CRICKET

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 28 March 1925, Page 10

CRICKET

GRIMMETT’S bowling

AUSTRALIAN EULOG Y

0 V Qrirnrnett’s success with the ball* in..the final Test was. a paralyser : (saVs ha Australian \\ liter). To’ -take lilywickets for 82 runs, in a sftaioh'. in - which the bat has so beav.ily dominated is a wonderful teat. tie fine length in the first mnings vftnct, turning the ball a little either way, with a mixed-in straight one'•■h : e had thestay-at-home English batsnien in trouble.; Later, when others jumped in they round the. Giinunett-Oldheid-"t, : b!tnf>itiatioii a bit too strong. T Th'P'little South Australian bowls the ball at a lower level than Arthur .Mailev, and does not appear to turn it so muc-h But on the showing in this match he struck a better length than the other bpsey. man has, as a; rule, 'though his figures were brilliant in the second innih'gs, he did not find him form so quickly in the first, innings—that is, on the hist dav when the wicket was doing a little bit, and the south wind was so .fierce. Grimmett looks-like a bowler who will perform with credit on wicbets helping the ball, provided they be not too slow. He should do well in England. PERTINENT QUESTIONS.

There are' many"people, in Melbourne —cricketers included —who argue that because no bowler of distinction has been unearthed as the result of the Country Cricket Week the whole scheme is.-a failure (writes JAY. in the Australasian). Yet, judging the game on the standard set by these critics our pennant matches would have to be pronounced anything but successes, for who, one may pertinently ask, are our promising young bowlers-' Our two best men of undoubted skill and a certain Ironmonger and Blackie, veterans both, men of undoubted skil] and a certain amount of knowledge.;' Our other Sheffield bowlers, such as H'prtkopf, Liddicut, and'Wallace, -strengthened by two of the younger brigade in Ebeling and Millar, are in New Zealand, and it cannot be said, however liberal an estimate may .be taken ? . that they fire in- any way immortalising themselves. They (may be good enough to beat New —“ {south Wales and South, Australia, yet on wickets that presumably render more than a slight assistance they are finding the Maorilanders an exceedingly tough proposition. And judging by the cabled reports it appears that in more ways than one;Our cricket prestige is being dimmed in New Zealand. But that their class of cricket is on the up giftde is -a subject for extrefh’e gratification. In cofiiparatively recent years Heaths from New Soiith Wales, England, and Victoria have had the pleasure of being invited to New Zealand. thb result being that the visits are bearing .good fruit. The .pqjvers that be ih the DonViniq'n ate working on biglit lilies; and sutely a couiitry thflt scan produce ’a Grimniett in cricket, n,. Wilding in tennis, and a Rugby .team such as the All [Blacks, should becbiiie worthy opponents. ITnless a cduritry iff any game keeps meeting laU'tiVgbhists of even' or greater skil) the sport is apt to remain stagnant, and therefore it . is pleasing to .record that cricket is improving in New Zealand.

the; test matches

attendances and gates

If the Hnglish team have net taken \ away The Ashes, they will officially take away more money than any other team from Australia. The Test matches alone brought in gross gates of £66,669 4s 2d, and the attendances were 687,219. These" are colossal .figures, frfim ~sotrictiling between Llv.OOf) and £20,000. These figures; are only rougli-

lv approximate, but they indicate the nature of the financial success of the tour. Some of the weaker country clubs will, doubtlessly, be assisted from these handsome profits. - GENIUS OF TAYLOR. Writing on the art of fielding, a Critic in a southern paper says:—in J. Hobbs, J. M. Taylor,, and j. M. Gregory we have three specialists who ■are masters in their positions. I might couple Hendren with Taylor in the outfield, though the latter is- very often called .upon to field micl-on —a position in other days that was the sanctuary for the feeble. Like Hitch, the Surrey fast bOwler, Taylor has made mid-on an important position. He is an out-field-er for a slow bowler, but is often called tip to field at. inid-on when a fast bowler is operating. lie saw possibilities ill this position. He tantalised the batsmen who. -previously had scored an easV run by pushing the balj modestly On the leg side. Taylor’s sense of anticipation was well developed in outfielding, and he turned it to good account nearer the wicket, with the result that often before the ball is displayed lie is streaking to some point where experience has told him be can intercept it before a run has been made.

Taylor has plenty of energy, but never wastes any in providing a spectacle. When he js just jogging along after a ball you can rest content that there is absolutely no hope of running the : batsmen out. On tiie other hand, when he “puts his foot on it” you can expect the batsman also to take an active interest in the affair. When in the outfield Taylor can tell at a glance whether the stroke is worth one or two —it’s never worth three. Here is where the player overshadows most outfielders. 1 saw him in England allow batsmen to score two runs from certain strokes, then, when they had convinced themselves that there were really two runs in the shot, they ceased hurrying, and Taylor threw one of them out by three vards.

Jack Hobbs is another silent worker who is scheming away there in the covers to his heart’s content. His apparent disregard for short runs is a bait at which the batsmen are frequently tempted to bite. I often compare Hobbs to a sleepy-loeking cat that through half,-closed eyes is watching a bird hopping about. There comes a critical time when the bird throws discretion to the winds and takes a little more liberty with the cat. Then comes a pounce, a flutter of feathers, and a smacking of lips.

STYLES OF FAMOUS PLAYERS

VICTORIAN CAPTAIN’S VIEWS.

A notable lecture on cricket was delivered by Edgar Mayne, captain of the Victorian touring team, to a .large arid youthful audience at the Y.M.C.A., you',” he said, amid 'laughter. “Taylor, the present Smith African captain, learned his batting in front of a mii'fbr, in his bedroom,” he said. “Hill and (Stiffen practised, using a pick-handle as a bat, to test their accuracy in making the stroke. Mackay, of New South Wales, one of the best batsmen I have ever seen, learned his cricket from W. G. Grace’s book.”

.“Do you ever take your eyes off the bull in batting?” he was asked.

■•You may,” lie answered, •‘but, if you connect, we call that an ‘if’ stroke in Australia.” (Laughter). , “How is it, that the Englishmen could not play Grimmett?” “Grimmett is a very fin© howler,” he said. “His slows are very troubleMr. E. C. Toone, the M.C.C. manager, will be in the happy position of returning ' to ' the M.C.C. .a .profit ranging some to. English batsnien, who are not at all comfortable before slow bowling. , Mailey troubled them; so did Armstrong, in England.” “I would advise New Zealand to send >.. team' to England as a better plan chan sending a team to Australia,”

said the lecturer.' “In England you would have live months’ ■ cricket on wickets like your own, 'and would have an opportunity of studying styles. If, however, yon get. fast bowlers on fast wickets, like Sydney and Melbourne, voiir men will Tie playing under conditions to which they are entirely unaccustomed; I do not. think they would find such w tour so profitable or beneficial as a tour to England.” ■cr to criticism, the visitor said: “We are here to help New Zealand cricket, not to build up averages.” (Loud applause). Wellington. Mr R. Revan, the wellknown umpire, presided. Inviting questions as he went on, and using cricket parlance, punctuated with diverting Australian vernacular, the lecturer commenced with the youth learning bis batting at school, and discussed ‘grip, stance and style, and rove i wed the characteristics of great cricketers since ho took up first-class cricket, .‘twenty years ago.. He favoured the two-eve stance —a,straight, fullfaced glance at the bowler when he delivered the ball—and counselled his hearers to stand perfectly at ease at the crease, hoding the hat in such a way as to be able to balance it with For every commendable rule in batting. however, there were illustrious exceptions,.'such as Hill, the Australian ami Scvmour. the Englishman.. “Does not'the two-eved stance conduce. to ‘on’ play, to the detriment ol off-driving.?” The Victorian captain quoted, in. reply, the greatest living 'eft-hander Warren Bardsley, who had the most convincing two-eyed stance, yet whose off-drives were perfect. “A fast bowler like Gregory or Scott of New South Wales, can make a hall ‘fly’ over the batsman’s head; here m New Zealand the ball keeps low on your soft wickets, and nearly ‘submarines