CRICKET.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10740, 10 November 1928, Page 9

CRICKET.

M.C.C. TEAM.

OPENING PRACTICE COMMENT. ' PLAYERS’ FORM. ' Commenting on the first appearance at match practice at Perth by the visiting M.C.C. team, a spec-, lai correspondent of a Sydney paper said: From the very first ball it was' evident that Ty Ides ley, who made 3024 runs in England in the season Just completed, -with an average of 70.57, had not lost his form on the voyage. He batted with complete confidence, showing strong . defence: and his attack was sound. - He -hit well all round the wicket, and ifc was evident that lie has great power. He meets every ball with the fill} face of the bat, and I fancy that he is going to lie a problem for Australia'-* bowlers. He showed t-h»+. he can nfe, aggressive. Tate picked up his bowling form at once, and thus Ty-Jdes-ley s display was the more impressive. Walter Hammond, the Gloucester champion, had Freeman bowling at him, and as one watched the little Kent bowler, one realised that he may be destined to play a bigger part than in previous tours. It was not long before Harrimond settled down, and' the spectators who crowded round the nets arid behind bowlers Lsoon found that to stand anywhere near mid-off was unsafe. The first sign of danger came when, dropping on to a half-volley from ,1 ardirie, Hammond, with a twist of the wrist, and a flashing blade clipped it through the crowd. His timing was not -good, but his footwork was admirable, and he exploited every- stroke in Iris extensive repertoire. His off-drive is his outstanding scoring stroke, but a square drive, which flew between mid-off and cover, was also very telling. Everyone was anxious to see' Geary. For a man to he chosen for England, almost as the result'of an operation, is so remarka.ble that overvone was keen to pee the Leicestershire man howl. As he bared his right arm to bowl, one could see plainly the scar left by the Surgeon’s knife'. The first impression is that his delivery is low. He does not make full use of his height. lam told that he has been dropping his arm during the last two years, bust that the operation has enabled him to raise his delivery by several inches. As a rule he releases the ball head high, and though his length to-day was oh the short side, his howling was decidedly impressive. He bowls or rather seems to “roll close’-’ one ball which goes away with his arm, and it is evident that his :riih is to make the batsman play every- hall. Soriie of the spectators were highly pleased with his form. To say the' least,“jt showed "that liik' operation had been, successful. His batting was attractive. He gets well over the hall, and there is considerable force; in his driving. Harwood’s bowling “ was watched with keen interest. He does not look a fast bowler, and it .was evident that ho w-as not letting, himself go. Notwithstanding this, "the pace off the pitch was there, and the way the ball nipped off the ground showed that lie can make the ball fly when he is at his top. He delivers the hall cleanly, but he pounds Iris left foot as he releases the ball, and drags Iris right foot awkwardly. The right knee is the one which caused his 1 f'eakdown in England, and it will not he until he has had experience on a, hard wicket that one can toll how he will fare.

Neither White nor Staples was seen at his best.’ White, who is a Somerset, farmer, looks more like a young Australian squatter. He is a lefthander ,very slow, who relies on a fast wicket and his ability to “flight close” the ball. I watched him for a long while, and while he kept, a very accurate length and had to be watched, I could detect .Jit tie break on the ball. He was the least impressive of all the bowlers. His 1 Pitting showed soundness and also an ability to bit. Staples was by no means himself. He, had a touch of lumbngo, and thus was merely “wheeling them up close.” Chapman, Sutcliffe, and Hobbs were just busy getting their eyes in, and Hobbs had great fn;n with the crowd l>v his efforts to drive the ball through them. On the whole, it was a very satisfactory practice, and its Outstanding feature was its keenness. A prominent point to notice was the batting of the lail-enders. Larwood and Geary, as the howlers, and Ames as wicketkeeper, will be much harder to shift than were the last three of previous teams. The prospects are, I think, that the side will be material lv stronger than any we have seen in English colors since the, war. It certainly will be keen and in deadly earnest. Ames, a good-looking dark, strong-ly-built young mart, showed good, sound batting form, but it is not always safe to place too much weight on net practice. Dr. Jardi.ne, tall and wiry, with a. most attractive smile, is essentially an on-side player. He did not play much in England last sujm-. mer, and thus, is short of practice, but he is very sound, and will be a bard man to get out. Leyland, the Yorkshire left-hander, used his feet well and met the hall with the full face of the hat: His hitting is crisp and, like his forerunners, he has an attractive cover drive, and can pull. Duckworth is a weak batsman, but is . said to .be ft. plotter . wicketkeeper than Ames. A NOVEL METHOD. MAKING A BOWLER. One fine morning in Melbourne Hairy Trott was amazed to find’his brother Albert bowling at a wicket in front of which was a box about four feet wide, which completely hid the sticks. “Whatever are you doing?’ queried Harry. “I am trying to get round George Giffen’s broad, bat,’ grimly replied „ All fcrt as he, pegged ■ away at the broad box. This is the spirit which makes howlers.- Albert Trott went on to become-in his day the greatest bowler in the world. On the day he was given his benefit at 'Lord’s he did the hat-trick and later in the day took four wickets with successive balls. Nobody x taught Albert Trott. how to howl; it came naturally to him; and he developed his gifts by perseverance and determinfttion. It was said of him that he could send down six entirely different halls in an over, and all were uncommonly good; ones. .

The Woodfull family, appear to ,bo; /‘doing their hit” in cricket very thoroughly. " The famous member, W.M., is one of Australia’s great, hopes for the coming Test matches, yid three other brothers are playing in the pennant matches in Melbourne.

GREAT CAREER ENDS.

ARTHUR MAILEY RETIRES.

Arthur Mailey lias announced his withdrawal from first-class cricket this season to devote himself to ■ writing and illustrating the English matches for a syndicate of Australian ; papers. A.M." has been for-years one of the most interesting personalities among the leading players of Australia. His smile is perennial. His interest in the game , and those who play it is very genuine. And at his best he has been a great slow, howler and always a good team cricketer. History will probably not do justice to his merits as a bowler. ' The commentator of the future may dissect liiis-achievements in the light of ; cold figures and place him on a lower niche "hi the temple of fame than he is entitled to (says the “Sydney Referee”). Of all the slow bowlers of the righthand, leg-break variety we have seen he has been the flightiest; he has been able to make the hall cut more variable capers in the air than any of thei others, and especially when the wind suited him.

' If Arthur Mailey- had been handled as G. H. S : . Trott and the captains who succeeded that rare artist handled the slow Imvlers of their tiriie, he would havei built up a finer record than that attached to his name in the Tests against England. He is a far better bowler than the average cost of his wickets implies. In England in 1921 he averaged 33, in tKe next series out here 41 and in the last series in England 53 runs per wicket in the Tests. His best series was that of 1920-21, in Australia, when he secured 66 wickets at an average of 26. At that time he had a better command of length, than in the lastfew years. In Sheffield Shield cricket Mailey has taken a greater number of wickets than any.other New South Wales bowler, but the cost has been greater than that of most of the -stars-of other periods. He captured 175 wickets in these matches (which started in 1892-3) at an average cost of 33.48.

BOWLEY, OF SUSSEX

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY. The following paragraph from ‘The Cricketer’ of September J 5 will be of interest to those who ha'’e seen E. H. Bow ley, thfe Auckland cricket coach, in action :- A skilled cricketer with both bat and ball, who might well have been seen more, often in matches of a representative nature, is Bowley, of (Sussex. During the last few years lus scoring has been a model of consistency, and, had he taken part in two more games this season, lie would probably have, achieved “the cricketer’s double”—1000 runs and one hundred wickets. His figures for 1936, to the morning of the Bth mst., were: 2359 runs,-with an average of 45.36, and ninety wickets for 25.08 each. He did not obtain a regular place in the Sussex team until-' 1915, and nothing was seen of him in IDI9, as he was not then demobilised; y-et in first-class cricket, at Home and abroad, he has made 19,619 runs (average 34.66) and taken four hundred and forty- wickets (average 2-7.25). Thirty-three hundreds are included in his aggregate of runs. :

RANDOM notches. NOTES FROM. ALL CREASES. The well-known 1921 All Black, E. Robjerts, is leading Midland this season in the'Wellington cricket competitions. It- was a great tribute to- the confidence which is reposed in his generalship that he should have been chosen to captain the Midland senior eleven a,s soon as he joined the club. Roberts captained Eastbourne for dome seasons, and was appointed to lead Thorndon when Kot'tlang recommenced world wandering. Teddy Roberts makes a good captain, as lie holds his side together well, and. possesses tact as well as sound judgment.

Some- idea of the run-getting machine that Philip Mead is may Ha gathered from the fact that in July last he scored the 40,000 th run of his career. His total includes 531 made in Australia (one tour), 1557 in South Africa (two touris), 418 in the Wost Indies (three matches v. Jamaica). The remainder were made in England. Drily two men before Mead over made as many as 40,000 runs— Dr. W. G. Grace and Jack Hobbs. John Tyldesley made just on 38,000, and Tom Hayward, David Denton and George- Hirst all over 36,000. Wilfred Rhodes now has something over 38,000 to his credit, so that he ranks fourth, and is still going strong.

Wairarapa are expecting to place a strong side in the field this y r ear, and intend making a bid for the Hawke Cup, which should be an additional feather in their cap wheri' added to i-he Banfurly Shield. A number of able cricketers have taken up their residence in the district* and they should provide a good backbone for the team. D. C. Collins, the. exCambridge and New Zealand representative, and E. 0. Blamires, a member of Otago and New Zealand representative teas, are two who need little- introduction, and in addition there are Dr. Uttley (Otago representative), W. I. Bunny, who did well for Wanganui last year and who put tip some excellent scores during the tour of the ..Nomads team, and D. Riddiford, another well-known cricheter

Mr. .J. J. Kelly, who kept wickets for Australia in fifteen test matches—only seven Australians played in more of the Fig games—is in Melbourne with his wife for a short holiday (says the “Herald”). The veteran, who is only so in years, first attained international honors with Harry- Trott’s team in England in 1896. He was the natural successor to John McCarthy Blackham. He was also a member of the 1899, 1902 and 1905 teams. Kelly began his cricket career with North Fitzroy in the early “eighties.” He next played with Port Melbourne, and then followed two years with St. Ivilda. The St. Ivilda team was led at that time by “Gillie” Wilson, and other fine players were George Palmer and P. M’Shane. Blackham stood in Kelly's way as a ’keeper in big cricket, so in 1894 the St. Kilda man went to Sydney, where lie', at once got the opportunity he wanted. His success was immediate when the chance came, and his record m test cricket is a long and honorable one. In the international matches he caught 39 batsmen, Blackham taking