Cricket. [Bt The Mid.]

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 127, 25 November 1905, Page 14

Cricket. [Bt The Mid.]

The games played on the Basin Reserve last Saturday in the Senior Championship provided the most interesting cricket witnessed by spectators for many a day. Altogether 48 wickets fell in the three matches, and the manner of their falling was as varied as Wellington weather during past weeks. Two of the three heats in the first round were completed. Midland easily disposed of Old Boys by ten wickets, and Gas Company defeated Newtown by the narrow margin of 20 runs. Phoenix compiled a grand total of 317 for two innings, leaving Wellington to make 237 in its second innings to win the contest. Wellington was at the disadvantage of having to play out the game o' nights, between 5.30 and 6.30 o'clock. I am tempted at this stage to deliver a homily upon the Sin of Laxity of Fieldsmen. When Frank Layer returned to Australia early in this month he was interviewed concerning the tour of the Australian team m England. Here is a sentence from the interview : "The fielding was not good, though at first he thought it would be the very finest fielding team. But many chances were missed, and it was generally" good men who were dropped." Readers of the Evening Post will remember that when the Australian team played in Wellington I had an interview with Layer, in which he urged New Zealand cricketers, to brighten up their fielding. The lesson has not been taken to heart by our senior players. "Many chances were missed, and it was generally good mer who were dropped." , How accurately that quotation can /be applied to last Saturday's play on the Basin Reserve! The sentence should be writ large in the dressing-room of every club in Wellington, and then our cricketers would probably see the importance of fielding in its proper proportion. Under present conditions our cricketers lose more runs in the field than they make with the bat. Just study these facts for a moment: Moss made 46, Williams 23, Hutchings 32, and Quee 67 out of Midland's total of 247 — and every one of these scorers was "let off," in some cases more than once, by Old Boys in the field ! "And it was generally good men who were dropped !" Tilings were no better on No. 1 wicket. Brice made 54 and Hickey 24 not out in the Phcenix total, 181 — and both batsmen were dropped ! "But many chances were missed !" Still further afield, and more bad examples were shown on No. 3 wicket. In the second innings of Newtown, when every run was being counted by the supporters of the two clubs enga-ged, , Fred Alpe, just when going strong, gave a catch fairly into a fieldsman's hands — and the ball jumped out again. Not only were runs thus given away, but the backing up in all three matches was at times so lamentably neglected and the throwing-in so erratic that the day was worthy of being red-lettered in our cricket diaries as "Over-throw Day." It seems to me that clubs should try the experiment of devoting an evening per week to fielding practice. For the regrettable feature of the fielding was that the chances given by batsmen were declined by a number of our most prominent and experienced players. Spectators were delighted to see Quee, Ken Tucker, and Brice strike form and play such good cricket at the batting crease on Saturday. . They all, as previously stated, had' luck, but there is an old say!ng, "It is better to be born lucky than rich," which just fits this case. The smart run-stealing play indulged in by Tucker and his captain (C. P. Blacklock) during a useful and remunerative partnership was a feature of the Old Boys' second innings. Who said Ken Tucker was a back number? Monaghan got in some swerve-work, but could not get the ball on to the wicket. He was another of the lucky batsmen who were missed in the field. M'Dermott's smart wicket-keeping for the Gas Company was a feature of the Gas Company-Newtown heat. Williams and Mahony will have to put more life into their work behind the sticks, or tho man from Clarence River will be a serious rival when a representative match happens along. Coningham is proving himself the backbone of the Newtown batting force. Dredge has played a steady game with 12 and 32, and he is one of the keenest, cleanest fieldsmen in the six teams. Upham is as full of vigour as ever with the ball and on the ball ; and Stephenson on Saturday bowled and batted in his best form. But these two bowlers had to bear the brunt of the Midland attack. A follower of the game for whose opinion I have a great deal of respect Baid, as he watched the Phoenix men play with tie Wellington team op Saturday : "I fancy I'll see Phcenix as champions this season." Personally, I cannot see anything on the horizon that will displace the present holders. But the season is young, and much may happen before it closes. O'Shea's skyscrapers rather disturbed the Phoenix batsmen, but the lurking lobs of the legal luminary, whilst they admirably served their purpose by tempting the smitters to hit the ball off this footstool, were treated with less respect by the fieldsmen than by the batsmen. Behind the wicket and all around the wicket catches from O'Shea's slows were declined with a thanklessness that was worthy a Cossack raider rather than a Wellingtonian. Richardson (23) and Mahony (33) made a lively start last Monday evening to wipe off the 236 runs necessary to equal the Phoenix grand total. The Wellington skipper was in an exceptionally aggressive mood, arid backed up the activity of Mahony in refreshing style. All the wiles of four bowlers during the course of 26 overs failed to dislodge the two batsmen, and that the latter wero in a hitting mood was proved by the fact that only seven of the overs were maidens. When stumps were drawn the score stood at 60 for no wickets. Brice, who had bowled with a rare economy of runs in the first innings,. had 30 knocked off eleven overs, only two of which were maidens. The following table shows at a glance how the scores ttood in the several matches at the fall of each wicket : — lwTtfc 2w ;}\t 4-w 5w 6w 7w 8w 9it lOw Old Boys 5 8 10 24 28 35 48 65 89 89 Midland.. 33 45 69 86 87 115 148 164 20^247 Old Bojg 6 6 25 81 95 147 155 156 163 163 Ga« C 0... 3 9 13 29 31 31 32 45 46 53 Newtown 11 15 20 31 40 40 51 53 63 60 Gaa C 0... 11 33 59 69 74 78 82 97 101 108' Newtown 16 17 20 21 21 24 37 56 64 Y_ Phoenix.. 9 9 15 19 29 88 130 132 134 136 Wellington 5 9 9 9 19 35 35 44 48 81 Phoenu.. 0 23 33 57 57 90 119 129 139 181