CRICKET.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 3 February 1926, Page 3

CRICKET.

COACHING JOB FOR TATE. BY CABLE—PKEBS ASSOCIATION COl’YllidUT. LONDON, Feb. 1. Maurice Tate, at the conclusion of the 1.926 season, will go to New Zealand to succeed’ Jack Board in a coaching engagement. The Daily Mai' says: “Tate will show the New Zealanders what a real oftdiive looks like.”

HAWKE CUP MATCH

WANGANUI DEFEATS NELSON

NELSON, Eeb, 2. The Hawke Cup match between )\aliganui and Nelson yas finished- to-day, Wanganui winning by fipe wickets. Nelson made 122 in their second strike (R. Eden 34 and Langbein 23 not out). Williams took four wickets ioi. 29, Bernau two'lor 30, and Holland four for 39. Requiring 150 runs to win, Wanganui went in. Wood was dismissed when the score was at If, lull Orr and Bernau carried the score to 48. then a good partnership ensued between London and Cave. Wanganui scored ■it a faster rate than in their first miliims and knocked up the required runs in three hours. Newman took one for 36, Hawkes two for 23, and Haycock two for 35. The Wanganui scorers were: Orr 30, Bernau 19, Lon. don 42, Cave 17 not out.

POSITION OP TEAMS

At the end of the second round Okaiawa had a clear lead of two points from Excelsior and of five from Stratford, with the rest a considerable wav behind. Stratford’s unfavourable position was due largely to the forfeit against them through not sending a team to plav Manaia. As the result however, of'the defeat of Okaiawa byMidlands, the former is once more brought back to a position level with Excelsior and only 7 three points ahead of Stratford. With four more matches still to be played the position is quite open and full of interest.

THE HAWERA GROUND

IMPROVED WICKETS ESSENTIAL

The urgent need! of a decided improvement in the wickets at the Parle has been stressed more than once, and each Saturday’s play emphasises Hie essential fact that a scheme for getting wickets that will play decently is absolutely essential. And that fact was patent more on Saturday last, perhaps than ever before. The wicket, vised by the seniors in the game .Midlands and Okaiawa kicked shockingly with anything like fast bowling, and made it' not only dangerous but impossible to play decent erieuet. Ilawera has easily the best, ground from every other point of view, but tlie terrible wickets quite spoil the game there. The outfield and general appointments are really 7 excellent, but the most important feature of a cricket ground is sadly 7 wanting. Before next season —and the matter should be taken up at once —a scheme must be put into operation such as .has been suggested, by means of papa —details of the operation having been supplied by Mr Bottrill, of New Plymouth and published, in this column —or ai:y ether scheme that will give decent playing wickets. The papa scheme should be. on the. face of it, very inexpensive, the main feature being the labour and the care in putting on the material. However, it should be am assured fact, after the display on .Saturday, that the committee will take up the matter at once and, remedy the glaring defect. It seems so very regrettable that an excellent fielding ground should be so marred.

COMMENTS ON THE PLAY". OT\AT.VWA AND MIDLANDS. It is curious that before the match one of the team, and also a keen supporter, expressed the opinion that its members would rather play any team, with a greater hope of winning, than Midlands, and that they could not understand why Midlands did not stand higher in the list than it did. 'Phe apparent feeling that they might lose was borne out. and Okaiawa lost two points by the defeat. But it wib be generally agreed that tin' team had bad" lnc.lv and lost three of its best wickets 111 rough (he bad bumping of tiie M ill l:i nils ’ fast bowler, on a wicket which was not good at any time, but which got decidedly worse towards, the latter end of the afternoon and dangerous with a fast bowler.

Nielsen, of Midlands, lias been doing well for some time past, and. his success in scoring 33. all got by good sound cricket, will be a decidedly popular performance with players generally. Nielsen has done a great deal for cricket, both on and off the field, and it is good to see him in form and scoring consistently. Oombie has beeh a very useful man to his side and specially valuable as an opening batsman. He does. not. often fail to make runs, and is quite a nice bat. He scored pretty slowly, but showed good sound defence. Ciiblin. on the other hand, is aggressive in his style and goes, for the bowling in great style. In his 24 he got two fours, a. three, and finished with a mighty six. Walk lev played many nioe strokes m scoring his IP and hit two capital fours.

Yo\v!ess lias not shown his true form of lute, that style which a few seasons back presaged a lot of success. Tie bad in an v really nice strokes, but. lias largely lost the free style he seemed to have naturally. Tie would be well advised to lose that rather poky, half pull shot and endeavour to regain the strokes he had. He played a very useful innings of 17 not out.

AlcKenzio and Tiddy both opened their account with a lofty six, but fell soon after, the former to a good catch, the latter to a straight ball. Plank was the other one of the seven who ran into double figures, and ho played steadily for his Hi. It is comparatively rare to see as many as seven in. a local match get double figures. The scoring thus was pretty evenly divided.

Cheevers and Monaghan, who have scored very well of late, had bad luck, the former getting a ball from Pratt that puzzled him, and the latter in playing a ball from Crawford with a stroke that in most eases would have been quite safe, but which in this ease was cleverly 7 snapped up by 7 Barclay 7. Pratt showed once more that his hand has not lost its cunning by 7 getting three good wickets, but. at. a greater cost than is usual with him. Thomas and Penny bowled fairly well, though perhaps not getting tlieir usual length, and they did not get so much success as usual.

Le Fleming and 1 ' Crawford kept a nice length, and the latter got two if the best wickets.

A. Betts and Penny added one more to the number of good opening partnerships they have given to their team and were shaping very 7 well when both went out to a catch off a bumping ball. They each showed nice defence and waited patiently for the ball to hit.

Pratt scored twelve when he was out to a hit to square leg, a stroke wine, lias many time been fatal to him. The only 7 others to trouble the bowlers were V. Betts and Barclay 7 , who put on 30 for the last wicket. The former had bad luck to put his foot in front when going well, and the latter, though lucky, hit vigorously for his 17 not out. Giblin and MePadyen.. secured most, of the wickets. The former bowled mostly 7 his fastest and bumped ver.v much. But he was very 7 erratic anu generally 7 lost His length in securing puce. McFadyen gets a lot of work on and should be used more than sometimes is the case. He beat his opposing batsmen on quite a number of occasions, and seemed to deserve moie success.

EXCELSIOR, v. MANAIA

Scores were small in both innings of the match played at Manaia between these teams, and Eixcelsior gained the verdict by 7 only a small margin. Two alone of the Manaia. team, Bairistow and A. J . Hughes reached double figures, McCarthy being on the spot with the ball and getting the line average of six wickets for just over three runs a piece, while Mach in cleared up the last two wickets and \\ orrall two others at small, cost. Excelsior opened badly and three good wickets fell for lew runs. Jennings, Little, Fleming and Hammond, however, made useful stands and it was well they 7 did for four of the remaininy batsmen put. on only five runs amongst them and the, innings closed somewhat abruptly for 83. Hainstow was once more the most successful bowler, annexing four wickets at five runs each, while he was well backed by B. and H. Hughes, three each.

STRATFORD v. ELTHAM

Stratford’s score of 145 was not very 7 large, but was sufficient to head off Elthaim’s two totals ’by five runs, giving the former three point win. The feature of the Stratford innings was the fine score run up by Cole, who pasted the Ejltham bowlers hip and thigh and who was caught after a brilliant-88. He might easily have got his century, had he not gone for the bowling ,so vigorously. Stratford’s innings was closed for nine wickets, but only Woods and Bee re did any good against the bowling of Priest, Don lie ly and Scown, who shared the wickets.

Elthain, which was without the valuable sendees of O. Little, made a wretched showing in the first innings, Page alone just getting double figures; But two were foolishly run out. It fared somewhat better in the second innings, doubling the first total of 45. Six of them ran into double figures. In both innings Cole was the outstanding 'bowler and his average for the two ran out at nine wickets for 56, a good harvest. Woods and Young did the best of the others tried. AMONG THE JUNIORS. A sample of hurricane scoring marked the conclusion of the match between Hawerai and School A. When the former went in for its second innings there were twenty minutes only in which to knock up about seventy runs, and the batsmen went for the, three point win by playing hard and aggressive cricket. When time wast called they had pub up 83 in.that .brief period. It was rapid scoring indeed. •