CRICKET

Hawera Star, Volume L, 10 January 1931, Page 10

CRICKET

DOMINION JOTTINGS,

PLAY IN TARANAKI

Though there has been a holiday interval in the championship compete tion, arranged because of the itumbe - * of players who arc away on leave, there has been no lack of interest m cricket locally and there has been a series of keen contests played at tlie p a The outstanding features of the holiday season were the matches for the Hawke Cup, played at Xew Plymouth and at .'Hamilton. In the former, against Wanganui, Taranaki scored a well-deserved win, but in the latter, against Waikato, certainly with a team that was not the strongest, a great opportunity was thrown away by the failure of the “tail” to wag in either innings and specially in the second, when the play was strongly in favour of Taranaki.

Another very interesting feature was the visit of the touring Victoria College team on a tour of the southern portion of the island. The Victoria College eleven are a fine sporting body of players, full of a spirit of camaraderie, tempered by the sporting holiday feeling, a band of young fellows whom it is a joy to meet and. also to encounter on the 'field They play really excellent cricket and were much too good for the teams brought against them by South and North Taranaki. The impression. left of their play was that they would have beaten the best Taranaki team.

Tindill, the wicket keeper, is a very capable man in the position and he is said to be the understudy for James, who is acknowledged as the best in New Zealand. This demonstrates his quality. Leys and iGreig are two fine bowlers and there are several very sound batsmen in the team.

Their fielding was excellent and their slip formation a picture when the fast bowler was in action. With wicket keeper at short stop, there was a fan across to square point consisting of six men with a deep slip fairly wide to cover up boundaries for the batsman who managed to get a ball through the net. The other three were at short leg, mid-on and- a close long-off.

NOTE'S,

The district fixtures were set down to be resumed to-day at Hawera, Patea, and Okaiawa. On the first round Stratford had a decidedly good lead, which will tax the energies of the other leading teams to overtake. Stratford has lost one or two good players and will be without the services of Wilson for January, but they shaped so well against Okaiawa that their chances against the other teams are very good.

The list will be the same as in the first, round except that the locale of play is reversed. Wanganui and Hawke’s Bay in 40 years have met only twice, so says a Napier scribe, in 1890, when in the latter team were Arthur Gore, J. Taiaroa, Wolstenholme, and Hallamore and in 1902', when there were playing for the Bay, 11. E. Crosse, F. Fryer, ilindmarsh and Spackman. This fact is remarkable and to be regretted when the provinces aie so close and the hope is expressed that the fixture will become an annual event.

Much regret will be felt that the Australian Board of Control has seen fit to disapprove of the visit of a team to New Zealand. The experience would have been invaluable to New Zealanders selected to go to England and a line thing for cricket in general, be. sines serving further to bind closer the tics already existing between the two Dominions. It will be a distinct disappointment to all enthusiasts in the Dominion.

PL UN NET SHIELD.

•Most of our Governors in the past have taken a keen and close interest in the sports of the people, but there •are two whose names stand out clearly, Lon! Plunket in cricket and Lord RanJ'urly in football. Each of them gave a shield, possession of which has come to mark the blue riband of the game and has been the motif of many a keen contest.

Of the annual matches between the major associations, two series have been played and the winners in the first have met, In the first Canterbury boat Auckland in an Homeric finale that redounded to the credit of the winners, for to make nearly 500' runs in a fourth innings is a feat worthy of the best traditions of the province and of the great game. In the other Wellington completely outplayed Otago. When Canterbury and Wellington met, the odds were, if anything, on the latter and this was increased by the partial collapse of the winners in the first innings. Then, however, they again came to light, with a wonderful score of over 500, leaving Wellington .149 to get to win and, despite a good opening by MeCfirr and Company, the tail failed completely and Canterbury won handsomely, another great recovery.

That leaves Canterbury to plav Otago and Wellington to play Auckland. The chance of Otago winning is very small indeed, while it is just on the cards that Auckland may beat Wei. lington. Canterbury’s position looks pi etty certain, but there is always that “glorious uncertainty” in cricket which is one of its charms, so that one never counts on a result until “the numbers go up.” Should the unexpected happen, the trophy will be decided on points.

NEW ZEALAND TEAM,

The team for England will be selected mainly on the form shown in the Plunket Shield matches, the four selectors, Messrs Brice (Wellington), .Sneddon (Auckland), Williams (Otago), and Whitta (Canterbury), having been present and seen all the players perform. They expect to announce the team just before the end of the month.

The general opinion is that Lowry, MeGirr, Dempster, James, J. Newman, Blundell (Wellington), Allcott, Mills, Weir, Vivian (Auckland), Page, Merritt, Roberts (Canterbury), Blunt and Dickinson (Otago) are the likeliest to go on the tour. There is one point, however, which is said to be a sine qua non and that is every player selected must be expert in the field. That, on such a tour and against such teams as they will meet, will be absolutely essential.

THE SOUTH AFRICANS,

There have been many fine players in all departments of the game amongst the South Africans who have gone abroad to meet England and Australia in Test matches. One thinks first of all of that “prince of them all,” the late iG. A. Faulkner, and of the others who played with him and especially of the able exponents of the “googly” who stalled the teams they met on their first appearance. Then there are the leading men in the present team which has put up records and performed feats that will stand for a long time. And their performances are the better realised when it is recalled that the English team is almost an all-England eleven and that nearly all played in one or more Tests in England last season. All honour to the men from Africa who have beaten this team and in doing so made two specially great records, that of 080 for a first wicket and that of 513' for eight wickets declared. They then went on to dismiss the half of the team very cheaply, after a grim stubborn stand was made by Wyatt, 'Hammond, and Lcyland and a vigorous innings by Hendrcn. The English team will be in trouble for the rest of the tour and will sadly miss the services of Sandham, opening batsman, and Duckworth, the cham- . pion ’keeper. The result of the remaining tests will be awaited with very close interest.

Their success, too, will lend much interest to the tour of Australia next year.

NEED OF A LENGTH,

One cannot but feel very much dis. appointed to see the young Taranaki bowlers in action and to realise how few seem to have any idea of the need of a length, the foundation of all successful bowling. That is above all the one thing needful and without which, against average batsmen, bowlers cannot hope to secure much success. It is very disappointing to see the young bowlers throwing down balls of which but few have any pretensions to a correct. length. 'Some of them have pace, most of them can turn the ball one way or the other or perhaps both, but if they would only realise that their effectiveness would be increased a hundred per cent, by the addition of length -they would perhaps set themselves to master the foundation of the art, at the nets or at any oilier time. One wonders if they have ever read what the world’s greatest bowlers have said or written on the subject and how they developed their talent by incessant and painstaking wor-i, until they could at will pitch a ball practically always on the proverbial “half crown.’’ It was hard work and perseverance which put the great bowlers in their position of eminence, helped of course, by a natural ability. This perfect command of length made them able to practise the wiles which have served to trap many of their victims, variations of pitch, length, pace when the weakness of the .opponents has been discovered. It is to be hoped our young bowlers will change their tactics and practise, practise, practise until their control of the ball is developed to the height of their powers. They will find it. add tremendously to their interest, in the game and incidentally improve their bowling averages and help their teams to win matches.