At the Crease

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 82, 5 April 1924, Page 19

At the Crease

SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

UNFORTUNATE POSITION

. DECISION ON ONE AFTERNOON'S PLAY.

(By " Not Odt."}

■ The Wellington Cricket Association and. the players have had more than their share of bad luck in the matter of postponements this season, the conditions .:. last-Saturday, when the senior final was to have been started, adding another offday to the'list of days on which the progress of the local competitions has been held up. There was every prospect of the final game making a splendid finish to the senior competition, .and had the weather been fine last Saturday the game would no doubt have attracted a good deal of interest, but the necessary postponement'has made the position ex-' tremely-unsatisfactory. By a decision of' the committee 6h Wednesday evening, Midland and Petone were to meet this afternoon. As this is the only afternoon on which a suitable ground is available, -the decision practically means that the championship will be decided.on the play this-afternoon. It is not a fair, test, as a member of . the committee remarked, ,'and probably it -would hfwve been better, in view of the circumstances, for the Management Committee to have adopted the recommendation-of the.Senion Championship Committee ..that the competition be closed and the championship be awarded to Midland. What would happen in the event of one of the teams remaining at the crease throughout the afternoon? Or, what would-be the position if one team completed an innings and the {ptker lost two or three wickets without getting near the total for the completed innings ? The only thing to do 'would be to award the championship to Midland. It is not unlikely ' that -' the question would have beep settled by this time, but for the fact that the_ captains tossed last Saturday. When this fact was made known at the committee meeting on Wednesday evening, the discussion was quickly ended. The tossing meant that the game had commenced, and it followed, ■ therefore, that play should be resumed to-day. A suggestion was made by Petone that the match be^made an all-day one, and that would have been quite a good idea if both teams were agreeable; .. but.it is hardly likely that Midland, in their position, would feel disposed to de- _ part from the rules governing the dub competition. The other senior teams have finished tHeir part in the contest, Hutt', V.M.C.-A.; Institute, and Old Boys all performing creditably to get so near to the Sea Jers. Wellington, with their players of note, were a big disappointment, , but their'chances were considerably affected by the numerous changes in the team through some of the principal players being often off the scene^ i Thorndon were also disappointing, although on ocsiqns.they were responsible for some very fair displays. Midland have been the leaders practically- throughout the on, but they were fortunate to be in tho final with Petoue, as it will be remembered - that in .their match with V.M.C.A. they obtained a lucky tie on the first innings. One thing about-them, however, is that they have been consistent. Old Boys , with better form early in the season would have been a hard proposition. Hutt again proved themselves td be a good allround side, and it was only a matter of , ". few runs that prevented them from i being in the play-off and probably re- ' twining the championship title.

FOE A-BETTER GAME.

"■What are the lessons to be- learned from tho visit'of the' New South Wales teiini. and how best can they be applied for ih.n betterment of the game „in Xaw Zealand?" .Oil this' question! a Christ-church "Sun", representative .■ought information from various.officials in Christchurch, tha headquarters ' of N«w Zealand cricket. Mr. D./Redpath, l.'anlurlini-y's president, was one of those up;preached. He was ill during the visit of the New South-Wales, players, l.iut Macartney* was a frequent. visitor 1.0 hia Ifbme and-for hours discussed matters with him."' What^particularly pleased Macartney—in fact, the way he expressed it was that he was 'tickledHo death'—was that Canterbury fielded seven youngsters against^his'team," said Mr. Eedpath. "Further, Macartney said that in all his experience he had never seen anything approach the grit of the Otago and Canterbury fieldsmen in their uphill fight. I do not know whether I am giving away secrets; or ■whether it' would\ be policy not to say this, but I know the visitors were disappointed they were not opposed always 1-y moi-e youthful players. I agree .with them that when such sides visit us we must give youth its chance. Macartney, pointed out to me that it is absolutely necessary to train and develop captains, as well as to train lads in the use of the bat and ball. He was particularly impressed with W. R. Patrickjs captaincy of the Canterbury side, but he laid his finger on a, weak spot when he said that Patrick and. other captains did not get assistance from players. Fieldsmen should hard 'the knowledge, if this does not come from intuition, to .be able to move- a ' few yards to anticipate a stroke: It should not be necessary for Patrick, or anyone else, to place them on an exact spot. It 'is impossible for a captain, to give full'attention to all this detail. Then" Macartney has since informed me that right through New Zealand one- of the weaknesses in the placing of a field was that mid-off was not placed deep enough. He should only be''brought in close when it is desired to trap a batsman." Mr. Redpath' then went on to say that coadies should endeavour to train boys in the finer points of fielding and the handling of an attack. As matters were now, he failed to see where another man, was coming from to lead Canterbury when Patrick dropped out. He pointed out that in the old days-he" played ■ under Sid Callaway' (the finest strategist he had ever seen) and the Ridleys., In those days there were'many players with the knowledge, to lead a team. When Dan Recce so successfully Jed Canterbury, when cricket in the province was in its hey-day, there were potential captains in the side. "Macartney; Kippax, and Mr. Coehrane (man-1 ager of the side) informed me that they were satisfied that the opposing teams did not reveal their best form against 'the visitors. One reason on -which they, based their opinion was the big scoring in PJunket Shield matches. Macartney's opmior was that unless .the batsmen ■were good, there' would not have been such scoring against bowlers o£ the calibre of W. Cunningham and D. J. M'Beath.M . -.

Comments made, by Mr. B. Reese included the following: "Macartney stvessed the importance of good practice as well as good match' wickets. Both the ..Otago and Wellington Asspci-

ations have tackled matters in the proper way, -and the result to-day is that the Carisbrook and Basin Reserve grounds respectively are better grounds than- they, ever were before. It shows the enterprise of the Wellington Association regarding wickets that it is sending its groundsman, together -with the Wellington City Council's representative, to Dunedin to make themselves acquainted with the soil mixtures and methods of preparation oJ the Carisbrook ground. I think the Lancaster Park Board of Control and the Canterbury Association should also send tha groundsmen from Lancaster and Hagley Parks to study methods at Dunedin." Mr. Reese explained that the groundsman at Carisbrook used an fUdmixture of Oamaru and Taieri soils.,, These soil? gave a slightly greasy surface that did not chip. He also was of opinion that after the football season the ground at Lancaster Park should be flooded to clean it. Provision was there to flood the ground, but he understood, it had not been done in the way he had suggested because of the expense of the generous use. of high-pressure supply water. . ' fr'

JUNIOR COMPETITIONS.

The cricket in the junior grades this season have been of quite a good order, and in the case of some teams the performance would have done- credit to seniors; indeed, the keenness of some of the junior teams gave the impression that there were plenty of lower grade, players who treat the- game more seriously than some of the senior players. The torm of individual players in the junior grades has again shown that there are a number quite fit for senior rank, and probably more'entitled to a-place in the senior grade than a number of those who have been playing senior. The contests in each of the three grades have been interesting, but one unsatisfactory feature of them has been that a full round was not" played. In the JunioiA grade eight series of games were played, and five remained to be played before a round wagvcompleted, there being fourteen teams in the competition. The position in the Junior B and C grades "was that three more series of games were necessary for the completion of a round. Some of the junior teams completed only seven games^ as, it will be remembered, at the beginning of the season rain caused a .postponement of'one day's play f|n' some teams, and the second day's play of the matches affected did not take place. 7 ; Although,a round was not completed the teams which have' won the championships deserved the ■ honour, and-it was' quite likely that the positions would not have been affected by the playing of more matches, v The experience, however, has shown that there is need of a further cut in. the number of teams in each of the ..junior grades. The number was reduced before the start of the season, but not to the extent suggested by Mr. P. B. Broad, the chairman of the Junior Committee, who urged that the grades should comprise ten teams. There was opposition from members of the Junior' Committee to Mr. Broad's proposal, but it. is hardly likely that it will be repeated uext season. The feeling of the Junior Committee now seems to be that for next season it would' be an advantage to reduce the number of teams'* in tha grades so as to have not more than ten ;ln,each grade. This might meanvthat a P grade would be necessary to accommodate all the teams, but even so the position would be mada far more satisfactory. ■ i . '_' University win the Junior" A compe- : iiitioii with 26 points out. of'a, maximum of 32, and bracketed as ruiiiiers-up are Selwyn, Y.M'.C.A., and Porirua, with i\ 5-7 points each. . The'" reason for the five-sevenths of : a poiut is that points for the games-which were unfinished were awarded by applying the rula of' averages],;-the three ■'teams men- i tio'ne'd each gettiiig 2 5-7 points for 'the matches which they did riot'■ complete, j Itilbirnie and Porirua" are next on the list with 20'jjoints each. -University, secured fjve o-point wins, and two 3poiut wins, and suffered one defeat—at the hands of Porirua. The collegians owed their success mainly to their keenness, and,- to the fact that they jjossessed a first-class wicket-keeper, C. Mackenzie, who . captained the team. They were always at practice, at Kelburn Park, and the result of attention 'to that side of the game was reflected in their performances in the field. •It was a treat to watch the 'Varsity, team fielding. Selwyn, Porirua, and Y.M. UA. each had four 4-point wins, one o-pomfc win, and two losses. Kilbirnio secured as many 4-point wins as the championship . winners, but they lost their other three games. Eastbourne finished up the season with an exceptionally fine record in the Junior B competition.' Out of a possible of 32 points they secured 31. There was no doubt about their claim to the title of champions. Rather a signal instance of the. uncertainty of the game was provided by the-game, in which' they dropped the point which prevented them from gaining-the maximum for Ine eight, matches played. It was against Scots College they they gained their only 3-point win, and- Scots College did,not win one game in the competition: ' Hutt. Karon, and Kilbirnia are the ruuners-up to Eastbourne, each having gamed six full wins and h'avin" tost two games. Kilbirnie's record in the Junior C pade was even better than Eastbourne's in the Junior B, as they obtained the maximum number of points for the eight matches played. It is quite evident that the Kilbirnie Club possesses plenty :of good cricketers, and. in'- the Junior C team thero are players who should go far h, cricket. Some of them, as well as other members of the' club, would, have done well in the senior1 grade this',season. That, of course, also applies to members of other junior 'dubs. Radways and.'St. Thomas' are the Junior C runners-up, with 28 points ea-m'o^ and .Wel lesley. College are next with* 24 points. • ■ References to the. junior competitions this season would not be complete without mention, of the' fact ■ that Mr. L J Brabui, a member of the Junior Committee, and a. junior player, has presented a shield for competition between ,th« ?i"u" 1Or S <° Call' terbury and Wellington. Ihe first match for the trophy took place tins season at CHristchurch, and it was a decided success, but there was a little ■ doubt about the intention of the donor as to the nature of the competition. MiBra°"l. first suggested that the shield would be for competition between' Canterbury and Wellington, but subsequently, through the suggestion of some other enthusiast,. there was .'a belief that Auckland and Otago would be eligible tor the competition. This, however, is not correct, as it'would be quite impracticable for- a competition embracing all the main associations to be worked. }l would mean selecting juniors from the Plunkst Shield districts, and such ' a coarse is practically out of the quos-. tion._ As far as Wellington is" concerned, it could not very well finance the juniors for the. three games that would be necessary in each season. ' The shield is to be competed for by Canterbury and Wellington, and there is no' doubt that it is going to create much interest among the juniors in both centfes. The trophy is of attractive design _ My. Brabin is to be commended tor Ins generous action in assisting to stimulate interest among the juniors.

AUCKLAND CHAMPIONS.

North Shore are awnii' senior champions iv Auckland, flic laal occasion on which they gainerl the honour was in 1920, but their record this time is perhaps the best ever achieved. It is said

.that the captaincy of C. Daore was largely attributable to the success gained this season, but North Shore have proved themselves to be a keeD side, with good qualities in batting, bowling, and fielding departments. On several occasions, when they_have been dismissed for under 100 runs,' and defeat seemed certain, they have retrieved the position in a| most remarkable manner. "The "Star"' says:—Shorn have* proved themselves a good all-round team, and no other club lias such a- good record in the field. Led by their distinguished captain, C. Dacre, probably the best field in New Zealand, hardly a run or o. "life" was given away./'fiacre's captaincy was a pleasant surprise to North Shoreites. He instinctively did tho 'right tiling at the right time, but apart from this happy faculty, he, has applied some of the lessons which his wide experience has taught him. 'The highest score credited to the team is 407. against Eden, the record of the season. The only batsman to obtained the coveted century was Prater, who compiled the best score of the season, 207, and followed this the next Saturday with 141. Dacre was not as conspicuous with the bat as last season, but two colts in Garrard and Monteith gave a iot of promise. Scott, an.other member, promises to wear Rowntree's mantle as well as developing into a good medium-paced bowlar. Coates and Townseud were the mainstays of the attack. . '- A NOTABLE FEAT. < ■ Frank.Woods, of< St. Albans, has, made'a, name for himself in (Shristchurch urickeb, and, indeed, his record this season stands as something exceptional for cricket throughout the Dominion. Not only has he repeated his last season's performance of making the highest score in first-grade cricket in Christehurch, but he has registered three. double-centuries, making him the "batting sensation of the year," as the Christchurch " "Sun" puts it. Woods made 222 not out last Saturday. Of his performance, the "Sun" says:—Three double-centuries, including one not out,, and a grand total of 1006. runs, is tho proud record o£ I'ranlc Woods (St. Albans) for tho 1823----24 season. It is a performance with few parallels in Now Zealand first-grade cricket. So far as is- known, the total number of runs has been equalled ' this season only by R. de R. Worker and JL L. Blamires, o f Otago, both of whom played in representative and Test matches, whereas Woods was confined to club cricket. (J. -.S. -'Hiddleston, of Wellington, ■ has a four-figure total for tin? season, and a Southland player is irfn° n (ired, it?d with !lav'ng passed the. 1000 mark—"Not Out.;') What mada woods s achievement on Saturday' the more interesting was that, with, a little •■bad.,luck'or a slightly slower rate of scoring, lie might have missed completing the 1000 runs. . So far as the second century was concerned; he finished with a margin of 22 runs, but he went only naif a dozen runs beyond the 1000 mark anil that just before 6 p.m., with the light failing so fast that -play was almost impossible: Nearly everything favoured Woods m making his big final score Ho had td face the East Christchurch bowling,- which to an experienced batsman was consistently easy all the afternoon. - The wicket was true, and, thanks to tho autumn, weather, it wqs just slow enough. Ihe only disadvantage was the dini'li^ht to the last hour 6{ play. Throughout his long innings, Woods played like a veteran. As usual, he was a model of steadiness, and, try as they might, the bowlers did not trouble, him-in the least A great deal of loose stuff was sent down, especially towards the end of the after-' noon, and he slammed it hard, especially with powerful drives and cuts. ,'He did not try for anything very spectacular, and the moat that came off any single over was 17 runs. Altogether, Woods gave two chances, over and above one on .the. first clay. He played a mode] ■ innings against easy bowling. The two t-uauces referred to-were perhaps due to a .temporary, lack of caution, but otherwise Woods was iv.no Hanger from tho small errors to which any'but an experienced batsman is liable after two o'V three _hours f at_ tho wickets. He made his 220 not out m approximately four and a quarter-hours, including haff an hour, on the first day. He put on 22 bouiida-*-V NOTES. E; C. Blunt heads the batting averages for senior club cricket in Christchurch this season. His figures are •No ; ot innings, 13; times not out, 2- hi<*h--81.36. F. Woods, who has scored- three double-centuries, is-second on the list his. figures being :—lnnings, 15; times not out, 2; highest score, 234: abrogate 1006; average, 77.38. In the baling department, tha three best averages go to players who have not trundled very much during the season.' The next on the .list are: W. Cunningham (fortyfour, wickets; for 589 runs), 13.38: H -Head (fifty-six for 782), 13.96- J M'Lwin (thirty seven for 520), 14;05; and JJ. M Beatli (fifty-three for. 756), 14 ■■>& M. Boon, the young New Zealand representative wicketke'epei-, scored 107 not out in Christehurclr last Saturday. He heavily, punished anything of a loose'nature, -and frequently found the boundary lor parfof his innings he. was associated withjthe ex-Wellmg-tonian, G. H. BaKer brother of Wiri Baker), who'quickly knocked up 12 runs and carried his bat Ihe injury sustained by S. G. Smith *inng the ■ second Test match with ■ New South Wales at the Basin Reserve has caused further trouble, and if is probable that, the Aucklahder has played us last game. Smith's health has iot been as satisfactory as he could wish. U. Epuutree, the well-known wicketkeeper, may not take a prominent part in the game next season. As > the result of injuries which he received this season he intends to take iuore quietly. . Speaking- at the annual smoke concert of the Carisbrook Club, the Rev. E O B amirea,-- after making, some humorous suggestions concerning the way the club ?., l(f 11 1anie> mentioned that his club (the Albion)' would this year celebrate its diamond jubilee. He went on to-say ♦ i X?" dn t0 a certnin "tent - associated with Cansbrook in the past. The first match he had played in on New Zealand soil, was- agains^ Carisbrook C, and on that ocoasion he had been as consistent in his scoring as lie had been in the recent Test match -in Wellington— (laughter)—for he had made one in the first innings- and one in the second. Then, ni 1903, he had been a member-of ,the Cansbrook team—in the days of Austin, biedeberg, Fisher, Britten, and others— which had carried off the premiership. The following year the team included C. . Or. Macartney, and didn't do so well. (Laughter.) There was a,tendency sometimes to contrast the cricketers of to-day with, those of the past.- He though*!' there was not a great deal of difference. It was the wickets that made the differ- . ence. The caretaker of to-day was worth half-a-dozen of the men in a team; nnd the glory of the Carisbrook ground had lately spread through New Zealand. In viow of the possible settlement in New Zealand ot A. P. F. Chapman, of Cambridge University, tho following ■ notice of this popular player," from tho pen of a writer in -"The Sporting Chronicle," will be read -with interest. The writer says:. "If it wore possible to take a vote among tho lovers of cricket in England on the question. 'Who is the most popular player?' what would be the answer?" \ w . !ls k s . There would bo ii big following fur Huhlis, considerable support for Frank Woulloy. and a heavy £j>oll fur Parkin.;. Among the Gentlemen, Arthur' L';ur. of Notts, would be high nn (lie list, bill, to my mind, Peivy • Chapman would be an e"asy winner.

, . SENIOR CHAMPIO: Outright 1st ir\. win. win. Midland 2 3 Petone 3 2 Institute 1 i Y.M.C.A 1 3 \lutt S 1 Old Boys 0 S Wellington 1 1 lliorndoo 0 0 >XSHIP L. 3 3 2 4 ' .■' 3 0 7 P. D. 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 Ch. Pts. 1SJ 18 10 IB 15 7 li