CRICKET

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 75, 29 March 1930, Page 22

CRICKET

Br 'Not Oi'i" COACHING QUESTION

LOCAL COMMITTEE ACTIVE

NEXT SEASON'S PROSPECTS

- There has boon much discussion of * late on the question of coaching, and tho opinion seems to be held in some quarters that the policy of the Wellington Cricket Association is to do nothing in the way of engaging a coach lintil the finances are built up to such a stato that coaching can be carried put without depleting the funds of the association. 'This idea is quite wrong. The policy of the association in placing the finances' on such a footing that ■there will bo nx> causo for worries in ■the years to come is a very wise one, ■and this..will be realised more fully in later years. But this docs not moan 'Shat no coaching is to uc done. The 'question is receiving very serious consideration,.not only once a week at the 'Usual meetings of the Management Com<niittee/ but also every day of tho Jwoek. AH members of the committee Tare eager to see the local players coachTed and developed, and they aro constantly working out ways anil means of having this necessary work done. With them,.too, are others working-out their own plans, and it is almost certain that the coining winter the services ?of some well-known players will be as coaches.

; While the association is looking far Jahcad in mapping out its plan of campaign, if is not.losing sight of tho requirements for the. .immediate future, ;;and it will bo found that the charges -of dilatoriness on their part are quite unfounded. As a matter of fact, tho •writer anticipates that the local controllers of the game will come to light ;with some scheme which will be lieart--,'ily endorsed by all followers of the game. It is on the cards that during next season the players of promise in • Wellington will be given greater-op-portunities than they have had before ',"of match practice. Tho playing of mid'weelc matches between tho hours of 5 rp.m. and 7 p.m. has been mentioned, .and, with the- need of fielding practice more apparent than ever, these games will give players an excellent opportunity of improving their fielding.

. So far as coaching is concerned, there "appears to be a feeling that this can "only be satisfactorily carried out by the of players fron. overseas. ;The writer is convinced that here' in ; AVellington and in other New Zealand ■ centres there are- players fully quali- ■ fied to undertake, coaching. One set of 2 players has already been sent to Eng- ;. land,, and their experience and knowi ledge gained on that trip should be -passed on to tho players in the niak- '• ing. Coaching, of course, means time, " and some of our leading players cannot "afford to devote the time that they 'would like to coaching. Cannot some be- made whereby these ■;. leading lights in the game might give ;■ more time to coaching? It should be -• well worth while.

. Whilst on the subject of improving . the standard, of play, it is pleasing indeed to note that the ' Wellington vCwket -Association is .also moving in another direction—the improvement of match and practice wickets. For this tho "members" of" the committee are to be commended. Steps are being taken in the matter of securing suitable soil for the wickets, and an expert opinion is being obtained as to tho best soil for the purpose. ...There is every prospect of the results of this part of the toni'liit-tee's-activity also being shown in next season's play.

Championship final.

The-- match between Hutt and Wel-lington-was generally accepted as the championship final, although there was a possibility of these teams being beaten for the premiership by an outright, win by one of the other teams. Last Saturday's play, however, pointed to/either Wellington or Hutt being tho eharnpidhs. These two teaou met at the Basin Reserve, and both completed an,, innings, Wellington gaining a slight advantage.

Tie, batting was well below that expected;from the two leading teams. Thisjwas due possibly to the fact that rain had made the wicket slower, causing' the ball to come off the pitch much mo'rp slowly than had been tho case for sonjeO.timo. There was just sufficient in it:to. enable the- bowlers to turn a Tiitikj but the wicket did not suit some of the.-'-trandlers, Cousins and M'Girr in particular. .

Hutt's poor showing witli the. bat was- due in no small way to Blundell's bowling, which was again exceptionally good, though more effective early in the innings than in the latter stages. None of tho batsmen played Blundell with any confidence. _ Had tho slip fielding been better it r'is possible that this bowler's record would have been even greater than five for 44.' Another handicap to Hutt was in. not having the-services of Ross, for whom a place was kept for the second day's play. Wellington's batting was also very mediocre, except for a valuable openingivpsirtnership by Airey an? Hollings. Wh'en this stand was broken, the bowlers? . i\*ere on top again, but Hollings played a hand which enabled his side to lead on the first innings. Hollings did not appear to be comfortable at times, Out the: state of tho wicket made his kil6ck;'an excellent one.

Warncs performed well with the ball for Hutt, and Alderslcy also rendered good service, keeping a consistently good length. AVarnes promises very well/as a slow bowler.

Midland and Petone.

Greatly improved form was shown by the Midland batsmen in tlioir mutch against Petone at Kclburn Park, and they put on 294 runs. This' score was largely' attributable to the younger I/layers 1 fine form, Cutts, Tindill, and Standiclge all doing well.

hi making the top score of 73, Cutts baited stylishly and correctly. He blocked all the dangerous balls, and tcoJ« ioll of loose deliveries. Some of his shots -throiigh the flips were delightful.

ITindill, a player of but, 18 years of age, found the bowling to his liking, iris score of S3 including twelve fours. He is developing into a really, good batsman. Standidge, a, left-hander, did well to reach 33, and ho is a player who should be most useful to Midland in the future, as ho made some big scores, in the junior grade several years ago before illness caused a temporary retirement.

W. A. Baker made 03 in liis best styJ'c, and hb put on. fcne runs af: a good rate1- ■ DonctJhuc (28) also did well.

Rtjlherham and Hope were not at their best in Pctono's bowling department. Tho wicket was not fast enough for Hope, although he fouud Allardvce's stumps with a bcauitful ball that had. tho batsmen beaten all the way. Senior (throe for 20) gave quite a good account of himself.

University and Old Boys.

To carry off the championship it was necessary' for either University or Old Boys/ who met in what will probably be the last series of matches for the season, to secure an outright win. The end of the first day's play, however, left little indication that such a result would be achieved. University had first use of the wicket, and they batted until 5.30 to score 200 runs, in reply to which Old Boys made 10 for the loss of tv.-o wickets.

lp reaching ;i comparatively good

total on a day of low scoring. University had to thank three members of the siflc, Osborn, Aim, and Nelson, whoso efforts realised all but 34 .of the runs whjeh came from the bat. Mm was Hie top scorer with 7-1, meeting all the bowling with confidence and putting on his runs steadily .without endeavouring to force the pace. Osborn, who was associated with him in a partnership which produced over SO runs, also batted soundly, playing a very valuable hand.

Nelson went to the wickets with the dismissal of Osborn, and another productive partnership resulted. Nelson was inclined to open out wherever the opportunity offered, and eventually foil through endeavouring to lift Elliott to the on. The remainder of the University batsmen made a poor . showing, none reaching double figures. Duncan and Parsloe were the stock bowlers for Old Boys, but Duncan, although ho kept the scoring rate down, was scarcely as effective as usual. Parsloe performed creditably in taking four wickets at'a cost of 61 runs off 22 overs.

Lambert and Elliott were used as change bowlers, but Lambert caused the batsmen little difficulty. Elliott also was played more or less easily, although ho was getting a fair amount of turn on the ball. He provided the sensation of the day, -however, by taking the last three wickets with successive deliveries. In tho, field Old Boys gave little away, the placing showing good judgment.

Australian'

"Much, lias been written and said about the barracking," writes Mr. S. J. Southerton in a review in Wisdeu of the last English tour of Australia. "No doubt'it. was disturbing, but, except possibly for the foolish outburst when Larwood was bowling in the second match against Victoria, at Melbourne, it is questionable if it proved any worse than that to which many previous teams have been subjected. One must always remember that, objectionable as it may appear to us in England, it has grown up with Australian cricket, and is recognised by the public out there as part of their day's enjoyment."

Mercantile League.

•By defeating Smith and Smith, Customs are now assured of the "A" grade championship, and have put themselves so far ahead that they can afford to lose to-day's . gamp with Niven's and still be in tho lead. Their record has been one of successes right through the season, and, although in one or two games early in the year the luck was with them, the latter part of the season has been'characterised by such clear-cut, victories that they have definitely,established their right to the premier position in the league. Their success is in no small measure duo to the sterling performances of that solid quartet, White, Tilyard, Galvin, and Mitchell, although full credit must be given for the excellent support given 'by all members.

The representative, team chosen to meet the Junior Association next week is a well-balanced side, and quite capable of providing some good cricket, especially in the batting department, although the absence of the league's best bowler and wicket-keeper will bo greatly felt. Both White and Condliffe are splendid bats, and the league is unfortunate in not having these players, available. The appointment of J. Eob.erts as captain has met with, universal approval, and the team should do well under his leadership. ■

Prominent, among last Saturday's performers were Mansfield (State Fire), who took eight wickets for 8 runs, and White (Customs), Who took eight wickets for 25. The bowling in most in.stancfis.:..wjt§ I ..far..,sup.eripr to the batting, tho soft wickets proving too difficult for the majority of batsmen.

For the Next Tour.

On this season's form the following players,,;in .'.the opinion' of ..the cricket writer r<xfthe "New Zealand Hereld" (Auckland) will have to be considered for the English tour: —Weir, Allcott, Mills, Gillespie, A. M. Matheson, M'Coy (Auckland), Dempster, Lowry, M'Leod, K. C. James, A. M. Hollings, Massey (Wellington), Powell, Kerr, Roberts, Talbot, Page, Merritt, S. G. Lester (Canterbury), and Blunt and J. A. Dunning (Otago). This gives 21 players, and it is not likely that the touring

team will consist of more than 14. A strong batting eleven could be picked from the above list, while in bowline;, Alleott, Matheson, M'Coy, Hollings, Massey, M'Leod, Talbot, Pago, Morritt, Lester, Blunt, and Dunning all have capabilities."' Tho bowling wowuld be steady 1 enough, but wickets would have to bo tricky for it to become dangerous. Perhaps, either Matheson or Lester may. develop into a really good fastmedium bowler next season. Other candidates for selection are bound to appear before the team is final]}' chosen.' Iv Auckland .there'are P. E. Whitelaw and H. G. Vivian,- both young players of great promise..- Whitelaw has had an off season, this year, but Vivian, who has only, played a few matches in senior cricket,- is showing excellent form, and is without doubt a potential New Zealand player." Other provinces must also have their promising colts, and, remembering the case ofTMerritt, any tentative list of possibilities may be rudely upset. .- : .', • ■ Notes. .: . Mr. . \Y." Ferguson, whu lias passed most of -the'■■pas.t twenty years .or so in travelling with Australian and English teams 'as" scorer and baggage man, will again oceujiy theso positions with the Australian team this year. Such an institution ha 3 Bill become in this connection that no touring team is complete without him, and what he does not know-about cricket and about the leading English and Australian players of the past twenty years, is hardly worth knowing (states an Australian paper). He has just completed the tour of-. New Zealand with Harold Gilligan's M.C.C. team. In the course of his review in '' Wisden's Cricketers' Almanac" of thet tour of the- last English team in Australia, Mr. S." X i South erton says: — "On the question of umpiring, one can hold very definite opinions. Taken all round,' the umpiring in the Test and State games was,, with a notable exception, generally satisfactory. I would also say, with perfect confidence, that G. Hele, of Adelaide, is an umpire com-] parable with the best wo have iv England."

One n'.fxwitig feature of the play of the Australians in Tasmania has been the work of Percy Hornibrook in the slips. With the retirement of Jack Gregory, Australia has no outstanding fieldsman in this ::position, and fears have been expressed that tho deficiency might be felt in England (states the "Sporting Globe"). If Hornibrook can fill tho. bill satisfactorily it will be a great thing for Australia. Ho has always been noted as a safe fieldsman behind the wicket, but some of his catches in Launceston and Hobart have been described as bx'ilUant. With his height and long reach, tho Queonsiander should be able to gather in catches that other men probably would have no chance of reaching.

Tho South Australian Cricket Association has made a move to ignore points for drawn Sheffield games. At a meeting of tho Cricket Committee of the association it was announced that notice of motion along those !?ucs would bo given to tho next meeting ol: the Interstate Conference of Sheffield Shield States. The present points for Shield games are: For an outright win, 5 points; for a win on the first innings, 3; for a draw or a tie, 2; for a team beaten on the first innings, 1.

Owing to the dropping of a lino from some Auckland comment upon Wellington players in last Saturday's notes a reference to M'Girr was incomplete. It was' stated by t -the northern writer that: M'Girr is not the bowler he was a few seasons ago.