THE CRICKET TEST

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 28, 3 February 1930, Page 17

THE CRICKET TEST

ASPECTS OF THE MATCH

"Now that .the eagerly awaited second trial of strength between representative cricket teams of England aiid New Zealand has ended, largely in cjur favour, and comment upon the' game, its fluctuating fortunes, and occasionally exciting episodes (of course, one expects stirring incidents iii.jthe Basin Keserve), seems to be exhausted," writes a correspondent (L. D. Austin), '' perhaps . you will allow me. to offer a few remarks upon certain aspects of the match which appear to have escaped notice.. "Whilst it is gonerally admitted that, on the whole, New Zealand mado tho better showlig, in 'every d'opartment pf ■ the- game; ~I; am inclined to think that certain errors of judgment, on the captain's part, contributed to the draw mado inevitable by lack of time. No attempt to speed up the contest was made on oither, side, durVrig the first day and a half: that is to *ay, whilst our boys were at" tho wickets. In tho first plac>,the-! n?fttch startfed well aftor tho advertised time on Friday; secondly, the; tea interval, to which 15 minutes wero officially allotted, actually extended over half an hour; to be precise, the teams retired at 3.58, and returned to the field at 4.28.

"Thirdly, tho listless, not to say slack, deportment of the English fielding team was the subject of general remark: none of them seemed in a hurry to chase the ball, whilst the bowlers casually strolled to' their positions before starting to send down each delivery in a manner'that suggest-

cd they had six days of play before them! s Fourthly, some of the local batsmen helped in the general waste of time by their slow modo of progression to the pitch at the fall of each wicket. Lowry, in particular, was ' nearly five minutes before putting in an appear-: anec when his turn came.to' bit- Fifthly, the changes in the field' necessitated by the advent of left-handed bats■>nen, and also between the-overs, were made in .the moat leisurely manner possible; in fact, when Mills : "and Dempster were well set and lopked like remaining, all day at the crcasej tho gen-: eral demeanour of their opponents suggested to an observant onlooker a frame of mind akin to sullen despondency. ■; "Then again, when-New Zealand-had v. comfortable score ,on the board, and only throe wickets down,' why wciro' tho natural hitters in the team not sent in' I earlier toJorce matters!' ."Why on.earth was Badcock,. AVclliugton's ~ ' Jessop, kept back until.the-end' of tho ; innings? If tho Englishmen had been obliged '•o begin their 'knock' before lunch on i Saturday, two or three wickets might have been■-secured before ,tho interval, instead ,of allowing lunch to '.supervene and thus permitting them to commence their innings like giants refreshed. The | keenness,-and vim of our.team in the field was in striking and welcome contrast to the form shown by the M.C.C. men; but the errors of judgment already referred to became unfortunately conspicuous. There may have existed reasons which justified-the captain in keeping Dickinson, Blunt, and : Merritt too long at the .bowling-crease; but they were not apparent to the. observer, nor could it be fathomed why ,Pago 'and M' Leod bowled only , one over each, whilst Weir was not called,'upon until Monday. Badcock, also, though he 'cor-! tainly kept down the runs, was kept on for much more lengthy periods than the conditions warranted. So it would seem that, taking it. all round, a cleverer handling' of. available resources, might considerably have'curtailed the.Englishmen's innings. ■■ : ■•'■'■'.■:.•.-:

"I .hay (5 loft to tlto last'auy.mention of misfielding and dropped- eatchea by our men "on Saturday'^afternoon, for the reason that thp least eaptjousspectator might havo. pleaded extenuating circumstances. During many years' expcrienco of Test - and ptlier 'important cricket' fixtures, nover :uutil .Saturday last.havo I heard a brass'band porforming (luring'the actual progress of play. Any tiling more distracting than,.music —even, the best music'—to/, spectators and players alike can hardly be imagined. Cricket, more, .than,.any. outdoor game, demands intense.: concentration and patience from all concerned; the mind cannot servo two masters, which axiom was clearly demonstrated when the errors in the field coincided with the band's most,: demoralising'; efforts. At tho head of a military procession, the brass band conceivably hasits uses, although some might' feel disposed to urge this asono.rhorel argument ■:■,,-. in favour of anti-militarism; but'lrcspectt'ully submit, sir,' that music of any kind is totally out of place at a, Tcet match. In conclusion, at: may rbe : said that, had tho,game* been "^conducted throughout with businesslike' punctuality and dispatch, coupled-witlr an,-abler direction of the New Zealand'team, there would have been ample"time to give the M.C.C., the defeat, which, on the form displayed, they were : very lucky to .escape ''

[With regard 'to tlio starting time of the match, the correspondent is in crioi1 in stating that a start was mado well ai'ter the advertised time. Tho players took the field at tho advertised time— 11.30 a.m. Tho reference to M'Leod is a.lbo slightly inaccurate.- This -bowler had two oveis, but it is agreed that ho, as well as "Weir, might havo been used to moro advantage. Lowry's caj)taincv has come in for a good deal of

criticism. . Lowry is liable to . make mistakes, like the best of-players, but ho has proved himself to be : one of * tho fihest Captainawe have had in this country, and his captaincy has been tho subject of high praise from Eng- : lish critics.— '■' Not Out."]'•-.■■' •,-•