MATCHES DESCRIBED

Evening Post, Volume c, Issue 54, 5 March 1934, Page 5

MATCHES DESCRIBED

Wellington score slowly

The Wellington batsmen found progress difficult when they took first use of the 3To. 2 wicket at the Basin Reserve against Kilbirnie, their nearest rivals in the championship competition, anil were disposed of for 166 runs in about three hours and ten minutes. The overnight rain bad left'the wicket dead and tricky in pace, with the result that the bowlers were definitely-on'top until the tea adjournment. The drying effect of the sun and wrnd then became apparent and made batting easier. When Kilbirnie commenced their reply during the final hour's play scoring was by no means difficult, and about half the runs necessary for a first innings win Were put on for the loss of only one wicket. Play was ten minutes laKe in starting, and at the request of the Wellington captain stumps were not drawn;until 6.40 p.m. Whyte and A. Wiren faced Crook and Morris at the commencement and picked their way very carefully. When the partnership was broken.as.the result of a catch at mid-off by Wljyte after twenty.minutes' play only 11 runs were on the board. Ell was more subdued than usual, though scoring quickly. ,in comparison with his team mates. Hqllingfc gave a very dogged display, his first twelve runs being singles. . The first 50 occupied 80 minutes and was not reached until four wickets had fallen. Monteath< and Caldwell gave the score a useful lift, and also improved the scoring rate appreciably.'. The century was passed after 127 minutes. Hepburn's third catch behind, the wickets accounted for Monteath, the partnership having produced 38 runs.'- E. Wireri proved a difficult man to shift,.but his half-hour at the creases was not very more success being gained\l)y Blundell, who hit a succession of,4's<ahd"2's. A hard drive by him off Griffith's struck Christqphersen on the chii&rbut the fieldsman did not appear to he/skdly, hurt. The innings was soon terminated; when Symes joined Blundell for-ftheifinal;partnership. A rising ball fromfCrook struck Symes painfully, and theiiiett delivery found his stumps. The most -snceessfuTof the Kilbirnie bowlers wa^HSnscoimbe, who kept a steady length . thrOTlghb'ntfliis.'sixteenl overs, the first two .of (wh&hr'were, maidens.: Six maidens were iadaAed'Wr^SSioveta sent down by Crook *nd-*he <plleeted-the':last three wickets. Griffiths* Hid; :: nbt-trouble the batsmen greatly,'4dsi «hjy -/wicket being the result o£v a• fine. catch}-when Caldwell returned a fall"toM'to- him/ He bowled seventeen overs. . Hepburn, who was making his second appearance as wicketkeeper, gave ElbSnue much better service than they had'received from this position in many of.'their earlier matches, and had a hand in'the disposal of four batsmen. Hepburn and Bilby commenced Kilbirnie's innings confidently against the bowling of; Blndell and Symes. and Ward, who' followed Hepburn, also scored attractively. - Details:— WELLINGTON. •. • First Innings. Whyte, c Ward, b Morris 6 A. Wiren, c Hepburn, b Hanscombe 9 Ell, c Wilson, b Hanscombe .'. 17 Hbllings, c Hepburn, b Morris 20 Morgan, b Hanscombe 3 Mdnteath, c Hepburn, b Hanscombe 37 Caldwell, c and b Griffiths 34 E.:Wiren, c Hepburn, b Crook 10 Cousins, b Crook 1 Blundell, not out 15 Symes, b Crook • 0 14 .Total 166 Fall of wickets: One for 11, two for 25, three for 38, four for 42, five for 78, six for 116, seven for 142, eight for 149, nine for 156,: ten for 166. Bowling: Crook took three wickets for 23-runs, Morris two for 26, Hanscombe four for 31, Ashenden none for 16, Griffiths one for 56. KILBIRNIE. First Innings. Hepburn, b Symes 19 Bilby, not out 33 Ward, not out 27 Extras 5 Total for one wicket 84 Fall of wickets: One for 37. Bowling: Blundell took no wickets for 34 runs, Symes one for 28, Cousins none for '8, Caldwell none for 9. The umpires were Messrs. L. T. Lambert and R. C. Burns. HUTT AND UNIVERSITY Winning the toss at the Hutt Recreation Ground, Hutt sent University in to bat first, and the students recorded the not very formidable total of 123. The game assumed a different aspect as the Hutt wickets, in their turn, fell rapidly, and stumps were drawn at a very interesting stage, Hutt having compiled 98 runs for the loss of eight wickets. The ground, which was in use for senior cricket for the first time this season, was in good order. It was an. afternoon of poor 'batting, first-class bowling, and erratic fielding. Osborn, Cooper, Tricklebank, and Paetz were quickly dismissed by the Hutt bowlers, in that order, the total at the fall of the fourth wicket being only 37. EdgTey and Struthers then combined in a partnership'that'was comparatively fruitful, the

I pair putting on 35 for the fifth wicket. Edgley's score of 35 was the highest of the afternoon. Struthers, who made 25, was the next best man for University; Wickets continued to fall with alarming rapidity, and but for Stevens's bright hit of 18 runs in 14 minutes the rest of the innings was uneventful and discouraging. The side finished batting with a total of 123 at 4.37 p.m. Catches missed and held provided the main interest for the spectators. In the slips Aim missed Tricklebank, Muir missed Paetz, and Longton missed Edgjey, while, behind the wickets Fowler failed to hold a catch from Vietmeyer. To compensate for these mistakes McLeod's catch which sent Paetz out was a splendid effort, the Hutt man securing the ball almost on the ground. Muir's catching of Blandford was a feat in itself, for the fieldsman juggled with the ball four times before he finally held it safely with the opposite, hand to the one that stopped it. Ross's catching of Stevens at square leg was also meritorious. The bowlers had en entirely enjoyable time. Judd and Champness did most of the.work, bowling about the same number of overs and each taking four wickets, the former for 36 and the latter for 48. The only other bowlers, Aim and Hamilton, took a wicket apiece for a very slight number of runs. Hutt's rate of scoring was about the same as that of University, and their men went out just as quickly. Despite moderately good scores of 20 by Birch, 23 by Champness, and 28 by Aim, the wickets fell briskly and cheaply on the whole, and as time drew near it seemed doubtful whether Hutt would pass University's 123. McLeod, who was so successful in the previous match, was caught out by Paetz, having been hardly any time at the wickets and having made no runs. The equality of the batting of the two teams can be judged from the coincidence that both University's and Hutt's seventh and eighth wickets fell for 98. Twenty-six runs to get, with two wickets in hand, is the task that fares Hutt next Saturday to surpass University on the first innings. Tricklebank made up for his weakness with the bat by .wonderful bowling. He took six wickets: for 22 runs. The other bowlers, though not nearly so successful, were not expensive. Details are:— UNIVERSITY. First Innings. Osborn, b Champness 7 Paetz, c McLeod, b Champness 15 Cooper, b Champness r.. 0 Tricklebank, c and b Judd 2 Edgley,- c McLeod, b Aim 35 Struthers, Ibw, b Judd 25 Blandford, c Muir, b Hamilton 5 Vietmeyer, Ibw, b Champness 7 Williams, c and b Jndd 0 Stevens, c Ross, b Judd 18 Dean, not out 7 Extras 2 Total 123 . Fall of wickets:—One for 14, two for 14, three for. 21,^four for 37, five for 72, six for 86,. seven for 9S, eight for 98. nine for 98. ten for 123. Bowling:—Judd took four wickets for 36/ runs, champness four for 4S, Hamilton one for'ls,■Aim one for 22. ' ' \ . ' ■ HUTT. First Innings. Hamilton, b Tricklebank 4 Birch, c Osborn, b Edgley 20 Judd, b Tricklebank 0 Champness,.b Tricklebank 23 Aim, b Dean 28 McLeod, ,c Paetz, b Tricklebank 0 j Kemp, not .out 11 Ross, b Tricklebank : . 1 Longton, Ibw, b Tricklebank Oj Muir, not out 0 Extras 11 Total for eight wickets 98 Fall of wickets:—On . for 12, two for 12, three for 46, four for 59, five for 59, sis for 97, seven for 98, eight for 98. • Bowling:—Tricklebank took six wickets for 22 runs, Edgley one for 14, Dean one for 30,.Stevens none for 8, Vietmeyer none for 13. The umpires were Messrs. Cobcroft and Rogers.