CRICKET

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 29 January 1927, Page 12

CRICKET

LOCAL FIXTURES. Thou "'ll interest is shill keen iu the competitions here, On a raw a ha\e_ a very strong position in the senior championship, and their lead ot tout points makes them practically unassailable. , . . Generally speaking there has been an air of -enterprise and sparkle about the play, which, has served to. increase the attendance at matches, and so to help push forward the best interests 01 the game. It will generally be acknowledged that cricket is .progressing n. Taranaki. No doubt the Hawke Cup victories have helped materially anti these iare cetrain to continue .a great •asset from a playing point of view. But there have been several exceptionally bright displays in the ordinary matches, and these have been much enjoyed by players and by public. Hast Saturday was a sample and actually as a run-getting afternoon it stands easily the best in Hawera. These mfluonces all play their part. To-day Excelsior are playing Stratford at Hawera and Midlands are meeting Okaihwa at tlve latter’s ground. It" 3 is understood the wicket at the latter ground will be excellent and true, but the outfield will be rough. However, if a. club cannot, give both, the wicket is by far the most important, though the good outfield is very pleasant. It is assumed that the Manaia. Stratford match, postponed from last Saturday will be concluded later in the season. Teams had to get together at very short notice iand it would not be fair to penalise those who cannot get together in the short time at their disposal.

ABLE VETERAN. Complimenting E. Cole on his wonderful display, a Hawke’s Bay paper says that Anno Domini, has not dulled the fire of his bowling, which is even more deadly 'than us-tral on the ■wickets -where the veteran customarily performs in Stratford, Eltham and Manaia. NOTES. The visit- of the Melbourne Cllub team, which has accepted an invitation to. tour New Zealand, will be very -welcome, and as the side will include several first-blaiss players it will give cricketers on this side of the Tasman good sport and valuable experience. It is very gratifying to see that youth was to a large extent in evidence by the success of the Auckland I team in securing the Plunket Shield, for which all enthusiasts will giro them congratulations. It was fitting that these two provinces, ardent rivals since the days of sixty years ago, should fight out the final match this season.. Auckland lost the shield in 1921-22. While it is true that Bowley was by far the greatest factor in the success, the young players given a chance did very well. And of them the outstanding ones were Milks and Matheson. Both promise exceedingly well.

Critics who saw the match, appear to, agree that the want of a .slow bowler was largely responsible, on a good wicket, for the failure of Wellington. Their usually strong batting side collapsed largely, and that apparently was due in great measure to want of practice against .slow bowling. Their runs were made chiefly by Brice, (first innings) and Lowry and Bedrock (second innings). Writing of the young Aucklander, Mills —son. it may be added, of a prominent erstwhile Taranaki athlete —aWellington scribe says that this lefthander is without question the most

stylish batsman in the country. He is. in fact, the Lionel PaT.airet of New Zealand, his every .action feeing; the acme of elegance and grace. He possesses plenty of good strokes, and should develop into a ,sta;r batsman.

THE AUSTRALIAN TOUR. DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 'Cricketers at the week-end of January 8 were more interested in the doings of the Australian Board of Control at its meeting in Sydney than in their club games, or even in the interstate match in Sydney, writes E. IL Baillie, in the Melbourne Sporting Globe. Most important matters came before the board, and far-reaching decisions regarding policy were come to. Most important from the players’ point of view was the question of the amount of the bonus the members of the Australian team were ’to receive in connection with the recent visit to England. Nobody knew what the profit on the tour was, although it was known that it was substantial, and everything depended upon the amount that the board had to handle. It was with pleasure, therefore, that it was learned that the profit amounted to more than £20,000, for it was not thought that it was quite so much as this. Out of this amount the board decided to pay each of the 16 players and Mr S. Smith, the manager, a bonus of £250, and Mr W. Ferguson, the scorer, £75. A sum of £14,000 is to be distributed equally among the six Australian States, and the board will retain the balance for its own purposes.

A sum of £SO was voted in order to make a presentation to Mr Smith for his services for many years as honorary secretarv of the board.

Before the meeting it was freely stated that the bonus to the players would not be less than £3OO, and that it might be £3so—the amount recommended by Mr Smith. Naturally, they are disappointed that they are to. receive a smaller amount than this. That, however, is a matter between the board and the players. It was certainly necessary that a bonus should be paid if the players were to be relieved of financial loss on the tour, and the general view is that the board might have done at least, as it did after the previous tour, and make the amount £3OO. However, the board has decided, and there it ends.

In considering the matter the board came to a decision which should meet with general approval, and that is that there should be no bonuses on future tours. That is a course which I have advocated on several occasions since the return of the team, and one which has received much support. As I have said before, the principle of granting bonuses is a bad one, and one that might lead to much disappointment and trouble.

The granting of a bonus after the last two tours has been necessary because it was recognised that the amount of £4OO which the players received under their contract with the board was not sufficient for them to keep their homes going during their absence, and meet the unavoidable calls upon their pockets that such a

tour entails.' And, as I have said before, no player should be out of fiocke-t when, he goes away to represent. Australia on the cricket field. In order that he shall not be out of pocked a much larger amount than £4OO is necessary. The board has now decided that the players in future shall receive only the fixed amount stipulated for in their contract, and, having decided that, it must make the amount such that the plavers shall have no anxiety as to their financial position. What the amount is to be will, of course, have to be decided in the circumstances that exist at the moment, but it must certainly be considerably greater than the £4OO now allowed. Providing that moiiev remains at its present value the amount should be at least £OOO or £7OO. Another important decision was that future teams should consist of not mere than 15 men. This, I think, is a very wise decision. I know that there were times during the recent tour, when all the men were, fit, when there was considerable dissatisfaction at five men having to stand clown, some of them for several matches in succession. Gil ligan had the same experience, with his team here some two years ago, whom with 17 men to call upon ,some of whom had very few chances to play, and consequently became very dissatisfied through having to stand down frequently". The effect must react to the detriment of the team as a whole. Fifteen men should be plenty for any- tour of England or Australia, and I think the board is wise in limiting the number in this way. The board also decided that on future tours there should be a committee which should deal with the internal management of the team, including the acceptance or otherwise of invitations to social functions. If all that we hear in connection with the recent tour is correct, the need for such an arrangement is obvious. There appears to Pave been a good deal of friction, especially in connection with social functions. ” It. is most desirable, for the good name of Australia, that there should be no friction or misunderstandings on a tour of this kind. If trouble arose in a team such a committee, could take measures to end it, and could do much towards making the team a happy family. Differences are bound to arise w"hen a band of young men. are, away together there never was a team in which everything -went absolutely smoothly —but they should not be * allowed to affect the happiness of the whole if they can be overcome, and a committee should ha'velittle difficulty in smoothing over any differences that may arise. It should also prevent misunderstandings in regard to social functions to which the players arc invited, and for that reason the decision is a good one. Except that the players may be disappointed that they are not to receive a larger bonus, the decisions of the board should appeal to those who have the interests of the game, at heart. They should certainly make for smooth working in connection with future tours. Anything that will do that will be welcome.

THE SMALLER BALL

DISCUSSION IN AUSTRALIA

The cricket world is interested in the suggestion of the County Advisory Committee of England to assist the bowlers by using a smaller ball. A sub-committee consisting of Lord Harris and Messrs Dixon, Higson and Jupp is to consider the whole matter. At the last meeting of the Victorian Cricket Association, Hr. Ramsay Mailey, of the Melbourne Club, and a State representative of the Board of Control, read a copy of a cable he had received from the Marylebone Club, asking for Victoria’s opinion on the proposed reduction in size.

Mr Harry Brereton, secretary of the Y.C.A.] stated that_ the matter would probably be explained by Mr Sidney Smith at the next meeting of the Board of Control in January.

The present law regarding the size of the ball stipulates that it must not he less than 5} ounces or more than 5f ounces in weight; while its circumference should not be less than nine inches or exceed 9J inches. W. H. Ponsford, the St. Kilda player, expressed his view as follows: “I am very much in favour of the reduction of the hall to help howlers. It is too big at the present time. If the ball was smaller a bowler could get his fingers round it better, and as a result spin it more on the wicket. ‘ ‘From the point of view of fielding I do not think that the size will make any difference. The hall, even if it is made smaller, will not he like a baseball. In the baseball game the ball, when hit in the air, ‘floats’ more through space, hut a cricket ball is more rapid in its descent. “No, I don’t think it will- affect fielding, but howlers will have a fay better chance to heat the hat. The present ball you can hardly hold in your hand.” Vernon Hansford, of Melbourne: “I would like to hear more of tlie proposal, hut it seems to me, so far, to be a wise move. Bowlers need more assistance, and at the present, unless a bowler has abnormally long finders, like Don Blackie, of St. Kii’da, he cannot spin the hall much on the wicket.

“Hugh Trumble was another player gifted with longer fingers than the ordinary howler. “I take it the hall will be smaller in diameter, but remain the same weight. It is to be hoped, it will not he like a stone. If the ball is smaller the competition between howler and batsman will he keener. “Every batsman knows that under the present conditions a ball is as big as a football when he is set. Possibly the fielding will have to be more alert, hut that remains to he seen.”

H. L. Hendry, of Melbourne: “I am all in favour of the proposal. A smaller hall will mean a nig improvement to the game. Bowlers need every assistance, and a. smaller ball will help them to spin the leather to heat the hat more often. I do not think that the hall, by being smaller, will he harder to field. In fact, I think it will be easier, because if it goes into your hands it will stick there.”

Arthur Liddicut, the inter-State player, said: “I am very much against the proposal. Cricket laws have been all right in the past, and I do not think the smaller ball will do any good. In fact, the game will suffer. Bowlers can spin the ball all right now. The whole proposal is based on the idea of curtailing matches. “I contend that faster wickets are what is wanted to make the chance of the ball greater for success against the bat. The wickets are watered too much, and not given enough rolling. The use of the roller continually will accelerate the pace of the wicket, and you will find a match ending earlier.

On the first day of play in a big match the wicket is generally fast before lunch, but after two or three days it is as dead as can be. Fast wickets are wanted by all bowlers, whether they he slow, medium or fast. Leave the ball alone, hut make tho wickets fast. “There are two sides to the covering of th© wicket, but I think that covering saps the vitality and life from th© pitch.”