CRICKET

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 150, 21 December 1929, Page 24

CRICKET

By "Not out" M.C.C. TOURISTS

PRESSED BY WELLINGTON

PLUNKET SHIELD NEXT WEEK

There is no doubt about tha M.C.C. team taking its tour seriously. Tin? •was made perfectly clear by the way in which the visitors carried out their first engagement, that with Wellington. , They did not win, nor did they lose; ■£ri.it was not for want of trying that their record for the New Zealand tour •was not started with a success. They were triers all the way, but in the Wellington representatives they met a combination of players capable of giving the best of sides a good game and ono which proved to be good enough to .test these latest visitors from overseas to the full. The visiting captain, Har- [ old Gilligan, informed the writer before the match commenced that the M.C.C. team was right out to win all its ; matches. That is just what is wanted .of .the visitors, so that New Zealand cricket will be put to a real test ana be able to give further support to the rClaim that this country is entitled to the same consideration as the West Indies and South Africa in the matter of Test match play. The present M.C.C. tourists anticipated strong opposition in the Test matches with New Zealand after having had some evidence of the calibre of New Zealand's representatives in the performances of the first New Zealand team to visit England. Their first experience against a provincial team in New Zealand has no doubt .caused the tourists to realise more fully .that cricket in this country is on a higher plane than they expected to find it. Certainly the Wellington team fell ; little short of New Zealand strength, but ' there will be. other provinces to test the visitors also, and it would come as no surprise to find a full-strength New .Zealand team being successful over tho visitors, good and all as they are. ,Nicihola was "the most successful bowler for M.C.O, and, with the as,sistanee of the strong northerly, he ivorked up a lot of pace in Wellington's second innings. He appeared to be mainly concerned with length in the first innings, but his deliveries in the • main were pitched short in the second innings, and they were made to bump. It was proved on the last day of the 'match that Nichols was not so difficult as his-five for 24 on the third day suggeitedi Allom, Worthington, and Bar..ratt were of the fast-medium, type, and generally had to be respected, while ..Woplley, the medium-slow left-hander, .appeared to be the bowler who would always have to be watched most closely.. The side will be able to vary its attack better when Bowley joins up again after his treatment at Eotorua. Ome thing very noticeable about the bowlers was the tendency to deliver ,♦'no balls." All told sixteen "no /ftalls" were called against them, but tp-ey ; appeared to go over the mark on many more occasions than that. Performances is the Match. ■ .Although there was no great measure of brilliant play, the match was very interesting from start to finish, largely pecarae of the changing fortunes of the teama^and of the large amount of fighting cricket that the occasion demanded. There some failures on both sides, but there were, also some very fine in■aivianal performances with bat and ball »s well as in the field. To dismiss fiie visitors for 166 runs in the first inmings was a distinctly meritorious performance or Wellington's part. The local representatives gave a very fine account of themselves on the first day (Friday),' the bowlers being supported by a very keen field. In the j\t.C.C. team's second innings, however, the Wellington fielding was slack . in parts, sold an improvement on the part of some of the English batsmen took some of the sting out1 of the attack. One of the features of the tourists' performance in the field was the excellent manner in which the bowlers had their fieldsmen placed. Runs were hard to get, and one of the hardest men to beat in making a stroke was Nichols, who: took the outside position in the slips. On both sidea some particularly fine..catchcp were taken. In the matter of wielaet-keeping Cbrnford had nothing on James, though both performed splendidly.

.-• .-■_ The outstanding feature of the batting by the tourists was Duleepsinhji 'a display in tie second innings, when he failed bj>- only four runs to reach the century. Bsn-getting seemed to be a '■^cry simple "and easy matter to him, arid his methods of carrying it out were ■delightful to : watch. His late- cuts and leg glances with a mere flick of the ■wrists-were pretty, and his off driving 'was- attractive. "Duleep" is undoubtedly a batsman of very high rank, and "is going to bo o 3 of the great attractions on this tour. Big things were expected of Frank Woolley, also one of "the best stroke players in the world, and to those in search of a display of his great qualities as a batsman it came as a big disappointment to see him so quickly disposed of in each innings. He was out in the second innings to a ball which would have undoubtedly hit his wicket had his legs not been in the 'way, but there were some who thought that Woolley snicked the ball on to hm pads. Wellington got this great batsman cheaply, but there- will "be other teams not nearly so fortunate. Dawscm gave a good dispay of batting in: the second innings, though he took tiirae to settle down. He is a batsman of the sound, steady type. Earle and Barratt were the only other players among the Englishmen to appeal to any extent, and they infused .any. amount of life into the proceedings, going in for the hitting which is always a delight to spectators. Both can hit and hit hard, and in doing bo they time the ball well. Nichols and Worthington, apparently more restrained than is usual Witt them, each played a valuable hand 'or Ms side. Local Team's Showing. ,'. The Wellington bailsmen made only „ a moderate showing in their first innings until M'Leod amd Henderson became associated for the ninth wicket, and these two players, included more .for bowling than anything else, made a ..fine stand which gave Wellington a good . lead. Dempster had been very /slow in making his 20 runs, at which point he was given on'.t after a good deal of discussion roumJl about the wicket, which was said to: have been broken. There appears ta be no doubt whatever that a ball was chopped by ..Dempster on to the wicket. No appeal was made to the umpire at the bowler's end, but after some argument and inspection of the wicket, Dempster was informed that he was out, the decision having been given by tihe umpire at square leg, who stated that he saw the bail moved from the groove to the top of the wicket. Thieve was some delay in making the apipcal to him, ,and it was then that he. gave his. decision. It should have been for" the ..other umpire to give the decision, and fhad he been appealed to ;thq batsman .would have been given not .out. ' In the ■opinion of the writer tho wicket was 'not' broken, so far as the rules are known here. The bail was certainly .not struck off.the top of itho wicket. It is understood, however, that some interpretation of the rulo has been given by the M.C.C. to provide for a fcatsman beintr sriven out wht:n the bail

has ,been displaced to an .appreciable extent, and official advice of that ruling should be received from the .M.C.C:; before it operates here. Dempster should not have been given out, though, morally, ho was out, and, what is more, there should have been no such delay and discussion as took place before the batsman was sent back to the pavilion. In Wellington's second innings Dempster gave an excellent account of himself under circumstances which - were far from the best. James, as far as he was able to go in each innings, faced the bowling as well as anybody. With only 60 runs scored for the loss of scveu wickets, Wellington's position for the last day appeared hopeless. The remaining batsmen were it' Girr, Massey, M'Leod, and Dempster, and to- all four the experience of having to fight for runs was not new. There was no lack of confidence on their part, and this confidence carried them a long way, so far, in fact, that when the tea adjournment was taken'only 60 runs were required to win the game. For players such as Dempster and M'Leod this was not a tall order,, and both at that stage were well set* To say that the rain saved Wellington would be doing an injustice to the last two players, as neither looked like being boatep, Dempster playing like the champion that he is, and M'lfeod, holding his end up commendably, although practically a cripple. Eight through the match it was a case of fighting for runs, and no better fighting cricket was seen than that played by Wellington in the concluding ; stages of the game. It will go down as one of the best efforts of its kind on record.

M'Leod, Badcock, Henderson, and M'Girr set up an excellent attack for Wellington against M.C.C. Badcock' and M'Leod frequently had the visitors tied up, and it was only when the hard-hitting batsmen got to work that their figures suffered. For all that they came through the match with distinct credit, as did the faster bowlers, Henderson and M'Girr. The inclusion of M'Lood was more than justified. . He proved himself to be the best all-round-er on-the side. ; ■ r ■ v.-■■•-■. j

The management of the match, and the general arrangements for thq •M.C.O. match were excellently carried out by the committee of the Wellington Cricket Association, and for their efforts they had a very gratifying result. Tho gate receipts for the match totalled £951 4s. In addition there was a good return from the souvenir programme, an excellent publication, while there were the membership tickets to be ! taken into account. The match; was a record one for Wellington, so ,far as gross receipts were concerned.

■A sum of £375 from the "gate" at the Wellington-M.C.C. match goes to the New Zealand Cricket Council as a guarantee. .

The following item regarding Nichols was given in notes on the M.C.C. team, published in a booklet issued when the team left England: "A right-handed bowler with a rather clumsy run up to the1 crease, who is at times really fast, and 'when he hits he hurts.' On certain -wickets is a very nasty bowler." , The wicket at the Basin Eeserve for the Wellington-M.C.C. •■ match played well throughout. Mr. A. Brewer (custodian) is to be complimented upon having provided such a good pitch. Plunket Shield Matches. A start is to be made next week with this season's Plunket Shield competition. The Auckland-Otago match, to be played at Auckland, is to commence on Tuesday. For this match Otago will not be at full strength, Blunt, Dickinson, and Shepherd being three of the players unable to make tho trip north. * Wellington's first Plunket Shield match will be with Canterbury at the Basin Eeserve, starting next Saturday. The Wellington team should be known by Monday. It will differ somewhat from that which met tho M.C.C. team, .as Soilings, Worker, and M'Leod arc. not available. The following players have been selected to represent Canterbury P Allen, B. C. Burns, I. B. Cromb, S. G. Lester, W. E. Merritt, M. L. Page, J. L. Powell, A. W. Eoberta, G. Simmonds E. O. Talbot, C. M. Harris, and C. G. Crawford, (twelfth man). I. M. Hamit-, ton and A. Cox were not available. The team is ■ stated 'to be a strong one, but the omission of Eead: leaves it without a proved stock bowler. There is plenty of batting strength, and in nearly every case this young team has been chosen on present performance. Simmontls and Burns, bowler and wicket-keeper, are indeed the only ones selected whose form with the bat this year has not been excellent.

As far as bowling is concerned, it is stated that Allen and Burns are about the only ones who cannot take a turn if called upon, and they are both wicket-keepers. It remains to bo seen whether any will produce form sufficiently good to take the English wickets quickly.

Mercantile League's Progress. - • ' . Eight years ago a band of cricket enthusiasts in Wellington- decided to form,a league thatwould provide cricket for thoso whose occupations debar-' red them from . playing in two-day: matches. Many keen lovers of the game were in situations, where it was necessary for them to work occasionally on the Saturday afternoon (which spoiled their chances of getting into the iiigher teams) and were abandoning the game on that account rather than drop to a lower grade. A far-sighted enthusiast, Mr. . Keg. Thompson (now resident in AVanganui and a life-mem-ber of the league), was the originator of the movement, and how' far Mr. Thompson's judgment arid confidence m the face of strong discouragement was justified, is shown by tho fact that the Mercantile League to-day is providing cricket for over four times as many players as it did in its first year. The teams were recruited from various business houses in the city (a splendid method of keeping the employees in harmony with one another) and a very sound financial position soon resulted. The employers, interested in their own house teams, gradually extended their interest to the whole le.-guo and subscribed to it handsomely, so that apart from the better feelings engendered between the various staffs, and the closer relationships established between employees and employers, the league to-day is in a'very sound position.

Many splendid performances have been registered, both by teams and individual players, tho standard of play being much higher than is generally expected from outside leagues. S. Brooks (Cowan's), for instance, has now won three separate trophies, i.e., the best batting average, highest individual score (205 not out), and the best bowling average. The Mercantile League plays only "one-day" matches, which means that a great deal of the stodgiuess of cricket has been eliminated. Euns are obtained much more quickly than is usually the case, one match in particular being close to, if not quite, a. record. This was the Pastimes v. Cowan's match of two seasons back, when over 600 runs jvere scored in three hours. This, of course, «was exceptional, but generally speaking, the faster rate of scoring does not greatly affect the style of play. After the first few years, so many new teams were coming forward that it was found necessary to divide the games into two sections, A and B, and the competition has since been enlarged by the inclusion of a third or C grade. Points aro allotted in a very simple manner, two points for a win and one for a draw, whether the match is won on the first innings only or won outright. This year's competition, has been characterised by a sequence of exceptionally close finishes, eight games in the "A" grade alone having been won by only two runs.