CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 146, 14 March 1908, Page 9

CRICKET.

■. (By Breaker.) : - After the rain which fell during the week tlio. ground was left very dead for last Saturday's matches. . The wicket, was slow, so sjow that , bowlers were'rfeally at the,mercy of batsmeii;. but the outfield• was also very slow,, awl : -strokes which-'.produced' 5 or 6 on tlio previous . two Saturdays were only worth _ two or 1- three.'' This^'was very serious-from'ji'Mid-land point of ' view, and the fact. probably cost this team about 100 runs. • ' ■ In ,viow..,of'. tho ,slow%ground-aii'd the'big total against therii, tho -Midlands did very well to put. up 264 in, their innirigs. '208 run's 'of : were' made on Saturday' for tho Msi'of. seven wiclief-s. . Wynyard added; 11 singles beforo lie was , .dismissed 'by a; good catch in theislips, taken . by Monaghan oir Mason. _. .... _ Murphy followed, arid' with: Hicks'on's :'as- : siktanco, 36 runs' were .qdded .for the -'wicket. Both, men , played; .sound., cricket -and; great thijigs ' were, possible. ~ Hickson,. howevpr,' 'when, his total was. 47,' played a very . bad. stroke.'to a.'ball well ' on'; the off, ;which lie. - "tipped" 'into tlio safe hands' of/Blacklock the/sticks.'. Hicksoh got, himself, out, .as the ball should never have got a wicket. Patrick : joined'- young IMurphy,-' but' after he had .made ( ,6 he responded to a'call' from his par,trier,, ; who .then; changed-his .miridyand Patrick'-was". run. out.. It .was Bad business, (as no, run could.possibly have been got froirith'o stroke, which was made straight to a, fieldsman. .Six,-for 135: did. not niako.. the necessary reading for a good total. Quee was next, but ho played much' too'carefully, land-after making 8 his end came. 1 ;: ' . fMansori started .confidently, and' Kei'batted very well. His partriersh'ip ■ with- .Mnrphy produced 69, and it was' the- brightest combination' of tho innings. Both' batsriien - scored . rapidly,' and ; they -were in. no way: troubled ■ -by "'tho.: bowling." Oneooff f Maris'ori's-.-bits landed- ',- cm V' I .the,'-, other. ;side , ;of,: ; No.-,', 2 mcket: It'was a: strbko which- lvpuld*;'ljaye been over, tho ropes if made from-tho'-'rep." wicket, but only 3 runs resulted:'. Eventually Mansori got too reckless, and ho hit, over one -from',Monaghan,' arid .was -j.'His.- inn- : ings.' was free ,and. faultless.'.• ; ; . . ; Upham.'joined ..Murphy, • and' kept -tho : score; ■ going. At-' this ;timo .Murpbyi commenced.j-to . hit. Ho . had.'one let-off from "'Tucker; but ; -this did. riot; steady''him, .and he . was. cau'ght .shortly;afterwards. .He'mado. 71i -tbp score;' :and -.the innings' was the .: best /.he;:has ..qvor ■ played,: and - easily : the , ;best .'.forMitchell /was -last •'im£m,. ,but:-after; making 2he - was bowled. *. '' - ; ;.'/ ' - \ ' As Midlands .were 249 behind on the first , innings, Old Boys exorcised the option which was' theirs, T"Bjid fi iß^ ! to !> biflf : 'dgaih'. The, sccdade'attempbH-wasAfairly,,disastrous,' and at 6 p.m: four, wickets liacf fallen for 9 runs.i /The ,light. (not,good.•'•'lt-;was rferjtainly. w-6refetlidn;' r tho 'light; -was .on' the '. pr e4 vMs-V/Saturnayr- when, stumps'. .■were: : and .the-Midland appeal: should, have, been air loWed; .',v t ; As ; theVgame'.;nbwi-,stands,. : Jlidland cannot Old -Boys mll 'be the'season's' -champions. ~ / - 'i ■ • Wellington-batted first against /Phoenix: on ■No.- 2,.'a'rid.- : made':l73.-. At one time they bad - two wickets down ; f0i\.116, : but Waters proved deadly : the'.ball. , He finished with ' six .f0r.;29.-.\ Phoenix' have: lost' no wickets/for 33;' so the; game should go to 'them. - / " , ; Gas Company made 157 on No. '3; Ash bolt 53'and'Hodge 47, both batting weHv/'Petbrio:' *'havo rio .picket's/for : 2o/ ■ ; Relf,; the English coach, was. clean bowled only onco in club -cricket during.",tUo";two'' seasons - he has played in , the; Dominion, i On ' two '.other.'.occasions, "however,'', he;,';has: been , clean bowled—once 'by Austin in Christ- ' church, .arid once flaying against the Auckland. colts, by' Robinson. ■ '~ ' Tho -following: four players ha'ye'; scored' over' 1000 runs, in O.tago representative xric-•ketJr~J..-Baker,.-.s4'.matches, 1900 runs;>tl, G. Siedeb'erg,. 32/ matches, 1181. runs ; G., G.. Austin, 34 matches, 1111 runs; .A. Hi '46 matches, .1073 -runs. Each member' of the Australian ..tqam. in the last Test match became entitled to £25. , .The lowest'score ;in a first-class match in Australia is 15, -by Victoria v. EnKlarid,'. in 1904. .. . -; . 5 G ; Giffen,' who represented South;-, Aus-; tralia .against the Fijians this/'seasbn/ last played tor .his. State against, .'New'//Soutli "Wales at -Adelaide, February, 1903,-.., - i - ; . In all ' the Tests Australia totalled 3187 runs for' 98 . wickets, averaging.. 32.52; England; 2584 runs ' for. .99 ..wickets,,/averaging 26.11.' Australia's 3187.runs.'were,made from 5908; balls, ■ averaging .539. per -ball; England's 2584 . runs trom 5707 balls, averaging .452 per balk . , . -.'. • • |V. Trumper's, 74 in ; the-sectmd, innings of the recent match is his, highest score: for New 'South' Wales v../ England.', His 166 : in: the fifth .Test .match, is'- his, second ' highest ifor Australia, v. England.' His five' centuries in Test, matches, are: 185,-166, 135,-113,' and 104, three'having/been played in Australia and-two, in. England. , It was in 1894-5 that the number of Test matches 'in 'a 'season- was increased from • three to' five. :Of these . Australia weir; two and lost three, no fewer than 22 Australian • players figuring in the matches. ;': In' 1897-8 ' the number of Australians who topk" part was 14 ; in ' 1901-2 ; it was 17, in 1903-4 "16, and this season 14. , .' ' A correspondent asks a contemporary for an answer £0 the following. question: The bowler delivers, the ball, the umpire calls noball,' the batsman runs .down, the pitch ■•.to hit the ball, and, touching it,'-the wicketkeeper catches / it,- the batsman, still • being out of his creaso. What would-be-the result if the-wicket-keeper put the.wicket;down? Answer:' Run jout. ' , , ' ~ It is considered that it .is a debatable point' whether Sydenham's; total of ,3.9, at/.Christ: church last;. Saturday:,was .tho smallest/in', a : senior : match' there this'-sbason./-: On' November.9 :alh';', the., available,/batsmen, 'in 7 . East Christchurch's; second innings were dispospd of for '27,. but., the team '.batted five -men short. On' Saturday week-Liiiwoo'd "got'rid ; of East : Christch'urcli, playing a full; team,for 41 runs in'.their-second venture. • Australian bowlers,' who : havo - taken ' BO wickets in ; Test ' matches „ _ • . •' Hallsr Kuns. Wkts. Avce. C. T. B. Turners 329 "4C70 -10i . 1G.53 F. E. ■ Spofforth ... '4185 ; 1731 "•■' 94'.:-18.41 ' H. Trumble !: ... -7894 ' " 2947 141 . :20.90 G." E. Palmer , ■ *...'' 4519 1683 78 21.57 M. A. Noble '' ... -CSOB 2707 111' 24.38 J. V. -Saunders ... 3298 IG2I 84 . 25.32 G. Giffen ... ; ... - .0391 2791 103 27.09 E. Jones - ... ... 3508 _ 1757.., CO 29.28 "Pa" Crawford states that': ho knows nothing whatever of tho rumoured intention of his soil, "J. ;'N.," to roniain in Australia. : It will bo generally admitted that all very slow scoring. is jioV tho fault'of the batsmen, says " Not Out "- in tlio " Referee." Tho development of the log-theory is responsible for a good deal of it. This kind , of bowling has become tho _ vogue since L. C; Braund showed its possibilities ' in ' Australia a fow years ago. But-it will never be admired by a public , that loves its cricket;':, it implies want of, ability to attack: the batsriien face to face,' as ,it, were. If batsmeri ,generally ffere to stand in'the crease/and'allow every deliberately-planned: leg-theory ball - to pass it would soon becomo unknown. ' ' The Australian fourth wicket record/of 315, compiled by Sydney Gregory (200)/and M. A. Noble' (176) in tho last, match-between Victoria and New South Wales, is nothing

like a record, for England, as' Abel and Hayward put together 448 for the fourth wicket for Surrey v. Yorkshire, at the Oval, iu 1899, this being the second highest partnership for any wicket-in a • first-class match, A0. Jones and J. 'Gurin made 361 for tlio fourth wicket for Notts v. Essex, at Leytou, in August, 1905. ■ ' - The most admirable feature of tile last day of. the Fifth Test match' was the captaincy and tho personal efforts of M. A. Noble. On that day M.A.N., as captain, reached tlio' highest point as captain one has ever seen him attain. It was thoroughly up to the highest efforts of that king of .qaptains, G. 11. S. Trott. In one or two matches this | ;season M. A. Noble, as captain has allowed his generalship to slightly slumber, but. on this occasion his mental alertness,' his strategy in using his bowlers, in placing the field, and in manoeuvring were the finest 0110 has pver/seen him show. It was the. high-water mark of leadership;—" Referee." Asked recently whether he. would be .willing to give Canada and New Zealand representation oil tho proposed Imperial Cricket Board, Mr. Abe Bailey, the founder of tho idea of triangular Test matchcs, stated that when the time comes that Canada and New Zealand feol* themselves strong, enough 'to enter' the lists, he should certainly like to seo them represented, but for the present the Board must coutent itself with. tho three portions of tho Empire—England, Australia, and South Africa —whose positions in the cricket world are of a sufficiently level character to.make a triangular contest at least interesting and somewhat speculative.