CRICKET TEST

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 133, 29 February 1936, Page 10

CRICKET TEST

New Zealand’s First Innings Recovery NINE DOWN FOR 362 M.C.C. Bowlers Gain Early Successes By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, February 28. The third cricket Test match between the M.C.C. touring team and New Zealand was commenced at Eden Park to-day under ideal conditions, the home side batting first and compiling 362 for nine wickets after a disastrous start, three wickets being lost for 34 runs. A feature of the morning’s play was the remarkable accuracy of the visiting bowlers. They tied the New Zealand batsmen to a purely defensive game. ~ .

■Kerr and Vivian appeared likely save the situation until the latter, When showing freedom, was nicely caught behind the wicket. Kerr and Wallace held out against the attack until the. luncheon adjournment, when after 90 minutes’ play the total was 62 for three wickets.

Soon after the resumption, Wallace fell leg-before and Kerr was dismisseu shortly afterward. Then Cromb and Elmes were associated in a very useful sixth yricket partnership, which yielded 82 runs. The most prolific partnership of the innings followed when Elmes and Blandford added 103.f0r the seventh wicket. These batsmen adopted aggressive tactics to advantage. Griffiths hit the first six of the match with a fine straight drive off Langridge. Cowie, the last man in, greatly pleased the spectators ’by hitting Baxter for three fours and a brace in one over just before stumps. Impressive Bowling. An impressive bowling performance was put up by Baxter, who at one stage had two wickets for five runs. He finished with three for 83 off. 23 overs, including six maidens. Sims took four wickets for 92 runs. Especially in the morning, he was very dangerous. One of the finest exhibit ions of bowl-: ing seen at Eden Park for several years was given by Baxter in the early part of New Zealand’s innings this morning. Swinging the ball appreciably, he completely beat both Moloney and Whitelaw. The outstanding feature of his bowling was his late swing, with which he left both Moloney and Whitelaw standing. When used with the shine off the ball, Baxter, not attempting his swing, made far more pace, and several batsmen nibbled dangerously at his deliveries just outside the off stump. It is attribute to the very accurate bowling of the visitors that both Kerr and Wallace, usually batsmen of an aggressive style, were kept most subdued.' Wallace, the Auckland colt who has been a prolific scorer .this season, was unable to open his account until after 22 minutes’ batting. . This was due to the steady attack and the excellently placed field. A solid and most valuable innings was played by Kerr for 39. He took 147 minutes to Compile-his total, and hit three fours. Kerr showed unusual restraint, evidently being influenced by the state of the game. Kerr placed his dn shots to advantage while scoring well on the off side. '

At one stage it appeared that Vivian and Kerr would retrieve the bad start made by the side. Vivian swung dangerously at both Baxter and Parks to off deliveries, but on sighting the ball he played some fine cover drives. A fine innings was played by Cromb, the New Zealand captain. The position of the game made him subdued at the start, but later he dealt severely at times with the attack and executed some splendid scoring shots. His innings proved most valuable at a critical stage of the game. Cromb was at the wickets for 90 minutes. He hit eight fours. Elmes Aggressive. ' After an uncertain start Elmes, the Otago left-hander, settled down to play aggressive and attractive cricket. Although lifting the ball on occasions, he placed it safely and put plenty of power into his shots. A feature of his innings was his strong driving on either side of the wicket. With his score ijt 99 he became very subdued and this undoubtedly cost him his century. Elmes batted for 123 minutes and hit 13 fours. Blandford showed surprising skill in compiling 36. He was particularly strong in leg shots, gaining several boundaries with well-timed strokes off the slow bowlers. Matheson early in the innings luckily edged several deliveries. Both Griffiths and Cowie brightened play in the later stages. Outside Baxter, Sims was the most impressive of the visiting bowlers. A particularly deceptive delivery was one with top spin that came straight through. This caused the downfall of Wallace. Sims, who was suffering from an injured knee, was limping badly during the afternoon. In 25 overs, five maidens, he took four wickets for 92 runs. A fine performance was put up by Parks, who in an hour’s bowling during the morning, had only seven runs scored off him. He maintained a consistent length and flighted the bail well. Langridge also bowled very steadily. Both his average and that of Parks suffered through the aggressiveness of Elmes and Croinb. Scores are as follows:— NEW ZEALAND.—First Innings. D. A. R. .Moloney, b. Baxter 0 J. L. Kerr, hit wicket, b. Langridge .. W P. E. Whitelaw, b. Baxter 2 H. G. Vivian, c.- Griffith, b. Sims .... 17 W. M. Wallace, 1.b.w.. b. Sims 27 I. B. Cromb, c. Griffith, b. Baxter ... 74 C. J. Elmes. c. Barber, b. Sims 91! ,T. A. R. Blandford, c. Unman, b. Sims 3*l A. M. Matheson, not out IS B. Griffiths, c. Mitchell-Innes, b. Human 17 J. Cowie, not out 20 Extras 13 ■ Total for nine wickets 362