EXCITING MATCH WON BY KENT

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 2, 28 September 1937, Page 6

EXCITING MATCH WON BY KENT

New Zealand Cricketers in England

BAILS THAT REFUSED TO FALL

(Fevm "The Dominion” Special

Cokhespondent with the Team.) Canterbury, August 28.

Making a great effort to win on the last ' day, the New Zealand cricketers had their j most exciting, match of the tour at Can- ! terbury, against Kent. Kent required , I6G to win on a seemingly perfect pitch, : and started by scoring 111) for three wic- ■ keto. After lunch, however, the bowling : and fielding seemed inspired, and finally , the County was somewhat fortunate to I win by one wicket. ■ When six runs were wanted to win. J. Cowie bowled one of his ‘‘scorchers.” The 1 batsman just got his bat down in time to touch it, but the ball fell sharply to ■' the ground by his feet and then rolled I heavily against the stumps. The bails, i to everybody's amaiement, stayed in posiI tion. The wicketkeeper, the bowler, and I all the slip fieldsmen, rushed to the wie- ■ kets and subjected the stumps and the i bails to an almost microscopic scrutiny. ‘ Frank Chester, most experienced and ; most dependable of umpires, however, ■ never shifted front his position at equare- ! leg. He knew well enough that the bails had not even stirred in their grooves. ' The odds against such an occurrence must I be enormous, and it was perhaps hard i luck for the tourists that the incident I should have happened at a vital-stage of the game. Profiting by their escape, the two last men remained together long enough to score the runs required. New Zealand made a great effort to win, capturing seven wickets in an hour on the last afternoon by fine bowling, supported by faultless fielding, but the match was really lost on the morning of the first day. Then New Zealand lost seven wickets for 78 runs, the only batsman to score at all effectively being the dependable D. A. R. Moloney, who made 40. The Canterbury ground, like many in the south of England, is subjected to overnight dews, and on the morning of the first day is likely to develop considerable liveliness. A captain who wins the toss hardly knows what to do. The wicket usually looks perfect, and may actually be perfect. If, however, he decides to bat, he may find that in half an hour it has begun to play dangerously. Yet he can hardly take the risk of putting his opponents in, for fear that the wicket may prove to be as good as it looks, with the result that the opposing team would make a very large score. Kent’s Good Bowlers. Kent happened to have the bowlers' who could take advantage of the conditions. Todd, a fast-medium left-hander, considered by some to be the second W. Voce, captured three wickets, and A. Harding, a right-hand fast-medium trundler, took two. Kent also used W. R. Wright, a leg-break and googly bowler whose pace -is ; hearer" true medium than •slow, and who is considered by some to be the most likely bowler for next year’s Tests against the Australians. A. W. Roberts and E. W. Tindill saved New Zealand from total collapse with a partnership of 91, the former scoring 55 and the latter 38. Roberts, 'with his characteristic last-second jab at the fast ball on his leg stump, sometimes gave an appearance of discomfort, but. his eff driving was perfect. Six of his eight fours were through the’covers or past mid-off. The Canterbury man is the best off <1 river in the team. The wicketkeeper, maintaining the form he found at Chelmsford, played neat strokes all round the wicket, especially through the slips and to fine leg. New Zealand’s innings closed at 186.

Kent scored 321. The New Zealanders were lucky enough to see in his best form perhaps the greatest of left-hand batsmen, F. E. Woolley. Opening the innings, he attacked the bowling with grace and power, making every stroke look almost ridiculously easy and scoring 79. The New Zealandcr.s met XV. R. Haiumoud, J. Hardstaff, C. J. Barnett, E. Paynter, H. Gimblett and many other famous batsmen on their tour, but none played their bowling with greater ease than Frank Woolley.

L. E. G. Ames, the batsman-wicket-keeper. scored 65 in workmanlike st vie, and F. G. H. Chalk, a young amateur who may later captain the county, playwl some beautiful strokes in making 63. Especially impressive was his quickness and certainty in hooking the short deliveries of the faster bowlers. No batsman in England moves into the correct position more adeptly than he when hooking.

Kent's last eight wickets went down for 74 runs on the second day.. Cowie took lour wickets for 38 runs in H overs, and so finished with four for 88. Roberts, who had returned to the side after missing a match through a linger injury, kept a very steady length and made the ball gather pace off the pitch, and his bowling was better than is suggested by bis figures of four, for 110. Brilliant Opening. New Zealand’s second innings opened brilliantly, the .scoring rate being two runs a minute during u partnership of 61 by H. G. Vivian and AV. A. Hadlee, the former making 34 and the latter 47. However, four wickets were down for 128. and caution was again enforced on New Zealand. Moloney again rose to the occasion in a crisis', receiving invaluable help from J. L. Kerr. The latter was batting well, driving cleanly, when he was brilliantly run-out at 31 by A. P. F. Chapman. Tindill, scoring steadily bv placed strokes on both sides of the wicket, scored 40 before being rather obviously trapped into going for a big hit on the leg side off a slow break from Woolley. New Zealand finished the day with 266 runs up for six wickets, having recovered well, but the last four went down very quickly next morning. Moloney was bowled after a slow but fine innings of (5, and New Zealand finished with a score of 300.

Woolley again hit the bowling everywhere at the start of the second inuingH, and Chalk made another half-<»entury. ■With the score at 109 for two at lunch, the match seemed over. However, Roberts was again bowling well, and Cowie had a new lease of life, and the fall of wickers was sensational in the afternoon the scoreboard reading: three for 119 four for 123. five for 130, six' for *even for .133. eight for 133. and nine for 10~. Then the hist pair, helped by the bails, which refused to move, added 14 exciting runs, and the match was won by Kent.

Roberts, who kept a 'perfect length, made the bail swing, and had some pace off the pitch, captured, five wickets for 61 runs, the last four for 33 runs, and Cowie had three for 70. New Zealand’s fielding was brilliant. Tindill made two catches behind the stumps, and Roberts dived sideways with his right hand an inch off tile ground to make a wonderful catch at first slip.

Perhaps New Zealand, after tin? uncertain batting of the first morning and the last day, did not deserve to win. though for this the wicket can bo blamed to some extent. The team, however, redeemed itself by a magnificent fight on the lait afternoon. If was one of the bes r performances of the whole tour. ■