At the Crease

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 90, 13 October 1923, Page 17

At the Crease

CALL TO AUSTRALIA

WELLINGTON MAKES A MOVE

JUNIOR PLAYERS TO BE COACHED

(By "Not Oxjt.")

t% One of Ene ways in which we are; going to improve our cricket is by seeing better cricket, and Australia always gives us good cricket." Those remarks, made at this week's meeting of the W.C.A. Management Committee, will be endorsed by all who have an interest in the game. There is no doubt that much good is to be obtained from displays by teams from overseas, but from the point of view of the public those displays must be o£ the sporting type, and not of the kind which was given in the main by the M.C.C.. team which visited New Zealand last season. For the benefitof the cricketers, the younger players in the game; correct cricket, even though it may be slow, is of value; but it should be brought nearer to the coming senior players than by showing it to any extent iri ■ representative matches. That, however, is by the way. The main point in referring to the 'remarks quoted is that glimpses of better cricket than that to be seen in club matches, or even in inter-provincial contests, do an- immense amount of good for the. game as a whole. When those glimpses of good play come' from overseas players they attract interest, and that is one of the things which i& necessary for the progress of the game and improvement in the .standard of play. Tho Australians give us fine cricket—the play that is entertaining—and after the disappointments .of the M.C.C. tour there was a general wish that this season's events would include a tour by an Australian team. /The information was given out that a request was being made to the Australian Board of Control, and there, was.hope'of. good things for this season. But that hope has faded with the announcement of the Board of Control's decision, that a team cannot be sent to New. Zealand. The news was extremely disappointing, so much so that the Wellington Association's chairman felt that his body should take the lead in another endeavour to secure a visit from an Australian . team, and, after hearing his views upon the matter, the committee decided to request the council, as we'll as the delegates, to make another effort, and offer to pay the cost of assembly of the players, : an expense which the Board-of Control was put to when the last tour was'made. Strictly speaking, that expense should be a charge on the council, which takes any profits from the tour. The latest news is that the council is endeavouring to arrange for New South Wales'to send a team, failing which permission is to be asked to approach M. A. Noble or H. Truinble with a' view to one of those men bringing a team. It is to be hoped that everything possible will be done to arrange for an . Australian team to come across. Information from Australia indicates that there are plenty of players over there who are eager to make the trip, so that, if the council is ?£* r°L InS at the matter •to° much in the light of a money-making business; there should be no great difficulty in arranging a tour. The Wellington Association has acted wisely in bringing forward the general wish of cricketers and followers of the game. . While observation of better cricket may be a, means of improving the standard of play, there are other ways of budding up ; the game. From time to time it has been pointed out that the best place to. make a start is the nursery. Other-associations, Canterbury in particular, have been paying special attention tp the boys by placing them in the hands of a competent coach, but Wellington has been rather backward in that respect. It is gratifying to find, however, that the local Management Committee is making a definite move in tha matter; It was decided this week that two special wickets sboulcl be provided at the Basin Reserve for the coaching of schoolboys and players of promise in the lower grades. That is getting nearer the mark. Efforts of see that the schoolboy is coached upon nght lines, but for some reason or other l?r St b uen attended with much splendid chance this season, and it is up to them to make the most of it. They will have two good, experienced players B J Kortlang and H. M. M'Girr) to I * ,af t« them, and. if they, pay. heed to what they are told and shoU, they should make their mark in cricket-and the game will benefit. The same remark aPPhf,.tp the juniors who are to be selected from the lower grades. "Not Out is of opinion that the present proposal does not go nearly f ar enough. All schools should b e visited by a coach or by senior players. There should be a system on the lines of that in operation m England, -where at most of the schools the boys-are carefully coached: Visits from clubs would do a lot of good, and the boys would become even more keen,.-particularly if arrangements with clubs on holidays-say, .a school fifteen against a dub eleven wisely chosen. What- are known as holiday matches in England, in which the school boys play w,th good clubs, give the boys that experience of match play which is so necessary- to develop latent capabilities, buch matches are of much better advantage.to the ;boys than sending them to witness county matches. It is noted that some of the local clubs this season a re. .prepared i 0 take an interest in school-boys, and their action is to be commended. Look after the boys, and the much-desired improvement in the standard, of play will follow. The Wellington Association has made a start sound lines; perhaps it will" be able to do more next season.

GROUNDS-^.ND LOWER GRADES: So much has been heard about the shortaga of grounds in Wellington that a statement to the effect that there are too many grounds would be rather surprising. Such a statement has been m% 6> an jby a P*rs°n whose association with outdoor sport has given him .a good knowledge of. Wellington's possessions in the- way .of claying aveas. At the annual meeting, of the Wellington Uncket Association, Mr. P. B. Broad remarked that Dr. Herbert had been lamenting the fact that there were not enough grounds in Wellington.. "There ar? j v man-v grinds in Wellington," n J\ Broad- The statement was not allowed to pass unchallenged, the chairm° i\ r- J- P- Kith, C?M.G..) calling upon Mr. Broad to explain what he meant The explanation was forthcoming -and placed a different complexion on the bare .statement. Mr. Broad said tnat if there were six grounds in Weliington covering the area taken up by the existing fifteen grounds, the positron would be far better from tlie point of view of the' Cricket Association. Wellington was not badly supplied with grounds, but the difficulty was that ths

grounds were all over the place. That necessitated a great deal of travelling. . The grounds question presents a difficult problem. There is not likely to be much improvement this year, though some of the reserves should be in excellent condition after the special attention which is now being given to them. The Basin Reserve is coming on very well, and the Hutt Recreation Ground is in good order, but it will probably be some time before the Petpne Oval is available for senior grade cricket. It was decided by "the Association's Committee this week that the main ground at Petone be not ueed this season. Other grounds should be in good order for the start of the season. With a view to easing up the position in connection with the allocation of grounds for the lowergrade matches, the association has decided to act upon the proposal of last year's Junior Committee, that two committees—junior and third—be appointed to control the lower-grade competitions. Last season there were 40 lower-gTade matches to be provided for every Saturday, and for those matches there were li grounds, excluding the Basin Reserve. They were scattered all found Wellington—Petone and Hutt oh one side, Eastbourne across the harbour, Johnsonville and Porirua to the north, Scots College, Kilbirnie, and Lyall Bay on the eastern side of the city, and Newtown Park and Wakefield Park to the south, as well as others. As the season advanced, it be' came-a very difficult matter to work out the draws for the different grades in such a manner as would do justice to each club and not give them too much travelling. For instance, Kaianga were due to play Makara late in the season. Where, with justice to both teams, was the committee to place . them ? There was a possibility of one of the teams being called upon to do a good deal of travelling to fulfil the engagement, but a, compromise was effected, whereby each team was given a minimum of travelling. That is just one instance of the difficulties which have to be faced in arranging the lower-grade matches. In Christchurch the position regarding grounds is much better. The cricket is played for the most part on two- main grounds—Lancaster Park and Hagley Park—and right alongside Hagley Park is the Christ's College, ground as well as the boys' ground; What makes the matter more difficult in Wellington is the fact that here there are probably twothirds more players than there are in any other centre. At the height of the season the total number of teams in Wellington' was 88, representing almost 1000 players, playing in six grades (that is, of course, as far as the Wellington Cricket Association is concerned). It can thus be seen that the Junior Committee last season had no light task. - The work is to be divided up this season. There will be seven grades, and the Junior Committee will have charge of the Junior A, B, and C, and the Third-grade Committee will control the Third A and B and the fourth, each committee having three grades to ' look after. This arrangement may lead to an objection, to the effect that the. Third-class Committee will not be able to make its draw until it.knows what wickets .are taken up by the other committee. In order to avoid such a position, it is proposed to aljbt definite wickets to the two committees, m the event of the seniors not requiring Kelburn Parks Nos. 1 and 2 wickets on that ground, for purposes of illustration, will be declared junior wickets, arid Nos.-3 and 4 will be declared third-class wickets; and so on over all the grounds. The committees will need to work together to some extent, as it may happen late in the season that the Thirdclass Committee may want better wickets for important matches. That is a matter'which L ean be adjusted by conference between the two committees. ■.■■•■■--:■ •< INVITATION TO BLACKHAM.

It was a happy thought on the part of r^'w?- SOn." the Wellingtoncricket Association's chairman,' when urging at this week's meeting of the Management Committee that an earnest endeavour should be made to secure a visit from an Australian team this season £ .fP st, *hat J- -M. Blackham might be asked to accompany the team as umpire. -The .prince of wicketkeepers, familiarly known as "Old Jack" and by. some old-timers as "The Caged Lion (because of his temperament—he could never bear watching an exciting finish), still takes a keen interest i n the old game at which in former days he was a champion 'keeper; and it would be a fine compliment for New. Zealand to pay to extend to him an invitation to again visit, the Dominion. Many years ago Blackham came here as an Australian representative, and he is well remembered by those who were interested m the^game at that time. Blackham was a here> m those days. ■ Australia; as Oeorge Giffen stated, had two heroes in those days—each of whom the populace familiarly called "Old ■ Jack"-one wu Carbine, equme champion, and the other .Vtti'ff . '} ackh™: Blackham played in the first team which represented Australia in a Test, and subsequently took part in 34 Tests ■ being a member of the WiM Eh 1"8 H hi <*visited "■England. With Blackham behind the stumps a batsman was never safe in moving the fraction of an^ inch from his crease or in lifting the heel of his back foot when playing- a bal No bowling troubled the champ,™ 'keeper-he could take- the fastest with marvellous dexterity. As.a batsman, he was not very successful, but ""Wrf-to get a start he presented a problem to the bo^yler s . M ore than once ha succeeded in pulline hh side out of tight corners. He* achieved dev^T 1* °*l -aPtain >"S.the Australian c even, but when acting- in that cam city against Lord Sheffield's team X ]891-2 he .mat with, a turn of bad luck in + the third and final Test (Black hams team won the first two - Tests) B ackham had a ucky ..coin, and W? 6' So^nTto^spin 0 'rt- £* s?. ve/ e.k»ook' «hioh Tiermanently Incaoa citated him for wicket-keeping; He « twenty year^ first^

GONE FROM WELLINGTON,

AAi ,E', Gedye ' who has returned to cricket. He. went to the crease on 60 occasions, was unbeaten six tirhes,S scored 1598 runs, including foHentufVvVlli ay"age for all matches in 132 (Petone v. Hutt; 1919-20), 160 (Petone, v Mrfland, 1921-22),- 116 (Peione tnrT^ n-^T 1921-22»- and 103 (P.. tone v. Old Boys, .1922-23). ' nJI ?' Fulton's Performances in local cricket were very good, though they did not come up-to those made by him in YM CAT- He Wi" bs ™««™ V Y.ISi.C.A. this season. His averages in local club cricket were :—Battinc -1920 2. 25.00; 1921-22, 23.42 ; 192 2 1; 32 82 m! f o| C?^ 6 183); avera fJe for all SS&SS. ffif'l?^- 15-81; r ii , ' Ja^-M, 61.id; average for all matches, 18.86. During the latf 6r Pxr rt ( °u f the 1920"21 Keaso» "c played P/:, aA- In Hawkes Bay, prior to that he payed .from February, 1900, his first match heinc'for Scinde. He was a pupil of A: E. Trott, and was for ma.ny years captain of the Hawkes Bay vepre-

sentatives, being a Bay representative in every season from 1901 to. 1920-21. His Hawkes Bay record is:— Batting, 313 j innings, 26 times not out, 154 highest ; score, 6359 runs, average 22.15. Bowling: 1007 wickets for 12,607 runs, average 12.5. Fulton is now in Hawera. Harold C. AVatson, who is now in Taranaki, captained Institute last season, and played for Thorndon in 1921----22.. In those two seasons he averaged 33.81 with the bat and 17.01 with the ball, scoring 710 runs and taking 68 wickets. Watson arrived in New Zealand about 16 years ago from England,' where -he played in the Lancashire League. Before coming to Wellington he spent a number of years in Otago and in Canterbury.

NOTES.

The fine performance of A. C. ("Jack") Russell iri scoring two centuries for England in the last Test with South Africa in February is no doubt well remembered by all New Zealanders who follow cricket. Recently it was substantially recognised by supporters in Essex, the county to which Russell belongs. ._ The popular professional received a silver tea service and a cheque for £225. Mr. J. W. H. T. Dougks, the .bssex captain, said that he had a great admiration for Russell, one of the match-winners of the successful English side »n South Africa last winter. On 20th February of this year Essex sportsmen were delighted to' hear of the phenomenal success of Jack Russell. He had played for sixteen years, and his father before him was a .staunch supporter of the county in the wicket field. Russell, the batsman, had scored forty-one hundreds and played in ten Test matches. He had compiled a double century in South , Africa, and he commended his pluck on leaving a bed of illness to complete the second hundred. He had to ask Mrs. F. T. Mann to present a silver tea service and a cheque for £225. The inscription on the tea urn is — 'Presented to A. O. Russell by the Essex County Cricket.Club and others in appreciation of his scoring two centuries in the Test Match against South Africa at Durban, 16th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st February, 1923. First innings, 140; second innings, 111." The annual report of the Wanganui Oncket Association states:—"During the season we have played fiva Hawke Cup matches, viz., v. Ransitikei, on 15th and 16th November (won by Wanganui by an innings and 103 runs); v. South Taranaki, on 29th and 30th November (won by Wanganui by an innings and 180 runs).; v. Hawkes Bay, on 26th and 2/th December (won by Wanganui by 191 runs); \V North Taranaki, on 23rd and 24th January (won by Wanganui by 9 wickets)*; so you will note that Wanganui were successful in all their matches, and now hold the Hawke Cup for another season, a record which is, indeed, a very fine one, and reflects greatcredit on representatives." The coaching of club players under the Canterbury Cricket Association commenced at Haetley Park this week. Hitherto, the coach (F-. Shacklock) has confined, his attention to.the coaching of schoolboys, hut a scheme has been adopted under which the veteran cricketer will school club players from 5 p.m. each day. .

Playing in Hawke Cup matches last season, C. Holland (Wanganui). averaged 31 runs per innings with the bat and took 38 wickets for 305 runs (averago 8.02). Holland's performance is described in the Wanganui Association's annual report as truly wonderful. The same player's averages for club matches were: Batting,-35.71; bowling, 7.87. Mr. 11. W. Berry, father of the mem, ber of the local Manasenmnt Committee, who is at present in England, was present at the -Hampshire-Kent match, in which Kent made a remarkable achievement, scoring. 480 runs for nine wickets, 392 of them-after: lunch. The hero of the day. was' John Bryan, the old Cambridge left-hander. Curiously enough. Bryan started indifferently, his first 50 being a very mixed affair. Afterwards ho gave a display of well-timed and powerful driving which-it would he hard to beat, making his 236 inside five hours. One great drive smashed a picture in the pavilion, and, a piece of glass embedding itself in the hall, a fresh ball had to be requisitioned.

J. F. M'Lean* who visited New Zealand with MacL-aren's team, gave a remarkably fine display of driving and leghitting in the Notts-Worcester match. Ho was on the sauce county's side, which required 364 runs to win, and he com-p-1ed.121 runs in ninety minutes. His score included one 6 and eiehteen 4's. M'Lean was one of the best of McLaren's men to watch when the M.C.C. were at the. crease here.

Onei of the sensations of the cricket season in England this year was the bowling; of Frank Cyril Matthews, of Willpughby r on-the-Wolds, ' for Notts against Northamptonshire. This tall young fast bowler—he is 30 years of age' —obtained eight wickets for 39 runs in the first innings, and nine wickets for 50 runs in the second venture of Northamptonshire. Such, a feat as this has never previously been done by a Notts bowler in a first-clas match, although surpassed by Alfred Shaw for the 81.C.C. in a relatively minor match against Thorndon Hall in 1870, when he captured 18 wickets for 52 runs. Matthews, who has real pace, and a tearaway action, has linked his name with William Mycroft, of Derbyshire, W. G. Grace, Walter Moad, of Essex, Walter Brearley, of Lancashire, Blythe, of Kent, Dean, of Lancashire, and Freeman, of Kent, who have all secured 17 wickets in an inter-county match. One other Lancashire bowler, S. F. Barnes, had this raro experience in, a Test match against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1913-14. There is no doubt that Matthews is a dangerous, bowler but he lacks a little, steadiness. '

At the recent meeting o f tho Australian Board of Control it was decided to request tho. Marylebono Cricket Club to agree to the Australian method of appointing umpires, for Test matches both in England and Australia. (In Australia tho choice of umpires is left with the captains, who, if they are unable to agree, draw names from a hat, biit in England the Marylebone. Club, and not the captains, appoints the umpires.)

The question of the visit of an Australian team to India at the conclusion of the forthcoming Australian season is to.be considered at the next meeting of the Board of Control to be held in Sydney shortly.

-was at his best in the SurreyYorkshire match, though generally the game was dreary, considering that the pitch could not have been bettered. For the first hour and a quarter Hobbs completely dominated the proceedings from a batting point of view. Though Fender decided that Surrey would bat first, his men for the most part failed to take advantage of their good fortune. Hobbs was the brilliant exception. He played perfectly, cutting, driving, and turning to leg with all his old ease and charm, and showed that the Yorkshire howling could be scored from. Sandham and Shepherd apparently refused to believe it. With Sandham as his partner Hobbs scored 26 out of 35 made in the first half-hour, and then for three-quarters of an hour Sandham ceased to trouble the scorers. Hobbs went or playing beautifully, reaching 50 out of 64 in an hour and a quarter, and seemed set for a hundred when ho pulled a ball from Roy Kilner hard round, to Leyland at square leg