ONE-DAY CRICKET

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 9, 6 October 1941, Page 3

ONE-DAY CRICKET

Change Should Increase | Public Interest TEAMS FOR NEW SEASON Cricketers aud followers of the game in Wellington are hopeful that the decision to play one-tlay matches this season will have the effect of attracting public patronage back to the game. , For the past few seasons, even with two senior championship matches being played on the Basin Reserve, an array of empty benches was the usual order. It was all too'evident that the public hud lost interest in the game, and it is not at all surprising that the V ellingtoii Cricket Association had a substantial financial loss on the year s operations. For this state of affairs, cricketers have largely themselves to blame, as the}* cannot expect people to pay good money to sit and watch batsmen laboriously scoring runs at the funeral pace of 30 an One-day cricket will quicken the tempo of scoring, and freer batting should cause the benches in front of the stand at the Basin Reserve to be well filled every Saturday afternoon. One-day cricket has been accepted as a wartime expedient, but if it restores the game to public favour it may be retained. Trentham Teams. The fact that Trentham military camp intends to enter two teams in the Wellington Cricket Associations senior championship competition should also do much to restore public interest. During the Great War, Trentham won the championship on at least one occasion.. Those teams included such able players as R. G. Hickmott, D. M. Sandham, and J. N. Crawford, and in camp today are some of New Zealand's foremost players, including T. L. Pritchard (Manawatu) and D. S. Wilson (Kilbirnie), Wellington’s two best fast-medium bowlers. With such a spearhead for the attack, runs should be difficult to get against the Trentham first eleven. Among other noted cricketers in the camp at present are M. A. O’Brien (Poverty Bay and Wellington); "W. Tricklebank (Victoria University College), F. H. Holz (Southland. Manawatu aud Wanganui), A. C. Holden and J. H. Hobday (Otago), A. J. Sutherland (Canterbury), J. R. Skinner and B. W. Smith (Auckland), and a host of representative players from the provinces of both islands. Indeed, so well off is Trentham camp .for players that it has been decided also to enter two teams in the Hutt Valley Association’s senior championship tionRongotai air station- also intends to enter the lists. The moving spirit in the club is Flying Officer Arneson, who hails from Canterbury, and he will have the nucleus of a side in A. Aehenden (Kilbirnie), R. J. Kemp (Hutt). Thurlow (from Wigram), Maddon (fast bowler from Marlborough), and Mellwraith (Wellington)., Petone Seek Senior Status. The Petone club is anxious to regain senior status, and it is to be hoped that its application will be granted, as when the management committee of the Wellington Cricket Association demoted the Petone club, this led to losing the Petone Recreation Ground as a cricket field. Petone has some able players in A. Jliddolls. R. W. Stehr, Croft, J. Martin. H. B. Martin, L. S. Pointon, Tovey, Hudson, Hansen, and Wilson. This Year’s Teams. There will not be so many gaps to fill in senior elevens this season as was the case last year. Karori will have practically last season’s team available. J. Standidge will be back to lead the side, and will have under him experienced campaigners in G. R. Dickinson, R. W. Coupland, J. Duffy, C. Williams, Searell, King, Nimino, Heenan, Burnett, and Black. Kilbirnie, last year’s senior champion team, will greatly miss the services of that able all-rounder, D. S. Wilson, but they will have stalwarts in hand in H. R. Rice, J. A. Ashenden, T. H. R. Mooney, M. Church, and R. Allen. "Wellington College Old Boys will again be led by J. R. Lauiason, who will have under him V. H. Du Chateau, R. V. Boys, Hodson, Rough, Richardson, and Weekes. Midland will have tried players such as H. W. Osborn, R. O’Neill, W. Hepburn, J. Fortune, Patrick, Armstrong, and Upston, to build upon. E. McLeod, the Hutt captain, has not been enjoying the best of health lately, but the club will have B. J. Champuess, R. Buchan, Wall, Gillies, Fowler, C. Muir, L. Muir, Hare, and Liver. Wellington will be able to call on M. Meeeh, M. Thomas, Bowers, Holdstoek, C. Blundell, F. B. Kerr, and R. Reynolds, and W. R. Airey and I. A. H. Symes will be available when Home Guard duties permit. R. A. Whyte may lend a hand when required. M. Bilby will probably again lead the Institute Old Boys eleven, and will have under him Du Feu, McCarthy, Ormiston. J. Muir, Rogers, E. Morgan, Butler, and Bartlett. University will again have P. D. Wilson at the helm, and he will have with him last season’s players in Greig, Bray. Burnand, Paetz, Armour, Craig, Harrison, aud Sweeney. Stringer, a solid opening hatsman from Christchurch, should strengthen the batting department.