ENGLAND IN NEW ZEALAND

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 102, 24 January 1930, Page 17

ENGLAND IN NEW ZEALAND

the story of the tests PAST BATTLES RECALLED (By “Old Timer.”) ' Although between 1863 and 1894 six Australian and four English teams visited New Zealand, it was not until the latter jear that a representative New Zealand eleven- took the field. This was against Davis’s New South Wales team, which defeated, the home team by 160 runs. Fiji, New South Wales, Australia, Queensland and the Melbourne Cricket Club all visited the Dominion during the next five or six years, but it was not until 1902-3 when an English team came after an interval of fifteen years that -'combined New Zealand first tackled the men from the Motherland. Their Opponents were Lord Hawke’s team, consisting of P. F. Warner (captain), C. J.Burnup, E. M. Dowson, B. J. T. Bosanquet, F. L. Fane, T. L. Taylor, P. R. Johnson, J. Stanning, A. D. Whatman. A. E. Leatham, J. N. Williams, G. J. Thompson, and S. Hargreave. Lord Hawke himself was to have captained the team, but the illness of his mother prevented him from coming, and in his absence Warner led the side. Taken by and large, this was probably the strongest English batting side that has visited New Zealand in what we might call modern times. Warner himself, Dowson. Burnup, Bosanquet, Fane, Taylor and Johnson made up a septette the like of which no subsequent team has been able to produce. Bosanquet had not then developed his googly, but he was a useful bowler, and Thompson, Hargreaye. Burnup and Dowson made up a formidable attack. After playing all the major and most of the minor associations, as well as a South Island eleven, the visitors met New Zealand at Lancaster Park. Christchurch. on February 27. 1903. Leatham and Williams were omitted from the English team, and New Zealand was represented by C. A. Richardson (captain), C. Hickson. K. Tucker, and J. J. Mahony (Wellington), D Reese. F. S. Frankish. C. Boxshall, and S. T. Callaway (Canterbury), D. (lay (Auckland). A. Downes (Otago), nnd B. McCarthy (Taranaki). Richardson won the toss, and on a wicket which, after rain, was difficult for the first hour but slow and easy afterwards. New Zealand made 164. Tucker batting soundly for 50. and Reese making 32. Boxshall 21. Richardson 17. and Mahony 16. Thompson took six wickets for 38 and Dowson four for 27, Har-

greave, Burnup and Bosanquet meeting with no success. Chances Go Begging. When England batted Warner went cheaply, and Burnup was magnificently caught by Boxshall on the leg side after making 30, but Fane, dropped several times in the slips and once at point, and eaught behind at 83 but escaping, went on to make 124, cutting and driving well. Taylor batted brightly for 54, Stanning, after the fourth, fifth, and sixth wickets had fallen cheaply, helped Fane to put on 69 for the seventh, and at the finish the total was 304. Downes took three for 64, Callaway three "tor 84, Frankish two for 60, Tucker one for 18, und McCarthy one fpr ,57. Mahony fielded brilliantly, taking two great, catches and saving scores of runs. When stumps were drawn on the second day New-Zea-land had lost one wicket for 41, and a quarter of an hour before lunch on the third day 140 up for three; but two wickets fell in that quarter of an hour, and the innings closed for 214; Tucker was again top scorer, this time with 67. made by free and stylish strokes all round the wicket, Reese coming second with 36. Downes made 26, and Hay, Mahony, Frankish, Richardson and Boxshall all got doubles. Dowson, while playing polo, had fallen off and injured his head, weakening the English bowling, on the last day, but Bosanquet came to the rescue, bowling fast or slow according to the change desired. He took 4 for 44, Thompson 4 for 74, and Hargreave 2 for 64. England required 75 to. win, and got them for the loss of three wickets, Warner making 33 aiid Burnup 32.

Reese’s Fine Century.

A second match was played at Wellington the following week, when Leathern replaced .Stanning in the English, team and A. B. Williams and E. Dpham (Wellington), H. B. Lusk (Hawke's Bay) and A. H. Fisher (Otago) replaced Hickson, Boxshall, Downes and Frankish for New Zealand. Richard- . son again won the toss, end Reese and he opened. Reese played a fine innings, and fie saw seven of bis comrades out before, with his score at 148 and the total 246, he put his leg in front to Thompson. . He had butted three hours and a half, driving to the off and hitting to leg in true left-hander’s style, and he gave no chance till he had made 110. With Tucker (21) he put on 54 for the second wicket; with Mahony (27) 59 for the fifth, and with Fisher (10) 40 for the seventh. Johnson and Stanning opened the English innings, and Johnson, scoring freely all round the wicket, made 88 in two hours and a half out of the 163 which was up for the third wicket, when Williams stumped him off Reese. Warner succeeded him, and was ninth out with the total 375 and his own score 125. He gave several chances early in his innings, but the latter.part was a fine exhibition. He and Fane (26) put on 47 for the fourth wicket; he and Taylor (16) the same number for the fifth, and lie and Thompson (25) 70 for the seventh. The total reached 380, 30 byes helping

to swell it considerably. Callaway took 4 wickets for 80, Upham 3 for <9, Reese 1 for 28, Fisher 1 for 63, McCarthy 1 for 68, aud Tucker none for 23. Mahony made 24, Lusk 16, Hay 11, and Richardson 10 in New Zealand s second innings, but Burnup came with a rattle at the finish, taking live wickets for eight runs in four overs and five balls, and the whole side was out for 84, England thus winning by an innings and 22 runs. Thompson took three wickets for 29. Hargreave one for 11. and Bosanquet one for 24. The English fielding was very good, and Hargreave took three fine catches in the slips.

An M.C.C. Team.

Captain Wynyard’s 1906-7 team came out under the auspices of the M.C.C. T*- was a purely amateur combination, consisting of E. G. Wynyard, C. E. de Trafford,- G. 11. Simpson-Hayward, I’. R. Johnson, J. W. H. T. Douglas, R. H. Fox, A. A. Torrens, W. B. Burns, G. T. Branston, C. C. Page, P. R. May. W. J. H. Curwen, W. P. Harrison, and U. C. Tuffnell —on the whole a youthful combination, and not so strong as the previous eleven. Captain Wynyard was injured’ in the third game, against Wellington, and took no further part in the tour, the captaincy devolving on de Trafford.

Curious how misfortune has met captains of English teams. As has been seen, Lord Hawke was prevented from coming through his mother’s illness; Wynyard was rendered hors de combat nt the commencement of his tour; and the captain of the next team, MacLaren,’ injured a knee in the first Test match, and played no more on his tour. Wynyard’s team commenced its first Test match at Lancaster Park on, February 28, 1907. Curwen and Tuffnell stood out of the visitors’ team, and New Zealand was represented by D. Reese. S. T. Calloway, J. H. Bennett, J. D. Lawrence. and C. Boxshall (Canterbury), A. Haddon nnd E. V. Sale (Auckland), K. H. Tucker and J. J. Mahony (Wellington), and A. Downes nnd 11. G. Siedeberg (Otago). Upham, Williams, und Hemus were unavailable. Reese won the toss, and took strike, he nnd Lawrence opening. Trouble came early, for before a run had been scored Reese spooned one back to Douglas. Haddon and Lawrence, however, put on 52, but they were both out, and Siedeberg as well, very soon after. Mahony and Tucker took the score to 105, but Tucker, Sale. Calloway and Bennett were out with only another 20 runs on. Downes and Mahony then added 44 for the ninth wicket before the Otago man was bowled by May with one that kept low for 16. Boxsha’ll made 21 of the 38 which the last wicket realised, and the total was 207, Mahony bringing in his bat for 71. made in two hours and forty minutes. Douglas nnd May. the two fast bowlers, divided the wickets. -Douglas taking five for 56 and May five for 42. ' Torrens, Branston. and Simpson-Hayward were unsuccessful.

An Improving Bat.

Fox commenced the tour as a fail-end batsman, but so well did he bnt that he steadily made his way up the list, and

on this occasion he was one of the opening pair; with Johnson as his partner. They well justified the faith reposed tn them, for despite the efforts of Calloway, Downes, Bennett, Tucker, and Reese they were not separated until they bad put on 151 runs. At this stage, with his individual score 99, Johnson put his leg in front to Reese, and was out. He had batted for just under two hours, and had hard luck in just missing the century by one run. This good start was not maintained, for Fox was run out at 100, with 47 to his credit, and although Douglas made 40, opening vigorously out steadying down when things were going wrong, the side was all out for «■ lead of 50. Downes, who had the batsmen scraping forward to him, took tour wickets for 83, Reese two for 21, Bennett two for 35, and Calloway one for b 4. The New Zealand fielding was excellent, and not a catch was missed. Other times, other manners 1

England Victorious. 1

Sale and Lawrence opened New Zealand’s second innings. Lawrence played steadily, while Sale hit away brilliantly, and despite accurate bowling and fielding which was said to have rarely been excelled at Lancaster Park, they took the score to 112 before Simpson-Hayward got one of his lobs past Sale. The Aucklander had made 66 in an hour and a half. Haddon, Mahony, Tucker and Reese did not last long, and with Lawrence caught by Douglas off Branston for 01, the total was no more than 187. Douglas took four wickets for 51, Branston three for 26, Simpson-Hayward one for -4, and May, who could not strike a length, one for 38. Left with 138 to get to win, Johnson and Fox sent up 38 quickly before I’ox, in endeavouring to force the pace, was bowled by Bennett. Burns was next, and he and Johnson knocked the balance off without further loss, and England won by nine wickets. Burns was not out 39, and Johnson not out 76, and the 140 runs scored were put together in an hour and a half. Five of Bennett's seventeen overs were maidens, bnt 50 runs were scored off the other twelve.

New Zealand Team Strengthened.

For the second Test, which commenced at Wellington on March 8. Upham. Williams, Hemus, and A. 11. Fisher replaced Callaway, Boxshall, Siedeberg, and Reese in the New Zealand team, strengthening it considerably. On the English side Curwen took the place of Simpson-Hny-ward, who had damaged a finger at Christchurch. Williams captained New Zealand, who batted first on a wicket with a good deni of kick in it. With Lawrence, Mahony, Sale, and Haddon out, the total was only 63. Tucker was next, but had not been in long when a bumping ball from Douglas struck him on the head and knocked him down. In falling, he knocked his wicket over, but the Englishmen did not claim his dismissal, and he resumed his innings later. Williams and Hemus added .53, and were then botli howled by Douglas with a few minutes of each other, Hemus having made 38 and Williams 19. Tucker resumed his innings and made 23, but the later

wickets fell quickly, and the innings closed for 165. Douglas took seven wickets for 49, and Branston one for 38, the other two being run out. England made a bad start, losing five wickets for 79, but Page and Branstop, batting freely, added 48, Page hitting Upham into the pavilion for six. The sixth , wicket fell at 127, the same total as New Zealand’s sixth wicket. De Trafford made 18, 16 of them in three minutes, and he was then bowled by Fisher. One hundred and fifty-two .was up when the seventh wicket fell, the figures again the same as New Zealand’s. Branston was out at 154 for 28, top score of the innings, and four runs later the ninth wicket fell, once more all-square with New Zealand. The innings closed for 160, five short of the New Zealand total. Upham took six wickets for 84, Fisher four for 25, Downes none for 27, and Bennett none for 17. •

A Danger Zone.

The wicket had crumbled badly when New Zealand went in again, and Sale twice had his bat knocked out of his hands by Douglas. Lawrence, Sale and Mahony were out with 33 on the board, but Haddon, the newcomer, proceeded to show that Douglas had no terrors for him by stepping in front of bis wicket and turning him to leg for 4 ■ and 3. Hemus, too, refused to be terrified, and the two Aucklanders added 48 before Hemus was caught in the longfield for 28. Williams was next, and he and Haddon, driving beautifully,, put on 107 before Haddon was caught in the slips by Johnson for 71, made up of eight 4’s, four 3’s, six 2’s and fifteen singles. He drove, cut and hooked with great skill, his driving in particular being clean 1 and hard, and the Englishmen acclaimed his innings ns the finest played against them during the tour. The New Zealand innings finally closed for 249, Williams being not out with 72. comprising eight 4’s, a 3, five 2’s and 24 singles. Douglas took five for 75. making twelve for 124 in the match. Branston had three for 37 and May two for 58.

England Fights Hard.

Requiring 255 to win, the Englishmen commenced their second innings on a wicket which bad improved somewhat, but Fox was run out when only three runs had been scored, Johnson was howled by Fisher a run later, and at 18 Burns, having made all the 14 runs scored while he was in, fell to a great one-handed catch by Sale at mid-off. Harrison stayed in fifty minutes for 5 runs, but was caught by Mahony at 44. Getting a grip of the game, the New Zealanders were fielding with great keenness and Fisher was bowling splendidly. Douglas and Page then made a good stand, adding 50 runs before Page was caught by Hemus in the longfield for 27. Three runs later Douglas got his leg in front to Bennett after making 37, and with six wickets down for 97 the end was in sight. De Trafford and Branston added 17, the captain hitting hard for his 10, and Branston and Torrens put on 27 for the eighth wicket, Branston contributing a solid 20. The ninth wicket, Torrens, fell at 159, and then May and

Curwen; the last pair, put up a good never-say-die stand. Running smartly, indeed imprudently,' between the wickets, and hitting out well, they put on 41 runs in twenty minutes. May was then caught and bowled by Fisher for 19, and New Zealand secured her first and only win against an English team by 56 runs. Curwen was not out with 30. The bowling honours fell to Fisher, who sent down 22 overs, six of which were maidens, for 61 runs and five wickets. Downes took two for 27, Bennett one for 36, and Upham one for 51. These four bowlers carried the whole New Zealand attack during the match.

MacLaren’s Tour.

The tour of MacLaren’s team seven years ago is still fresh in the memories of most people. In addition to its famous captain it contained such notables as A. P. F. Chapman, afterwards to lead England in recovering and retaining the “Ashes,” C. H. Gibson, who bowled so well against Armstrong’s Australian team, A P. Freeman, whose leg-breaks now capture so many victims every English season, C. H. Titchmarsh, a prolific scorer in all classes of cricket, F. S. G. Calthorpe, the Warwickshire captain, and T. C. Lowry, the New Zealander, now returned to his native land and leading her forces; while in support were A. C. Wilkinson, G. Wilson, D. F. Brand, J. F. McLean, J. C. Hartley, and H. Tyldesiey. , ■ The first Test match against this team commenced nt the Basin Reserve on December 30, 1922, the Englishmen leaving out Hartley and Tyldesley, while New Zealand was represented by N. C. Snedden (captain), S. G. Smith, E. MacLeod, D. R. Garrard and C. Alcott (Auckland), J. S. Hiddleston, D. C. Collins, J. W. Condliffe and W. S. Brice (Wellington), R. C. Blunt (Canterbury), and J. Shepherd (Otago). England batted first and ran up 505 for nine wickets, when the closure was applied. Everything else in the innings was dwarfed by MacLaren’s batting. Unhampered by his fifty-one years, he drove, cut, hooked, glided, and ran between the wickets with the abandon of a youngster, made 100 in 130 minutes, and another 100 in 134 minutes, being still unbeaten with 200 to his credit when the innings was closed. With Lowry he added 128 in 63 minutes for the sixth wicket, ami with'McLean 157 for the eighth in 100 minutes.' Mac Lean made S 4. Calthorpe 63. and Lowry 54. Brice took three wickets for 135, Snedden two for 53. Shepherd one for 32. Garrard one for. 53. and Alcoit one for 96.

New Zealand Fares Badly.

New Zealand fared badly, and had five wickets down for 65. Shepherd (33) and MacLeod (22) then added 29 for the sixth wicket. The seventh wicket fell at 111, but Garrard and Alcott took it to 181 before Garrard was bowled by Freeman for 47. Alcott (3S not out) found no one else to stay with him, and the innings closed for 222, Freeman took five for 114, Calthorpe two for 30. and Gibson two for 53.

Following on, New Zealand lost Shepherd for 4. Blunt (25), Hiddleston (38) and Snedden (10) took it to 72, but the

third, fourth and fifth wickets all fell at that total. The ninth wieket fell at 92, but a bit of desperate hitting by Brice •—4424611—took’ the total to 127, and New Zealand lost by an innings and 15G runs. Gibson took five wickets for 42, and Freeman five for 72. For the second Test, at Christchurch, a week later. Hartley replaced MacLaren iu the English team. New Zealand substituting Lambert, Dacre, Bernau, and McGirr for Hiddleston, Smith, McLeod, and Brice. ’ This time a much better showing was made. Collins and Blunt put on 107 for 'the first wicket, Collins and Lambert (the latter hitting freely) 65 for the third. Dacre and Shepherd 86 for the sixth, and Alcott and McGirr 45 for the ninth. The total was 375 (Collins 102, Shepherd 66, Dacre 45, McGirr 40 not out, Blunt 33, Lambert 33, Alcott 16)-. Calthorpe took four for 78, Brand three for 84, Freeman two for 80, and Gibson ono for 89. Consistent batting by the visitors, for whom Chapman made 77, Lowry 61 (including eleven 4’s), Hartley 60 not out, and Wiliknson 59 (131 with Chapman for the third wicket), saw the New Zealand score headed by nine runs. McGirr took four for‘96, Bernau four for 99, Garrard one for 45, and Alcott one for 67. ' In their second innings New Zealand lost three .wickets for 54, but Snedden and Dacre put on 110 for the fourth wicket, and Lambert and Bernau 98 for the eighth. The innings was declared closed with eight wickets down for 270 (Snedden 58, Dacre 58. 'Lambert 47 not out, Bernau 34). Gibson having taken two for 86, Freeman two for 41, Brand two for 58. and Calthorpe two for 51. Left with 262 to get in 155 minutes, the Englishmen elected to play the rock, and had made 145 for five wickets wheii stumps were drawn (Wilkinson 41 not out. Titchmarsh 38), the game ending in a draw. Shepherd took two wickets for 20, Snedden one for 8. Blunt one for 13. and Alcott one for 25.

Soundly Defeated.

For the third Test, at Wellington, New Zealand played Brice, Cate, and Mcßeath instead of Snedden, Alcott, and Condliffe. Once again they were soundly defeated, losing by an innings and 20 runs. Batting first, New Zealand had three wickets down for 19, but Lambert and Shepherd took it to SS, and Shepherd and Garrard to 86. The seventh wicket fell at 104, but Brice and Bernau added 57 for the eighth. The last two wickets fell quickly, and the side was all out for 166 (Bernau 61, Shepherd 41, Lambert. 23, Gerard 19), Calthorpe taking six for 53, and Gibson three for 91. The visitors made 401. Lowry leading the way with 130, made in 167 minutes, and including one six and eleven 4’s. arid Chapman making 71, Mac Lean 53. and Titchmarsh 40. In the course of his innings Chapman completed his 1000 runs for the tour. Bernau took three wickets for 68, Mcßeath three for 81. Brice two for 75, Collins one for 6, and McGirr one for 70. , In their second venture New Zealand lost Bernau, Shepherd, and Dacre for 45 runs, but Collins and Blunt added 100 in 8S minutes before the former was caught at the wicket. Lambert rind Blunt added 11 for the fifth wicket, Lambert scor-.

in"- them all. aud when stumps were drawji at the end of the second day the score was 17S for five wickets. An hour's play next morning sufficed to finish the NeW Zealand innings off for an additional 37 runs, Gibson taking four wickets for 3 runs in eleven overs. Collins made 69, Blunt 68. Dacre 17, Garrard 12, Lambert 11, and Brice 10. Gibson took five for 65. Freeman four for 95, and Brand one for 31. This brings us to the first Test of the present series, and to New Zealand’s double batting failure and consequent defeat by eight wickets. If history repeats itself then this week’s match should be a good one.