CRICKET

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 41, 18 February 1933, Page 6

CRICKET

■vfi"Nor Our" M.C.C. TOUR

VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND WELLINGTON'S MATCH

In view of the fact that the M.C.C. team will be here next month for 'a match with Wellington at the, Basin ■"Reserve-on. Tuesday and Wednesday, March 21 and 22, the Jocal selectors should lose do time in making their preliminary choice of players and in getting them at special practice. It is x a great pity that Wellington is to have only a two-day match with the winners "oi the. "Ashes." Certainly it will at-. - tract a good deal of interest, but it will not have anything" like the importance of a Test, of which Christehurch and Auckland are each to have one. On "this occasion the Wellington selectors Will have form in plenty to guide them in their choice of players,, and it is ; reasonable to expect of >thein-that they will give some of the more promising :lpcal boys the big chance they deserve "of playing against Jardine's redoubtable combination. It is not known how many local players are to be called upon to practice in view of the match, but, apart from the candidates in the country districts, there are the following to _ receive serious consideration as trainees for the team to oppose tho English tourists:—Dempster, Foley, Tindill, Morgan, Allcott, James, Lamason, Parsloe, Blundell, Mallard, Dustin, Boss, McLeod, dv Chateau,/Browne, Wareham, Blandford, and Pacey. The country quota is not expected to be as large as for the Shield matches.. . The New Zealand Team. ■ An early announcement, is expected of the team to'represent New Zealand ' against M.C.C. in the first Test, to be played at Christehurch, commencing on March 24. Meriitt,'- Eoberts, Cromb, ana Dacre, if '.all were required, , will not be available,'as by that time they will be well on the way towards fulfilling their engagements in England, Those players who appear to have strong claims to inclusion in the New Zealand team are:—Mills, Vivian,1* Weir, Garrard, and Matheson, of Auckland; Dempster, James, Tindill, Blundell, and .Parsloe, of Wellington; Newman^ of Nelson; Kerr, Page,' Talbbt, and Lester, .of Canterbury; ana Badcock, Smith, and Dickinson, of Otago. Tho strongest candidates would appear to be: Dempster, Mills, Kerr, W«ir, Vivian, Page, James, Badcock, Garrard, Newman, and Blundell. ."leg Theory" and ".Body line.-.'' Although the trouble over the "body-line"bowling, which .is being confused with "leg theory," appears to have blown over, the indications arethat the matter is not yet done;with; indeed, much' more is likely to be heard of it. Until if has been actually seen, a definite opinion as to its fairness .cannot be expressed. However, ,from all the evidence" that is offering, much of it from critics and cricketers whosa opinions are to be respected, this particular type of bowling appears to be .within the law. Whether it is in accord with the spirit of the game id another matter. On this there is a considerable difference of' opinion, and it does seem that the interests of the game- are not going to be best served if this type of bowling is to become as itjuch a part of thj& game.as th&.recogchised leg-theory bowling. There is a iriarked,..difference between this and the usual kg theory. Followers of the game in New Zealand • will fbe keen to see the,bowling which has caused all the rumpus, but more likely than not they will be disappointed. It has been reserved mainly for the winning of the ''Ashes," and, having succeeded, it is likely to be modified considerably. There will not be the same seriousness about the matches to be played by the M.C.C. team, in New Zealand. ; A lucid explanation, of theI'difference' "between leg-theory and body.-line bOwl--3ng is giyea by A, G. Moyes,' well-known.-critic and a former South Australian representative. lieg theory ,is aa old: as the hills (he writes). Hirst bowled'it; Frank Foster bowled it; Boot bowled it; and others, of more or less skill, have developed this attack on the leg stump, which is supposed to ■be ;the weakest link in "the chain of the batsman's defence. It was and as a perfectly legitimate form of - ■bowling. In it the. bowler, concentrating on the "blind spot," matched his skill against that of'the batsman, and in the majority of cases, if he beat the bat he hit the wicket or got an Ibw decision. ' : . Body-line bowling, as -the name im•plieS, is something rather- different, .and is a variation., and aggravation of leg ■theory.;. Here-also we have a leg field, ■withfojar or five men perched "Within ,tett yards of the batsman, one deep at fine leg and another deep at square 7 leg. .The bowler pitches the ball short and makes it fly, and—-the danger flag goes_ tip. It is the fact that the ball is pitched very short that causes the trouble. If the ball were pitched on the leg stump there • could be 'no ob- • " section taken, and, incidentally, such a field would scarcely be necessary. If the ball were likely to rise .higher .than the stumps the batsman could got out of the way. If not, he could" play sit it. ■„' WKen,.however, tho fast ball is-com-iug-'at-vthe batsman's body there is a (different' •tale. :He has a split second in which to make up his minch-(l). Whether he must make a stroke or (2)' ■whether his best plan is to duck. If he is,.to^make. a stroke, it must be either/roffensive or defensive, and here again; he jnust think quickly. The of lensive stroke presents, difficulties. In the ordinary hook shot the batsmas) as he plays the stroke, ■ normally swings his body out of the line of flight of the ball. Thus, if Jie -misses it, he is sot hit. But, with the field as now placed, if he^.hits the ball it will almost certainly go to one of jthe"in-; fields or else fly high to square; or^fine leg. Thus- a perfect booli: means al- - most 'certain disaster. • .The,only.safe .course for a batsman who^waats.ruhs. is tp hit the,ball.in if rent ofth'e wicket, towards mid-on, and_ to do that the batsman must get behind the ball. In this case he is certain to -get.a nasty, knock if he misses, and the risk is so great as not to be worth while. , A Bradmah might 'do it, as gbinethi^g unorthodox would Tae ■needed, ibut even he might finish inpiospital, „ ....:.,.. Wo then-have the ball' that'is of feood length. If it goos through at' Bormal height .is can be played. If. it Dumps quickly the "batsman is in a quanaaty.t If>h'e.plays .the ball, it is almost certainly a. catch. If ho does not, he is hit'on the, chest—Or the back, Where Po'nsfori took. ;them 'in; Adelaide, , Perhaps, the; safest, thing to do is to play' the occasional straight one, arid dodgeithe rest, forgetting all about oatsmaSißhip in the pressing need for fcoay'jugglinjj ana "speedy footwork. Local^Senior Notes. A start was tb-have been made today with ..the second round of the local senior . championship competition, the draw-providing for Wellington meeting Wellington College Old Boys and'Hutt meeting Kilbirnie.' These four ' teams aro expected'to'play one-anothorj as they, were .ahead of ;tne other four at the termination of,the first round Jast Saturday. It is possible, of course; that with three of the four leading .. teams all. on the same mark for the jr commencement of the second round and

meeting one another the position in regard to the championship might be complicated by Petone, who are likely to gain more points than some of the teams above them on the ladder. For instance, a win in the present series would place Petone ahead of at least one and possibly two of the teams above them. Wellington, however, hold such a commanding position—an eight-point lead—that the question of leadership will not be in dispute for some Saturdays to come, and it may be that Wellington will maintain the strong grip which they now hold on. the premiership. Petone's reply to Kilbirnie at Kelburn Park last Saturday was a two-man affair, Dempster and Eoberts being the only batsmen to hold their ends up to any extent. Boberts came into his own again with a splendid and productive "knock,"- and it was a pleasure to see this keen player, who does not have agreat Seal of luck getting amongst the runs. Dempster, in spite of a couple of chances, gavea sound display, although he was not as forceful as he can be when going at top. Still, Petone's posi-. tion was such that he had to shoulder a big responsibility, and he managed the job well. His partnership with Boberts gave no end of trouble to Kilbirnie, and it was broken only through a bad misunderstanding, in regard to a run. Dempster, during this innings, completed his 1000 runs for the season (club ana representative cricket). Crook was easily the most successful of a string of bowlers tried by Kilbirnie, and a feature of his performance was that he hit the sticks in taking his five wickets. ■ There are some smart fieldsmen in the Kilbirnie team, and some of their work against Petone last Saturday was really fine. Hanseombe showed up splendidly in the outfield, and Wilson was a danger to the batsmen, in.-fielding close in. E. A. Whyte, leader-of the Wellington Club's; senior eleven, is noted for his enterprise in seeking to vary the run of firstwnnings, decisions which mark the loijal competitions with an outright ;win, ,a characteristic which has also marked:-tho captaincy of K. C..'James,; of the"' Wellington College Old .Boys' Club. In the last series of matches, realising the possibilities presented.by the." weak Institute team, Whyte set out from the start with an outright 'win in view, and achieved the objective with ten wickets to ' spare an hour before the time for drawing stumps. .' . Declaring their first innings closed with- a- lead of three runs, Wellington were faced with the necessity of. disposing of Institute cheaply a .second tirae,\and splendid bowling by Blundell produced the results. During his first few overs the batsmen were Wholly unable, to deal with Blundell's deliveries and'he had soon taken five wickets at a cost of less than two Tuns ■ apiece. Although. Cousins, Symes, and Morgan have at times given valuable assistance, Blundell has been a valuable mainstay of the Wellington attack, and his efforts/ combined, with consistent and enterprising batting by other members of the team, have mainly been responsible for placing the side in its present commanding position. After top-scoring with 35 runs on the first dayj Morgan played- an important part in the final day's play. He took three wickets cheaply and then batted with 'his accustomed freedom to score nearly two-thirds-of the runs required for "-a win. Although there was no necessity to force the .pace, as there was plenty of time, Morgan treated the Institute bowling with no more respect than it' deserved, and Foley.his partner, was very slow in comparison. - Without an outstanding performer, who can be relied upon in their eleven, Institute have had a hard irow to hoe this,*'season.; Neither'the bowling nor the ' batting- has. really .Tjeea' up to senior standard, although there are several.m the team, who would, do well in-a Bide in which they were not caljed. upon, to shoulder so.much responsi-bility.-Wareham has done consistently well with the ball and' Hankins has also made some useful : scores, O. Bilby has done some useful ;bowling, but generally the attack has been Bteady rather than dangerous. • Baker (Midland) came right into his own again with the bat in the match against .University and added, another' century 'to'a long" list standing to his credit; -^'At' one time. Baker held the record" for"'"the "number of centuries scored in local senior cricket; in fact, he'was one of the moat consistent rungetters in the game. Of late, however, he has had a lean time with the bat, and has concehtratecl a gooa deal on bowling. /There '.was no -mistake about his return to batting form last- Saturday. His performance was splendid. Cleverley and O'Neill are becoming a strong bowling combination for Midland, and ithey" made short work of the University: /"batsmen \.last ,'■ Saturday.. Cldverley returried oxcellent figures. Burnette'Vime batting for Wellington College Old Boys was one of the outstanding features' of .the, match in which- Old Boys Hutt, for .whom 'Ross and Warnes showed-up splendidly with the bat in the second ■innings. - ~ -; •_•■-. Mercantile League. ."• There were some unusual features in |ast Saturday's in' the Mercantile League. In the match, Eoseneath v. Customs, each team scored the same number of ' runs, 117. The Health v. Smith and Smith match attracted quite a -gallery of spectators, who thoroughly enjoyed the frantic efforts of the latter team to snatch a victory.'Health.' Department declared with 227 for'fiye wickets, giving their opponents seventy minutes in which' to .make 228 runs." This was done 'with a few minutes to spare, mainly through the .efforts of C, Dobbs and B. Waller. Dobbs made 114 in 45 minutes, and his display was by no means \ a hit-or-miss affair; it was a sound display, devoid of any longrhandle work. Waller provided the fireworks, and- opened his account with five successive sixes. James Smiths dismissed Cowans— all clean bowled—for 48 runs. Stone and Donovan did the damage. James Smiths thoroughly enjoyed their knock, F. Kilby. going on to score 111 before retiring. Niveris found G. Morison .(State Advances), too good for them, and" could not dispose of him. until he had. scored Ja brilliant 115. Morison's century, among the league's best, was characterised by some really good cricket. ~-■'■ . : ¥. Swain, (Whitcombe's), whoso allround ability has been claiming attention for some time, agam proved his worth -with ■■ a soundly played 107. Swain is-undoubtedly a good manj and; like Bramwell.(whose score this ( wook wsa 81), deserves his;chance in th«; bigger games; ■- ;-. i • , ' .' .State Fire won front Hannah's by'!s• jiunsi'and several .other exceptionally! ■close finishes, were recorded, j Other;- leading scorers' tv"cre:—Stephenson-. ■(Health).' 93,-..'" Reynolds (Health) 80, Hancock (Exchange) 89, Dick (Milk ,Dept.) 83, Fisher (Cus-" toms) 78," Allen (Customs) 72, Wilson (Taxes).6B. -..Oliver (Hannah's), with five for 2.1, was the most successful bowler.

The Marylebone Cricket Club has accepted the invitation of the Indian Board <)f Qricket Control to send a team to! India; ■■;• The itinerary covers four mpnths from.October 15 to the end of February, and provides 78 days'' oricEet, including three Test matches—one each-at Delhi, Bombay, a;nd Secunderabad. .In India it is hoped to-make arrangenlents for a tour of an Australian team in'tho noar future. Before that takes placfe (states the' "Sydney Eeferee" cricket writer) Australia should dispatch a team to New Zealand, to^ embrace some of the greatest of the' playcra whom tho Dominion public have not seen on the fields. :