A LIVELY INNINGS

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 19, 23 January 1924, Page 10

A LIVELY INNINGS

RACY DESCRIPTION OF WELLING

TON'SPLAY,

■ :.' (BT TBLEORAPH—SPECIAL TO THE POST.) DTJNEDIN, 22nd January. .. The " Star," in its report of yesterday's play, says; " Hiddleston is a fine batsman. . . . His strokes all round the, wicket are powerful and correct. In compiling his ISO* he ,made three or four uppish strokes. Only one o£ them went' to Blamires at slip, but the fieldsman dropped it when it should have been an easy catch. As Hiddleston was 94 at the time, and put on another 56, the popular parson .cricketer will no doubt hayo material in his mind for a strong talk on " missed opportunity." Hiddleston gave' no other chance. He got his hundred in 150 minutes, and his total score (which included twenty-two 4's) in 215 minutes. He was bowled in making his first attempt at a 6 hit. Collins's century was got in similar style to that in whibh he made his 85 in the first innings. What a fine ".double"— 85 and 110! Consequently it was a treat to witness the over in which he reached his hundred. He hit Alloo for 4, 6, and 4, off successive balls. He missed the next, and was then smartly stumped by Galland in going forward •to force the ball. He was at the wickets 164 minutes, and hit sixteen 4's and two 6's. Both he and Hiddleston were severe on Dickinson's erratic fast stuff, 14 coming from one over and thirteen from another.

M'Girr batted' briskly again, and Kortlang was stylish and sound. James was opt in a peculiar way. He was watching Douglas's breaks very carefully, and went right across to smother one. He misjudged it, however, and it passed behind his legs and bowled him. Another "incident" was the stumping of Dempster.. Biamires sent along a " donkey drop," and Dempster ran right out to hit it into the void, so to speak. He missed it, but the ball was so slow that he had time to turn and almost get back before it got to the eagerly waiting- Galland. Indeed, the batsman appeared to think that the wicketkeeper didn't wait, but took the ball in front of the wickets.

There was quite a chapter of accidents amongst the Wellington men, and Mr. D. Leslie must have thought he was officiating for the All Blacks. The first victim wag Kortlang. The ex-Australian cricketer had just gone to the wickets, and was running for a stroke of his partner's (Hiddleston) when a throw-in by Douglas from mid-on hit him on the head. Kortlang " turned a seven," as the boys say, and was too dazed to go on batting. He retired, and after having his " bump of misfortune " attended to (probably by the application of a wellknown liniment about which he knows a little), he later resumed, and made 30. The second casualty occurred not long after Juncheon. Collins, who had taken the injured Kortlang's place at the wickets, was "diving home on la short run when his bead got in the road of an underhand return by Arthur Alloo. In this case the bit man turned several "sevens." He fell and rose, and went down again, and threw his arms about as though indulging in swimming exercises. It was an exhibition which he could afford to bo amused at afterwards whim.tin h*d recovered and wait iold about it, but at the tuue.it looked

serious. He also retired, and in revenge for this unfriendly . bombardment, hit up a fine century before finishing his innings. However, he received another nasty crack, this time on the knee, by a fast ball from Dickinson. Hiddleston was the third victim. He received a crack from Dickinson also in this case on the instep. In addition to this, a more serious mishap overtook him in the form of a strained groin, sustained in attempting a short run. This caused him to hobble/a good deal towards the end of his long innings.