CRICKET

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 131, 27 February 1929, Page 8

CRICKET

By

"LONGSTOP"

An Afternoon at the Wicket. While perhaps a trifle monotonous and uninteresting, all cricketers will appreciate the infinite patience and steady hand and eye necessary to a performance with the bat such as that of C. S. Dempster In the Old Boys-Instltute match on Hutt Park last Saturday. Foley,, the colt who partnered him in the great second wicket stand which produced 138 runs, also put up a great stonewalling performance. Possibly the extreme caution of an Innings which totalled 61 runs for over three hours’ play. Is to be deprecated, but It does not pay for a youngster to endeavour to smite firstclass bowling to the boundary every second ball. And there was plenty of class in the Old Boys’ deliveries on Saturday, as was shown by the rot which set in after the two Institute leading lights had been dismissed. Badcock bowled determinedly and tirelessly . for 49 overs, and the fact that only 119 runs were knocked off him In that time speaks volumes for his length and accuracy.

Again smart fielding by the Old Boys throughout the afternoon made It very difficult for the batsmen to do anything other than snatch occasional singles. In reaching his 1090 runs for tlie season. Dempster has lived up to his reputation of last year and fairly established his claim as:Weilington’s premier batsman.

Institute, with 323, are in a favourable position, just in so far as that runs gained are more substantial than problematical ones. Old Boys are always a hard nut to crack, and there is a fair possibility of a drawn game being played, or perhaps next Saturday may see a close-fought finish. Midland v. Kilbirnie.

Midland out-classed Kilbirnie on their home ground on Saturday, and with 90 runs’ lead and five wickets still to fall it seems only a matter of whether it will be three or four points which will be added to the Midland championship total when the match finishes* lext Saturday. Cleverley’s bowling record of seven wickets for 84 runs was the outstanding performance in this department of the Wellington competitions on Saturday. He dismissed the only three Kilbirnie men who shaped sufficiently well to cross the twenty mark. Tindall is proving himself to be a great asset, to his side. He brought off four catches, sending W. Christopherson, Ward, Lang, and Haymen back to tlie pavilion. Hayman's 34 was the biggest item on the Kilbirnie score-sheet, which, but for the 27 W. Christopherson bit up, and Ward’s knock of 26. would have looked a very sorry spectacle. Doneghue’s 130 not out was a very fine performance. He played a polished Innings, sending the ball away to the boundary twenty times, and his placing was superb. A lively knock was that of Patrick’s. He smote lustily before Harris effected a catch off Griffiths’s bowling, when the batsman’s score was 66.

H. Bramwley came out as the best of the Kilbirnie bowlers, capturing three wickets for 48 runs.

Fetone v. ’Varsity. Petone had first use of the wicket in their match against ’Varsity on Saturday, and with few exceptions the wickets fell cheaply. H. E. Nicholls, one of Petone’s opening men, played his usual steady innings, topping the list with 35. Hamilton and Keyllng found the ’Varsity bowling too much for them, and could only knock up thirteen runs each. Smallwood, with seven runs to his credit, was caught by Mackenzie, who kept wickets for ’Varsity in brilliant fashion. M. F. Nicholls gave a rather monotonous display of stone-walling. To compile eighteen runs took him 00 minutes.

The standard of bowling by Tripe, McLeod and Greig was high, and was always a source of menace to the Petone men. Brice, the Petone skipper, gave a fair display in knocking up a useful twenty-four, which Included a sixer. The remaining batsmen were dispatched with little difficulty.

At the close of the day’s play ’Varsity had lost five wickets for 87 runs. Hope, whose bowling was very fast and consistent, was responsible for three wickets, bowling on the "off” a good deal, and rocking in an occasional straight one. As a tactician, Brice excelled himself when he dismissed Mackenzie. Mackenzie had defied the Petone bowling for a considerable period, and with several fine "fours” to his credit, the score soon mounted. From the first ball of an over Brice showed a change in his style. . A slow, high ball was delivered, and blocked. A second ball, a replica of the first, was sent down, and Mackenzie in stepping out t»i‘ drive missed and paid the penalty.

Hollings played a clever innings, am found many a “loop-hole” in the Petom field. With his score at 32. he succumb ed to the deadly bowling of Hope.

Bailey. Nelson and Vietmeyer were all dismissed cheaply, and the two not-out men, Leys and Caldwell, have not yet opened their accounts. Hutt v. Wellington.

With five wickets in hand and only 89 runs to get, Wellington has quite a good chance of at least equalling the first innings score. Hutt's first strike, which closed for 256, Included several good individual scores. Boss being the most successful with 51 runs, the result of sound and bright batting. Warnes also gave a good display, his 44 Including several good shots to the boundary. But for one or two chances lie gave he was never at a loss to know where to place his shots. Batting confidently, he was going in great style, until, stepping In front of a ball from Cousins, an appeal for l.b.w, was sustained. With 43 runs to his credit, Williams was safe', and although not as aggressive as his partner Warnes, he gave a good steady display. Biggar, Lees, and McGirr also proved useful with the bat. For Wellington. Robertson put up the best score. Without giving a chance, he treated the bowling unmercifully, and soon had a good figure oh* the score sheet. Sixes and fours were still coming quite frequently, when stumps were drawn, leaving him with 58 (not out). Burton wcilded the willow to advantage, his innings closing with 43 runs, when, tn attempting to hit a six. Lees held him with a beautiful catch on the boundary. Whyte played well for his 30, giving n fine exhibition of the game. On the whole the bowling during the day was good, the fast field being mainly responsible for the fact that no exceptionally good average was nut up. In addition. Wellington gave several runs away through overthrowing. Fnr Instance. Warnes. on one occasion, made one run off the bowling and a four off the overthrow which went over the boundary. Cousins, with four wickets to bls credit for 53 runs, was Wellington’s most dangerous bowler. Bowling at n smart pace and with a good length, ho was vorv consistent, and had to be watched carefully all the time. For Hutt. McGirr was in good form. With a good length and nice spin, he was constantlv on the wicket, and few batsmen found It advisable to treat him lightlv. Both the wickets of Airey and Whyte fell to him. Whyte’s middle stumn being taken clean ont of the ground. Warnes. a slow break bowler.' was exceptionally trlckv at times.' and although driven to the boundary once or twice, was successful in getting two wickets. An Historic Bat.

It was in 1879. against Lord Harris’s team, that a Victorian eleven for the' first time beat an English eleven, and on that occasion George Major, the South Melbourne fast bowler, who was studying law at the Melbourne University, was a member of the victorious team. As a memento of the occasion the students presented Mapjor with a beautifully decorated and suitably inscribed bat. which later found a resting place In the bowler’s home nt Emerald Hill. As the years went by the three, little Maior boys found the. temptation of having a hit with the bat too great, so a challenge was thrown out to some neighbours nnd an impromptu ericket match took place on a nearby vacant allotment one Saturday afternoon, when the father was enioylng his game of bowls at the South Melbourne Cricket Ground. After the match the bat was found to be suffering severely from gravel rash, and looked as if several centuries had been scored off it. George nearly shed tears as ho discovered this, ns he nroudly lifted the bat down a month later to show a visitor. However, the bat was sent for renairs. and It came back as good ns new. During the war. while the three Major lads were in Egypt serving the Empire, patriotic motives impelled George to offer the bat for auction in order to swell the Red Cross funds. asiwas done with many other sporting relics. After spirited bidding the bat was knocked down to the bld of one of his admirers. Fred Norman, of racing fame, an erstwhile South Melbourne identity. George Maior passed to the groat beyond not long after, nnd Fred Norman. In true snorting spirit, handed the bat back to the family. Incidentally It was George Major whn. greatly taken withWarwick Armstrong’s cricket on matting wickets nt Caulfield. Invited the colt to nlay with South Melbourne. All know how Warwick developed into a world's champion.