CRICKET

Evening Star, Issue 19775, 27 January 1928, Page 12

CRICKET

[By Wallaby.]

NOTES AMD COMMENTS

In view of tho weakness of the Otago 'attack, the skipper of the team (whoever ho may bo) will have a worrying time trying to dig out tho Australians when they come along next month. Given a good wicket, it almost looks as though Ponsford and Woodfull alone could hold tho fort for tho whole three days if they set themselves to itI don’t think 1 ever saw the Otago howling look so innocuous as it did last Saturday morning. Handicapped as they were by tho greasy ball and stinglc'ss wicket, our trundlors were helpless. Yet, as some old-timers remarked, Downes, Fisher, and Co. would have battled with the conditions far more effectively than our present-day cricketers seem to be able to do. But then, present-day bowlers the. -world over are not to be compared with tho giants of the past. in all the circumstances, it is difficult to understand why young Cavanagh was not given a turn with the ball when tho Wellington batsmen were hitting the regular bowlers all over the field. Tho Dunedin youngster bad taken five Albion wickets on the previous Saturday, and was worth a chance. Tie could not have bowled more poorly than did Dickinson and one or two others who occupied the crease for sonic considerable time. And any change is better than none when runs are piling up at the rate of 100 an hour,

The fielding of both sides in the rep. match was_ far from good. Wellington particularly were all at sea on Monday morning; it looked as though tho whole team had been helping to clean out the butter boxes before coming to tho ground and had, forgotten to wipe their fingers. At least seven catches were dropped in those two hours.

Otago being so weak in the number of its iirst-class cricketers, it is unfortunate that some of tho best of them cannot see their way to take part in these matches. Various are the reasons advanced, but in some cases—or so it appears to me—these reasons are anything but sound. The lack of keenness in many of our players today is deplorable. Not only is this the case in Dunedin, for I was assured up north that a large number of pres-ent-day cricketers have the game so little at heart that unless they are spoon-fed and pampered generally they aro liable to go off in a huff, like spoiled children, and “play some other game.” The question continually arises; Are these so-called cricketers worth bothering about F The members of the Wellington team, who left Dunedin on Tuesday on their return home, thoroughly enjoyed their stay here, and “Father” C. G. Wilson, on behalf of the team he so ably managed, warmly thanked tho O.C.A. officials and Dunedin citizens generally for the good time they had given “ the boys.” .ft was nothing new, of course, for Dunedin folk to endeavor to make tho stay of the visitors as pleasant as possible. In any case it was hut returning the compliment, for the Wellingtonians had been more than kind to tile Otago team on its recent tour, and tho same may be said of tho Auckland cricketers and supporters. In both that city and in Wellington tbo Otago visitors were taken beautiful drives, entertained at theatre parties, and made to feel thoroughly at home. The Christchurch folk do not “ make a fuss ” of visiting teams—that is to say, visiting teams from the other pro-vinces-—hut the Otago men were invited to tho smoko held to celebrate the jubilee of the Canterbury Association, where it was noticeable that tho ancient wheeze anent “Scotch Otago” again crept into the nice things said about our province in the speeches that were made. One always gets the impression, when listening to a Canterbury official patting Otago on the back, that the folk over the river think that it is only out of consideration to them that we do not play our cricket in kills. Not that there is anything to be ashamed of in being Scotch, of course, any more than there is in being very English. Laurie Eastman, our coach, who has endeared himself to Dunedin cricketers by his cheerful personality and his keenness for the game, was a host in himself on the northern tour. He was greatly in demand as a pianist, and “ the boys ” were always ready to gather around him and sing the team’s “ national anthem ” —‘ On the Road to Anywhere.’ It is pleasing to be able to report that he is recovering nicely after his operation, and will be out of hospital in a day or two. Some of the Otago touring team reckon that Neptune as a groundsman (or is it waterman?) is not worth his salt. It was obvious that he had not put the roller on the wicket that stretches between Lyttelton and Wellington; consequently most of our boys had a very rough passage and were

quickly “out.” Their protests on this trip across must have had some effect, for on tho return journey they found tho wfeket much better. Although Otago did not win a match, tho northern tour was a valuable experience for the younger members of the team, and will repay the province in that regard. It was a happy party that left Dunedin on December 23, and it remained so throughout, there being not even the suggestion of any discontent or dissension during the whole time. Mr E. S. Wilson ably managed tho team, and even filled the gap caused by Eastman’s retirement from the Wellington match by batting in Otago’s second innings. It is a good many years since “E, S.” played for the Dunedin Club, but he is still keen on the game. Embodied in the annual report of the Melbourne Cricket Club, a copy of which recently reached me, is a resume of the tour of that club’s team in New Zealand, which is described as “one of the most pleasant and successful undertakings the club has ever enjoyed.” The welcome the team received throughout New Zealand, the report proceeds, was exceptional, and the greatest hospitality was extended the players wherever they went. In reading the brief references of each match played on this tour, as they appear in the report mentioned, I was puzzled to understand why the M.O.C. players should be given the prefix “ Mr,” while our New Zealand men were plain “ Blunt, Page, or Dempster.” It looks strange, to say the least, to see: “In the second test the scores were: New Zealand 317 and four for 410. Blunt 104 and 103, Dempster 128 not out, Dacre 125 not out. Mr Ebeling, five for 74 in the firrt innings, bowled splendidly. M.O.C. 493. Mr B. Onyons 180 and Mr Eansford 116 being chief scorers.” Even conservative Old England couM not beat that.