COMMENT ON THE PLAY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 77, 1 April 1933, Page 13

COMMENT ON THE PLAY

A DISAPPOINTING INNINGS

(From the "Post's" Special Reporter.? AUCKLAND, March. 31. Sensation again marked the opening stages when New Zealand's elect met the M.C.C. team today for. the second ' time on the present tour, but tho jubilation caused Nat Lancaster Park had ■no counterpart among those who ringed Eden.Park. Pago had won tho toss i from Wyatt, Jardine's deputy, and had 1 given his team first uso of a wicket • baked by .weeks of hot. weather, only ■to see Mills and Weir have their leg stumps knocked back by successive balls in Bowes's first over before a run ■ had been scored. This had the. effect ■of casting over tho crowd a gloom which : subsequent events during the morning's play did little to alleviate. With a solitary exception New Zealand's bat: ting .failed as lamentably as the attack had done at Christchurch after its early success. The exception to the string of failures was Dempster, who has seldom exhibited greater mastery over high-class bowling. Disembarking from the train less than half an hour before the start of the match, he was unable to fill his accustomed role of opening batsman, but once ho took his place at the crease ho showed no ill effects from-his allnight journey. Every ball was played with' tho judgment of a master, and not a semblance of a chance resulted from any of his strokes. Three appeals for "leg before," in which Duckworth's voico was heard to good effect, were made off Bowes's bowling, but each was negatived. Slow, medium, and fast bowling were treated alike, and changes in the attack worried him not one whit. Voce, with four men clustered on tho leg-side, kept him quiet for an over or two, but he remained unperturbed, and there was no repeti,tion of tho mistake in the timing' of a leg stroke which' brought about his downfall in* tho first innings at Christchurch. During tho' 161 minutes he was at the creaso ho executed all the strokes of his very complete equipment, the slips', the covers, and all quarters of the on side being explored by perfectly safe- strokes. The Englishmen joined in the ovation which he was accorded when he walked off the field unbeaten. SO FAR BUT NO FURTHER. Three batsmen displayed form which promised a productive partnership, but each failed just when he appeared to have the attack well in hand. They were Whitelaw, Kerr; and Page. Whitelaw, who helped Dempster to put'on the first 31 runs, played-a strictly defensive knock, although his first scoring shot waa a nicely-timed stroke to the fine leg boundary off Allen. He. was at the crease about 40 minutes before he missed a ball from Bowes which cannoned off his pads on to his off jStump. With Wellington's coach still getting most of the. runs, Kerr stayed for just over half an hour and saw the score doubled. Ho took 15 minutes to score his first run, but faced the bowling so confidently andfmet the ball with the full face of the bat so resolutely, that he seemed set 'for a repetition of his first Test, effort, but again went via tho lbw route'which he followed so persistently during the last English tour. It was still an uphill struggle when Page joined .Dempster, and the/runs came very slowly. The captain started soundly and did not hesitate to open out to anything that' Offered possib.ili-' ties. When he connected with a rising delivery from Bowes on ttve leg side .the crowd on the terraces scattered as the ball landed, in their midst. Howover, it had bounced first, and Umpire Cave later reduced to a 4 the 6 he had signalled. Two further boundaries came from Page's bat off Brown, whose two overs cost 1? runs. Page eventually paid the penalty of failing to connect when he stepped out and had a dip at a ball from Mitchell which landed half-way between the batting crease and the stumps. ; BADCOCK'S BRIEF KNOCK. Badeock made no attempt to "play the rock." Ho was nearly bowled when he missed in swinging at tho first ball he received. He provided Bowes with the bowler's fourth wicket when he was completely beaten by the last ball of the pre-lunch session. James never looked like staying. Ho was kept guessing badly when facing Mitchell, and failed to time properly a ball from Bowes in playing back. Dunning and Newman both made useful stands, but hesitation in going for a second run soon cost Freeman his wicket. . ■ ■ : A disappointing innings ended at 2.45 p.m. for a better total than seemed likely at lunch. Although there were periods when the proceedings were slow, the average rate of,scoring was quite fair —approximately a run a minute. BOWES BOWLS SIX MEN. "If they can bump them on Eden Park they are marvels," said a member of the New Zealand team earlier in tho week, and to a' certain extent the remark was justified, as none of the batsmen found it necessary to duck to save their heads; but, although there were no real "Eden Park shooters," the ball kept low sufficiently often to compel tho batsmen to remain on the gui vive. It was mainly the varying heights at which his deliveries came through that accounted for. the success of Bowes. The tall Yorkshireman wag much more impressive than in Wellington, even though his figures were perhaps rather flattering. He varied his pace judi-. ciously and, if his length was erratic, therein lay much of his effectiveness. Ho also turned the ball in from tho off at times. Voce kept a steady length and worked up a fair amount of pace, but was not really dangerous. Allen commanded respect, but was used sparingly, and Hammond, who was brought on towards the closo of the innings, was played fairly easily, particularly by Dempster. Mitchell . sent down several looso balls, and some, of his overs proved expensive. GOOD FIELDING. A cleverly-placed field presented few scoring avenues, and the Englishmen's display in this department was of a uniformly 'high standard. Paynter, fielding "in the country," was a particularly live wire, reducing many, prospective fours to ones and twos. Hammond's safe hands let little past in tho slips, and Wyatt and Sutcliffe also deserve special mention. ENGLAND STARTS SLOWLY. When the two last-named batsmen opened England's innings shortly before 3 o'clock they took their time in playing themselves in, the first 10 runs taking twice ns many minutes. With the advent of Newman and Freeman in place of Badcock and Dunning, however, the scoring rate- quickened, and the next 35 runs came in 20 minutes. Wyatt was very severe on Newman, whom he repeatedly sent to the fence with powerful drives, and Sutcliffe steered Freeman's slows to unguarded • sections .of tho field with supremo i artistry. It was beginning to look as: if the' Auckland public were going, to ■ have the first real experience of a New i Zealand crowd in witnessing his redoubtable bat in action —apart' from 1 'the holiday flourish, at Gisborne —but

a weak stroke off Freeman gave "Weir a "sitter" at mid-off; ' HAMMOND DISTURBS FIELD. Now Zealand's fielding again started well, but Hammond's appearance seemed to throw the organisation out of gear, both ho and Wyatt discovering big gaps in tho placing. Some of the. ground work was faulty, but Dunning earned applause for a brilliant save close in at square leg off a ha:-d smack by Wyatt, whom he nearly caught. Although the little finger on his right hand was bandaged dux-ing the morning, Badcock succeeded better than any of tho other New Zealand bowlers in keeping the batsmen in check.' Newman was erratic for a start but steadied down later. After a few overs with the orthodox field, Dunning tried a modified leg theory, but the batsmen succeeded in penetrating the cordon on the leg side, apparently without difficulty. Some of Freeman's deliveries were lifted, but in only one ease was there a pair of hands waiting. When stumps were drawn at "5 o'clock following Wyatt's appeal against the slanting rays of the sun England was again in a commanding position.' , :