The Cricket Field

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 31, 6 February 1937, Page 23

The Cricket Field

;(By "Not Out."):

CHANCE OFFERING FOR BIG MATCH M.C.C. V. N.Z, TEAM FOR ENGLAND Now that the fourth match of the present Test series between England and Australia is over, and the fifth Test does not start until February 26, New Zealand cricket interests will claim more attention. At present there is the Auckland-Wellington Plunket Shield match at Auckland, and more importance than usual attaches to this event in view of the selection of the New Zealand team for England. All going well, the M.C.C. team will be here later in the season, and it is due to play two. matches—one at Christchurch and one at Wellington—before the New Zealand team leaves for England. The M.C.C. team's third match in New Zealand is with Auckland, at Auckland, after the New Zealand .team's departure. As the New Zealand team will be assembled in Wellington when the M.C.C. team is here, it would seem that an excellent opportunity is offering of giving the New Zealand team a match with the visitors as a final preliminary Id the tour. No doubt the Wellington Cricket Association would willingly forgo its engagement with the M.C.C. team to make the way open-for-a match with the New \ Zealand team, an event which would create far greater interest.

There has been some concern over the question of the M.C.C. team's return to England, the original plans being for the team to leave New Zealand by the Monterey, which has been held up on account of the shipping strike in America. It would seem, however, from advices this week that the M.C.C. team will be able to come to New Zealand as arranged. The visit is being keenly awaited, "and it would be a great pity if it did not eventuate. HELP FROM AUSTRALIA. Should it happen that New Zealand was left without its greatest cricket attraction, the possibility of a visit from the Australian team might well be considered. On the subject of the fostering of New Zealand cricket there is the following interesting article in the latest Sydney "Referee" to hand:— The M.C.C. team will call in on New Zealand when they finish in Australia very shortly, now. The matches there will be more interesting than usual (with no 300's left in the Hammond locker) iri view of the New Zealanders sending another team to England this year. The men responsible for the permanent standing of cricket over there are of the right brand. They have problems to tackle and they do tackle them with grit, enthusiasm, and 1 vision. A New Zealand friend on a visit to Sydney called in to shake hands (writes the editor of the "Referee"). One question he fired at me pointedly and with a touch of ferocity was: "What's wrong with your Board of Control?" "Well, what" is wrong' with it?" ' I asked.. "They are all good chaps and they like cricket." , "Umph!" he said, "that's not the point; you're begging the question." "Well, out with it!" I replied. "What's New Zealand dono to your board that we should be treated in this fashion?" He then went on to say,that New Zealand had never seen .D6n°Bradmah l and a few of the other Australian Dons playing. They had seen Victor Trumper and Alan Kippax and Vic Richardson, and liked them and* so on. They had seen "Wally" Hammond and the Africans, too. SEE DR. ROBERTSON. He vouched the fact that a-tour in New Zealand was first-class training lor young Australians on an English tour and so on. I agreed. , The upshot was that I asked if he intended going on to Melbourne. He was uncertain about that. Anyhow, I advised him to do so, and call upon Dr. Alan Robertson, the board's chairman, and put the case to him. Also suggested that his people get Someone in authority in New Zealand cricket to whisper a word or two to Lord Somers, president of the M.C.C, now in Australia, to remind the board man in his own polished and persuasive way, that international cricket has its obligations as well as its national prestige and financial rewards. One of those obligations by Australia is to foster the game in New Zealand, as the M.C.C. does in India, West Indies, South Africa, and many other places where Britishers have transplanted their game. My New Zealand friend thought that a good idea. Between ourselves, so do I. I suppose it would be too soon to suggest that the Australians in 1938 be sent Home to England via New Zealand and Panama. If it could be done, and three matches played there against All New Zealand, fresh from the English tour, it would be an affair of glamour. ': Besides Don Bradman and Stan McCabe there may be other brilliants by that time, some showing their colours and class in Melbourne, and some in Newcastle. And New Zealanders would welcome the chance of comparr ing them with Trumper, Kippax, Macartney, Ransford, and Co. VETERAN CRICKETER A GOOD BOWLER HARRY LAWSON'S RECORD (Contributed.) Amongst the visitors at the recent matches on the Basin Reserve was Mr. Harry ("Wally") Lawson, an old representative cricketer, now a resident of Auckland. His connection with Wellington cricket began in the early eighties, just after the creek running through the ground near St. Mark's side was confined to a culvert and the ground itself enlarged. Lawson first joined the Phoenix Club, but after a year or two changed over to Midland, with whom he "played several seasons. He early gained representative honours, his first match being against Nelson. Wickets in .those early days helped the bowler more than the batsman and were.not nearly so well prepared as at present. In ' one game in Nelson, for instance, hay was cut just a few days prior to the game. Lawson was a right-hand medium bowler with an easy high delivery. His length was excellent and he had great accuracy. This can be seen by the large number of times he bowled his man. In one of the early matches against Nelson (which was lost) he took ten wickets, five in each innings for 30 runs (thirteen in the first innings and 17 in the second) and all but one of his opponents was clean bowled. In another game with Nelson he opened the bowling with his skipper, the late J. P. Firth, and got three j for 25 and seven for 25, again ten wici kets, this time for 50 runs. A better performace, considering the Flibre of his opponents, was when hip tailed eleven for; 138 and five for

68 and six for 70 against Auckland in 1885. This was the match in which the 100 runs was first hoisted in a representative match for Wellington, J. P. Firth and W. J. Salmon being , the batsmen. He also played against the Shaw, Shrewsbury, and Lillywhite combination of 1888 when the famous pair of English bowlers, George Lohman, fast medium right, and Johnny Briggs, slow left, dismissed a Wellington twenty-two for 86 runs.

Lawson played for Wellington in the Canterbury game of 1889 when Moss captured the whole of Wellington's wickets in the first innings for 28 runs. His first appearance for Auckland was in 1892, when Canterbury won a wellcontested game by four wickets. When in Auckland he played for the Parnell Club. He was in the Auckland touring team of 1894, a notable performance in connection with which was the hoisting of 306 for the first wicket by the southerners L. A. Cuff (176) and Jimmy Lawrence (167). Lawson in this match bowled well, getting three for 79 out of Canterbury's-total of 400 for five wickets declared. In the next match, against Wellington, which the

northerners won by one wicket, a question arose whether he had been caught in the long field by Charlie Gore within the boundary or not. The boundary was. a', rope one, and Gore was in . the long field. It was decided that the ball had, been caught over the boundary and ' Lawson was awarded six runs. , He played against the Australian team of 1896—a great side—when Hugh Trumble, the great length bowler, had fourteen maiden'overs in 162 balls for 39 runs and six wickets; and he also played .against a New Sputh Wales team, captained by Tom Cobcroft, now living in the Hutt 1 district. In his day, therefore, he has taken part in matches, not only against the best New Zealanders, but also with those whose names, besides those above mentioned, -were amongst the most famous of all times: Arthur Shrewsbury (Notts), George Ulyett (Yorkshire), Maurice Read (Surrey), Dick Pilling (Lancashire), of England, and Gi'ffen, Hill, Darling, Jones, Bruce, Trott, Garrett, Spofforth, S. Gregory, and many others. His record is as follows: — FOR WELLINGTON. December, 1883, v. Nelson.—Batting, 1 and 4; bowling, five for 13, five for 17. January, 1884, v. Canterbury.—23 and 7 not out; four for 49, none for 15. February, 1884, v. Hawke's Bay.— 0 and 1 not out; one for 15, two for 2. December, 1884, v. Hawke's Bay.—4 not out and 0; two for 38. January 1885, v. Auckland.—7 and 3 not out; five for 68, six for 70. March, 1885, v. Nelson.—2 and 15; three for 25, seven for 25. February, 1386, v. Hawke's Bay.—3B; four for 21, one for 20. December, 1886, v. Canterbury.—l2 and 7 not out; none for 26, none for 14. December, 1886, v. Australia.—2o; three for 88. March, 1888, v. Hawke's Bay.—l 3. March, 1888, v. England.—o and 8; one for 6. December, 1889, v. Canterbury.—4 and 1; none for 24. Total runs 170, total wickets 49 for 536 runs. FOR AUCKLAND. March, 1892, v. Canterbury.—Batting, 4; bowling, none for 6. December,. 1893, v. Wellington.—B and 9; did not bowl. January, 1894, v. Otago.—lß and 0; one for 25. ' January, 1894, v. Canterbury.—3 and 12; three for 79. January, 1894, v. Wellington.—s and 25; two for 19, three for 31. January, 1895, v. Fiji.—lß not out; one for 11. January, 1896, v. New South Wales.— 16; none for 16, one for 30. March, 1896, v. Australian Xl.—o; did not bowl. December, 1897, v. Canterbury.—l and 9; none for 8. Total runs 128, total wickets eleven for 225. SUMMARY. BATTING. Inks. N.O. H.S. Tt.l. Arit. For Wellington .. 21 !i 38 170 10.1)2 For Auckland ... 34 1 25 128 D.Bl Totals .... T\ "~6 38 208 10.28 BOW.UNG. WMs. Huns. Avrb. For WcllinKlno 4» 53f, in.M For Auckland „_ 11 223 ' Z^.'D