CRICKET

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 19 December 1925, Page 12

CRICKET

Plunket Shield matches for this season have been arranged thus: Dec. 25, 26 and 28, Otago v. Canterbury, at Christchurch; Jan. 1, 2 and 4, Wellington v. Canterbury at Wellington; Jan. 1,2 and 4, Auckland v. Otago, at Auckland; Jan. S, 9 and 11, Canterbury v. Auckland, at Auckland; Jan. 22, 23, and 25, Otago v. Wellington, at Dunedin.

Mr A. G. Holland, judge of the Native Land Court, met •with an accident while played cricket at Botorua last week. A bumping ball rose suddenly and struck him on the right hand with such force as to break the third finger and displace one of the metacarpal bones. The unfortunate part of it was that the ball struck in a place which had been weak since being broken some years ago, when Mr Holland was playing against the Australians.

A great score was put. up in a match at? Palmerston North recently. Playing for Bailway, Gallichan made 220 and Mullihs 146'(not out). The team total for five wickets was 500. H. L. Collins, writing on the question of the English team, gives it as liis opinion that new blood may get its chance against Australia next year. - Mr F. E. Lacey, the secretary of the M.C.C., contemplates retirement. He has been in charge of Lords for over thirty years. “It is better to have a loving wife than to make fifty at cricket. It’s better to-have a loving Wife than to make ninety-nine at cricket. I won’t go bevond' that.” Thus cautiously spoke Sir James Barrie —who was a cricketer before he became a author —to a Cotswold village cricket team of married men beaten at this game by a combination of bachelors. Several of his hearers had failed to score ati all—their record being thus. 0, or, in British cricketing parlance, “a duck s egg.” Sir James Barrie was thus afforded an opportunity of which, in opening the village clubhouse immediately afterwards, he availed himself shamelessly. “I hear funny sounds inside this pavilion,” he said. “No one really knows.what’s inside, but I think I hear ducks laying eggs.”

THE MAKING OF RECORDS,

By scoring 260 runs for Institute against Wellington J. E. Banks established a new record for Wellington cricket (savs the Free Lance). In the whole history of the playing of the game in the Empire ‘City only ten individual scores of over 200 runs have been recorded. They are as follows, in their order of , merit: — J. E. Banks, 260, 1925-26. W. A. Baker, 254, 1918-19. , - W. A. Baker, 241*, 1915-16. J. S. Hiddleston, 240, 1918-19. W. J - Brice, 228, 1922-23. K. H. Tucker, 221*, 1898-99. F. S. Middleton, 217, 1918-19. B. A. Marris, W. J. Wagstaffe, 210, 1923-24. H. E. Burton, 203*, 1921-22. * Signifies not out. It is remarkable that none was put up between 1898, when Ken Tucker, who is still playing well, scored 221 not out, and 1915.

AN ALL-ROUNDER. Footballer, track athlete, swimmer, marksman, tennis player and cricketer, biit greatest of all as a cricketer, is J. M. Taylor. There are few “certainties” for the Australian eleven, but few players have a greater chance than Taylor. It will not" be his first visit to England. He played there with the A.I.F. team, and again with Warwick Armstrong’s eleven. He first played for New South Wales in 1915, scoring 226 in his first innings. He was then only 19. One of the most dashing batsmen in the world, he is also one. of the greatest fieldsmen. TWO CENTURIESIN A MATCH. T. J. Andrews is the second batsman to make two centuries in. a first grade premiership, as it is now played. But Aliclc Bannerman, way back in the early eighties, was the first man to perform the feat in the Sydney premiership, many years before the'presence, of the district system and clubs came into existence. The other batsman to attain this distinction was Victor Trumper, for Gordon, at a time when his health was not so sound as it had been. In his palmy days V.T. might have had little trouble in scoring two centuries in a match had it been necessary. He rarely .had more than one innings in any Paddington match, even when three days were alloted to the contests. RANJI’S NEPHEW. K. S. Duleepslnhji has jumped right into the front rank in one season. He is very young and lacks experience, but is a born cricketer. exceptionally strong on the leg side. As a schoolboy he scored freely on the off as well, but owing to the number of bad wickets he had) to perform on he was compelled to discard most of his brilliance on the off side and concentrate on pushing the ball away to the on. Many old cricketers consider him a better player at his age than his famous uncle, though at the moment it is, perhaps, unwise to prophesy that he will eventually reach the dizzy heights reached by “Ranji. ” “Duleep” is a very fine field, who is seen at his best in the slips. No other young cricketer lias so taken the eye this year as the Indian Cambridge Blue. THE AUSTRALIAN TOUR, Discussing the itinerary of the next Australian tourning team, the manager (Mr Sydney :Smith) said recently that the question of a team visiting India has been mentioned more than once, but no definite decision has ever been arrived at. No doubt, this matter will receive consideration in The future, but it will be realised that with visits to and from England, South Africa and New Zealand, it is difficult to fit .in other tours. A trip to the West Indies has also been mentioned, but here the same difficulty arises. New Zealand cricket should, in his opinion, be fostered' as much as possible. They are such enthusiastic 'and hard working administrators over there .that they deserve every consideration.. Dealing with the fixtures in England, he said: “ There are several innovations. For instance, the North and South of England games have again been included after a lapse of many years. These are practically trial Test matches, and in the past were always tough propositions for the Australian team. They should be most popular. “Another game likely to create great interest, as well as do English cricket an immense amount of good, is that against the Great) Public Schools at Lord’s. It should also be a, great social event, somewhat on the same lines as the Eton-Harrow fixture. The

match against the Civil Service, for which Herbie Collins’ brother is mainly responsible, should also be an interesting fixture. A match that we will miss, however, will be that against the South of England at Hastings. Australian teams have been playing at this seaside resort for the past years. Folkestone takes its place this time. Mr Frank Harvey, one of the best known actors in Australia, is a keen golfer, and 1 follows international cricket closely. He thinks Australia will have a hot task to retain the Ashes against England if the season is wet —an opinion with which every cricketer will agree. He also thinks that Australians play tire big games far more keenly than the Englishmen, and that Australian crowds are more keyed up to the seriousness of the fortunes of the game.