DISAPPOINTING

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 36, 12 February 1938, Page 23

DISAPPOINTING

PLUNKET SHIELD FORM

WELLINGTON AND OTAGO

Wellington will need to turn on an infinitely better performance than that against Otago if success is to be achieved in the match with Auckland at the Basin Keserve, commencing: next Saturday. Although the Wellington side went close to a win at Dunedin, the performance generally was disappointing.

Not by any means Wellington's best, the team which met O'tago in the recent match at Carisbrook lacked solidity, as did that against Canterbury, and not a great deal was expected of it,though, when Otago had been dismissed for 111 in the second innings, it did seem that the total of 208 required for a win was quite within the range of the Wellington team's capabilities. However, it was a little too much for them, though the later batsmen made quite an interesting finish of the match. It was riot a good match for K. Uttley, except that he had the distinction of leading his side to victory. In Otago's other Shield matches this season Uttley had shown up as one of the outstanding batsmen of the season, but his fine ■ figures suffered a considerable drop against the Wellington attack. Still, he was not alone in falling cheaply in this match. Successes. Dunning had quite a good match, his bowling, particularly effective at one period, contributing in no small measure to Otago's success. Five for 48 off 23 overs was good going for Dunning, when Wellington were striving for the lead on the first innings. This bowler was not nearly so effective in Wellington's second innings, but he increased his bag for the match to seven and came out with the excellent average of 12.71. Kobertson was one of Wellington's stumbling blocks when Otagd' were batting in the first innings, and Mills and Elmes gave Otago a good lift. Donnelly and Bain were among Wellington's main contributors with the bat, and Ell looked like producing a matchwinning performance in Wellington's second innings when an umpire's decision put an end to his promising career. Prilchard had but little success with the ball, though he came into the picture with the bat and did some of the most spectacular hitting of the match. It was M. Browne, Wellington's slow bowler, who took the main bowling: honours for the match, i His chance in Shield cricket was grabbed, and how well he fared is shown in the fact that he took nine wickets in the match at 14.11 apiece—great figures fora slow bowler making. his debut in this class of cricket. It was surprising, however, to find Browne moved to bottom place on the batting order when Wellington was battling for a win. He looked to be one of the players most likely to get the runs, and on form in senior club cricket he should have been up a peg or two in the representative side's batting list. Umpiring. One unfortunate feature of the match was the fact that several obviously bad decisions were given. In Otago's first innings two batsmen were caught behind, and the answering of the appeal in the negative was astounding. Those umpiring mistakes cost Wellington dearly. There was quite a crop of lbw dismissals in the match, and some of the decisions were very surprising. On Wellington's side Ell was one of the unfortunates in this respect, and Browne was another. These happenings, of course, have all to be taken as part of the game. At the same time it is essential that a high standard of efficiency in umpiring should be maintained. The cases of bad decisions in this match are not by, any means the only ones that have come under notice this season. They are occurring all too frequently in club cricket.