THRILLS AT CARISBROOK

Evening Star, Issue 22578, 20 February 1937, Page 10

THRILLS AT CARISBROOK

Plunket Shield Cricket FIGHT FOR THE WOODEN SPOON Remarkable Bowling Figures

Many thrilling moments dominated the play in the first day of the Plunket Shield cricket match oetween Otago and Canterbury, commenced at Carisbrook yesterday afternoon. After the sensational collapse of Otago’s early batsmen (four wickets being down for 7 runs), the tail wagged to some purpose, and Otago finished with a total of 124. As Canterbury has lost three of its best batsmen for only 63 runs, Otago’s chances of carrying off the wooden spoon have been lessened considerably. Anything can yet happen. Practically all the honours of the first day’s play, however, went to Canterbury. Against Otago’s dismal batting display Mapplebeck and Mulcock had a real day, finishing with figures which must have made both of them feel rather flattered.

PLAY IK DETAIL With four Otago wickets down for seven runs Mapplebeck was. bowling with great vim, and he almost succeeded in crashing through to Chettleburgh’s witfket, the batsmen failing to meet the ball with the full face of the bat. The first boundary was recorded when he edged one to fine leg, the first 10 coming up in 33 minutes. ~, , , , Uttloy revealed solid defence when facing Mulcock in his next over, which was a maiden. Four runs came from the next over from Mapplebeck, a lucky single being obtained by Chettloburgh, who snicked at one on the off, the ball just shaving the wicket and going to fine leg. Cromb replaced Mulcock, who had bowled five overs for one run and two wickets, but the new bowler did not appear as dangerous as his predecessors. Mulcock was then given charge at the other end, with a view to giving him the assistance of the southerly wind for his off-swingers, Facing Cromb, Chettleburgh endeavoured to emulate Badcock’s good intentions, hut his wild swing missed the ball altogether. A succession of singles gradually brought the total to 30 by careful batting against bowling which had lost its early sting. UTTLEY PLAYS ONE ON. Four byes and a sweet square cut by Uttley for two brought the total to 38 when Mapplebeck (two for 10) took over from Mulcock (two for 10). Uttley edged a good hall to fine leg for a couple, but the last ball of the over, a long hop, was hit hard by Uttley on to Iris wicket. 40—5—13. Mills was the newcomer, and Cromb gave over to Sharpe, a slow spin bowler. Mills scored a couple to leg off the fourth hall of the over,_ and in Mapplebeck’s next over, containing several short-pitched balls which rose dangerously, Chettleburgh punched one hard to the leg boundary. CHETTLEBURGH CONFIDENT. Chettleburgh was now settling down nicely, and he began to score freely off both Sharpe and Mapplebeck, the latter having lost the good length and sting' which brought his early success. Chettleburgh opened out on Sharpe to hit him lustily to the leg boundary, bringing the total to 60 in 75 minutes. He followed this up with a lovely on drive for three off the same bowler. Mills was also shaping well, and the pair were displaying remarkable confidence considering the circumstances of a disastrous start. Frequent changes continued to he made in the bowling, and a separation was effected when Chettleburgh skied one off Mulcock to mid-on, Mapplebeck racing round from mid-off to take the ball with outstretched hands.— 76—6—39. TWO FOURS TO MILLS. Groves succeeded in playing the last ball of the over, and then ' Mills helped himself to two successive fours off Sharpe, one to each side of the wicket. Mulcock had a closely-packed leg field for his next over, and he kept the batsmen down to a single. In the last over before the tea adjournment, Mills jumped out to a wellflighted delivery from Sharpe, dipped his bat to it, and was howled. His had been a patient display that included a mixture of good shots. The resumption brought further disaster to Otago, for in attempting to play the second ball that Mapplebeck sent down—one that swung away to the off—Groves played inside it and had his wicket skittled. 91-8-2. The newcomer, Nimmo, had a short but hectic sojourn. He commenced by scoring off the first ball he received, was howled by a no-ball from Mapplebeck, and then was brilliantly caught when he skied the ball, which Mulcock accepted after running a few yards from, mid-off to behind the wicket. Canterbury’s fast bowler had taken five for 27 at this stage. It was the beginning of (Jie end now, but Dunning, who replaced Nimmo, invested a little, colour into proceedings by throwing caution to the winds and hitting three boundaries, which brought 100 on to the scoreboard in 107 minutes. Like Nimmo’s short but merry stay. Silver, who was associated with Dunning in the last-wicket partnership, had an eventful stay before he ended the innings by playing on a delivery off Mapplebeck. He was also bowled by a no-ball, and then atoned somewhat for his 'escape by jumping out and “ clouting ” a rising delivery off the fast howler to the off boundary for a spectacular six. The _ ball that eventually caused his dismissal was a good one. The innings, which had occupied only 118 minutes, ended at 4.20 p.m. for 124 runs. It had been a personal triumph for Mapplebeck, who secured the exceptional average of six for 43 runs. Dunning batted quite brightly for 15 not out. VISITORS BAT. Kerr and Hadlee opened for the visitors on a wicket which looked easier after being rolled. Kerr faced Nimmo bowling from the Workshops’ end and the_ third ball outside the leg stick was hit hard to the leg fence. Two balls later a wild delivery went for four byes, and to the next delivery Kerr just got his bat down on the ball in time. Silver took up the attack from the other end, and his first over to Hadlee was a maiden. Nhnmo’s first ball of his next over was a hot one, but Kerr played it safely. Then a wild one on the leg side was snicked to the fineleg boundary by Kerr, who sweetly square cut the last ball of the over for a single. A period of quiet play followed for several overs until Hadlee collected two successive fours off Silver with delightful strokes, which sent the ball sizzling past point. With the total at 28, Uttley decided on a double change, Elmos taking over from Silver, who took up the running

After nearly a fortnight of wintry conditions, Carisbrook was saturated when play was due to commence in the morning. The outfield was heavy, and the wicket, rolled as level as a billiards table, was wet and greasy. Further rain in the morning did not help it, and it was. only natural that the groundsman, after considerable time and patience spent in preparation, should express resentment at the thought of play cutting it up badly withm half an hour. With more rain threatening, the adjournment of play till the afternoon was not surprising. During the interval of two hours a light shower of rain fell, hut the effect of this on the wicket was counteracted to a remarkable degree by the fairly stiff southerly breeze and sunshine’ which prevailed for most of the time. Otago commenced batting, therefore, on a surprisingly dry wicket, though the sensational collapse of the selected batsmen of the side caused local supporters to think that the winning of the toss was unfortunate. However, under the circumstances, Uttley did the right thing in electing to hat, as he must have anticipated all kinds of things to happen for the fourth user of the wicket. Otago’s failure with the hat was not due to Uttley’s decision, but to the deplorably weak showing of the batsmen - themselves, although full credit must be given to the Canterbury bowlers, who took advantage of conditions that turned out to he in their favour.

Credit must also he given to the Canterbury fieldsmen, who snapped up every chance that came their way. Mulcock set the ball rolling, Badcqck just failing to connect properly with one that was swinging well away to leg. Then Mulcock clean _bowled the other opening batsman, Knight, who played outside a good length hall, which came in slightly from the off and made pace off the pitch. His figures at this stage were two for 1, but Mapplebeck equalled this startiling performance by clean bowling both Kerr and Elmes. Kerr played across one and Elmes was beaten with one which kept low. With four wicekets down. Otago’s total was only 7 runs, 5 of which were extras. Otago has made some poor starts, but old cricketers never remember such a debacle as yesterday’s. Mulcock went on to get his third wicket for 16,runs, hut did not have any further success, though he bowled steadily and his off-swingers, being assisted considerably by the wind, had to be closely watched. Mapplebeck was knocked off his length for a while by Chettleburgh, but he staged a recovery. Another victim gave him renewed vigour, and he began to throw them down with real hostility. He had the misfortune to be no-balled when his deliveries succeeded in crashing through to the wickets of both Nimmo and Silver, but it was not long before he gathered in both of them. Nimmo was caught behind the bowler, and Silver, who attacked the bowling vigorously, played a ball pitched well out on the off on to his wicket. Uttley also lost his wicket to Mapplebeck in the same manner, while Groves played inside one that swung away to th© off, and was skittled.

Making allowance for the conditions and the lamentable defence of the Otago batsmen, Mapplebeck gave a really impressive performance, though at times he was most erratic and inclined to bowl too many short ones in the hope of obtaining success with balls which flew up dangerously at the batsmen. Cromo showed' that he could handle a ball with sufficient skill to keep the batsmen guessing, though he did not meet with success, while Sharpe was expensive, his only victim being Mills, who played across a straight ball. Kerr and Hadlee, two of the opening batsmen in the New Zealand team, took strike for Canterbury on a wicket which was considerably easier following the rolling during the adjournment. Uttley, therefore, made a tactical blunder in opening jvitb his fast bowlers (Silver and Nimmo) instead of holding them in reserve until the wicket began to kick, it did do when the fast bowlers were due to go off. Despite the easiness of the wicket, the Otago attack kept both Hadlee and Kerr extremely quiet. Neither batsman took any risks and their fine defensive strokes were in marked contrast to those played by the Otago men. Nimmo was most erratic during the five overs which he bowled, though it wms surprising that he was not given another chance on the treacherous wicket before stumps were drawnIt was Elmes who effected a separation of the opening pair, Hadlee playing too soon to a ball which came back from the leg. Silver was fried from both ends of the wicket, and it was on his second appearance that he showed up to advantage. He bowled exceptionally well, but the defence of the Canterbury batsmen proved too much for him. His deliveries were well directed and came in so disconcertingly from the off. When Dunning took over from him the pitch was beginning to kick badly and two valuable wickets were captured. Both Kerr and Menzies succumbed to Dunning, who plugged away persistently to secure his best figures for a long time.

from the other end. Only a single came from the left-hander’s over and Silver kept the batsmen quiet from the other end. SUCCESS TO ELMES. The second ball from Elmes to Hadlee was pitched outside the leg stick and came back sufficiently to badly beat Hadlee. 31—1—13. Menzies quickly opened his account with a single, and when facing Silver forced one past short forward leg for another single from a ball which came in disconcertingly from the off. Silver was now bowling a much better length and the batsmen were finding it difficult to keep him out of their wickets. After another quiet interlude, Menzies managed to get a loose one on the leg side to the boundary. Silver bowled a maiden for his ninth over and was replaced by Dunning, but another maiden followed. Three runs to Kerr in Elmes’s next over brought Kerr to 19 after he had been batting for an hour. DUNNING’S TURN. After three successive maidens Dunning was rewarded for his persistency, claiming Menzics’s wicket from an Ibw decision with the first ball of his fourth over. 52—it—12. The remainder of the over was played out by Page, and then 5 runs off Elmos saw Dunning get his second victim with the second ball of his next over, Kerr being beaten all the way with a good length ball which came in from the off. 01—3—27. ( Groves sent down the second last over of tlie day and he almost gained immediate success, completely tying up O’Brien with one of his leg-breaks. Dunning finished off with another maiden, making his seventh in eight overs, Page successfully playing out time. Details;— OTAGO. First Innings. A. Knight b Mulcock .■ 1 F. Badcook c Hadlee b Mulcock 0 F. Kerr b Mapplebeck 0 C. Elmes b Mapplebeck 0 K. Uttley b Mapplebeck 13 T. Chettleburgh c Mapplcbecvk b Mulcock 39 G. Mills b Sharpe ... 21 L. Groves b Mapplebeck 2 J. Nimmo c Mulcock b Mapplebeck 4 J, 'Dunning not out ... 15 R. Silver b Mapplebeck 12 Extras 17 Total ... 124 —Bowling Analysis.—

Mapplebeck bowled five no-balls and Mulcock two.

CANTERBURY. First Innings. J. L. Kerr b Dunning 27 W. A. Hadlee b Elmes ... 13 R. E. J. Menzies Ibw b Dunning 12 F. P. O’Brien not out 4 M. L. Page not out 1 Extras 6 Total for three wickets ... 63

Silver bowled one no-ball.

0. M. R. W. Mapplebeck 12.5' 3 43 6 Mulcock 14 5 29 3 Sharpe 8 — 29 1 Cromb ... ... 4 1 6 —

0. M. R. w Nimmo 5 2 12 — Silver ... 9 3 17 — Elmes 12 4 23 1 Dunning 8 7 4 2 Groves 1 — 1 —