CRICKET

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 50, 3 March 1928, Page 22

CRICKET

U ■'■ .■i:;y'^"'\!^'-"';:9f "NOT OUT"

f2'\ :^'-';t>EMPstER'S doings £; v : KECORD OF BIG SCORES , '^-■■-':: vC. S. Dempster,, who is regarded ts ; :' llft^ Zealand's Macartney, is now going "•:';; on. to deeds *y which he will be likened k'•< ■■ ,'to the Since , 'f ;: Mb return.from theiEnglish tour he has V ; ; given ibnie ofthe finest batting displays ever'seen "in. local cricket, and ■V'r with it;»e:has been running up a liuge ■ ■'•-': tggregate-oi runs, which, is now well •'■■•'.■■ ahead of the prevlots be»t: mark ever \':-"- reached for.a seaaon in Wellington;sen- ■ : ior criclcetl;' i^oin this reobrd Dempster : promises to go to another, that of comV piling 1000 runs for a season's senior ■ grade matches. In nine visits to the ;:■'; ■ crease he has compiled 939 runs, and ' V having been twice unbeaten he has an average of 1134.14. - His main contribu- ,■•■•■■. tions to .that-aggregate aro^224, 219, ■and 150, which make up. the best three innings credited.to a player in local senior cricket during one season. . Several ' players, ai detailed in "The Post ".on Monday. have made three scores of over 100 in ;a ' season. Two three-figure : scores by one iplayer: in a season is a record tot senior .cricket, though Hiddleston is credited With two in represen- ■■.'■■:'' tative matches for one season. ..-W. A. • Baker, still a heavy, scoring man in local •'.. cricket, leads .the way in the matter of 1 big scores in local cricket for, all time, 1 he having made four, In, this Beaton's ; games to date! three double centuries ; have been scored, two by Dempster and one by Bruce. This equals the record put up in 1018-19 and again in 1925- - it waa in the latter) season "= that Wellington players also made three V- V -double. ; ; centuries in 'representative .; i! matches. •■;. ■ '.•' - :■■ ..■• . '.'. .- \ •'■ ■■' ;:, v The list of double-century scores in ■'■'"■ local senior cricket' is as follows: — •■■ 260—Bjt J..E. Banks, 1925-26. y ;.: 254—8y W. '::k. Baker, 1918-19. • ' - 341*-^ByW.A^ Baker, 191S-16. ' 240—ByJ. 8. Hiddleston, 1918-19. 2354-By'W:'A: Baker, 1925-26. ; - 228—8y W: 6. Brice, 1922-23. ; i : 226*—By W; A; Baker, 1926-2?. 224-^By O."S.Dempster, 1927-28. :;.'•-.*"' 221^-Br X; H.VTucker, 1898-99. ■„, .' 218-i-By O. S; Dempster,l927-28. ' ■"'■:'-::- H7—By IV- B. Middleton, 1918-19. i 212^-By'B. A; Marris, 1917-18. ■■>;.; 210—By W. J. Wagstaffe, 1923-24. 209—8y H; Lambert, 1925-26. ■! 208--By'A. Bruce, 1927-28. 204^-By B. J. Kortlang, 1926^27. / 203»—8y H.E. Burton, 1921-22. A'V -■'• ■■■')''<-7'-'i: ; : *ifo't-but.;' >/ ■'; \-_- •''■ In addition to his ■ .."double century .'■■■. in club cricket, J.S. Hiddleston ,ha». ; made scores of .212 and 204an;ropreson- ' tative cricket, :bbth,«in';the ■19^5-26 sea•V':.:'son. During: that season B; J. Kortlang > made a score of 214 not put in, a repre- ■ ■"■ sentative match, playing from the fifth :; delivery through Wellington's innings "X" against Auckland. It was in'this1 match ■•';•.-.' '■";. ■ that Hiddleston made liisscore of 204. ■ > . Another double-century score for Wei- '■'•■■•''.'. lington in;' representative cricket vwas i ■■ made 'by T. .8." ! Midlane—222 not out ■:?..■. I. against jOtagq in ,1914-15. .. Midlane ''•'. played; right through,the innings. In. ; a minor representative, match this sea;- --; \•■■•;. son W. Dustiu scored a double century, ■and W. 3- B? Ohristophersen made a ■ *' -similar aehiißvement in a' uiatch with Nelson a few seasons. ago. A player unlucky in not getting a double cen- ' i tury in senior cricket was IV1 Jdplin, '/■;• who in" the 1914-15 season carried his) ■ ?."■. bat ; for;l99.j'. ;;■ •;... ;.-.■' '...' >'; - .; ■ University v. Thorndon. : University did not succeed in '•• run'f . riing up a formidable total in their first „■:'•-• ■'.'.' inninge' against- Thorndon, but their . ' batsmen put up a great fight against -, the solid attack set up!by: Badcock, ; ; /Hyder, and Poley—the only Thorndon players to trundle the ball. The day's ' play was slow.'■'.'.. . . M'Leod, top scorer for University; played^ carefully to begin with, but •■':■■ later opened out and scored" freely un- ; til. he was bowled by Poley at. 50. „■,''. , M'Leod is proving to be a very valuable member of the''Varsity team. : ■ The next highest scorer was Mackenzie, who was run out after compiling 34. In partnership with Osborn he : made a good stand, and after Osborn's ; v dismissal he continued to bat well until he was finally runout. Kelson had his ;:V, best success with the bat for some time. ' He was unbeaten with 21 when the last '■:.■■'':. '.. wicket fell. --.^. ■••'•. •• ■■:'-..■ '■■■'.' .';;.-.'r; ; .'■' ' , Thorndon 'g (Opening batsmen,,."Roberts and Gibson, played very cautiously, as is shown by/the fact that there was no : /scoring: from; seven of Nelson's twelvp ■:.'■: ■' overs. Boberta ,and Gibson were un- :'•'•■;::. beaten when1 stumps, were drawn. ' : /; V .;lTnufiual'2!Matote.': ; ..;'V ?....■■■/,■'■ ']':''■ -': Two* incidents,'during the 'VarsityThorndon ■ match call, for'special men- '■.■■ .tion. A humorous touch was given to the proceedings-by.the action of a dog -.'. in gathering up'the leather in play and making offi: with,it. The batsman who had made the;stroke did not, however, achieve the sa^eVsiiccess as MacDoug- : air in the famouengamo at Piper's Flat, when the runs 'mounted and mounted until MacDougall 's dog, eluding all pursuers, obeyed, the command of his master: to drop the leather. At Kilbirnie on Saturday the ball was recovered before the .batsmen had run very " /far, and the stroke realised 4 runs. Ere ". this was done, ho.wever; an appeal had '■'.. been made for:".obstruction." The ease was ,one in which a claim for "dead bail," once in the dog's possession, might, have..:been upheld. ;.; The. other,;,:incideht revealed a very sporting action on the part of the W.OiA. coach-(F.T. Badcock). ; When :. he was bowling at one stage of i the gme,;he observed that the batsman at c bowler's end was overstepping the ; mark in. backing-up. Instead of delivering the ball on one occasion Badcock .whipped, off the bails and promptly drew tthe batsman's attention to the fact th^t he was well beyond the crease. Badcqck, however, explained that he - was noi? making an appeal but merely giving a warning to the batsman back- ...". ; ' ingup.':'-. ... "' '■ ".'•.-■•.■■.'.. .'■■"■:-- ■ Wellington and V.M.C.A. _ .Batsmen in the Wellington-Y.M.C.A. match'at EelbUrn Park were not" in- ■'•"•'. clined to give the game much sparkle. ■ It was solid plodding practically throughout, although, at times there were one or twowhp hit out a little. The bowlers held the upper hand, both •ides registering only moderate scores. Wellington were without W. Airey, . ;wfcose : services were missed. The side ■Aid not make a bright start, but later Burton, Whitwell, Wiren,:and Wagstaff showed up, registering very useful •cores.'- >: ■■?'■ ■■'.■..-■■■:■■■'•>} ■'..'■'■■'■„. ,'•■':'■' H. E. White proved the most effec- : Wye bowler for -V.M.C.A., while LamaBtin also gave good assistance in this .. 'department. . ' ". . : , Bight at the outset disaster overtook . T.M.C.A., who ultimately -finished "up II runs down on Wellington's first in»ings;tally of 192. Lamason and Sniith, the opening pair, both failed to get a run and were back on the bank in quick time. After that? though, Browne and ■Westbrook made a stand—the only stand in the ininngs. Westbrook was ■:■■■' unfortunate in being run out for 38, for he was then batting quite well. In Y.M.C.A.'s score of 171 there were 36 extras. Wellington's fielding at timqs was.certainly.not up to standard. Too often was the ground-work patchy. The ball slipped through fingers and on

several occasions batsmen notched easy boundaries. Whyte, who has registered some good scores with the bat lately, gave good assistance to the Wellington bowlers behind the wicketi. He brought off two good catches, especially that which dismissed Coupland. It was indeed a smart piece of work. Whyte also got to work quickly with the bat in Wellington's second innings, and, although there were not many minutes of play before stumps were drawn owing to the failing light, h# put on 21 not out, while his partner, Tucker, icored a single. Sharp and O'Connor were Wellington's most successful bowlers. Hutt and XUblrale. - " In the Hutt-Eilbirnle match both teami found runs hard to get on the slow wicket, and the day's play gave indications of a close finish. Hutt were fortunate in having first use of the wicket, more particularly because of the falling light towards the end than because of any . wear on the pitch. Aldersley provided the tit-bit of the innings. Going in first he soon took the measure of the bowling, and sent the ball to all parts of the field with scant ceremony. Boss played a very sedate innings. He commenced- at a tilne when the wickets were falling quickly, and he kept on the defensive all through. During hii stay at the crease nearly a hundred runs were added to the score. Lees and Beard both reached the twenties, but none of the others reached double figures. Hearne, who kept a good length with a medium-paced delivery, had a very successful afternoon with the ball. He bagged six wickets at a cost of -52 runs.: •.'■ ■■■'';': .' ■ '"' ■'. .:.' ... ' , Algar kept wickets,well for. Kilbirnie, and dismissed three batsmen with catches behind the stumps. Morris's batting for Kilbirnie was in a class of its own. He played a, hardhitting innings, and had'scored 58 before a quick return from Warnes at point found him out of his crease when backing up for a r.un. •>■ W. Christophenen (23) batted confidently, and Greig (18) was very steady, assisting. Morri* to add 81 for the third wicket. ■ - Watson performed best of the Hutt bowlers. He found the wicket suited to his slow breaks, and he took four wick-. ets at a cost of under eleven runs apiece. ... ■■•■'-. M'Girr did not present much difSeulty, and Beard, whose arm has been causing him trouble, could get no sting into his bowling.v '"'.'•■ Australian Comment. ■ Comment on the start of the Australian team's tour in New Zealand is made in the "Sporting Globe" (Melbourne) as follow*!— ; ■; '••' "With the; club games off, interest has been centred in the doings, of the Australian team in New Zealand, and in the visit of the Victorian team to West Australia. The team in New Zea-, land has started well with two victories, ■ but. wo naturally expect a representative •'■■•; Australian team to defeat the provincial elevens without much trouble; The two important matches of the tour arc those against New: Zealand at the end of the programme. The New Zealanders have never yet defeated Australia, but with the/confidence rosulting from their successful tour of England, they may be expected to do better on this occasion than they have done previously. The standard of cricket in New Zealand is probably higher now than it has ever: been. They undoubtedly possess some very fine cricketers, particularly, batsmen,, and if they play ,up;to their best the Australians may have some trouble.in defeating them. . "First-Class" Matches. ;• "In connection with the visit of the Australian team to Now Zealand, it is worth noting that in Australia only the matches against New Zealand arc regarded as first-class, and not those against the provinces. In Now Zealand of course they .regard matches between the provinces i for. the" Plunlcet Shield as flrßt-elas«, but n6ne of the provinces would have much chance of defeating a representative Australian team or an Australian State team, and matches between them could hardly be regarded as first-class owing to the ..weakness of most of the provincial teams. True, Wisdeu includes some notable feats in matches between Australia and New Zealand province teams in its lists of first-class records, but they are not regarded as first-class here. The Australian Board of Control, some time ago, issued a definition of firstclass matches. This included games between Australian teams and New Zealand, but not games against tho Now Zealand provinces. v Notes. ■ '-.;•■/. ..■■•■.' ■■..-■•,■"•' Proceedings in the Petone-Midland match at the Basin Eoserve were rather on the tame side, mainly because of the strength of the bowling attack on both sides. It was not until Patrickcame on the scene for Petone that the batting brightened up, and this young player eventually i ran up 71. He put plenty of force behind most of his shots. Bundle also did well, though not getting as far nor showing tho same fores as Patrick. The latter was : f brtunato in escaping dismissal with a particularly smart piece of work on. the part of the Midland 'keeper, Clark. Dpneghue and.Baker gave Midland a good start,'and D. Patrick followed.up with a good effort, but otherwise there was little of note in Midland's innings so far as it went, except for.the success with which Lawton '' played the rock " with the field dosely bunched around him. Doneghue was , unlucky, in the manner in; which he was dismissed. The day's play ended with the position very interesting, Midland being. 16 runs behind Petone with three wickets in hand. , ■ Baker and Grant were tho successful Midland bowlers, the former keeping up his. record as an effectivo change trundler. So far this season Baker has taken twenty-six wickets. Grant's total now stands at thirty-three, and Judd's at twenty-eight. ]?inlayson was again on tho 30b for: Petone, with good help from Brico. The former is putting up a fine record this season, and has now taken over sixty wickets. Dempster's brilliant performance was easily, the outstanding feature of tho Institute-Old Boys match at the Basin. Eeserve. This fine batsman was quiet for a time, but he went on to deal with tho bowling very severely, though never going in for- careless slogging. His splendid cricket gave continuous evidence of how to deal with various types of deliveries >in the proper manner. Ho played as a master'batsman. Crook, the promoted junior player, topped off a number of good performances for the Institute seniors by carrying his bat for 122 against Old Boys. The lost chance of disposing of him before he had scored was a costly one for Old Boys. The performance of Old Boys in the field as well as with the ball was far below their best. The team docs not seom to be up to anything like the mark reached by it earlierin the season when it had prospects of 'championship honours. ... ■ • • '