CRICKET.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 10508, 11 February 1928, Page 3

CRICKET.

RARE CRICKET INCIDENT. ROLLING OF THE WICKET. Ail unusual incident occurred (Hiring the progress of the S.vdonhamWest ('hristoh ureh cricket match, played In C'liristrliiiroli recently, says a, Southern exchange. Sydenham’s v/iekets were falling like ninepins and bv the time the afternoon tea adjournment came. , .mild fi'dit men were cut for I runs. The groundsman, who had not Keen following the game, concluded that the innings was over and promptly took out the roller. He had gone up aud down the pitch a few times hcfcyv it was realised that tho rolling was eonlrar.v to the rules. After I lie tea Sydnehani added another runs, principally from I lie hat ol the New Zealand representative, O. (Hirer. Tho i nle reads, as lollows : —“ Ihe ground shall not be rolled, watered, covered, mown or leaten during a match, except before the commencement of each day’s play. . . ■ LMI IT ON CRICKET MATCHES. AI JSTItA Ul A X TEA M’S T( > HI !. A former Sydney man, now living in Melbourne, writing to a Sydney paper anont cricket there says: “/lie lime-limit in the Sheffield Shield has proved a blessing. It has pul an end to wearisome batting by which wo were a dieted ... I wish you could have seen Woodfull going for the runs in the second innings, ol Victoria against New South Wales, ft was real cricket by a real cricketer. His tactics were, crowned with brilliant success. Limiting the matches is the host thing the authorities have done for years.” ]lut for the Australian team leaving for New Zealand in February, this, would have Iteen a very good season for Victoria to have played the J. V. Saunders match—Victoria v. The Rest of Australia, on the Melbourne ground, says a Sydney writer. The;, Rest this season would be well balanced if all those who fmvo played in the Sheffield Shield were available. Regarding the forthcoming tour of iho Australian-team through Now Zealand, an Australian writer says: “if the New Zeland roaches now in New Zealand be included in the Dominion elevens for the test matches the cricket should be of very great interest to supporters of the game over there. The English coaches will have left New Zealand by the time the test matches come 'wind, but in any ease it is baldly likely any of them would have been included in the New Zealand teams. Karl Schneider, the South Australian cricketer, who is to tour the Dominion with the Australian team shortly, has scored three centuries in Sheffield Shield matches this season. Batting left-hand, he has a sound straight bat in defence, and good shots on Both sides of the wicket. Being so short, he has to make greater use of his feet in getting to the ball than the average batsman. By this means he generally looks fplite lilt home, to the bowling. Ho should return from New Zealand a still better batsman. .Mr W. C>. Bull, who will manage the Australian team to tour New Zealand, lias never been across the Tasman with a team. He has been ilie bon. secretary of the llalmam Club in Sydney for many years, its representative on the New South Wales Cricket Association, a member of the executive committee, and a member of the Board of Control. It will lxt admirable experience for one holding office as lie does.

SENSATIONAL BOWLING. MACARTNEY AND KERLEWAY. The most, sensational performance for a long while was. recorded hv C. G. Macartney, of Cordon, who enmlotely routed Northern District, at Ohntswood oval, taking seven wickets for II runs, says a Sydney writer, commenting on a recent match in New South Wales. Not for years has a howler in first grade accomplished such a phenomenal feat on a good wicket. Macartney was assisted by Charles .Kolloway, who took two for t>, live of the runs against him being 110-balls I

None of the Northern District batsmen could do anything with the bowling of these two former internationals. whose services would lie most acceptable to the State in ilie approaching match against the. powerful Victorians, if only they had not retired from hig cricket. There - is no doubt that, they are two of the three greatest all-rounders in Australia at the present day, the other being .1. M. Gregory. Macartney and Kelleway kept a perfect length against Northern District. hut it is difficult to understand hy the batsman did not show any enterprise. When bowlers are 011 top like that, enterprising, and even daring, methods invariably pay. T'be bowlers should not have been allowed to dominate the position in that manner. In an hour the whole side was out for 22 runs, I.oder topsenring with six.' No fewer than seven batsmen failed to score; the five sundries were 110-balls, and the remaining IT runs were divided between four batsmen.

FAMOUS WICKET* KEEPER. . ABOLITION of BONG-STOP. Some readers will remember that very fast bowler, the lale John (.onway (says a wi iter in a -Melbourne paper,). Some may even recollect that it was famous .J. McC. Blackham’s standing ii|> to the wicket and taking Conway’s last deliveries till t roallv did away with the one-time regulation long-stop. In reply to a question as to the fastest bowler be had ever known, the. famous wicket keeper replied: ”1 should say Jack Conway of South .Melbourne. Conway for a long time was the terror of all long-stops, and the first time 1 kept wicket to him they put on a long-stop named Wolfe, another old .school-mate of mint-, and one ol the best in Australia. As the match proceeded Conway noticed that none of the balls ever got, flu- length ol the long-stop, and lie. ordered Wolle to go and field leg. This, 1 believe, way not only the first time a wicketkeeper had Conway s deliveries without a long-stop, lull I believe that it was the first tini(> that the longslop had been abolished for fast bowling, either in Australia or England. The people (English) were surprised to sec me stand tin to Spoilnrili uillioul a long-slop, atid I believe ibis led to Ilie abolition of I In-long-slop nr England.'’ ' ■ ‘‘.Vyj-l’ld. THROW ’EM ITU’ • lill.LV” MIDWINTER, tale. PRIDE'S I- A IM,.

Not niniiv rrickolers now alive- relic ml or when ‘'Bill,” Midwinter played with South Melbourne (says I lie ‘•Australasian''). The“- is one however, who ilocs, null who will keep "Mid.’s” memory giocn as long as lie (-ji.ii recall any of the incidents of bis cricket career. To enjoy pro perly any anecdote that may be told of '‘Mill.,” if is almost necessary to visualise the bulk ol him; his apparent leisiircliiicss of movement ; the feeling that In- induced in onlookers that he certainly would accomplish his aim; and the measured manner of his speech. “Mid.” was (loser bed in one of the English papers, when lie caught \V. ( : . ((race oil’ Sp-Mlurtli for 4, in one of the greatest epochmaking matches ever played, as having foroensi the result of ‘■Spoil's'’ bowling mentality upon CJrace's batting peculiarities, and having ‘'placed” himself for the catch that he fell c'-rlain must come. That was how ‘‘Mid.” affected those who watched him. Into the team in which this man played a youngster, just out tiif his teens, li.mul Ids loitumitc wav. 11 is pride can be understood. II is -ambition to <lo something worthy of bis gigantic team mate can be imagined only. The youngster got: his opportunity. South iva-. playing Melbourne. Possibly lie went into the field in a ua/.e. In bis oral rein-. inisrenees lie recalls only one incident in tile match. Whether he batted : whether South batted; whether the game was begun or ended ; or whether Midwinter or others, or lie. left tin' ground when the earthquake was over, lie cannot say. He does know, however, and is very clear and definite in the memories, that ''Mid.” did bowl one ball: llint some M. batsman—who it was doesn’t matter 1,,. Idol—spooned the very easiest ot simpl" eat-lies to him at square leg: that in glee, and anticipated pride, lie made one movement cf the '-atoll and throw - up- —and missed it. There was no hole large enough lor liiin to crawl into, in spite ot the terrible shrinkage that lie lelt. ph'i.inllv aud mentally, when Midwinter, in eliaraeterist io fashion. walked slow!v. but with purpose, across u“Jiiiimv” Slight, at point, and said in .11 quiet voice which, to tile fieldsman whose world had turned upside’ clown, sounded like a roll o' flmmlor: “Toil him to catch 'em. We'll throw ... • . cm up !

.RANDOM NOTCHES. Liverpool has honored the memory of famous Australian < rit keters by limning streets after Spi Ifortli. Murdoch and Baiinerniaii. Lord Hawke tells a good story about W. Storer, the English wicketkeeper. who was a luombcr cl A. E. Stoddart s team which visited Australia' in ISO 7. lie was playing in Scot la i id, and “Johnny” Briggs was the bowler. The batsmen were all at sea to Briggs, and Storer made several appeals for stumping. Fa: b time the verdict of the Scotch umpire was “Not out.” At last Br.ggs howled a very slow high ball, anti the batsman ran out to hit. and missed. Storer whipped off the bails, the batsmen being a yard out of his ground, hut the wieket-koonot made no appeal. He picked nn tin hails and returned the ball_ to Briggs, who, entering into the joke, resumed his bowling. The on!" r son who seemed perturbed was the umpire, who at the end of the over said to Storer: “Why did ye no uppealr”’ Storer replied "What for The umpire said. "‘For stumping. .Mon, lu- was oof!” Storer looked ei him without a smile and said. “Oh. ,1 thought you did not'give them out for stumping in Scotland.” During the recent wretched weather. cricketers have been more busily engaged in swopping varus thm l in playing tlie game. Here is one that was told con ei ning Gy” • Hirst. (luce when the famous York'sliireman was placing againsi Scottish team, ho made several -““V'-U lor lbw. “Now lonic. Imre. Hirst,’’ said the .irritated umpire, “whit's i he idea o' nuMcin' all time app-mls? Ye You fine lliev liavonn been .inst - iled.” “It’s all right." said Hirst iinpertiirhnblv. “I iusj like io hoar you saving ‘.Not cot ’ The two host Alls Dalian captains T have soon won- Marry Tiott and At. A. Noble. Those men never gay-' :t run to the opposing: side, unless it was to get a certain batsman to face a certain howler, who ea "l ied tyo"aoo to him.--“Not-.Out” in tlie Sydney ‘‘Referee.” Fvorv cricketer lias a horror ol a “pair of sue- iaeles. or to va- v tlie li-Turo, a "duck egg” in each innings. AA’lien tin* Australian Eleven was in England in ISfiO. Bill Hrwt'** clean howled AY. Tnmo. tho Gloucester amateur, in a match at Eas-t-I'oiu-'o. Just as Troup was going for tiis second innings. Howell was howling at Ids ten. and 'lren-' had to face him. Behind the pavilion was n cron net ball, and Troup comma n-deer-’d it. As 1m va'kod to the wicket lie handed the ball to ‘‘o l,l l’* 1 ’ as a present. Howell was lughlv amused. and tlie present alien put him i if Ids howling, with tlie result the* liis first ball Io Trotn was a full toss, which ilie batsman promptly hit for four.