Cricket,

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 77, 2 April 1910, Page 14

Cricket,

(By "Half-Volley.")

WIND-UP OF THE 1909-1910 SEASON. Cricket fot the season 1909-1910 in Wellington died a few days ago. It lingered (club cricket) in its dying bed so long that tho onlookers wore constrained to cry : "Put it out of its misery," and the Wellington Association came along with a merciful revolver, so to speak. Already tho thud of tho football has been heard in the land, and the shop windows are franked with club colours in ties, hatbands, gorgeous jorscys, and impelling boot*. The weather, too, has sounded a heralding note, and tho gymnasia are playing to big houses. So it's good- by o for a while to the bat and pads — till September or thereabouts. Then all tho little frets and harassing* will have been forgotten, and the district scheme will rc-entor its career aa a gay two-year-old. The local averages for tho season just concluded havo be«n published, and a tew comments may not be unwarranted. It is especially pleasing to note well up on the lists the names of our riling colts, who are battling their way to tho top — young E. Roberts, who "keeps" for Central, Birch, Finlayson, Burton, Kinvig-, Patrick, and others, who are worthy ot all the encouragement and assistance that can be afforded them. Wo must havo that "coach" along for euro next season, and when he arrives, that consummation, with tho new bchcme, should do much towards stimulating publio interest in a game which for the past few years, at least, has been sadly discouraged and neglected. As was pertinently pointed out in tho editorial columns of The Post, New Zealand has mad* a fetish of Rugby, to the detriment of an equally fine game. It has been tho fashion in times past to scoff lightly at cricket as a game worthy of consideration: fow havo taken it seriously enough. In the early days of crickot in Now Zealand it was not to. With fewer facilities and under much greater disadvantages than now fall to the lot of players, the pioneers of crciket, in Wellington at any rate, played tho game enthusiastically and whole-heartedly. The traditions brought with them from the Old Land were still fresh and vigorous in their minds, and though tho soil in which they planted tho seed was rough, the plant flourished exceedingly. But gradually a publio apathy aroso. The young men were encouraged to develop but one eido of their athletic naturefootball — and this has continued till tho present time. Cricket, in Now Zealand, if considered optimistically, may be taken as in its convalescence. So far as Wellington is concerned the pationt is weaker than in the other centres, but the district scheme, it is hoped, will prove an invigorating remedy. Again, there must be good grounds and plenty of them. There must be, too, nurseries in which the growing talent may be cultivated to the ton of its bent, and then, we may look forward to seeing Now Zealand cricket on such a level as will justify its being taken seriously in intercolonial contests. It has been suggested (and rightly) that one of the contributing causes to the low standard of our cricket it the slack interest of tho general public. The football enthuliait gooffs at a crowd of two thousand spectators at the best cricket matches, and talks largely of fifteen or twenty thousand at a battle of Rugby giants. And. perhaps, when one comes to think of it, ths bulk of the great General Publio which stay« away from tho Basin Roserye in summer is not altogether to blame. The mats has to be specially; catered for, or it will demonat/ato its disinterest by absenting itself. Football hsc reached such an exaltation in there islands now that tho spectators are provided with an excellent thotr for their money. They have a right to expect that attraction, and until cricket can prove itself worthy, its drawing powert will be counted, to a certain extent, a negligible quantity. On the same principle, the people will not bother to witness or assist by their attendance a tecond-rato show, and they can hardly bo expected to raise a warm enthuiiarm for cricket until we can araure them something reasonable for their money. And it can hardly be asserted, even by the most blatant cricket supporter, that there i* anything very much attractive abont our chief summer game. It require* a lot of furbiihing, a whole h^ap of brightening up beforo tho practical support and sympathy of the public can be enlisted. However, this does not absolve it altogether from putting * shoulder to tho wheel when it can. Tho state of affairs in tho local cricket world, and patriotism, demand that a certain responsibility in this direction should bo met. For, after all, it is a great ciuiee which requires awinfancc, and, at an integral part of our outdoor life, our cricket iff justly entitled to a little more push along than it in at y>re*ent receiving. Meanwhile the Wellington Cricket Association it ntrugglinjr along valiantly and earnestly. It is fiffhting a hard battle, but thero aro gleams ahead. At the beginning of the lately deceased season it launched the district scheme on somewhat troubled \ritpn, but a smoother flood liaa now been reached. A first rear's tree is not expected to yield fruit, and neither can tho new idea, which made to many disruptions, be expected to hsvo yet made itt influence folt on the local game. That will como later, if experience he any guido at all. But it must be paid 1 for tho new syitem that it was directly owing to itt innovation that in almost every round of tho senior club championship in this city thero was at least ono exciting finish — a finish where the istuo was in doubt right up to tho latt ball bowled. The writer takes it that this in itself is a good sign of better things. Further than thin, the advent of quite a bunch of successful colts, who havo been givon an opportunity by tho latest achemo of thing*, is" duo in no small meatttro to tho institution of the district scheme. It may be that tho wish is fattier to the thought, but still thero is evidenco in corroboration. And of tho future? Well, what about the old barn-like archaic structure overlooking the Basin, and called by courtesy a pavilion? What a poor sort of thing that is for the crickot ground of the Capital City ! Dim, dingy, and dirty, it stands thero a structure much unworthy of any sports ground — let alono that of Wellington. Not that the Reserve is any class as a ground for tho proper conduct of fitid sports, which demand a grassod level space of come degree of evennoss. The outfield onithe Basin is of the switchback formatiao — up one step and down the noxt. It is all ridges and hollo we, rough and uneven, and to make a decent job of it it would require to be practically re-made. As it stands at present, •it is probably tho worst fiddling ground in Now Zealand (one counts only the larger centres). Doubtless it has been tinkered with and (scratched •-about, but top-dressing will not benefit "it except in a temporary Hcnae. This is, maybe, only stressing an old complaint, but the thing requires to be mentioned now and again. Wellington has had its test match, and the result of it is not calculated to drive •ono into hysterics of pleasure. The New Zealand team was outclassed from the jump, and though tho Australians eased oft in a palpable manner on the concluding day, even then our representatives could not avail themselves of the slight opportunity offered them. It wae not very serious cricket on Tuesday afternoon, though some have boen inclined to exaggerate the leniency extended by the Australian captain, who so obligingly assisted on weak batting with some weak bowling— to wit, that of T. W«wne, who tossed up some very innocuous 6tuff to Sims and Brice. To the writer thero was nothing disappointing about the New Zealand bowling : on paper it never suggested strength against such a warm combination. Brice certainly justified his inclusion, and tho big-hearted way ho g lugged inttf that stiff head wind of aturday last was an admirable exhibition of pluck. His efforts met witk the success they deserved. Bennett must not bo disrated for his non-succoa«. He is a trundlcr of good type : a big feHow with an easy delivery, and, on most occasions, a nice length Young Sandman did more than pussubly woll, and should be encouraged to dovoto himself to cultivating a command of the ball. As yot hs is streaky, but somo of the streaks are dangerous, as Smith and Emery found to. tooir cost. . .

If there should have been no disappointment at the 'comparative failure of the attack, tho same could not bo said concerning the batting of tho Now Zealandere. Granted that on their second knock the wicket was a bit worn, still their display (excluding Sale, Reese, in the first innings, and Brice) with the bat was nothing hko up to form. Certainly Whitty s excellent bowling accounted partly for tho breakdown, but men like Hemus, Lusk, Reese (at times), H addon, and Siedeberg did not approach club jmi-ij m i-i frho hrstn » m ed Aucklander batted hko ono terribly overawed, while both Reese and Lusk performed luckily. Haddon tho writer has little time for, I either as batsman or bowler, and his t non-success in each department was not a surprise. On form in the second test, Sale proved himself the mwt ntylish, and Sim« tho most enterprising batsman respectively. The former was wrongly adjudged out to Warne in the second innings, according to Australians. Sims played free ana confident cricket from the jump, and dis- | played an absence of nerves. His fielding, too, was wh«t wo expect on such occasions ; and Sale outshone all his comrades on the ground. He has o deadly return. Haddon was slovenly, and Roeso almost ac bad, in the field, and 18t * w•" **° w . *" ° traction engine. The smart running of the Australians between tho wickets was deKciously daring. Each couplo seemed to possess an almost perfect understanding as to when and when not, and these stolen singles must hate aggregated seventy or eighty in the match. What seemed impossible runs were scored simply because of tho superb backing-up, and the complete conndenco each man had in his partner. Of course accidents were bound to hapEen. Bennett threw Kelleway out in the rst innings, and in the «econd Mayne, when set for a century, paid tho penalty of his daring. Had he not hesitated in backing-up he must havo reached home safoly. By comparison with the Australians, tho unenterprising methods of tho Now /islanders in running between tho wicJceU, appoer«d worso than it really was, and surely it was bad enough, ft was apparent that Hii» necessary branch of the cricketers' art has been sadly neglected in local cricket, and the number of runs lost because of failure to see and setto the opportunity would have made quite a large total in themselves. Tho men did not know each other, and no ono expected thorn to havo tho combination of the Australians, but yot a moro complete understanding could reasonably hare been expected from first-class batsmon. Will one ever learn tho lesson T The tost match went far towatds proving, to tho writer's view, as regards tho visiting combination, sevoral things, which are as follow: — 1 That Hopkins is a back-number. Th«t Emory will havo to materially *lter his style to become a bowler of "Bosies " That Whitty has deevloped wonderfully sineo his trip Home. That Kolloway has * long, long way to go beforo ho opproac&is Noblo's all-round standard. That Edgar Mayne, with a little luck, will bo playing for Australia noxt season. That Facy will not. That Smith. when he is polished a little, will bid hard for tho highest batting honours. That worry » no champion with tho f'fJS" 1 -. rha * Whl "y. «ood though tho left-hander is, will havo a hot time against forcing batsmen on a plumb wiokot. That Armstrong is not at all a brilliant slip. The New Zealanders' form in the match declares to the writer: That Haddon is an over-ratod man. That Boxshall is wearing as well as can be expected. That Sandman will probably assist to ropresont New Zealand again. That in Brice, Bonnett, Sandman, and Boxshall, tho Now Zealand side possessed a supino tail. That Reese, bowling with his head, is of small value against batsmen batting with "head." That Lusk is either declining or is right out of form. That Sims, all things being equal, would bo tho first bat chosen if a representative Now Zealand olevon wore selected next week. That Brico is not so fast as Facy nor Faoy so fast as Cotter.