NOTES AND COMMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 71, 25 March 1922, Page 12

NOTES AND COMMENTS

POINTS FOR NEXT SEASON

(By "Not Out")

Although the senior championship competition is being concluded to-day, it will not be until the 8th 1 April that the curtain will Jail on another very successful season. The play in the senior grade lias been generally of a good standard, with the batsmen showing to the best advantage. When statistics are completed, soma very fine performances will be noted. Quite a number of young players have made good in senior ranks, and there appears to be ho reason to doubt that the admission of two more teams this season has been in the interests of the game. There has been evidence, however, of a lack of attention to practice. Until the players take full advantage of the opportunities afforded in this direction they wDI handicap the progress towards the attainment of a higher standard of play. The possibilities of greater development have become even more apparent, and it is satisfactory to find the chief controlling body taking definite steps towards obtaining for players a knowledge of those finer points of the game which will place senior cricket in New Zealand on a high level. Visits from ■ overseas teams will prove of great benefit next season, and apart from the effect on the standard of play they are bound to stimulate interest. In Wellington there are many cricketers, and not a few of them colts, who, with that little extra knowledge to be obtained from the more polished players, would reach something like international- standard. Their chance is likely to come next season, and in time they may find that international honours are not out of reach. The New Zealand council's programme certainly gives the players something to look forward to, and the outlook for the game in New Zealand is very bright. .. .

One disappointing result of the Wellington association's operations this season is that the charges for playing grounds and wickets have made a heavy drain,op the. finances. A reduction of calls upon the association for such> fees would assist it in its desire to encourage younger players. This and other matters will, no doubt, be fully gone into by the Management Committee before its term of office expires. In accommodating all players this season the committee has done well, 'and it is to be hoped that next season there will be additional facilities for cricketers, more particularly in view of the increased interest that is likely to be brought about by the visits from overseas teams. - • . '

This season's experience in the control of club competitions should enable a good policy to be outlined. This will need to include a different method of awarding championship points, as the present system is far from satisfactory. Another instance of this was furnished by the publication of the positions of the teams, in which Petone (senior grade) were ahown as having 18 points. It has been stated that matches in which no decision was reached were ignored in calculating points, but this Has not been done. Petone's 18 points include two for the match in which they were unable to get a decision, and for that same match Wellington, through having no credit balance of points,' nave been penalised: Because a match is not completed there should be no occasion to assume what points a team might have gained or lost. Points actually gained or lost should alone count, and in the case of a nodecision game a point to each side (as in a tie) should be the award. Deduction of points for losses should-be avoided. The usual method (win, 3 points or 2 points; draw or tie, 1 point) would have made the senior competition far more interesting, as Petone (20 points) would be only two points ahead of Hutt (18 points). Thus, the championsliip result would have been in doubt right up to the final matches, being completed to-day. With the teams so close, a championship final, between Hutt and Petone, would have been a much bigger attraction than the Hutt Valley-City match, which has been arranged as a wind-up to the season. Evidence of this is found in the move being made in the Hutt Valley to arrange another match between Hutt and Petone during Easter. The suggestion recently made by Mr. H. Watson that the senior championship should be closed earlier and a challenge round played (on the knock-out principle) is worthy of consideration PLAY AND PLAYERS. Hutt intend to end up the season with an unbroken run of success since the loss of their first three matches. Good bowling and fielding were again produced against Wellington, with the result that the latter side, at full strength, could manage only a moderate score about three-fifths of which was compiled by Hiddleston and Anderson. An indication of what Wellington were up against is given in the fact that it took Hiddleston two hours to make his score of 63. The day s play was topped off by some fine batting by Aldersley and Hughes. Both were in a scoring mood, and carried their bats at the end of the day after having placed their side within easy reach of Wellington's total. Petone's score (148) against Midland was nothing out of the way, and without H. E. Nicholls's contribution 'it would have been well under 100. Nicholls made 63, a total that was only beaten by one other batsman (Aidersley) in all senior matches last Saturday. Midland made a very poor start in their reply, Baker being the only one of six batsmen to hold out until stumps were drawn. There was a chance, however, that Midland's remaining batsmen may have made amends to-day. A. Bruce supported the opinion that he is still a very useful man to a team by gathering in seven of Petone's wickets at an average of 3.1 runs per wicket. His assistance with the bat was once again cut short by an Ibw decision. _S. Dempster's run of high scoring received a set-back laot Saturday, when, against_ V.M.C.A. he was dismissed for 7. His total for the season is -now 884. It is stated that the total runs' (782) scored by Dempster in the senior grade constitute a record. The previous best total (763) was compiled by C. G. Wilson in the 1917-18 season

Ronaldson, who has made several big scores this season, found one of his bowlers able to help him in the batting department last Saturday. This was Duncan, who made 56. Ronaldson • just passed the half-century. ■ An unusual feature of last Saturday's play was the comparatively low scoring in all matches, except Hutt's firstwicket partnership. No century was made by any senior player. "Wellington can now be regarded as the cricket centre of New Zealand, and, judging by the work done this year in fostering young players, it may be expected to retain the position," states "Stump" in the Napier Daily Telegraph, in commenting upon the number of teams which have taken part in the Boys' League competitions this season. The Ariah Park Ramblers and the Mirrool Cricket Clubs are remarkably well-matched teams ■ (states a Sydney exchange), they having played two matches recently which were both won by the Ramblers by small margins. In the first game the Ramblers made 100, Mirrool's last wicket falling with a score of 99. Later tlie teams met again, when the Ramblers topped their previous Bcore by ono run, and Mirrool again made 99. Jhe top score on both sides ,was 37,

while on each side four batsmen failed to score. Edis, who made top score for the Ramblers, was in good form with the ball, clean bowling eight wickets for 24. THIRD B GRADE. The Third B grade championship has been completed, Central Mission coming out on top after an interesting competition. The positions of the teams are as follow :—. ■

Points. Central Mission 52.82 Karon 26,47 Makara 24.75 Johnsonville 20.12 Hutt 14.00 Petohe - 2.00 Wesley — 1.33 University — 423 Lyall Bay — 5.00 Kilbirnie — 7.00 Railways — 12.70 Northland — 20.00 Midland —3037 V.M.C.A - 41.62

Hutt have been awarded two points for their match against Makara, and a deduction of two points has been made from the latter team's total. A protest, however, has been entered against tho Hutt team, and if it is upheld Makar* will go up to second place on the ladder (mnners-up).