CRICKET

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 3 December 1927, Page 10

CRICKET

IN N.Z. AND AT HOME. POSITION IN LOCAL COMPETITION. Okaiawa are still in the lead, and have, a comfortable position, with what should, be a fairly easy match to-day. On the following Saturday they meet Midland at Ha worn, and the result should be a most interesting match. The position oi championsmp points is: Okinawa 16, Midland. 14, jvaponga 11, School 9, Old Boys 8 (one match to come), Stratford 6, Hlthaih and Excelsior 5, Manaia 4, Eatea 1 (one match to come). The difficulties experienced by the country clubs in regard to practice are very great. An instance oi this is the Okaiawa Club, only three of whose members live in the township. Several come four and some six miles to get practice. The matter of balls in the over is being treated differently in various districts. They are not all coming back to the six ball over, as resolved upon by the New Zealand Council. So far only a few are doing so, and one of these is Manaw r atu. There a meeting was of the opinion that the alteration would be to the benefit of both batsmen and bowlers, and on the motion of Mr. Donaldson it was decided at once to revert to the six-ball over. The cricket conference came_ to an important decision when it decided in favour of the six-ball over (says a southern critic). There was no controversy over the matter, and the discussion was very brief. The eight-ball ove was introduced with the object of j brightening cricket, but the development- of bowlers is a more prominent factor, and in the existing circumstances no fault can be found with the change. Mr. D. Reese put the position concisely when he said that all the honours were going to batsmen in these days, and something should be done for the bowlers. The New Zealand team was unanimously in favour of six balls to the over.

Herbert Strndwick, England’s wicketkeeper, is retiring after over 27 years of active play, and is to become scorer for Surrey. He first appeared in the Surrey County XI. in 1900, and has been the regular wicketkeeper of the team since 1903. He visited Australia in 1903, 1911, 1921, and 1924, and South Africa in 1909 and 1913. He represented England against the Australians in the Old Country in 1921 at Nottingham and Lord’s, and last year in the whole five tests. As a wicketkeeper he is remarkable for his agility, having brought off many catches after running yards from the wicket. Strudwick is now 47 years old.

UMPIRES. As there is always a trouble in seeming capable umpires and decisions are sometimes open to question, any inioimation on tne duties oi umpires will no.- doubt be of-value to local umciais in that most important position. Two interesting points nave been discussed lately m regard to umpire's decisions. In one ease the bowler going outside the “popping crease'’ to deliver the ball was no-balled and quite rightly, for that is the object qr the lines made from" the wicket. Talking "of this recalled the incident of a bowler knocking the bails off with his foot -when delivering the ball. It caused much discussion some years ago in Wellington, when a well-known umpire gave his decision “not a no-ball” and this is now generally recognised. Canon Robert Owen, an old-time Yorkshire pi ay or (he was born in 1823 and died in 1904) used to tell a story of a village umpire he once met. “He had given" some, startling decisions,” said the (Janon, “and alter the match 1 asked him his opinion as to the duties of an umpire. ‘Well, sir,’ he replied, ‘I understand that when a property is to be disposed of each side appoints an umpire, who does his best for his own side. So it is with cricket.' ”

A player might be forgiven for speaking in unnattering terms of such an umpire as this, but it cannot be cfih'arged against any of the gentlemen ■who, at some saerilice to themselves, officiate locally from, time to time, that they do anything but what they consider fair and just, it is true they sometimes make mistakes—who does not?—but they do their best, and it would be in the interests of all concerned who are dissatisfied with a decision would say nothing about it. That is cricket. , lively now and again the prescribed signals are published, but they are far from being universally employed. However, here they are again, and it is to be hoped that some notice will be taken of them : .Boundaries shall be signalled by waving the hand from-side to side. Sixes by raising both hands above the head. Byes by raising the open hand above the -head. Leg-byes by raising the leg and touching it with the hand. VVides by extending both arms horizontally. No-halls by extending one arm horizontal ly. _ The decision “Out’’ by raising the index’finger above the head. . “One short" by bending the arm upwards and by touching the top of the nearest shoulder with* the tips ol the fingers of one hand. There .isi no necessity to call.out “hit!” If ‘“bye" or “leg-bye" i 3 not signalled, the scorer knows that the run goes to the batsman. IN honour of cricket. A dinner given recently by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House to over 200 guests y/as “in honour of cricket.’ ’ It was an exceptionally delightful gathering, says the London “Times.” . Canon Besley, the Lord Chaplain, said grace after dinner in these words:—• For good- fare, for good fellowship, for good team work, and for all that cricket has done to teach the world to play the game, give thanks to God. Before the speeches the Lord Mayor passed round two historic bats. One was that with which Ilobbs completed his I27th century,- thus beating the “record” previously held by Dr. W. G. Grace. The other bat bore the signatures of many cricketers who had made “records” in cricket. Then the Lord Mayor made a little speech in which he- quoted the motto of a famous club:

—“Keep your promise, keep your temper, and keep your wicket up.” USING THEIR BRAUNS. The umpires iu England were magnificent, said Blunt at a reception last week. They gave the team a tremend\ous amount of assistance. At the end ■of the tour the New Zealanders were not such a bad fielding side as they were said to be. Any touring side needed an off-break bowler. The tourists did not have one and in that lay a great Weakness at the start. But Rage, who had “lived” cricket all his life, found out the best way to bowl an olf-break and practised. In one match he had sent down 39 overs, 19 of which were maidens, for 57 runs and four wickets. “In England,” said Mr Blunt, “they use their brains and we don’t.” He described one incident when Macaulay was bowling to Mills. Macaulay placed a man rather forward of a square leg and then sene down an over every ball of which was pitched to the off. Then in the next over, when Mills had forgotten all about the change in the fieid, Macaulay sent down a ball slightly to leg, and Mills fell into the trap and was caught out. There was something homely about the way the Englishmen played. One occasion they had had afternoon tea on the ground. “I can see,” said Mr Blunt, “that cricket is in the air now. There seems to be an atmosphere of cricket that there has never been before.” He hoped that the public would not let the game slide back. Each of the provinces had its professional, and the English professionals, by the way, were the best people the team had come across. “We are going to help as much as we can,” he concluded. L B. W. A correspondent writes as follows to the “New Zealand Herald” :—“ln connection with the return to Auckland of Mr. G. C. Dacrc, you give Mr Dacro credit of saying: ‘There arc no lbw decision given to bowlers in England who bowl round the wicket—breaking back—and because of this batsmen can play with much more confidence. If Mr Dacre be correctly reported then English umpires are ignoring law 24. I have not heard of any alteration in Law 24, and if there be no change it is surprising the M.C. C. authorities have taken no steps to rectify a procedure at variance with an important law.” Rule 24 reads as follows: —“If with any part of his person a. batsman stops the ball, which in the opinion of the umpire at the howler’s wicket shall have been pitched in a straight line from it to the striker’s wicket, and would have hit it —‘Leg before wicket.’ ”