PLUNKET SHIELD CRICKET

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 79, 27 December 1928, Page 10

PLUNKET SHIELD CRICKET

AUCKLAND & CANTERBURY UNINTERESTING DAY’S PLAY By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, December 26. A most uninteresting day’s cricket to-day left Auckland in a position from which they should have no difficulty in winning their first Plunket Shield match of the season. The heavy rain of the previous evening had left the wicket on the heavy side and the outfield was also slow, blit after making allowance for this it must be admitted that the Canterbury batting was very weak. Auckland were all out for 330. Canterbury were disposed of for the wretched total of 153, and following on lost two wickets for 12,runs. The continuation of the Auckland innings saw some very tame batting. Even allowing that the bowling was good, batsmen showed a woeful lack of enterprise. Horspool’s 30 was the result of very sound defence with some good scoring strokes at times, but these were few and far between. The' Canterbury attack was of a high order. Cunningham has rarely bowled better, and none of the batsmen were happy to him. His tally for the day was 15 overs, 8 maidens, 12 runs, and four wickets. Merritt also kept much better length, and the bowling all through was such as to suggest that the Auckland total would have been much smaller but for the local men being handicapped by a wet ball on the previous day. # Improved Fielding. Fielding was also an improvement on that of Tuesday, though it was still far from first-class. Burns made amends for his one mistake of the first day by stumping Gillespie very smartly, and he gave a creditable display with the gloves right through. Canterbury’s batting display was very disappointing, for several of those who were included in the team for their batting alone failed to show anything like batting form. The wicket certainly gave bowlers some assistance, but after making due allowance for this the batting was still lamentably weak. Page himself played very good cricket, meeting the bowling with a very confident defence and losing few opportunities of scoring when the opportunity offered. In the end he threw, his wicket away by a rash stroke. Newman played very sound cricket and never looked like getting out to pace bowlers, but he was not at all happy to Bowley’s slows. Merritt batted very promisingly while he was at the wickets, but like his captain, he fell to an impatient stroke. Bowling of High Order. Auckland’s out cricket was distinctly good. Bowling was of a high order all through, and it was too accurate to look like being collared at any stage of the innings. Dunning, a fast medium bowler, got the good average of five wickets for 45, but his figures flattered him, for he did not bowl as well as either Allcott or Player, both of whom strangely enough failed to get a wicket. Bowley also was lucky in getting four for 38, stage fright among the. later batsmen helping his figures materially. Weir’s figures, one for 24, did not flatter him, for he bowled very well. However, he captured both wickets that fell in the second innings. The Auckland fielding was very good and a distinct advance on that of the local men. Practically all the chances offered were taken, and few of them were easy. The one by which Postles disposed of Read' was an exceptionally brilliant effort. Scores are as follows :—■ AUCKLAND. —Ist Innings.

Bowley, b. Newman 40 Mills, b. Read 7 Postles, c. Newman, b. Merritt .... 21 Wei£, b. Nevgian 27 Allcott, b. 'Page 69 Gillespie, st. Burns, b. Merritt .... 75 Whitelaw, b. Cunningham 2S Horspool, c. Hamilton, b. Cunningham 30 Player, c. Hamilton, b. Cunningham 8 Dunning, not out 8 Rountree, l.b.w.j b. Cunningham.. 0 Extras 17 Total 330 Bowling Analysis: Read, one for 79; Cunningham. 4 for 48; Merritt, 2 for 94; Newman, 2 for 59; Page, 1 for 33. CANTERBURY.—Ist Innings. Crawford, c. Whitelaw, b. Dunning 10 Brosnahan, b. Weir ... 14 Roberts, e. and b. Dunning 3 Page, st. Rountree, b. Bowley .... 44 Newman, 1.b.w.. b. Bowley ■ 31 Hamilton, b. Bowley .... 4 Read. c. Postles, b. Dunning 6 Merritt, b. Dunning T 9 Evans, c. Mills, b. Dunning ........ 0 Burns, c. and b. Bowley ......... . 5 Cunningham, not out 5 Extras ; 12 Total 153

Bowling Analysis.—Dunning took five wickets for 44 runs; Player, none for 14; Allcott, none for 21; Weir, one for 24; Bowley, four for 38. CANTERBURY—Second Innings. Brosnahan, not out • 5 Crawford, c. Dunning, b. Weir .... 4 Roberts, b. Weir 0 Page, not put 0 Total for two wickets 12 AUCKLAND COLTS BEALE’S TOURING TEAM OPENS • . WELL. Mr. E. C. Beale, the Auckland -cricket enthusiast, f<ft many seasons past has done much to stimulate interest in the game in his province by taking a team of colts on a tour of the Dominion. Beale’s touring team opened' their 192829 tour at Taumarunui on Monday, when they put up a sterling performance by running up 503 for nine wickets. No fewer than three centuries were recorded, Bush making 139 (retired), Butler 114 and Langridge 111. Taumarunui were dismissed for 57 in their first innings, and could only manage to scrape together 46 for the loss of six wickets. Mr. Beale was a spectator at the match between Otago and Wellington at' the Basin Reserve on Tuesday. His team, which comprises Gee, Butler, McCoy, Montieth, Langridge, Bush, Vivian, Schnauer, Brown, 'Webb and Laurie, will play a match against Marlborough at Blenheim this week. WALKER SHIELD TOURNEY AUCKLAND AND CHRISTCHURCH Dominion Special Service. Christchurch, December 26. The Walker Shield tournament between city and suburban association representatives from the chief centres commenced to-day when Auckland met Christchurch. The wicket was a trifle slow early, hut improved later. Auckland batted first, but were all out for 87, Gedye (43), being the only double-

figure scorer. Christchurch fared little better, being dismissed for 113, Stokes (41) and Langford ■ (34) being the chief scorers. Auckland had lost seven wickets for 100 in their second innings. When stumps were drawn the scores were as follow AUCKLAND.—First Innings. A. Gedye, c. Stokes, b. Mills 43 W. flSadelcy, run out 8 A. ®3hning. run out b R. Burton, 1.b.w., b. Mills 5 G. Cox, run out 2 A. Turner, b. Mills b ,T. Barns, c. Langford, b. Newton .. b W. Fletcher, l.b;w., b. Mills • > L. Martin, c. and b. Newton 3 A. Kerr, c. Clarkson, b. Newton .... 0 E. Stallworthy, not out 0 Extras ....' ** Total .' Bowling Analysis.—W. McDonnell took no wickets 'for 21 runs; R. Langfowl, none for 6; IV. Sweeney, none for 12; H. Thompson, none for 5; H. Milts, lour for 30; G. Newton, three for 9. Second Innings. . A. Gedye, 1.b.w., b. Newton ... S W. Badeley, c. Sweeney, b. Mills .. 2 W. Fletcher, c. Mills, b. Newton .. 4 R. Burton, retired hurt .... 8 A. Dunning, c. Shand, b. Mills .... 1J. Burton, not out *b G. Cox, run out 1J A. Turner, e. Mills, b. Thompson .. 20 A. Kerr, b. McDonnell 9 L. Martin, not out 1 Extras 5 Total for seven wickets 100 CHRISTCHURCH.—First. Innings. A. Shand, b. Burton 0 R. Chinnery, c. Barns, b. Burton .. 8 11. Mills, 1.b.w., b. Burton r 2 R. Langford, 1.b.w.. b. Stallworthy 34 .1. Clarkson, c. Badeley, b. Cox .... 13 D. Stokes, c. Turner, b. Stallworthy 41 G. Newton, c. Dunning, b. Stallworthy 0 W. McDonnell, c. Burton, b. Stallworthy 4 W. Sweeney, b. Burton 7 H. Thompson, not out 1 B. Aris, b. Stallworthy 0 Extras Total Bowling Analysis.—A. Kerr took no wickets for 16 runs; R. Burton, four for 30; G. Cox. one for 33; L. Martin, none for 18; E, Stallworthy, five for 9.

The Wellington team played a scratch practice match against a Christchurch learn, .