythe' light is bad), 'but-it has at_;lcast one compensating advantage, quite apart from : tlity, convenience of the spectator, : who, both-- iu' ; 'England and Australia',, is. often given . iiioro ;(jhan his duo. So long ; as-there are selection committees, or men whose duty it is to iudgo the merits of respective bowlers, it is necessary to seo from a point of vantage how those bowlers are bowling. There is only one place from which, that can be seen."