Hadlee Dominates the Scene

Evening Star, Issue 25745, 19 March 1946, Page 3

Hadlee Dominates the Scene

Magnificent Strike!

All this, which has been made possible by the visit of our Aussie friends, is very gratifying, very encouraging, and it has already helped the game in this centre tremendously. Dunedin folk are talking cricket as they never talked it before. Some use weird terms and voice strange ideas, but that is the first indication of tlieir_ having contracted the fever. The initial stage of the disease will pass, and the patient will settle down into a sane state of enthusiasm which will develop cricket knowledge and cricket judgment. The attendance at Carisbrook yesterday was close on 5,000, and the gate receipts amounted to £334. This brought the respective totals for the three days to 22.000 and £1.840. which will net the New Zealand Cricket Council a tidy sum to add to the alread,v substantial nest egg which has been provided by the returns from the Auckland and Canterbury games. Hadlee's Great Score It was Wally Hadlee who dominated the scene out there in the middle yesterday. He was at the wickets when play began at 11.30 in the morning ; he was still there when the umpires drew stumps at 6 o’clock in the evening. In the meantime he had played _ a magnificent innings for his side, and registered his fifth century for the season, and brought his total of. runs for that period to 1,199. Hadlee’s 169 not out yesterday was typical of Hadlee at his best. His stroking was crisp and clean; he scored

mainly in front of the wicket, but -with a number of shots down the slips and to fine leg. His cover drives were sweet, and the ease, almost inconsequence, with which he placed the ball on both sides of the field for singles, often taken at the walk, and the_ briskness with which he stole other singles, dr made two out of what looked like a single, spoke of consummate confidence. Hadlee, too, was batting, to a certain extent, under difficulties, for he had been twice struck on the arm by bumpers from fast bowler Lindwall, and he bore the marks to the end. Over in this country we are not used to the “ bumping ” bowler, nor to the bumps which he raises. However, Hadlee carried on, and when play ceased lie had hit a 6 (a clean, square-leg smite into the grandstand off O’Reilly) and 15 4’s. He took 128 minutes to get 50; and 212 minutes to reach his hundred. Hectic Interlude ,How Hadlee reached his hundred is a little story in itself. O’Reilly was bowling, and Hadlee, who was then 97-; drove him hard and low to Brown at close mid-off. It may have been a chance, at any rate it was a “nearly.” The batsman scuttled up the pitch and scuttled back. The crowd roared its warning. The next ball Hadlee hit high to long-off. Johnson was somewhere around there, and he followed the ball out, and, by clever manoeuvring, got almost under it, to touch it with his hand, * but not to hold it. Meanwhile the batsmen were racing for runs. Two were got, and then “ come on,” and the third was safely, though not too saftly, run. And so Hadlee had his century, much to'the delight of the crowd, who cheered and clapped lustily. He opened up still more after this, and got his extra 67 runs in 111 minutes. Johnson missed him a second time when, at 155, Hadlee hit Barnes deep to square leg. Smith's Valuable Help But there was another Otago batsman who did a great deal towards building up Otago’s total. This was Lankford Smith, who joined Hadlee when tlie score stood at five for 137. The Albion man, one of the two left-handed batsmen on the Otago side, began defensively, and went on largely in that way, content to let the runs flow from his partner’s bat. He scored, however, when he considered it safe to do so; scored with chops down the gully, placements here and there, and an occasional more vigorous drive or hook. So he went on for just ,on two hours, when at last this particularly valuable partnership was dissolved by Tallon catching -Smith smartly behind the wickets off Barnes. Smith’s 40 included only two 4’s, and he had helped to raise the total to 256. or 119 for a partnership, during which the innings defeat was averted. No other batsman reached 20. Mills and Milues -went close, each making 19. Mijls had .hard luck ip getting out

AVERTS INNINGS DEFEAT Excitement at Carisbrook What a splendid thing it was to see Otago fighting back at Carisbrook yesterday. Having disposed of the Australians for 420 —not a big total for this strong batting side —our team began its second innings just 252 runs in arrear. Could they save the innings defeat? Few people thought so, but all hoped that it would put. up a decent show ” . Well, Otago did put up a decent show; it did save the innings defeat; and it followed Friday’s performance of compiling, the highest number of runs yet made in a first innings against the visitors by dismissing them for what was practically the lowest total, and then went on to hit up the biggest New Zealand second innings total as well. Further, an Otago man, W. A. Hadlee, made the highest individual score ( 69 not out) yet registered on the tour either by an Australian or a New Zealand batsman.

as he did. He raised his bat head high to keep a Lindwall bumper from striking him, removed one hand from the bat, and the ball went from it to Tallon, standing deep, a simple catch. Milnes played brightly while there, driving crisply. Freeman’s dozen included one mighty leg hit off O’Reilly

which landed on the roof of the main stand, and Shirley and Roberts each got 10 before being given their walking tickets. Fraser and McDougall failed to score, but Groves was with Hadlee at the finish with 7 runs to his credit, the Otago total being 306 for eight wickets, or 54 more runs in the aggregate than Australia made in its first innings. O'Reilly the Best O’Reilly was again Australia’s stand-by in the attack. He bowled 27 overs for 89 runs and four wickets, keeping, as always, a good length, and flighting the ball well. He appeared, however, to pitch a good many on or outside the batsmen’s legs, and a number of these were clouted, two of them for 6’s. J3arnes, brought on fairly late, bagged a couple of wickets at the low cost of 12 runs, and McCool took one for 20. Lindwall, the Aussie express, though he got more lift out of the faster wicket yesterday, rarely appeared unduly dangerous, though his pacey deliveries served as a contrast to the spinners, which constitute a surprisingly large part of the Australian battery. Lindwall’s single wicket cost 56 runs. Three times in one over he was no-balled for going over the crease, and from the Press box it certainly appeared as though the bowler might

have been “ called ” even more frequently. Johnson, who bowled so well on Friday, was unsuccessful yesterday, as..were Dooland and Hameuce. The Australian ground fielding was better than it was on Friday, but quite a formidable number of runs were added to Otago’s total from overthrows. Following are the scores up to “ stumps ” yesterday;— OTAGO. First innings 1.. 168 Second , Innings. Hadlee not out 169 Mills c Tallon b Lindwall 19 Fraser b O’Reilly 0 Shirley b O’Reilly ... 10 Milnes lbw b o’ißeilly pj Roberts c Johnson b McCool ... 10 Smith c Tallon b Barnes 40 Freeman st Tallon b O’Reilly ... 12 McDougall lbw b Barnes 0 Groves not out ... 7 Extras (byes 15, leg-byes 2, no-balls 3) 20 Total (for eight wickets) 306 Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-46, 3-68, 4-100, 5-137, 6-256, 7-278, 8-279. Bowling Analysis.

o. M. R. W. Lindwall ... 24 8 56 1 Hamence ... 11 9 32 0 O’Reilly ... 27 3 89 4 Johnson ... 21 1 63 0 McCool ... 10 2 20 1 Dooland ... 7 i 14 0 Barnes ... 8 0 12 2 Lindwall bowled three no balls. AUSTRALIA. First innings . 420