CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 996, 10 December 1910, Page 12

CRICKET.

. "vX: ■ ■; •• • " k- 1 - IBr The BnEiKEE.I [ SATURDAY BATTING AVERAGES. § g N-'Viji-""""-- •'- ■ '■g' .' CO.•'o -g g H- W.'-.H ■2i -«! iff .Wills.-East B .-164 S3 3 1 54.6 Bruce,iCentral A..: 102 43* 4 2 3 51.0 H-:Jlirtlanc, Bast . A... 224 120 ' 5 1 41.8 - :Blacklock, . North 259 91 G 2 43.1 Blamires, Central A 120 63 3 1 40.0 V-Naughtoii, 'Ceil- ' f'i.'-ii'itrel: 187 108 : 5 1 37.4 ;•• • Mahoney, East A 125 51 4 2 31.2 If.::, Crorabio; East B ...:. 20G 63 7 0 29.4 East-A... 14G 45 5' 1 29.2 C : -\ Monagban, College i 137 54 5 0 27:4 D'Shea, East" B ... 52 25 s 2 3 20.0 i Brice Hutt 135 02 6 1 25.8 p-'iGb'urlay-,.Central B . 73. 44° 3 1 24.3 ■iH.-Burns, C011ege,...:.. 136 79" 6 1 22.6 KvGibbes, ,East,.A .: 89 46 4 0 22.2 ! Staples, Hutt:.... .109 31 5 . 2 21.8 f:- Johnson,-East.B,.. 63 38 3 1 21.0 South 125 57®, 6 1 . 20.8 K-:-.Wilk;n66D, . " Cen- • f^.itral^B':..l63 ,43 :-8. ..0 . 20.3 I . Stephenson, Ceni:'. tral B 114 46. 6 1 -19.0 f'-'. Birch, Central :'A... ,88 23 5 0"-17.6 ; - laws, Central A ... 50 31 3 1 15.6 p.Stainton, .College ... .99 . 48 6 0 1G.5 !■• M'Gill,'. East A ... 49 30 3 0 10.1 ['.S-^Vynyard,'North 64 "25 4 . 0 16.0 h;; Hales, East 'B -}S ,28 .'3 1 16.0 North'... 16 16 10 16.0 j Burton, South . 11l 30 7'o 15.8 Hickey, East A ... 31 19* 2 1 15.5 » r-Jl'.Kny, East B ... 02 39 -.6 0 * 15.3 », Goldfinch, East B 104 47 7 0 14.8 }C;fEawth6rne, ', Cen-" 1 ' tral A 4-1 23* 3 1 14.6 r ■ Wilson, South .;.... 29 22 2,'. 0 14.5 !•• Patterson, Ceni!v• X;tral B ;.... 101 34 7 0 14.4 .Caddi'ck, College . 5G. : . 18 ,4 , 2 . 14.0 [:>:v. Saunders, . . ■ 81. '. 32 :.6 0 13.5 l.i'.v Aldersley, "-Hutt.. ... 93 41 .7.0 13.2 J-• '! Sheridan, North 51 21° 4 1 12.7 ! 'Phillips,VNorth '... ' 63 35 5 2 12.G "Ajjoberts,.,Central A; 50" 28 1 0 12.5 >. ..Wilson, Ilutt ...... 83 .'!••, 7 0 J2.5 >South n..... .: 31 7- •0• 12.0 Bempsey, College... 71 .'24 8 1 11.8 .. '■Climie, Hutt 23 . 13 2 0 11.5 |i 5: 'Finlayson, ~ -North' -80 39 ~ 7 0 -11.4 :East :A-.„ 57 1 16 5 1 11.4 r Dickson,.South- .-68 36 6. 1 11.3 • ■ Grimraett, -East A : 31 11 3 1 11.3 :?:lsJQhuSon,'.. South i,,.: , 45' 26 4 1 11.2 ■ 'T.; ::Norris, South 66 2.'! 6 0 11.0 ;vMfOhapman/East-8...-''22- : 20 . 2 0 !, 11.0 Fanning,-College .74 . 21 !'■ 0 10.5 Pbrtoous, Central B; '41 .16 , .40 —-10.2 . .'lndicate? "Not out." ' , ■ [111. addition to tho above',;. M'lfnhon j {Central B) has n: not-6ut'aggregate of 43.] "BEST BOWLING. ; ->-'4 -V - v' : ' V " "§?' '"'••'■"•.■. P?" it.* : "• a A...; 13' ;- 97 7:4 . - H&les, East ll' . . 21 : 160 .7.0 •:^Priagle;,Hutt : : ;.:..;... : ;. 10 ' ,90 '" 9.0 ! .'o Hickey, East ■A ...... '29 271 . 9.3 ■ ■Sibbes, East A 23' • , 214' : - 9.3 . Upham', North . 19' . 201 10.5, /^FirilaySori,' w -North". : 14. . 151: : 10.07 -'Bruce,!.Central; A,...';: 14 -155 11:0 : . E. Jiidd, Hutt 13 - 147 11.3 : Mitchell,. Central .-A 13. 143 , 11.9 , '■' , J--i:Pafei'6K, i -.-§outH , .-i ,, .',v:. 1 .. ■ 1 .17 ', 218 1 ] 12.8 ) ''Cpllege..v>f : ''l9', 240 *•. 12:9/ . I.aivs, Confral A 16 . • 210 13.1 • : Saundors, College '17 ' ' 234 . . 13.7 > ; Brice, Ilutt :.... 18 252 14.0 '.:>iTindloy, ; North 16 229 ' 14.3 'Central A... 12 - '172 14.3. .. \ AVilf.oil;' Central ;8... 12 260 21.6, .•Tho'"forog6ing are the 'bowlers- who have j9ir ' ',V, - Elevating the Standard. , : :lSt,:,;Local v 'cricket; touched , its. high-water, .*•'/,Cidark jorj'the' season list- Saturday. First '.'?Si(:.;iras, a day, of- big scoring. . Jlidlane, at .■;j;."-'thesHutt;sand;.Naughton, at the Basin r.'}J'B-csnTei'--,staid-but from the events of ;. / : f the - day 'as pioneers ot'a- century-getting ii-', niovement; ;■ Other batsmen were well up. /'j i.Oii Saturday, as one sat and watched the ■ ■. play, :boundary hits becauie almost, com- ; 7 ;jinbnEla'cei,.yet bowlers as a' body ,were^'bybo*",means forced into the" background.

■:\6n'.' tip 'Contrary, : iri'.inore' than dno iniVnihgs,' -they: had it; pretty.;, much their '■-. own \,way;'-! arid 'only 'in,: rare : l instances :} were .they badly outclassed.' Of late. there '■has'-becria; steady upward, movement; in : all departments of: the game' except the. ■fieHitig,; and;'there are. indications, that -■permanent, progress has been , made. '

{Not a Plane Surface. . ;-■- - i- Fielding on the Basin, it\inust be. ad---nutted; -is.-an"art of peculiar difficulty -..-.and some-little risk. . The' ground ,is 'pitted with hollows, and. embossed with ,'.;, hummocks. 'And; the_ track of tho-ball -.•. isi often! no more reliable than a polrti- ; cian's ,affidavit. '"You '■ just' got to miss N'-.-'em';'-and look pleasant," said a player ;■: on .Saturday,, and that is about the case :"•'.sometimes.' 'It,is .no'-doubt-a very bad K- thing -for ..the gamo to begin to find ex_',:ousos. for players, ri word of excuse v now and then is', permissible. .Tho. con-,-ditioh of the outfield does'really go some wivay, towards .explaining the low standard J-.of, fielding .that obtains on tho Basin ■■'. : : Ecserve,>but it will not explain tho miss- . ing of..- patches by Central A fieldsmen >,;when:Victoria College were at thewick'.:■';ets on' Saturday. "That, however, is an- : pother: story,'. : v ;" -.:,- "..,'■ ..Bowlers at: Fault. ..-i: ....-■. . >;.: "Emerging \with little distinction from i : i.the first: three rounds,of the': season, Cen-;av-tral'A had-a, kind : of-triumphal pro.'.'gress in the.fourth. So completely was ;;':'the. College, team, outclassed that it. is ,: -difficult; to.know at which end of the v'V-itory to\begin. In.batting.it:was hope-r.."--:-2essly-.r'deficient -as. compared with tho ;■'..';champion.eleven of last year, !but from :■;;',. its array of.bowlers it. might very well V.-' , .' have-hoped for better. results. . Saunders '■* ,•.evidently found , the wicket uncongenial. .'"..His bowling 'was, punished freely, . al-;:;:--though not; quite■ so'. indiscriminately as ;"■•;■ that •; of ,his,- companion trundlers. .The /;'. Australian had little, of his normal'com- ..'.- jnand over the ball, and his attack was .:;v singularly'lacking in effect. Panning . -}. :had i-.extraordinar.y• luck- . in: .dismissing ;v vNaiighton, ..and Jyiven arid Staintpn ac- :/. complished frothing at all. When a h'ard- ■' - tried, little squad of bowlers had done its ;':' best', found himself top-riotcher ■ : i' : by' a safe-margin. -. No doubt he was '..niildly.'surprised, .: Big Hitting Batsmen, v:Naughtpn's'play on Saturday was at- .:-.: tractive as,well as safe. . The last-named ' -quality it is true waned a little after :; '•; he.hnd:passed.. the century, but apart V;'from/the single.failure -that cost him his :},:;:wicket, he -might have been batting.yet, ■-for all the.trouble the bowling appeared ■: to.give him. , He plied a free and grace;:'r :ful. bat. and the caution of his opening ; :; play. did. not. by any means reduce him <] .". to. "scratching. , ' , After such a display ;•' the circumstances.of his dismissal may ';■; be.easily forgiven. He lifted a ball to ;": . Caddick. that he could probably have ;'., sent."almost anywhere if he had given it :••;.:'. really serious consideration. ': A,'..Blaroires, : second scorer for, Central. A, >: js another batsman who played a bril- .;'.: liaht innings. ' Few, players surpass him '■■ in power arid liming when he is minded .;■■'t>. make a lusty'drive, and he is equally ■fi remarkable, for versatility. There must ■.'.-.■ !te few', strokes that are outside his ■■&.'"book' 5 and one must conclude that he v : is of the ; stamp which is.liable to make : -a-century .at-any time. Bruce, after a i: lont', , quiet 'spell,, opened out su'rprising-"J:'=-"ly.-:•■Oncor'started all. his hits were big. '■■or tending-iin that direction. His in- -' ■ .included only four singles. ''He was,.'gping strongly when Control dei ■ clared 'their'-.innings closed. As a team '" niM'formnuce:-the: batting of Central. on ■iV Saturday-: would, take, a lot of beating any•y ~. .:-':-;.--:'"'. v-- , ,-■'.■ ..■'.-.'. ■ fl Forlorn .Hope.;: ■;.■■-. ■•-..- ''"■■■' The coliege .wcon'd. innings was a fpr- •: lorn itmfl the customary, fate .'"■ of such , -ventures.- There was nothing in the shape of a collapse, but after- the '.' cavalier fashion in which its attack, was defeated, tho, train wns in -no. condition to make a really stout defence. . Burns was below par, but his, score-of 10 wr.s vseful.'. Niven, who has shown"improving-

I form of late, compiled an equal number in .good stylo. The steadiness with which Oriffiths,'who top-scored with/18 not out, maintained his defence and secured the runs made it seem a pity that ho was not sent in earlier. College obtained so even, a return from a majority of its batsmen that the absence of Monaghan may be counted a real misfortune which probably cost his team" a point. An Easy Victory. ~.'.'■ •' Central; B signally failed to make headway against the onslaught, of North.and were lucky in escaping a three-point defeat. . North were pardonably a little late in closing their second innings, else they would havo had little .difficulty in completing their work. The Central, batting in the first innings was, on .the whole, a feeble exhibition. Gourlay, who played quietly-for U not out, was the only batsman who. rose noticeably from obscurity. Auart from the contributions of Wilkinson" and Portcous, jointly responsible for ,37, tho' remaining scores wore trifling. As a batting combination the team, in fact, collapsed. Blacklock played with easy confidence for his half century, when North returned to the wickets. If his companion batsmeiv could' have ; approached his form, the coveted double innings victory would have followed ' in natural sequence, but most of them seemed intent ' rather 'on emulating the form, or lack of form, shown,by their opponents. .Queerly enough, Findlay and Finlayson, bracketed fast bowlers, both were stumped. The second innings play, as the <nont turned, had no bearing on the result. Central had a wicket in hand, and 37 runs to get, when stumps were drawn. . Dash is not Everything. ' As a batsnianflPinlayson is not exactly the finished product, though he is good; or, at'least, he used to be. Neither is he exactly what one wonld term a brainy bowler.. Still, with the leather, it is to bo; admitted that he makes wonderful play at times. Seven of ciw Central B defenders found him a veritable terror, and Wilkinspn was almost the only man. that gave him any trouble. In ten overs Finlayson took seven wickets; at a cost of 33 runs. If he continues on these lines, he, will, be fairly in tho running for representative honours, but that happy consummation mav require time, for dash. is not everything in a cricketer. His bowling and Blacklock's batting may be taken as the bright features- in a contest otherwise somewhat dull by reason, of tho unmistakable superiority of the successful team. East A's Heavy Victory. The East-A.'eleven had a very easy victory against, the Hutt team on Saturday. ": Midlano made. 126. '..by beautiful cricket, and absolutely threw his wicket away at the finish in the endeavour to force the pace? Maliony batted in something \like his .old, form,- and made 33 , not . out,, although ■he -was lucky to 'survive an appeal for a catch at tho wicket off Brice. Hutt- did a little better -in itheir. second attempt, but were unable to play .but time. < Brice , batted steadily for G2, but.-none of; tho others . made any show at all against' the East truud'lers. The fielding on.the East side- was only .middling. ■' 'Midlane; made two nice catches, but; both Watson and Hutchings were, uncertain.' Tho Hutt fielding was an' improvement ;■ on previous efforts, .but,is still .'patchy..- . The wicket was 'a'gain'perfect, and the outfield was much ■faster than formerly;.- " "■ '■■:'■" " "■ ■■■

. Some of the Hutt players were of opinion that Grimmett is oh form tho best bowler in the ; East team, and should be tried earlier.. His average could have been considerably improved if one or two chances had been taken. ...What is the matter with, Hutchings?, -He seems to have-.lost .form,, hope only temporarily/ ;l ' ;; ? ;; Si>i;i$;- ;: S:v?£Si? The Hutt team. will- be strengthened in their next match by the inclusion of Isherwood and Cate, wicketkeepers. The inclusjon of Hahony in the-repre-sentative, team has been criticised, but after • His showing on Saturday his inclusion will undoubtedly strengthen the team. It is, as has been said in a previous issue, a very good representative side.; •;■'. ' .