EVENTFUL DAY

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 98, 20 January 1936, Page 11

EVENTFUL DAY

New Zealand Ahead In Second Cricket Test SUCCESS OF ROBERTS Good Bowling and Keen Fielding by Local Men M.C.C. SIDE OUT FOR 156

Confident batting by A. W. Roberts, of Canterbury, and J. A. R. Blandford, of Wellington, in a fighting stand on a wicket made easy by overnight rain, followed by excellent bowling by Roberts, E. D. Blundell, of Wellington, and I. B. Cromb. of Canterbury when the pitch had become alive as it dried, enabled New ' Zealand to secure a rather unexpected but thoroughly deserved lead over tlie touring English team in the second day of play in the second Test in Wellington on Saturday. New Zealand, after losing seven wickets for 127 on the first day, recovered creditably, waking 2-12, -Roberts and Blandford putting on 104 for the eighth wicket. Roberts wade 75 not out and Blandford 40. In an exciting afternoon the Englishmen fell for 156, a fine display of strong driving and pulling being given by N. 8. MitchellInnes, who wade 57, while J. M, Sims and S. C. Griffith batted courageously in scoring 30 and 24 not out. The New Zealand bowlers creditably exploited all the help given thew by the wicket, while the catching in marked contrast to the first game, was practically without fault. J. R. Lamasou, of Wellington, at forward short leg, had a field day, taking four catches, and capital work was done by M. Wallace, of Auckland. Roberts and Blundell, the mediumpaced bowlers,- maintained good control, and Cromb varied his pace and flight shrewdly, being not afraid to give away some runs to get batsmen out. Roberts took three for 33, Blundell two for 40 and Cromb four for 52. Cromb’s captaincy was marked by thoughtful concentration. He made frequent bowling changes and kept a close watch on the field.

Upward of 10,000 spectators relished the successes of the home players, who, rising to promising opportunity with commendable resolution, look the honours of the day, finishing with 11 runs on t’<3 board without loss in the second Innings. The teams are:—-

England: C. J. Lyttelton (captain), N. S. Mitchell-Innes, J. 11. Parks, W. Barber, J. Hardstaff, J. 11. Huioau, J. Langridge, J. M. Sims, S. C. Griffith, 11. D. Read, A. D. Baxter. New Zealand: I. B. Cromb (captainl, J. L. Kerr, D. A. R. Moloney, G. L. Weir, 11. G. Vivian, M. WaUahe, J. R. Lamason, A. W. Roberts, J. A. 11. Blandford, C. Elmes, E. L>. Blundell. The umpires are Messrs. D. L. Ryan (Auckland) and C. Moore (Wellington), and the official scorers Messrs W. A. Smith .(M.C.C.) and B. Warwick (New Zealand). The start of play was delayed for an hour because of the coudition of the wicket after the rain of the previous night. Sacks were laid and a light roller used on top of them to help soak up the moisture on the pitch, but when play was resumed it was damp at the south end and soft at the north, where water had run and blown in under the cover the previous night.

It was a wicket of rather varying paces, very slow at one end and moderately quick at the other, but more in favour of the batsmen than the bowlers. The outfield was moist and slow for an hour, but then dried out well. New Zealand Saved. Roberts and Blandford, who had carried the score from 127 to 170 the previous afternoon, continued their partnership till they had raised 231. Even considering the rather innocuous wicket it was a highly creditable stand, both batsmen showing good judgment in picking the ball to bit while exhibiting a patient care to all others. Their partnership saved New Zealand. They played themselves in again with care, the first quarter of an hour producing only five runs, though some of this time was consumed in wieketpatting where the ball had made Mentations, both paying considerable attention to the surface.

Soon, however, they were maintaining a run-a-mlnute pace, despite frequent bowling changes and keen fielding.

Roberts swung his bat in easy but strong oft'-drives and smashed short balls hard behind square-leg, gaining four fours with his hook, a stroke admirably adapted to a wicket from which the ball was coming slowly. Occasionally his off-drives were lofted, but the ball always fell clear of fieldsmen. It was significant that these strokes were from the south end, where there was a greater variation in the pace of the pitch than at the north. Twelve fours included two to long-on, two through the slips and a particularly hard and clean square-cut. Roberts batted 111 minutes without giving a chance to hand. He was given a great reception at 50 and when he carried out his bat for 75, the clapping being supported by the Englishmen. Blandford, who all along faced the bowling with the appearance of confident jauntiness, was not so forceful nor so versatile in his scoring strokes, nearly half his total being singles. He was most effective to bowling short of a good length, especially when it was not pacy, chopping through the slips and gliding to leg neatly, most of his strokes being behind the wickets. He hit three fours in over an hour and a half of restrained aud praiseworthy batting. He was caught in the slips in attempting a late cut. The last two wickets fell quickly. New Zealand took 271 minutes in making 212 runs. English Bowling .Steady.

Though lacking menace on such a pitch the attack was steady. Langridge, the slow left-hander, bowling with the wind, sent down 13 overs for 2G runs. At’the north end the foothold was insecure for a time and the professional gave his side handy service in keeping down the scoring rate from there when the faster bowlers could not be used. 7 Baxter and Barks shared the work from the south end. Baxter opened with five overs for six runs, but he did not bowl at his best pace, though he was faster when given a second turn, will) the wind, and he separated the two batsmen who had given tl;e visitors so much trouble. Parks, who restrained thg batsmen

Iso much on the first day, did not swing the ball so sharply and bowled with an orthodox field, abandonjg the two short legs. His five overs cost 14 runs. Sims, the slow spinner, was ineffective before lunch, but had better control than on the first day, and after the breaking of the big partnership, quickly cleaned out the tail. Read, the fast man, was not used, the wicket being unsuitable to him. while he would have been in difficulty in delivering with such a soft pitch at the end from which the wind was blowing, Tlie new ball was not called for at 200.

The English fielding was again good. Parks took a very good catch in the slips. Griffith kept wickets very capably, not allowing a bye till the score was 200. There was a quiet efficiency about his work. Only twice did he take the bails off for unsuccessful stumping appeals, both against Blandford. . . Lyttelton handled a rather difficult task with credit. He was just having the foothold for the faster bowlers tested so that he could use th'e new ball when the last three wickets fell in a quarter of an hour, and he had no need to ask Baxter to bowl at full speed nor to call on Read. A Resolute Innings. Resolute bowling, supported by smart fielding and capable captaincy, accomplished the dismissal of the visitors for 156 runs in 143 minutes. Two wickets fell for 12 runs, and five for 66, redeeming features of an unsuccessful uphill fight after a hampering start, being the free display of Mitchell-Innes and the resolution of Sims and Griffith, remembered as the pair who made such a fine effort to save the game against Wellington. Mitchell-Innes, arriving after two wickets had fallen from successive balls after only about a quarter of. an hour of play, set out to hit the bowlers off their length, and almost immediately compelled a change in the attack, his first four storing strokes being three fours and a two, all clean drives A drive to long-on for four, a powerful hook to the fence at square-leg, and a leg-glide’ for two, followed. Parks, workmanlike in all his strokes, had made 13 competently at the other end when he was run out,

just when he looked like getting under way for a large score, and for some time the only batsman to handle the bowling with success was MitchellInnes.

Putting plenty of power into his strokes in front of the wicket, he ran to 50 in 57 minutes, with seven fours, and he was not dismissed till after

;ea, when he pushed a “popping” .ball

into the hands of forward short leg after making a fine 57, with eight fours and five threes. He made practically two-thirds of the runs scored while he was at the wickets, and batted with grand resolution in a crisis, preserving a stubborn defence to the good bowling, but making his scoring strokes with impressive power. Three of his fours, in fact, were nearly sixes. Sims, who used to be an opening batsman for his county, before he became a bowler, stayed three-quarters of an hour for a valuable 30, in which he hit three fours. It was a useful strike, but not without blemish, for he gave one hard chance and was once almost run out. Griffith, the wicketkeeper, hok( up his wicket for a quarter of an hour without scoring, while the score was be. ing pushed along from the other end. With only two non-batsmen to come, he attacked the bowling vigorously, cut ting one for three and hitting four fours, one, a drive to long-off, landing only a few feet inside the boundary, hitting up 24 not out in 20 minutes. Read, by hefty hitting, clouted up a quick 13. Despite the venom in the bowling and the crispness of the fielding, the visitors were enterprising, scoring 50 in 52 minutes, 100 in 95 minutes, and 156 in 143 minutes. Most of the bats-

men, however, found difficulty in playing the turning ball, and now and again one “stood up” somewhat, making strokes dangerous with fieldsmen close to the bat. Roberts Bowls Finely. New Zealand's bowling hero was Roberts. Though rather tired after his long innings, he bowled with good length and some nip from the north end with the wind. With the new ball he sent down seven overs for nine runs and was then rested. Brought on again when the score was 96, he took three wickets for 24 more runs in nine and a half more overs, two being caught in close on the leg side and one clean bowled. None of the batsmen played him with freedom. In his first turn he made an occasional ball dip away, but in his second he brought the ball in to the batsmen and made it stand up somewhat. Tlie merit of his performance lay in the fact that he was the only bowler to take wickets from the north end, bowling on to the drier and truer section of the pitch. ’Two of his victims were batsmen who had become well set.

Useful service was given by the two left-handers, Elmes and Vivian. They kept the north end going while the captain rested Roberts, Elmes did not threaten the safety of the batsmen, but kept runs flown and Vivian held a good length and turned the ball, though with not quite enough sharpness to secure wickets. Vivian, however, flighted the ball, and the batsmen facing him never appeared to be really at borne to bis bowling. The runs scored from him were almost purely by semidefensive strokes.

Exceptional deadliness was infused into his bowling with the new ball into the wind by Blundell. His first four overs yielded two wickets for two runs, both being caught at forward shortleg, near which fieldsman another catch was pushed in the third over. His next four overs cost 18 runs and his last five yielded 20 more, but his early effectiveness gave the visitors a set-back from which they never really recovered and paved the way for the success of the New Zealanders. Cromb’s Captaincy. Cromb carried the attack with success while he rested Blundell. He bowled slow, turning the ball well and varying his pace and flight. Cromb’s captaincy was creditable, not so much because it happened to be successful, but because it was thoughtful. He placed the field well and changed his bowling with judgment generally. There was a most pleasing smartness about most of the fielding, and, in contrast to the first match, certainty In the catching. Lamason, at forward short leg, was given great opportunities and made the most of them, while another catch was taken in that position by Elmes.

Cromb showed appreciation of the likely behaviour of the wicket by stationing two men in close on the leg side to the faster bowlers, and his persistence with fieldsmen in “silly” positions right through the innings was amply justified by results. Cromb missed a catch, a. stinging drive slammed straight

g when he was bowling, but every other h chance which went to hand was taken, o Wallace was conspicuous for alertness in the field. It was a smart re- :- turn which ran out Parkes, and a good i- catch which dismissed Human. Vivian r almost ran out Sims, hitting the stumps >, with a fast throw from third man. Kerr, usually clean in his ground work, I, fumbled the ball once or twice, but goni. erally the gathering and throwing were f above the standard usually shown by t teams representing New Zealand. 8 Blandford made no mistakes behind ■ the sticks, but, in contrast to the wick-et-keeper of the visiting team, removed 1 the bails at the slightest excuse. 1 A feature of the innings, giving an 5 illuminating clue to the way the pitch 1 was playing, was that not one batsman t was caught backward of the wickets. : Thirteen wickets fell on the day for ; 228 runs. Play will be resumed to-day ’ at 11.30. Scores :— NEW ZEALAND.—First Innings. , .1. L Kerr, c. Mitchell-Innes, 1). Parks 2 ' D. A. R. Moloney, 1.b.w., b. Langrldge 32 G. L. Weir, e. Langridge, b. Parks .. 1 H. G. Vivian, 1.b.w., b. Sims M Wallace, c. Barber, b. Parks J’J F. B. Cromb, c. Mitchell-Innes, b. Parks J"’ J. R. Lamason, e. Parks, b. Langridge 17 A. W. Roberts, not out <•’ J. A. R. Blandford, c. Parks, b. Baxter 1(1 C. Elmes. e. and b. Sims 3 E. D. Blundell, b. Sims 0 Extras (byes 2, ’ leg-byes 6. noballs 1) 8 Total 242

three for 50. four for 71. live for 115, six for 115, seven for 127, eight for 231. nine for 242. ten, for 242. Second Innings. J. L. Kerr, not out •’> D. A. R. Moloney, not out 6 Extras (byes 1, no-balls 1) 2 Total for no wickets H

M.C.C.—First Innings. .1. 11. Parks, run out 13 W. Barber, c. Lamason, b. Blundell .. 3 ,T. Harilstaff. c. Lamason, b. Blundell 0 N. S. Mitchell-Innes, c. Lamason, b. Roberts 57 J. Langridge, b. Cromb 2 J. JI. Human, c. Wallaec, b. Cromb 2 C. J. Lyttelton, c. Elmes, b. Cromb .. 4 ,T. M. Sims, c. Lamason, b. Roberts .. •"><) S. C- Griffith, not out 24 JL D. Read, b. Croinb 13 A. D. Baxter, b. Roberts .0 Extras (byes 1. leg-byes 7) 8 Total 100

Fall of Wickets.-—One for 12, two for 12, three for 49, four for GO, live for GG, six for 77, seven for 105. eight for 120, nine for 101, ten for 150. IN OTHER CENTRES Results of cricket matches in other centres are supplied by the Press Association as follow:" — Auckland.— The first round of the cricket championship was completed urday, the wickets being easy. North Shore, 305, beat Grafton, 202 (Ellis 81, Dacre seven for 86), and 229 for nine wickets (Spring 43, Ratcliffe 58, Ellis 38 ; Dacre five for 81). Eden, 309 for eight wickets declared, boat King's Old Boys, 97 (Pearson 41; Townsend six for 12), and 105 for seven (Townsend three for 22). Ponsdnby, 157 and 49 for two, beat Parnell, 141 and 163 for seven (Whitelaw 67, Siddle 42; Sncdden three for 20). Y.M.C.A., 234 (Gillespie 48, M. Lyon 46, Paton 61; Matheson six for 94, Garrard three for 59). bent University, 170 and 104 for five (Lund three for 40). Eden has a lead in the championship of five points from Grafton. Christchurch. — Old Boys, 330 for nine wickets (M. L. Page not out 152, R. J. Menzies 69; bowling for Lancaster Park, R. J. "Read took four wickets for 113). West Christchurch, 202 (J. Peake 75). Sydenham, 92 for five ■wickets (W. Doidge 40). Riccarton, 399 (J. Jacobs 178, R. J. Fairbairn 57, A. C. Cade 43; fowling for East Christchurch, H. Davis took three fof 118 and S. V. Ellis two for 64). St. Albans, 373 (N. S. McCann 103, H. Armstrong 40, W. E. Merritt 30, T. E. M. Harpej 40, It. C. Webb 60; bowling for Old Collegians S. G. Lester took five for 93). Dunedin. —A further round of matches in the senior cricket competition was completed on Saturday in beautiful weather; wickets were good and scoring moderate, Carisbrook, 421 for eight declared (Dunning 69, Cameron 73, McKay 83) had a five-point win over Grange (Dey 36, Timms 33, Toomey 77, Knight 42) ; for Carisbrook McKay took three for 37. Ohl Boys, 250 and one. for 151 (Lender 45, South 57, Mills 38) had a first innings win over Kaikorai. IGS (Cherry 34, Talbot 32. Balk 38) ; for Old Boys Dickinson took six for 41. Colts, 128, defeated University, 112 and 124 for eight (Uttley 56). on. the first innings; for the Colts Badcock took four for 34. Albion, 243 for five (Martin 76, Smith 42. Duncan 39 not out) scored an eight-point win over Dunedin, 110 and 109 (Macassey 45, Holley 43; Smith fire for 35).

Bowling. 0. M. R. IV. II. D. Read .11 0 37 0 .1. JI. Parks .... 29 13 40 4 A. D. Baxter .... 14 39 1 ,T. JI. Sims 20.3 2 95 3 J. Langridge .... 21 5 ■19 o Read bowled one - no-ball. Fall of Wickets.—One for wo Cor 8,

Bowling. 0. 3L B. IV. II. I) Bead 3 0 9 0 A. D. Baxter 0 0 J. M. Sims i .1 0 0

Bowling. 0. JI. It. IV. F. B. Cromb .... 14 2 - A. IV. Roberts .... 111.5 7 ■ • E. D. Blundell .... 13 4 40 - F Kimes ... 4 .1.0 0 II. G. Vivian 0 13 0