ON THE CRICKET FIELD

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 69, 15 December 1923, Page 20

ON THE CRICKET FIELD

MATCHES AND PLAYERS

NEWS AND NOTES FROM ALL SOURCES

(Bj

“Burwood.”)

COMING EVENTS, beeember 21, 22.— Country v. Town, at 26, 27—Auckland v. Wellington. at Wellington. December 31, January 1 and 2—Canterbury v. Wellington, at Wellington. January 1 and Junior v. Canterbury Juniors, at Christchurch. V ‘CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE X ' The championship table to date is (

I The present season will see the bigtest stride forward which has ever Keen made in Wellington cricket, this . refers to the sportsmanlike decision of the Management Committee of We Wellington Cricket Association tc> select teams for the Plunket Shield matches from the whole of. the province In this the wise policy of the New Zealand Cricket Council is being faithfully observed. The outcome will Im that'a great stimulus will be given to the game in the Wairarapa, Hawke s Bay Manawatu, Wanganui, and Rangitikei districts. The best P laj ’®. r ? “ these country centres will now have . a greater incentive to get. into and keen in their very best form, dfe hope of gaining the honour of a place teams for the big matches wi 1 +Viatti all on, with the result that “trtSii" “j pW ’in A. r ;• to be heartily congratulated , decision to play a tpwn v. .«JUnt y match in Wellington. This will serve as an excellent trial match, and will afford Mr. K. H. Tucker, the sole seN lector, an opportunity of seeing the 22 > best players in the province m action 4 before he makes his final selection of ? the .’team to meet Auckland m the Plunl2f»t Shield ijmtch here at Christmas time. . , - The Wellington Association have dearly decided to give the country players every chance of winning their spurs, as Wellington elevens will also play matches with Manawatu and N Wairarapa. This cementing of the full strength of the province should soon see the Plunket Shield reposing m the Empire City, as no other province has such important cricketing centres to Idiraw up’bn as Wanganui (the holders of the Hawke Cup), Napier, Palmers- : (ton North, and Masterton. With the Auckland match only a Couple of weeks away, it is pleasing to., see that a few of the Wellington men have struck their best form. J. S. Hiddleston, the mainstay of tSe . Wellington Club, has jumped into his Very best stride, and should take the ‘ field agrijist the northern invaders on Christmas Day ready to give of his best .with both bat and ball. Hiddle- • ston put up a sterling all-round peril formance against Petone on the Hutt recreation ground last Saturday. liis six for 49 was a capital effort with the ball against such a strong batting side. «' Hiddleston can do more with the ball than any man in the game in the'Dominion to-day. He can turn them from both sides, and can also swing them in the air, while ha has every variety of pace from slow to fast medium. On his day he can go through the best batting side on .a good wicket, ’ ns he proved in 1918 when he routed ’ the Canterbury eleven on a batsman’s i wicket at Christchurch to the tune of i seven for 56, Hjfldleston followed up - his fine bowling spurt on Saturday by hittuig up 62 not out against such able bowlers as Brice and Finlayson. It is pleasing to see this fine all-j-ound player in such form on the eve of the big

matches. IV hat a terrible thing a rot is, to be Sure. Can any of our readers tell us why it is well-nigh impossible to stop 0. rout when it has once set in? Is it due to psychological causes? Anyhow, the Hutt eleven, holders of the senior championship, suffered from B pronounced rot at' the Basin Reserve on Saturday last. Admitting that Judd and Patrick bowled well, the bowling was not good enough to T dismiss a batting side such as the Hutt possesses for 106' runs. But this was the sorry record the scoring board had to show when the last wicket fell. It was just another case of early success spurring bowlers and fieldsmen on to follow their wining streak. Nothing succeeds like success, and the downfall of each wicket heartened the bowlers to renewed effort with a corresponding loss of confidence on the part of the incoming batsmen. Mcbirr, the Hutt captain, who is a big-hearted player, who came in fourth wicket down, made a valiant attempt to stop the disastrous rot which had set in. He went for the bowling resolutely, and was going the right wav about hitting them off their length, when he fell to a brilliant catch by Baker, off Patrick, low down at second slip. After thia Aldersley was the only batsman who made any pretence of 'dealing with Judd and Patrick. His 36 showed that runs could be got, and got at a good pace. When apparently nicely sot, ho was snapped up by Patrick off Judd. Paun completed the rout by clean howling the last three men. All credit must be given to Patrick and Judd for a great bowling feat The former secured five for 51, and the latter four for 4 7- a”' 1 '•’* were well backed up fcy keen fielding. That the wicket could not be blamed Iras proved by the fact that Midland in the two hours and quarter remainin the two hours and quarter remaining for play ran u.p 268 for nine j. xiutchings claimed no fewer than 112 of this total, and was unbeaten at f>be close. Ho came in third wicket down, and soon got a good sight of the ball. He came down heavily on the jhort or over-pitched stuff, and was Srticularly effective on the off side, iving powerfully and timing the nquare and late cuts well. As Hutchings is a useful slow leg-break bowler in,nd a capable ffaJdanwa. his ohaanes of

inclusion in the team against Auckland must be particularly rosy. One of his best assets is that he never does so well* as when the fight is going against his side. Hutchings has scored 200 runs for twice out this season, which gives him the nice little batting average of an even 100. Patrick proved that he is a good allround player by cracking up 31 in quick time. He went in seventh wicket down, and. made things lively while ho was associated with Hutchings. Beard was the only bowler an the Hutt side who kept the batsmen quiet. He sent down fifteen overs at a cost of 71 runs, and captured five wickets. Watson bowled the same number of overs for 66 runs, but only claimed one wicket. Aldersley' secured three for 64 off ten overs. Nunn was freely hit about, his six overs costing 55 rune. McGirr has not yet recovered from the rick which he received while bowling at the commencement of the season. He only bowled one over on Saturday. This was a serious handicap to the variety of the Hutt attack. The budding Trunipers and Macartneys of the Institute team, found on Saturday that they could not flash the blades against Henderson and Whito with the same dash and abandon they had shown against the Wellington attack. As a matter. of fact, the Institute men were scratching for runs against Y.M.C.A., and had it not been for a serviceable stand by Burt and Malcolm for the eighth wicket the score would have been a very modest one. This pair carried the total from 114 to 176 before Burt was beaten all the way by a good one from White. His 41 was a sound batting effort, as was that of Malcolm, who was 42 not out. All out for 178 was a big drop from the 400 for seven wickets they piled ftp against Wellington. Henderson and White were the destroying agents, the former taking five for 59. and the latter three for 44. Haughey, the exAuckland and Canterbury lefthander, did not meet with success on Saturday, his solitary wicket costing 46 runs. Collins, of the Old Boys eleven, has blossomed out into quite a serviceable fast bowler this season The Thorndon men did riot at all relish his express deliveries at Kelburn Park on Saturday. Keeping up a rare turn of speed, Collins clean bowled l the colt, A. Martin, the Thorndon skipper (W. Warne), A. J. Hyder, and D. Leg,gat, while K. C. Mason was caught off his bowling. His five wickets only cost 39 runs. If McGirr is unable to bowl in the match against Auckland. Collins may be able to fill the role of fast bowler for the side. Thorndon could only fct ape 175 together, and with the exception of Mason (46), Ellerm (26), Phillips (25), Warne (20). and Brook (17), the remained of the side gave an ignoble disPl *A.' J. Hydier, the ex-Wanganui player, is proving' a valuable bowling recruit for Thorndon. He secured two for 13 on Saturday, one of his victims being D. C. Collins. 'Hyder bowled very ably against Vernon (Hansford s Australian eleven at Wanganui, and the visitors from the other s’de were greatly impressed with his deliveries. He can swing them in the air in puzzling fashion at times. A. Ronaldson is batting in dashing style for Old Bovs this season. In his sides tally of 105 for five wickets on Saturday, Ronaldson’s* 39 not out figured prominetly.

Mr. D. McKenzie writes.: “I would like to take your cricket writer to task for his statement ‘ that the ground at the Wellington College is on the small side to play a representative cricket match, ft is so, I will admit, in comparison with the Basin Reserve, but teams who have visited us from overseas—Australian ones in particular — have always expressed surprise at the fact that the boundaries arc so big at the Basin Reserve. The wicket that is being prepared on the college ground for the Auckland-Wellington match at Christmas time will be distant from the boundary on all sides not less than 56 yards, and this is up to the average size of a picket ground. I do not profess to know the relative sizes of the grounds in different parts of Australia, but I am assured that the Adelaide Oval—just to cention one ground on which big matches have been played —does not reach to the dimensions I have mentioned. The college ground will provide a decent one on which to play the Auckland-Wellington match for the Plunket Shield, and, if only a shower or two of the rain we are all hoping feir comes soon, ! “Budge.” Brbwer will prepare a wicket that will allow a keen and interesting game to be played—one in keeping with the traditions of the matches between those two centres in the past.

K. R. J. Saxon, the Nelson batsman, made his third century for the season on Saturday. In championship matches, his average is 124.75. Play-, ing against Stoke, on paper one of' the strongest teams, College in the first innings made 162 (Saxon 46). Stoke replied with 123 (Langbeen 58). College then knocked up 180 for the loss of four wickets (Saxon 100 not out,' Airey 26). Stoke were + hen dismissed for 108 (Langbeen 56). This match places College in a promising position for the senior championship. Saxon also fielded well throughout both innings. The Sydney colts had a day out two weeks back, while the ‘big guns” were away in Brisbane. The best performances wore: T. Hughes (St. George), 141; H. H. Datson (Sydney), 138; F. Rowland (Mosman), 137; T. J. Andreivs (Petersham), not out, 115; J. M. Taylor (University). 110; A. Punch (North Sydney), 98; G. Targett (St. George), 89; R. D. Fusedale (St. Gooree), 89; P. M. King (.Sydney), 82; G. Kelloway (Gordon), not out, 80; •. Knclerson (Mosman), net out, 75; C. W. Hosking (Gordon), 72; L. Gwynne (Manly), 72.

An attempt to supply our readers with the batting and bowling averages of the Auckland “rep” team has failed, as the records are not complete in the northern Press. However, some of the best performances are:—Batting: Anthony, 82; Wilson, 57, 69 not out; Smith, 103, 54; Burton, 104; Dacre, 56, 41, 35; I .rater, 43, 77. Bowling: Alcott, 4 —31, 7 —24, 5 27; Wilson, &—74. 5 — 34, 5—27.

REPRESENTATIVE TEAM WANTED, A SLOW BOWLER In the choice of a team to represent the City against thtf Country, and the Province against Auckland, the selector (Mr. Tucker) will find great difficulty in getting a slow howler from the material available. All the bowlers likelv to be considered for selection are medium, fast-medium, or fast trundlers, and the quality, judged frorn the first-grade averages, is sound enough, compared with recent seasons. But no slow bowler has come forward yet, although it is understood a sharp look-out has been kept among the likely material in the ranks of the colts. It is unfortunate that the Country and Plunket Shield matches are to be played in such close proximity to each other. In ordinary circumstances, the selector should have the opportunity of using the city-country match, as a recruiting ground for the ‘.‘possibles’’ for the Plunket Shield matches. As it is likely that some young players will get their first representative game in the city match,* much depends on whether they will exhibit what is known as the “big-game temperament,” so as to enable them to. be considered for the more important shield matches..On the other hand, the country atch will afford the selector an opportunity of eliminating players who have already some experiencej hut who do not satisfy him that their form is such as would warrant their selection in the provincial team. The association would do well in arranging the future fixtures with sufficient time between them to enable the Plunket Shield team to be selected after the country match. Such a course is not practicable this season,, as country players in the Plunket Shield team would only he given three or four days’ notice of their selection. Discussing the city and provincial teams together, it would appear that the selector will not have great difficulty in selecting batsmen, as a number’of them have already reached their form. But, with the bowlers, it is a d’fferent matter. The city players who represented Wellington against Auckland last season might be. with two exceptions, considered again for selection. They are Hiddleston, Baker. Dempster. Kortlnng, McGirr, and Brice. The exceptions are Ro.naldson and Cate. Ronaldson is considerably below his form this season, one reason being that he has taken to keening wickets, which has a marked effect, in altering for a batsman the judgment of the flight of the ball. It is for this reason that so few wicketkeeps are first-class batsmen. Cate has been keeping wickets for Petone, but has not yet exhibited form in that position. Other candidates for that pos’tion are Condliffe, who, with Cate, “kept” in the Test matches last year, and James, one of the most promising of the colts. James has had two seasons’ good performances behind the wickets for bis club, and the selector might with advantage give him nn opportunity to show his fitness for the bigger cricket.

We append the batting and bowling averages to date of nlavers. that might form the nucleus of the city team to represent Wellington:—

This team w’ould include three players, Massey, Watson, and James, who would be new to representative cricket The records, of each during the present season might justify their being given a trial, and would ensure consideration for those who are coming on, as compared with' players of experience. Brice, on his performances, might be lucky to get a place in the team, but, although he has failed with the bat, and done not too well with the ball, still, on a wicket that helps him at all, ho is always a distinct asset to the bowling strength.. This choice leaves out of consideration for the present of W. A. Aldersley, who represented Wellington against Canterbury last season, but who only captured two wickets for 78 runs. The Country flayers. Doubtless, the‘selector will give a good deal of consideration to country players, especially in view of the great need for a slow bowler. The Wairarapa would very much like to see F. Hoar, their star bowler, given a trial. He has a good record this year, having taken 19 wickets for 260 runs for his chib, United, in the Wairarapa competitions, up to last Monday. Ho has also developed into a batsman this season, for he has a batting average of 51.75 runs for four completed innings. Unfortunately, we have not had an opportunity of seeing Hoar trundling in what we might term “big compay,” but we believe he ought to bo tried out in a representative fixture. He will doubtless have his chance in tho Country Eleven on Friday next. If he succeeds against the Wellington

team, it will "be too late to select him against Auckland, but his opportunity will come later. Taranaki will be practically sure to be represented by Lambert in the match against Auckland. He is in form with the bat —although not yet his best —but he has the temperament for good cricket. Lambert has his ups and downs. He failed in the Hawke Cup match against Wanganui last year, yet he had a great record of success gainst the Englishmen, at Wanganui, and in the second Test (80 fo ronce out), failing again in the third Test. Another Toranaki player whose claims are being canvassed is Kingston, for the position of wicketkeep. He has good performances for Western Park, opening the season with a century. A Taranaki visitor stated last week that Kingston was now “keeping” as well as Dick Rountree. In such case, we may see him in the Country Eleven. Wanganui’s chief candidate for , selection will be Holland, who captured 11 wickets for 114 against Manawatu, in the Hawke Cup match last week. London, who scored 44 and 72 not out in the same match, is also in good form, also Orr, who has scored 347 runs in club cricket, for an average of 173.5 for five innings. Treadwell has an average of 53 runs. Manawatu may hope again to have Grant in the Plunket team, but his performances this year do not inspire. In the Hawke match he did very little either with bat or ball, and was not successful for Wellington against the Englishmen last year. Ongley, who has been bowling well, is strongly supported in that district for a place in the Plunket team. Hawke’s Bay have a slow bowler in O’Connell, who had fine performances last season, although he only took one wicket for 89 and two for 63 in the Hawke Cup match against Wanganui. This year, he is doing fairly only. Berneau, formerly of Wellington, has not yet struck his best form with bat or ball, but may exhibit some of his last season’s form in the country match. It looks as if the selector’s search for a slow bowler may not be rewarded just yet; in such, event, Brice may be selected among the bowlers. BIG SCORING AT DUNEDIN At Dunedin last Saturday, Carisb’rook ran up the great score of 517 for three wickets against Albion on the Carisbrook ground. Worker and H. Duncan established a record first-r-icket partnership for Dunedift, and for the first time there three centuries were scored in one innings, and the I'TfijTiest score for one afternoon’s batting was registered. The bowlers were unable to get the ftsast assistance from the wicket, which played truly—no rising balls, no shooters, no patches. Practically every Albion man was tried at the bowling crease (states the “Otago Daily Tinies”), but none,of them was in any way troublesome. Only two actual chances were given during the afternoon. Duncan gave one chance to Shepherd in compiling his century, but it was not accepted. Worker amassed a total’that missed the double century bv six for about three hours’ batting. ‘He played only one uppish stroke, and that not within reach of a fieldsman. He opened with H. Duncan, and scored all round the wicket. Timing perfectly, he executed .every stroke in cricket, and revelled in leg bits. His play was charming, and it was only when tired out that his wicket fell to almost a wide ball on the leg side. Worker, a left-hander, in attempting to play this ball, knocked his bail off, having first survived an appeal for caught behind the wickets. H. Duncan’s display, though not quite as finished as that of his partner, was a fine effort, and his scoring was much faster than on previous occasions. He kept the ball low, and time after time drove past the bowler on either side. His century was made in about 90 minutes. He and Worker reached their centuries in the same When H. Duncan was bowled by Blamlres (221—1—104) Dunning joined Worker. They took the score to 400

for one wicket, both playing the bowling with the utmost confidence. Then Worker went with the score at 403 for two wickets, his total including 29 fours. H. Duncan’s total included 14 fours. H. C. Alloo was the next to go in, but his partnership with Dunning was severed 18 runs later (421—3 —117). Dunning drove to cover, and Keast, fielding far out, threw in like lightning and dismissed him at 117, which included 17 fours. Dunning’s late cutting was brilliant, and he also feu nd many an opening between point and cover. On the leg side he also scored freely with drives to the on and several smart pulls. His century was completed in 65 minutes, and his total of 117 in 75 minutes. A. W. and H. C. Alloo continued to play to the standard set by their predecessors, and Albion bore up well under the strain. From 421 the score was steadily increased, play being continued through n slight fall of rain. Tho time for drawing stumps arrived', and Hie board road: 517 runs for three wickeTs. A. IV. Alloo scored the only six of the afternoon, and Blamires Bowled' the only maiden over out of a total of 62 sent down. Carisbrook therefore scored 517 runs’off 496 balls'. Wellington will require to take their Btfst bowlers with them when they go south to meet Otago in the Shield match.

The Auckland team to meet Wellington contains some new players. A notable inclusion is H. Wilson, a young Grafton bowler, who shared evenly with Alcott last Saturday the feat of disposing of Parnell for 69 runs. Prior to that he had secured five for 34 and fi.a for 74 in grade matches. 'lne position in tho senior competition at Christchurch is highly interesting. Linwood and Sydenham are leading for tho chiunpionsfiip with 8 points each, while Rtocarton axe only one point behind

{Midland .... Hnfa J . h< tn s.S O is 1 1 tn bfi g-i> CO .□ d bo £ ci Q 0 0 00 .s £ 7 7 1 1 >2 -i i 0 2 i 0 6 0 2 i 0 6 •y7m.g.a. . 0 1 i 1 4i tfYM Bovs ... 0 1 2 . (Wellington. . 0 1 2 0 3 11 {Thorndon .. ........ o 0

BATTING. Inn. N.O. H.S. Tl. Avg. J. Hutchings 3 1 112 190 95.00 Hiddleston .. 6 I 74 218 43.60 McGirr .... ... 5 0 1(U 218 43.60 Kortlang . ... 5 1 81 163 40.75 Baker ... 6 0 65 186 31.00 Dempster . ... 4 0 58 107 26.75 Massev .... ... 4 0 51 72 18.00 Watson ... ... 5 0 56 88 17.60 James ... 3 0 33 52 17.33 Henderson .. 5 0 27 70 14.00 Brice ... 6 0 12 54 9.00

BOWLING. Wks. Runs. Avg. McGirr 5 54 10.80 Massey 14 184 13.14 Henderson . 21 288 13.71 Watson 18 268 15.50 Brice 17 323 19.00 Hiddleston© ■ 11 251 22.81