CRICKET.

Evening Star, Issue 15076, 7 January 1913, Page 6

CRICKET.

THE HAWKE CUP. South Auckland defeated Rangitikei at Taumaranui by an innings and 146 runs. South Auckland will now have to meet the winners of the Manawatu-Wairarapa match. WEDNESDAY MATCHES. In the opening of the second round of matches, commencing to-morrow, Grocers meet the Grange. The following will -represent the Grocers:—Ogg, Kennedy, Wilson, Gair, Hot/., M'Connocliie, Eagle, Waltho, Cottan, Hawkhoad, and Eennick Grange ; Butler, Brown. Fane, Restieaux, Quinn, Graham, Lee, Potter. Paterson, M'Mullan. Post and Telegraph A v. Pentoses, on the Caledonian Ground (No. 2 wicket). — Penroses: Bennett, Strang, Johnson, Haig, Stevens, Pickard, dollar, Amtman, Clark, Paine, and Smith. St. Kilda. v. Post and Telegraph B, on Caledonian 0 round.—St. Kilda ; Shepherd, Edwards (5), Hicks, 'Watson, M'Faull, Chapman, Brennan, M‘Hutcheon ; Meader. Carisbrook v. Railway, at Cansbrook.— Carisbrook : Fish, Holmes, Nicholson, Smith, Elliott, Sims, Swan, Fisher, Alloo, Eckhoff, Huntley, Hardy. THE SOUTH MELBOURNE TEAM. A SMOKE CONCERT. Ex-Australians resident in Dunedin an " local cricketers entertained the. South Melbourne team to a. smoke concert in the Waratah Tea Rooms Fist evening. Mr C. F. Johnson presided, and was supported on his right by Mr J. Baragwanalh (Mayor of South Melbourne), and on his left by Mr If. Troti. The Chairman extended a. hearty welcome to the team, and expressed his pleasure at seeing so many ex-Australians present. He said that if they had more visits from Australian teams it would assist the game here materially. He praised the movement in Dunedin to establish more playing grounds, and appealed to the younger players to assist the. Garden Fete Committee in their efforts to raise money for the improvement of the grounds. Air 0. Payne proposed the toast of the visitors. He said that one reason why cricket had not taken on hero as it should have done was because there was not enough life in the game, 'the batting was so slow that it was impossible to work up enthusiasm. It seemed to him that until they made the bat play the ball there would not be the interest taken in cricket that- there should be.

Mr A. Martyn also spoke to the toast. Mr Baragwanath, in reply, mentioned that lie had been taught in South Melbourne 46 reads ago by a well-known Dunedin school teacher, Mr David M'Nicol. Pie said that there wore players in New Zealand equal to anything they could find anywhere, but they wanted to put a little more enthusiasm into their cricket. They had the men who could play the game. He specially praised their fielciing. Mr MacCormaek, the manager of the team, said that the conditions under which they were playing in Now Zealand were totally different to what they were in Australia. In Giller they had one of the heat bowlers in Australia. The speaker referred in complimentary terms -Wo the fielding ho had witnessed in New Zealand, and said he was quife surprised when be found out what his team were up against here. They had half a dozen State players in their team, and he was quite sure they would make a. very good showing against a Victorian State eleven. He made this statement so that they might he able to draw some sort of comparison as a ivsnlt of the stand they might make against his team. Of course, however, they had the difference in -wickets.

Mr TtoU, captain of the team, said he had been in Xew Zealand 16 years ago with an Australian eleven. He did not take much interest in Xew Zealand cricket on that occasion, as he and the team were anxious to get back home. His impression then, however, was that cricket here was not above the ordinary level, but as a result of this latest tour be had discovered that there were better cricketers hero than be had thought. They had played Wellington on a, wicket not too good. He thought his team would win pretty easily, but they had been pushed and were lucky to get out of it. They had got a. better •wicket in Canterbury, and bad found the players there top-notchers—good bats, good fielders, and good howlers. They had also discovered that Dunedin was not very far behind both of the foregoing teams. They wanted one or two fast bowl ere in the Dominion. The, wickets were very slow here, and perhaps they thought they did not require a fast trundler. A fast bowler, however, was wanted in every team, if only to make the slow, bowlers so much the better. They in Australia were now in some difficulty in finding a really first-claes fast bowler.