ON THE CRICKET FIELD.

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 53, 25 November 1922, Page 14

ON THE CRICKET FIELD.

MATCHES AND PLAYERS' notes and news from all sources

(By

“Burwood.”)

’*> Wellington cricket was revised’ on Saturday - in circumstances that would suggest run-getting by batsmen, but. hopes were not realised. The cricket lacked that enthusiasm that should be ‘shown, in the only metropolitan.centre in New Zealand that has apt reduced ■the number of its senior teams. At iPetone, where the local team were faced with a score of 241 by Welling;toh, two batsmen did not turn up, and the side were all out for the poor .'total of 142. on a wicket that favoured the hat. Had Petone done what Midiltad did—put on 70 runs for the ninth iwicket—their showing would havw been much more like what one expects in Senior cricket.- \

■Another incident that should bung 'home to the minds of 'cricketers the 'fact that the public who support the 'game have an interest in seeing its i rules observed occurred at the chief .ground, the Basin- Reserve. ..When Baker, of Midland, was given out l.b.w. ■he hesitated before'leaving the crease, and was reminded by the crowd that he was out. "Baker may not have understood the umpire’s, decision, or r»;ay\ 'not have agreed with it, but there is 'only 6ne thing to do in such circurnI stances, and that is take your defeat like a sportsman, and make for ■ the pavilion. Batsmen who attain re- ■ presentative honours are looked vp to 'by the younger players as an example 'of what they should do. The ant of ’hesitating when a decision is 'given is likely to create want of confidence in umpires, and the best feature of the summer game, its discipline, becomes impaired. One cannot ; help noticing that the trend of criticism of players, ''•.who crowd the press-box when.a match is on, is unfavourable to umpires. Several decisions were harshly commented on last Saturday at the Basin Reserve. There is a moral in this for umpires and players. Umpires should thoroughly satisfy themselves that a man is out, according to the rules, before, sending him back. Players should not indulge in free and various criticism of umpires’ rulings.

Good fielding was one of the brightest . features of Thorndon’s work in their match with Midland on Saturday. .Owing to/he follow-on. Thorndon were in the field all afternoon. Carruthers rah out two men by brilliant fielding. Doneghue stopped some red-hot strokes, and threw cleanly every-time. Algar, who fielded as substitute, did some very fine work (ft point. It was an agreeable contrast to Midland’s careless work on the previous day. No catches -were dropped. Brook’s catch in the outfield, which dismissed Judd, was taken low down, and was 'a verv fine effort. The cables tell us that Chapman, the finest field in the English team, smartly ran out Woodfpll. in the Victorian match, after he had 'been at the wickets two houis.and 45 minutes. Th : s is an example that may bp emulated with great success in Wellington cricket, especially by men who do not take their turn at tho bowling crease.

That hardy old veteran. H. C. Watson, who captains Institute and coaches colts, came into his own on Saturday. In the first match he had the chagrin to get his leg in front of one from' Phillips, after scoring 19. when only two:of his youthful team failed to get double figures. Last week he went in when four wickets werg down for 31 runs, and when the follow-on was 140 runs off. He played with becoming caution until he was set, and then drove and. hooked with ease, making the bowling look cheap. Princp stayed the "rot” with him, and the pair made things,, look honeful for the side. But the last four wickets only realised 42. Institute was sick in the head and paralysed in the tail. •

Ronaldson, of Old Boys, who, with Lambert, topped the 500 runs last season, is batting this year as if he intends to eclipse his previous best. Last Saturday he notched 43 not out, after getting 70 in the first innings. Thi» gives him an aggregate of 160, with an average of 80. Strenuous ploy in another game overseas affected Ronaldson’s cricket. for some„time. and his friends arc glad to tee him once again showing glimpses of his best form.

When the selector chose his fourteen players for “rep.” practice, one' was minded to ask whether it was wise to have only one wicketkeep, Warne, in khe practice team. The day following their first turn at the nets Warne did not assume the pads, as usual, for Thorndon. blit oppimd th" bowling, with Plant, against Midland. He suited himself to the change so successfully that he secured five wickets, for 64 runs three of his victims being" put. "hit on wicket.” What is going to happen now. in the matter of choice of wicketkeep? ' Thorndon- are likely to keep Warne bowling, but Wellington wants a wicl/eikeep. Experience shows that it-is well to have two wicketkeeps In practice, as one may injure a hand or fingfO**. I s * Oondliffe, of-Hutt, Avho represented Wellington last ypjjr,■ who had a‘batting average of 26 i.28 in grade cricket, not available? What ot James, of Institute? Has the selector noted his. record to date? Of 620 runs scored against his side in two matches, the byes in that-- total number 7 only. This is a record for alertness at the wickets that calls for some recognition. James has two not-ou't innings to his credit so far.

The decision of the Wellington Cricket Association to extend its sphere of selection beyond thp metropolis to the provincial will lie warmly received, bv these latter, and it is sincerely to be hoped that other metropolitan cricket bodies will adopt tho same svstem. One cannot help remarking on the quality of performances of batsmed and bowlers in Manawatu. Wairarapa, Rangitikei, Hawke,s Bay, and Wanganui, from which the provincial selec.tion is in future to be marie It is safe to assume that, on performances to date, several players in the districts named will have serious claims to consideration. To, select half-a-dozen at random, there are: Cane (Hawke’s Bay), Cameron (Rangitikei), whose average was 63 in Hawke Cup matches last year, A. Hoar (Wairarapa).; and Darby and Holland (Wanganui); ' Gallichan, the Manawatu bowler, and the Wairarapa . trundlers Wilson and Logan are also doing well this season.. .

Tile best performances at Auckland last 'week were: —BattingAnthony {Parnell), 70; Frater (North Shore), 72: Cooper (Eden), 55 ,>', o Pos^ B (Eden), 46 not out: McLeod (Parnell), 41. "Bowling: Allcott (Grafton), seven for 45; Broberg (Ponsonby), three for 13; Coates (North Shore), two for 29.

A. 1, F. Chapman’s extraordinary batting success on Australian -wickets has fully justified the glowing anticipations of English critics. That wellinformed writer, 1). L. A. .jephson, writing in the Ixmdon "Daily Mail.” the day before-the team sailed by tne Orvieto, wrote thus of Chapman; "Personally, I think the great rungetter will be A. P. F. Chapman, provided he can accustom himsdf to that extra bit of pace in the Australian wickets.... On his day there is no more surprising batsman. He gives of the ‘unexpected’ with liberal hands, and each run that he scores—ard he can score all round the wicket—is a ‘Chapman run/ original, lively, and very, very satisfying. The fielding is not only solid, but, with Chapman and Wilson, will rise to heights of super-ex-cellence.”

Hutt dbserve every credit, for their win. Their batting was not a very special feature. They were helped in their total by somewhat lax fielding on the part of certain of the members of the opposing team. But with the ball and in the field they showed! their determination lo let slip no opportunity of keeping down runs and getting wickets. McGirr made a tactical error in not taking himself off sooner than he did, and putting Nunn oh. in his place. It is true that he had hard luck on several occasions, but the manner in which 1 both Nunn and Aldersley Literally walked through Y.M.C.A. was a matter for astonishment. They were given all the necessary support in the field, and the catch by McGirr. which brought about the dismissal of M. Henderson, was a good one. So. too, with Watson’s catch of one of Fulton’s'hits. Having regard to all conditions, Hutt undoubtedly proved themselves to be the better team. - /. \

Mark Nicholls, late of Petone and ex-international Rugby player, scored 35 for Parnell (Auckland) last Saturday bv hard hitting. He was mainly responsible for University’s defeat. With tho ball, he took two of the? later University wickets in the first innings for 29 runs. - There is a possibility that Nicholls will be back m Wellington next season. . ■

• Allcott. of Graftonwho captured seven wickets for 45 rpus against North Shore last Saturday, dismissed three men in one over.

What with the great number of teams entered for the senior and junior cricket grades, people are apt to overlook the performances of the youths of the lower grades. Last Saturday is a case in point. An examination of the results shows that quite a fair number obtained results of 80 runs and upwards. In the Y.M.C.A. League, Mabin. playing for secondary, scored 74. Greig for College B 75. while C. Watt for Combined against Te Aro retired after notching 107. With the ball, in the fourth grade. Martin took nine wickets for 22. W. Kogers five for 9, A. Bogers two for 0. • . Apart from Hiddleston’s exhibition of smart scoring arid Cate’.s display behind the wickets, the concluding day of the Wellington-Petone match was a disappointment. Ketone msdo an extremely poor stand in their initial pd fort, and were luckv in saving a “follow on.” The fielding on boyi sides was weak. In the bowling section Bern nau (four for 35) secured the best aven age <for Wellington, while for '.Ketone Corner was the most successful, with three for 23. The following 25 players have been selected in Auckland to practise ,in view of the match against MacLaren s English team, commencing on December 8. and for the southern tour — R. Whelan. J. Cooper, G. B. Cummings. W. B. Smith. A. Irving (Eder.), C, Allcott, R. W. Rountree, E. Horspool, Patterson (Grafton), A. Anthony, E. McLeod. R. Somervell, M. Moore, L. G. Hemus (Parnell). S. G. Smith. N. C. Snedden. H. E. Burton, N. Bass (Ponsonby). C. Deere. R. J. Coates. L. Elliott (North Shore). A. S. Plaver.- W. Garrard. R. Garrard, C. L. .Metgh (University). Wellington has selected only 14 players for practice. Cricket is a game, full of surprises. One such was the defeat of Y.M.C.A. by Hutt. Hutt batted first, and compiled 184, Hughes being the top scorer with a rather lucky 53. Y.M.C.A. sent a failing light, lost R. Henderson,, when ho had made 8. At the close of day the score stood at one for 19. Last Saturday, with all hope of knocking tip the necessary 164 to win under the most ideal conditions, and on a wicket entirely favourable. Y.M.C.A;" found themselves short of that total by 51 runs. The reason is hard to find. It was extraordipary thnt no effort was made to force 1 the pace. R. Jopes’s exhibition when he made 34 was a. lesson in stonewalling when apparently there was no necessity to stonewall. All the others, with' the exception of H. Murphy (23 not out) and P. R. Fulton (14), followed suit. It would almost seem when the .fifth wicket went down that the remaining batshien were seriously handicaped by their desire to play safe, and this reason possibly had some bearing on the quick manner in which they found it necessary to retire to the pavilion, there to become interested spectators of their comrades’ nong to rosy positions. MacLaren expressed a wish for the six-ball over, when ho tossed up at Adelaide, but Dr. C. E. -Dollint; declined, and the English captain did not press the point. Probably ho was Ijot aware that the M.C.O;.had cabled consenting to the eight-ball over. Tile takings in the South Australia v_. M“GO. totalled about £5OO. *

IN OTHER CENTRES The Hawke Cup is ao;ain in competition. Wanganui, the holders, had an easy task, stalling off the challengers, Rangitikei, whom they defeated by an innings. W’anganui, batting first, scored 309. London, Orr, and Holland, tho first three batsmen, notched 67, 72, and 80 in that order. Despite the heavy scoring, R. McKay had the creditable bowling average of four wickets for 44 runs. * Rangitikei scored 137 and 69. "Extras” top-scored m the second innings. Bowling honours went to Holland (five for 26) and Wood (four for 39). Holland scored 91 in the Hawke Cup last year, when ’ Wanganui beat Nelson, and won tho Shield. A. Hoar continues to pile up runs in the' Wairarapa. For United last Saturday he scored 74, and Styles 79, in the total of 218 for three wickets against Carterton, who were disposed of for 101, half of which were got by C. Gallon, who opened the innings F, Hoar brought about Carterton’s downfall. capturing seven wickets for 34. / Tho "primaries” of Masterton school defeated the "secondaries” by an innings. •" . Kemball, with 48 not out, and O’Dowd (42) were the chief scorers in Pirates’ 138 against Masterton, who lost four for 105 (Miles 37, Freeman 25). Logan, of .Masterton, took five wickets for 77. Nelson Town rattled up 84 in oil minutes in response to 110 by College, for whom Adams (51) was tho chief B °M er j. O’Connor, tho well-known Levin sportsman, has presented the Horowhenua Association with a shield for primary schools. •i ■ In the Manawatu competition, Old Bovs scored 72 and 158 against R.S.A., 67 and four for 98. High School scored 127 and 65 against Railway 162 (MeVicar 54, Mullins 37). One run short of tho century was Hamper’a performance for Geraldine, 194, against Temuka, who Host five for 69, ’ . Archie Hamilton, first century-getter in Southland, scored 54 not out in Union’s total of 101 for seven wickets against Appleby, 203, for whom Lillie and Glozier got 39, Poole 86, and Petrie 29. Nine batsmen got double figures— i something of a cricket record’ for Waitaki High School, 354, against Otago H.S. (210). Tho damage was mostly done by Nixon (68),Elmslie (5/), Levin (45). and McCallum (37). Otago scored 210. A young man possessing a famous cricket name, Bardsley, scared 57, and Duncan, with 69, was another good performer. Writing of the tour of Aho Invercargill C.C., a Southland writer says:—"It is a motor tour, with cricket matches thrown in.” Gleeson, of that team, scored 55 and Camm 48 not out, in their total of 144 for three wickets against Marist, 60. Doig took four wickets for 28 runs, and Dr. Brown four for 26.

Archie Hamilton, of the Union Club, Invercargill, continues his run-gettmg career, and scored 86 last Saturday. Gleeson scored 55, Camm 48 (retired), arid Doig 47 and four wickets for 30 ’for 1.C.C., against Marist.. who were defeated "by an Innings. Appleby won on the first innings from Union. - < -'Vn Smith Canterbury competitions, Geraldine, 194 and 73, beat Temuka, 121 and 101. For, the former, Harper took five wickets for 52, and, for the latter, Lee took seven for 40. High School, 126 and 51, lost on the. first innings to Celts, 1/0 and none for 9 Kane, for Celts, took six wickets for 21. Old Boys, 184 and 126 (Thomson 43) heat Timaru, 150 (Eaton 67) and. two for 47. Davis (O.B.) took five wickets for 61. ■' McWhirter scored 40, and took six wickets for 33 for Zingari, 86 and 118, against Star, 91 and 73. Jepps (Star) took five wickets for 21.

Gale scored 105 not out for Union, 107 and 159, against Albion, 108 and six for 34, in the North Otago competition. For Union, Robertson took six' wickets for 14. Hargreaves scored 41 and took five wickets for 31, for Oamaru, 172 and 6 for 102 against High School, 77 arid 6 for 150 (Levin 42). Harper (Oamaru) took five wickets for 31. ' In Hawke’s Bay, St. Matthews, 169 (Millet 50, O’Brien six wickets for 47) and 165 (Murley 74). lost to Scmdo, 265 and two fcr 116 (Bradburn 40 n. 0., Jacobsen 39, O’Brien 32 n. 0.). Hastings, 200 and 157 (Drake five for 30) beat United, 155 (Brown 55, Napier seven wickets for 56) and four for 108 (Drake 36). Lambert, late of Wellington, continues to get runs at New Plymouth. For that club last Saturday he scored ed 62, and took three wickets - for 7 against Western Park, who were easily beaten on the first innings. Bottrill scored 104, retired, and took seven wickets for 24 runs for Old Boys, who scored 181 for two wickets against Inglewood. 41 and five for 35. Mahraj scored 91 for High School, 187, against Urenui, 59. At Wanganui', United scored 144 and 1.82 (C. S. Smith 45, Tronson five wicikets for 63) against Old Boys, 92 and 128(Hussev six wickets for 48). College scored 63 and 8 for 159 (Hare 64. Craig 47) against Wanganui, 92 and one for 53. In the Waikato, Old Boys scored 130 and six for 127 (Gilmore 49) against Frankton. 97 (Gilmore five wickets for 37) and 4 for 124 (R. Carter 56 n. 0., E, Carter 42). St. Paul’s 282 beat Ngaruawdhla, 70 and 188. In the ) Rangitikei, competition, R.S.C.C. scored 110. against Huntersville 45'"(Sutcliffe six wickets for 8 runs). Marton scored 93 (Arkwright five wickets for 23) against Porewa 129 (Cameron 58). Nelson College scored 241 last week against a team of Old Boys lod by. F.. R. Neale. Saxon (48). Adams (42), and Rix-trott (44 not out) wore the principal scorers. McKellar, who played with Thorndon lasfc ( season, got 15. S. Nealo was bowled off his pads for 9, ;but captured four wickets, at the rate of 20 runs per wicket. Blincoe also took four wickets. Owing to Trafalgar Park not being ready yet, Stoke (68) and Athletic (63) had to play their exciting game out of town. Some thumbnail sketches of the English cricketers by South Australian critics indicate that Hill-Wood lias red hair; Chapman. McLean, and Caßhorpe aro over six feet: Frgeman, the googlie bowler, is one of the lightest men seen on a cricket figld : Titcbmarsh is very little taller; Tyldesley is a short, stocky, typical Lancashire man; heavy moustaches' are worn by Wilkinson and Colonel Hartley who is over 50; and Macl/aren’s hair and moustache arc) grey.

WELL DONE, ENGLAND! GALLANT STAND AGAINST VICTORIA Hearty congratulations to MacLaren and his merry men on the fine exhibition they gave against Victoria! “Wait till they go East,” had almost become a parrot cry among the critics, as the Englishmen were playing West and South Australia. Now they have come to Victoria, and passed through, leaving a feeling that, although they may not, in the opinion of their critics in England, be regarded as an international side, MacLaren’s team have given the Southern State a severe shaking. It will take Victoria quite a long time to get over it. It remains to be seen what the Englishmen will do against the mighty State of New South Wales—mighty in its territories, and in-its cricket quality and traditions. Every cricketer in New Zealand will ba scanning the cables anxiously on another page for the progress of tho battle between the Chapmans and Freemans and the Banisleys arid O’Connors. Then, hey for the New Zealand trip, and good luck to the Dominion 1 MacLaren altered the disposition of his forces for the match against Victoria. Hill-Wood gave way to (Hon. I). F. Brand, and Lowry, who kept wickets in the other two Matches, was replaced by McLean, tho regular wlo. ket-keep for Worcester who played more .innings in county cricket than any other member of "the team, not excluding the Hon. F. G. S. Calthorpe. the captain of Warwickshire. McLean did well in the second innings, when the team was straining hard to dismiss Victoria for less than 163 runs. What an undertaking 1 ■ Yet how nearly did they go to it! It does not seem fair io express it the way the cable man does —that, had it not been for Calthorpe and Gibson, two sterling triers, dropping catches, England would have won. Take your catch or drop it it’s all in the game, which is Tiot won or lost till the numbers are on the board. But don’t blame Calthorpe, for he was the hero of the English bowlers, and brought about the down fall of Willis, who top-scored, Hansford. Keating, and Liddicutt, a powerful batting quartet, in all conscience. What a great performance was that .of Hartkopf! In the first innings he was not put on to bowl till 173 runs were on the board, and he captured five wickets for 23 runs. In the second innings, he must have bowled right through the innings, for he took the first and last batsmen, .'and secured eight wickets for J. 05 runs; his record for the match was thirteen wickets, at a cost of 9.8 runs apiece. Chapman has again proved himself the greatest batsman in the team. His performance was tho best to date, and it must have been the most entertaining for the cablegrams tell us that he scored tho lart 50 in half an hour. His batting figures to date are:—7s and 58, v K We«tuAustralmi_§3_snd 53 v. South Australia;' and 73 and 69 y. Victoria. Just as Townsend accounted for him in both innings at Adelaide, so Hartkopf did tho same at Melbourne. It is unusual for batsmen of great calibre to be stumped, so Chapman s fate in the first innings may bo something of a lesson, to be mastered in his centurygetting career. j Congratulations are tinged with a little regret that Calthorpe, who went close to getting his thousand runs in County cricket, has not yot struck form with the bat. Neither has Tyldesley. who has not yet cached _ double figures, after batting five times. Now Zealand will probably have to pay the penalty of this lack of form. s Tho averages of the Englishmen, up to and inclusive of tho Victori/n match, are appended: — BATTING.

CRICKET IN AUSTRALIA All the eight matches in the Sydney grade competitions were decided on the first innings. Two fresh centurygetters turned up in Chapman (119 not out) and Boyce (135), of Gordon, who knocked up 220 for the fifth wicket in two hours. Phillips, of Itandwick, followed up his 142 by taking five North Sydney wickets for 54. Waverley, last year’s premiers, are leading the competition. . In a total of 645 runs scored against his side in the representative “trial match, Oldfield, who kept wickets m the absence of Carter through illness, allowed but three byes. ? Victory by four runs, after an exciting game, was University’s experience against Melbourne. - Ransford, captain of Melbourne, tried his hand with the ball, and took three wickets for 34. Wallace, who bowled fairly well against the Englishmen, took six wickets for 55 for Prahran, and Philpott (Carlton) got seven wickets for 39. Keating, who also bowled subsequently against MacLaren’s team, took seven for 21 for Collingwood. St. Kild a had only 27 runs to -make, with six wickets intact, against South Mel-

When Poneke and Solwyn meet on the football field, the odds are usually on the Red and Black, but such is not tho case at cricket. On Saturday, Selwyn secured an outright win. After scoring 83, Poneke followed on, and did better, registering 202, to which E. McCardill contributed 59 and Cooper 50 (five boundaries). Kilbirnie and Selwyn are now tho only unbeaten teams in the junior A grade. Wellington’s display was very feeble against Midland at Anderson Park. It took them nearly an hour to get 50 runs, although the bowling was by no means formidable. Bartholomew, the only one to go for the bowling, was dismissed in an unusual manner. Having survived an appeal for 1.b.w., he walked out of his crease, and tho wicket-keep promptly put the wicket down. Hatch, of Midland, got six wickets for 16. Lyall Bay continue unbeaten in the third A grade\ having severely defeated University on Saturday. The students played without several of'their regular team. Besides Chapman, there are several good fielders in the English team Wilkinson is described as an elegant batsman. South Australian writers say they will not be surprised if Chapman is in tho ixext representative team.

Chapman. ... Titchmarsh Inn. N.O. H.S. T’l. Av’ge 60.00 39.40 . 6 . 6 0 1 75 82 360 197 Wilkinson . . 6 0 64 192 32.00 Wilson . 40 61 111 27.75 McLean . 2 1 11* 19 19.00 Brand . 4 1 21 52 17.33 Hill-Wood .. . 4 0 30 64 16.00 MacLaren . . 4 0 41 58 1Q.50 Lowry Calthorpe •• . 3 . 4 0 0 20 19' 41 46 13.66 12.50 Gibson . 5 1 17 37 9.25 Freeman .. . 5 3 6 15 7.50 Tyldesltjy ... Hartley .... . 5 . 1 0 0 7 3 20 3 4.00 3.00 bowling. . ’-K.. . Wickets Iluns Av’ge 4 79 19.75 8 205 25.06 8 230 113.75 13 390 30.00 Calthorpe 5 176 . _ 35.20. Chapman Hill-Wood . 0 21 0 30