CRICKET

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 130, 29 November 1930, Page 22

CRICKET

By -" NOT, OUT ".

SEASON'S EVENTS

AN- IMPROVING OUTLOOK

PREPARATION OF PLAYERS

/Alttaagli'as yet.the weather-has not iijitod't'ety favourably upon cricket, each week brings-fresh indications of tho likelihood of. a'niuch bettor season, from tho. poiiit of view of attractions, than was at first. anticipated, and it also points more forcibly; to the progressive policy that is being; adopted in Wellington. The main aim here is to givtf cricketers as much play, as posBibie, especially those young players who have caught the' eye 'as being worthy of special attention with a view to their development as' representative players. ■On Monday C.-S. Dempster will lead a team of thesp promising players against a team selected by E. C. Wiren, of the Wellington Club, in a special match at the Basin Beserve, and next Friday and Saturday at the same ground there will be the annual Town v. Coun-ti-v match, in which young players of promise are also to be given a chance of gaining further experience. It is pleasing to note the euc-ouragement that is being giveu to the younger players, but there is-one matter which should not be lost sight of by the selector m choosing his-teams, and that is the question of giving the candidates for the New Zealand team every possible opportunity of'pressing their claims tor inclusion in the side to go to England. Tho town Team to meet the Country representatives' does not include some of the players who -are likely to be xn the running for places i:i the New Zealand team, and .this, in; a. wfiyV.is a pity, although those , who have .been passed over for this, representative.,team will have their usual club play oiLSaturtfay afternoon. Wellington's candidates for the tour to England and thaplayers likely to be wanted for the • Plunket Shield matches should'be given-every opportunity of striking their best form, and they should "also He kept at special practice. ■" AH this could be carried out without ."affecting' the' 'piogVess:: of : the younger players who ar&-not yet quite "leadyfor big cricket, but who will represent their province in seasons to come. Of course, there are some of the promising coltß who Btand an excellent chance of participating in Plunket Shield cricket this season. They must be given every chance along with the more experienced players. The latter, however, will be needed most for the tour .to England. The programme for next year's tour indicates., that .a very strenuous time is ahead of tho.., tourists and the importance-of this second- visit to England alsQ makes it essential that mo risks shall be run in sending too many players who have: had little or no experience of big cricket.-: In preparation for the tour to England .some trial matches might be''worth whilej and, if possible, matches with, a-teain from overseas. The 'West Indies -representatives, it is '-stated; a"r<3 unable fo extend their toiir'-to carry\tiut a series of matches here on their way back from Australia. Negotiations, however, are still under way for the visit of an.'Australian team. It is to be' hoped that they are successful —that- is, so. long as the team includes some of Australia's best players. Whatever happens, it can "be taken for granted that :ther& will be special matches in March by way of finally preparing tho New Zealand representatives for their big tour. The Larger Wicket. In the two matches to be played' at the Basin Beserve next week (Dempster's teain.y. Wireu's, team,' on-. Monday, and Town v. Country on Friday and Saturday), the larger wicket is to be a trial. In view of this the following comment by. A.:A. Mailey, the well-known Australian cricketer, is of .interest:--"Giving larger-wickets a ■fcriaris.'.not •a.new idea. It is almost as ,oia:.as tlie game itself. In the year i7 ; o^ori<3^stnmp ■18 inches.-high was •usßd|? thefc.shortly after' two stumps l4^iuehes high and 24 inches apart ydfjSf'adopted, and a piece of: wood put rtCEOj?S tne.:top for a bail. In 1702 the stupps were, increased to 23 inches high aifesix..' inches, apart. 1n'.1775 three stunips were introduced. During these times the giants of the da£, Luctcr, Nyren, Pycrof t, and others, iii spite of their' amazing, ability and enthusiasm, were : very' of ten dismissed if or under a- soce of ruiis.'.-Despite the,low scores, however, the'wickets still increased in size; and in" 1798 the stumps were 24 inches high and seven inches apart. Another change was . nifl.de in 1814, ■when- two inches were added to theheight,, .and:id..lßl7: the height of the Btunips wasdncreased to 27-in.ehes. This remained until".a year or sb'ago, whenthe ASLCiC;: decided to giye ;the' larger wicket.a. -trial.. 'Op. past, therefore,-it seems very unlikely that the cricket authorities ."will-go back to the former size. -.'■;;. i'"While in England,, I did not see Jtnything to convince me that the larger ■wicket had improved or even brightened, cricket. Having played in seveial .'matches where the larger wicket ■was used, it seemed to me. that the tatsnieu-appeared to be more determin-. ed.to'protect their wickets,-a,nd became, Jessvaggressive. Sometimes I : think that;-Lt.he,- :i. adoption of largßi- wickets Ijy tie,-•; English players-.;, in county cricket'assisted in their'ao-vrtifall during .tlie;-Te^t'Jnatches.... The Au^t'raliaiis played'in--one'-mJitcifi1 witlf tK^-lafge ■wic'ket^/and.their^ppiiiion's nnght; : ;liave ljeen..rs6ugh't'-'b.efQre- : the-.Australian asaociatibn came- to' : . aiLyldecisiou.' 1 Sturdy Effort. ■:':■ : The University! toanr.made,-a,-:;stub-■born effort-to catch; Old, Boys-formidab-le total of 332, and: they-certainly. ■dia. not have . all tho. luck .wj.th. thern■As it was they compiled 258. Nelson, 'who made 68, batted soundly confidently;, and looked well set wh'en he was i'rnn- put by a smart return from .Bird. Ho;hit Kara, on occasions, and his irin-'ings-included eleven boundaries.: ;Leys was going well when he was liit; ; 'by a ball; from Bird and was clean bowled 'two''balls-later. '.The; smack plainly af'feeted him. ",;Pactz-showed good form 'f0r:30.:. ■'•'■■.' '■ ..' . , ;. -Duncan! dia tho lion's share-ot the fowling,- .ana kept a steady '.length, throughout his 35 overs. His four wickets cost 72 runs. Bird showed jap at .but he was not always ac■curate. . '. ; .' Kiibirhie and Institute. ." Considerable interest was shown", in ;thc-conclubion of the Eilbii-_nie-Insti-tnte game, which culminated' in an-ex- .: citing-finish to the first innings. Institute did not hdve a particularly hard task set them to pass Kilbirnie's 229, ■ and they looked as if they were going Jto make light work of the job when ■they had 151 on the board when the third wicket fell. '' At this stage fortunes swung decidedly- in the homo team's favour, and, with the next three wickets falling very cheaply, the game assumed a different:: complexion. Institute, instead of moving along smoothly and comfortably towards the goal, were forced to fight for the runs.. Their efforts were unsuccessful, as, when the last wicket fell, they were still' eleven runs short of the Kilbirnie score. ' ; :;'. . The result once again, proves the old ansia that a yr" is never won until

lit is. finished, and the collapse of the 'batsmen in' the middle o.f/Institute s ! list'JosV the game for-the side. . The-wicket^on the filial'day was not of much, assistance to the batsmen, in fact, itfwas "in" favour of the trundlcrs, and they had the ball'doing a lot of unexpected" .things. ,Sonic balls, too, kept -disconcertingly' lair, .so that Institute aid hot'really have the-same advantages as- tite lrohib side when batting-. -Nevertheless^ Eilbirnie's performance was a good.one, and the bowling'of Tucker and Crook iiijhis match, and in the- first- match. against ~ Old Boys, shows them" to be an exceedingly useful -pair; -Crook-is-showing--very creditable all-round" form, and he is already making strong claims for high honours'-in-the ■■game.- • ' . Dempster batted well, though not by any means at his best. Banks, Warelitun, and M'Lean also contributed useful scores-to the Institute .total. 'Die other batsmen were not of much account, the outstanding being H. Folcy, who, however, has not been in the pink of condition of late. " Once again B. Hankius gave a pleasing, exhibition "of wicket-keeping, and. ■Wellington is very lucky to possess, two such fine 'keepers as he and James at the .one time. - With Jauiea out of the way, there can be Tittle doubt that Hankins would be' 'the ' Wellington 'keeper . and- a- strong candidate for higher, honours.. .. v _ r . Two Good Performances. KfidlanaV score, pf 276 in the first innings was not looked upon by Hutt. as aii.insuperable-obstacle, but when the 'two first men who., returned from the wicket had scored only a single each it was seen that the remainder would have to fight hard for a win. Newman's bowling was devastating, and the Hutt men, with one exception, wore unable to stand up to it for long.. In the'circumstances their score of 251 was. ho disgrace. Newman was in groat form,-, as.'his capture of nine wickets for 105 runs-indicates. ; llie .bowled 36 overs, of which, nine were , maidens. Against the Hutfc- team,- which is by no means weak in-batting; and. on Hutt's. ground, .Newman's performance was meritorious indeed. • ■ ~" One player alone on the Hutt side succeeded in making the bat master io£ the.ball. .Mo was: Warnes, usually i looked upon-as a bowler. While 'his jtcam mate's: txeatecLiNe'winan with care, Warnes-hit the left-hander's deliveriesall around the wicket, but made most, of his scoring stroke's, to the off. When at last he wascaught by Bryant Irrs score Vvas Tl2j in. "which were included: 14 fours and. two jd^cs. It was unfortunate, for Hutfc that he could not have" laste'f.'a: little' longer'"to '■'iiuikk~ihe l 26 rbrisf tlieyi finally needed to win. Jjees-<3B), M-'G-irr (25),-and Phillips (23, not out) did next best for Hutt. M' Girr was going well when given out l.b.w. Petone and Wellington. Except for a fciv individual efforts, the scoring by Petone in the match with Wellington last Saturday, was not high. Petone resumed its innings with a score of 44 for one wieket;!-'and when play was closed the suburban^team had scored 176' runs, in-response to Wellington's 140. ."The''result was ,a win on the 'first innings.. -.. .'/... ' :Thc 'outstanding" batting performance of the day was that of .A, Hamilton, who compiled a |ptal ■ .o^;60 runs. Hamilton batted very, evenljybut eventually, w-ent to a.good: catch byiWagstaff .behind'■ the :stuntps./'•.There w^je only three:6ther baisineniiwbo; gaine'a doublo figures—-"-Bitehie, Botherham) and Brice. Briee made a slow start, but made sortie fine drives at times.- ':;-.;-/■: Wellington tried four - bow.lers all told, but only one of '. them;' Blundell, • appeared .''to give" much trouble to the batsmen. .;iiivihe ;early stages of his bowlingv.Blundell;.was:' played, fairly confidently, but after the tea adjournment he was really dangerous. He sent dqwn some, fine balls, forking with a definite object in view, and finished up with :the: excellent-figures "of seven for 70. Plant, once again up from the junior grade, was the next best bowler, taking two wickets for 1!) runs;Mefcantile League. - ; . ' Last ■ Saturday 's Mercantile League matches .were nrue.h. more;, cyenly contested- .than some of..the games played recently, and were noteworthy for the fact' that in the.A' grade the. first individual century was.scored and the first drawn ganie was played: The century: scorers wero C. Tilyard (Customs), A. Chudleigh (Cowans), and J. Capper '(Bough arid Co.). .Tilyard achieved distinction'last season by scoring. a century, in the. sanie matchdn-which he performed the "hattrick." : He is well known as a batsman of the ■ sound orthodox type. He has a fine variety of scoring strokes, but chiefly exploits-the cover drive, at which he is particularly adept.. Chudleigh has . been prominent recently by reason of some exceptional bowling feats, and has now added further to his laurels by .scoring a welldeserved century. lie 'has an unconventional stance, at the wicket, whieli leads bowlers iiito thO'belief that he is due . to go. ; any-minute, but- few of tile bowlers realise in time how' rapidty his score' is mounting. '. ', .. ... : ,T. Capper, who; scored 100 fpr>B6ugh and. Coi'.yn .the. B'gradcj is. one:, 'of the yonnger:#ayerk;who is'i'apiaiy- Coming to the front., ■ -He loses, ; , n0,.. time in. compiling his'scores. .'•■■''■'''''''*■•(■:■ ! ga'n3*..,Ayas played be-: itweeiivCustomk'a'nd 'Sargoods, aiid ■ was a fitting termination'■'"to a ,m|tch iai which, it. wo\iVd;b,e difficult, Jto award honours";'to either side. Apart from 'the.drawn ganie last week, both-these ;teanis''aro even in •■ -the- ' competition, each, having won two games, lost one, and drawn, one. . .-. ..,: ■ ,Nivenß:-an&::Pastuives. appear-to be 'cairying. a ''hdodbOj":for neither,team can do anything right. Both teams are worthy opponents for any team in the league, and on niorc than one occasion have been within an ace of winning,' but the luck always breaks wrongly for them. Nivens, in particular, should be much higher up in thp points- list, and it would not be_ surprising to sec them come ahead with a spurt in the second round. ; in the Country Districts. 3?. Hoar (five for 18) and Kenner (three for:-14) were two of the most successful';'bowlers in the Wairarapa inter-elub ; .'.crieket matches last Saturday. M'treod was another, with six wickets for 31 runs. Among the batsmen E. O: Blamires (47), Crcswell (66), and Whitbum. (68), did best. Masscy made 20.; ..... _. ; In the.Baugitikei cricket trial jNortli, 106 (Lowry'44,-'Mars.lv>l6) were beaten by South, 16S (Marshall 34, Sladden 32, Bif-ko 2-1 .retired, P. Cameron 21, B. Cameron- 19)". Buvkoj.who is to play for Country againstj Town, formerly played junior, grade cricket ?n. Welling- ■ f. J. Jacobs (73) and "'C.--A-. Holland .(40) were two.players to do well with the bat "in Wanganui last Saturday. Holland is also getting quit,e a bag of wickets. Draund (six-, for 43) and-Gee (six: for -82). bowled with most success last '-Saturday. ■ >■. v'■ ■'.' -'■ ;. ■ Old Boys,, with 11 .-.points,--are leading in the Wanganui senior cricket championship, Wanganui and United being next, each with 9 points. In Hawkes- Bay , last Saturday, Worker, Whyte, and T. Eeaney made only-16 funs between them. Those in run-getting mood included Beck (69 not out), Craig (58n6t out), M. O'Brien (47 not out), and Shepherd (55 not out). Stephenson took -three for 20 and made 22. Bark bowled well in taking five for -32. .': A record for a first-wicket partnership in Ashburton ci-ickufc was, recently established by Hnnratty and Charles, who piit-oii 102 runs being being separated. Both 7iiaile centuries. Hanratty is a brother of the players oC that iiiimc in Wellington cricket.