CRICKET.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 20 December 1924, Page 9

CRICKET.

Cricketers did not find, the weather too enjoyable tor tne pursuit of tneir pastime last Saturday. . A strong southerly breeze blew au day, but luckny no rain fell. In the senior competition Excelsior won against Eltham, while Manaia easily oeat Midlands. EXCELSIOR v. ELTHAM. The wicket at Hawera was quite good, and it must be confessed that Eltham- made a bad error of judgment in putting Excelsior in to bat after winning the toss. Not only did Excelsior §hus get the benefit of the wicket, but tney al6o had the better of the light, as well as not being chilled by an afternoon in the field. Excelsior did not amass the score that at one time looked probable. A fairly good start was effected, but a slump occurred, and the final total of 111 was disappointing. Priest, with six wickets for 41 runs, was the chief destroyer. , Bernard 25 was top score for the homesters, and showed good form. His running between the wickets is not the best in the world ,and it would be a good thing for him if he cut out trying so many short runs. Pulton 19 was going well when lie was stumped, and Crombi© . showed some sound defence, in his 18, but he treats the half volley too gingerly. Monaghan 12 made a yorker of a ball, and paid the ’’penalty. Little in getting 11 made one great drive for six. : Eltham looked like getting the runs at one period, but finally'fell short by 21 runs. Philpotts 20 and Hay 17 showed the best form, and the latter looked like staying a long time, until h© mishit a short one to point. Page 26 not out stuck a long time, hut bore a charmed life. Still, his innings was most valuable to his side. The bowling of Priest, as before stated, was most successful for Eltham. He kept a good direction, and his changes of pace were too much for the majority of. the batsmen.. Fulton, three for 6, got among the rabbits of the Eltham side with his leg breaks. McCarthy, three for 32, bowled very well, but had no' luck. Lay, two for 31, bowled some really good balls, and trimmed C. Little with a beauty; Machin, two for 14, did not bowl at all well. The fielding! on both sides was good in parts, but lacked sparkle. With -the win in this game Excelsior came through the first round without a defeat. MIDLAND v. MANAIA. Manaia sprang a surprise on to Midland, aiid defeated them by 71 runs. The Manaia total of 154 was fairly evenly distributed. Hughes 32 and Sherlock 28 put up a good, partnership, and paved the wav for the victory. Roberts 21 proved a stumbling block, too, and surprised the bowlers a bit. Hickey 16 and Watson 12 were jbothnot out when the innings was declared. The usually successful Giblin got one wicket only, but his bowling was steady. Inch two for 23, Neilson two for 23 and Vowless two for 21 were the most successful. ' ' ’

The Midland side failed with the bat, and were-all out just on time for 83. Brisker methods would have., been much more successful, as they had the time to get the runs.' Plank played very steadily in getting 28, and Giblin also did well in making 22. Thomas 12 and Graham 13 were the other doubles, but the other regular batsmen only made seven between them. Hughes four for 20 and Sherlock four for 23 both* bowled in capital form in getting their wickets. JUNIOR CRICKET. The junior matches did not disclose any marked performances with the bat, -the bowlers being on top all through. In this connection the writer would suggest to junior captains that a decently compiled bowling analysis helps towards getting proper figures and adds somewhat to the pleasure of scrutinising the score books.* SILSONTUP. The match for the Silson Cup between Hawera and Feilding Technical Schools ended in /a win for the latter after they had seemed to be well in the cart. The game was a good one, although the bowlers had the best of matters generally. Cochran, of Feilding, in getting 51 in the second innings gave the best display of batting in the match. He watcnecl the ball tv ell, and punched the short stuff. The local boys did not show the same confidence with the bat that they have in sbme.of their other matches In the second innings there wa.s a lot of loose stuff put up which should have been “tonked” instead of being gently patted. It does not pay to let the bowlers off too easily, as they are apt to settle on to a length and thus make things a little more difficult for the batsmen. It seemed to the writer that the instruc-tions-to go steady in the second innings were not good tactics. The boys could have played their natural free game, and it is better for them to do this than to have to keep instructions in mind which are apt to divert the thought from the job on hand. These matches are productive of a great deal of good, and the donor of the cup did well in helping on such a good competition. AUCKLAND RESULTS. The cricket. competition was continued on Saturday on wickets favourable for the batsmen. In spite of t,his University made a poor showing against Grafton, as the result of Allcott getting five wickets cheaply at the start of the innings. A partial recovery later brought the students’ total to 132, Player being 46 not out. Allcott took five wickets for 50 runs, and Snedden three for 27. Eden made the biggest score of the season to date against Ponsonby, registering 360 for six wickets. Postles contributed 103, Whelan 57, Weir not out 46, and W. B. Smith 41 not out. Parnell scored 178 against North Shore, McCoy knocking up 52 and Irving 32. Bowling for North Shore, Elliott took three wickets for 10 runs, and Townsend four for 51. North Shore had scored 52 for two wickets when stumps were drawn, Prater being 31 not out. AT DUNEDIN. Matches between Grange and Dunedin, and Albion and Carisbrook commenced on Saturday. Grange in their first innings made 274 (A. W. Alloo 81, Galland 65, H. C. Alloo 43, Chadwick 23); bowling, Casey three for 93, Torrance four for 91, Baker two for 16. Dunedin’s first innings -was disastrous, eight wickets being down for 37 : bowling, A. W. Alloo four for 12, anil Galland four for 21. Albion made 212 against Carisbrook (Blamires 98, Shepherd 27, Binnev 22 ;

Blair not out 15; bowling, Dickinson three for 50, Dunning two for 36. Carisbrook has one wicket down for 167 (Worker in 9S, and Duncan in. 61). GAMES AT CHRISTCHURCH. The fourth round of the competitions commenced on Saturday in glorious weather, but the wickets were slow after Friday night’s rain. Sydenham v. Linwood.—Linwood, first innings 162 (Condliffe 36, Read 39); bowling, Cunningham four wickets for 41 runs, D. Mc-Beath six for 84. Sydenham, first innings four for 63 (Uasson not out 30). West Christchurch v. St. Albans.— St. Albans, first innings 145 (Lorrie 53, Doreen 39) ; bowling, Cocks five wickets for 49 runs, Findlay three for 7. West Christchurch, two wickets for 144 (Blunt not out 61, Dr. Ward not out 70). East Christchurch. v. Riccarton.—Riccarton, first innings 100 (Cox • 38); bowling, Stringer seven wickets for 35 runs, Weston three for 43. East Christchurch, five wickets for 86 runs (Gregory 38).