CRICKET IN THE ISLANDS

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 20 February 1932, Page 10

CRICKET IN THE ISLANDS

POPULARITY WITH NATIVES PLENTY OF FAST BOWLERS TOURING TEAMS’ VISITS. Cricket is popular with the natives of-- several groups of islands in the Pacific—especially Samoa and Fiji—and as far back as 27 years ago a Eijian team, hall composed of native, chieftains, toured New but little has been heard of the enthusiasm with which the game is played ip. parts of the “savage Solomons,’’-.. a group which, with the possible exception of New Britain and New Ireland; has been more stained with blood than, any other in the Pacific, In the Solo-, mon Islands cricket is played;, fit course, only in the areas under- mis.-, sionary influence, and especially near mission stations, but the way in which the natives take to it certainly.-, is, hopeful of the spread of cricket’s; ameliorating influence to less-civilised parts. In one. respect most of the cricket-. playing islands of the Pacific, whether, in Melanesia, or in Polynesia, are aheadof N,ew Zealand—-they' produce plenty, ojf fast bowlers. When the Fijian team of 1894-5 toured New Zealand it was. hyt troubled by fast bowling, but its’ own,- fast bowling did trouble the. other teams, and only Auckland and Canterbury &corefl ; more than 200 runs ip. an innings ’ against it, these provinces each beating the team by over ap ? innings., whei;e., as the Fijians beat Southland, Nelson, Hawke’s Bay, and. Tara-. Iraki, ..and drew with Otago and Wellington. In both of their lost matches-, the tourists were well beaten by slow bowling. - Like the Fijians, the Solomon, Islander,s haye. real; fapt- bowlers. These Melanesian players, -Vt&Jb. are dashing batsipen, even if. they are not stylishThey- have the idea —which may tiecip eupkfijs to .seme white,. players!—.-that cricket matches are ipade to be won, and that every ball should be hit for a six. They are wonderfully good fieldsmen,, too. It is not surprising, though, that Solomon Tslapders have’ been taught to, play cricket, 'for there have been some, grea-t cricket entliusiasts among ; their missionaries, anti - long ago the game was. well established ac Norfolk Island, where the Melanesian Mission had its headquarters for many years.. There, im what was. once a convict liell lpdp,’ from ■ vaoripus, islands of Melanesia, attending the mission school, learned to play the . game, and later, -when areas, around; mission stations in the Solpimm Islands- themselves became paoifipa,. and missionaries began ■to introduce the game there, many ,of the young natives were, eager to loam it. >irgL/::: ,;U

CRICK E-TINGr BISHOPS. Several - potable missionaries in. Meianpsnv have been... good crickfttei-s.: Bi slip p J, C. Pattespn, the first Bipliop Of Melanesia, .was in the Eton plfiveii in- his time, aiul was a- cricket blue, of- • Oxford University, A later Bisliop oi Melanesia, who, fiad played first-class cricket was Cecil Wilson, now Bishop 'of Bambury, Western Australia, vviip played; for'Kent, Several other members of. the nnssiop have played ip ; gpqd-ciass cricket in England or, Australia. ' ‘

Bishop Cecil Wilson used to captain the eleven, which the. members oi the mission, headquarters, at Norfolk . is-, land, had.’ There, he was a beaupiui, batsman, but a shockingly had hgids■man. One of the Norfolk-islanders who often played againsf/ the, mission team was a real, crickgterb a big fellow who enjoyed the game with zest until he was 70- years- Of age, and; whose great i delight it. was to bowl out bishopsior ducks, says; the Rqv. Fox, D. Of this cricketer Dr. Fox writes: “He bowled a slow ball' without break but-full of ■ guile from change of pace, flight, and length, and. he ‘created an atmosphere’ (half the'secret of a bowler), and. studied eyery batsman, and: tried- various schemes to . get him out> I fancy he had bowled out Bishop Pattesoh^' liei certainly Had’.- Bishop J ohn Selwvn and; Bishop Wilson for ducks. Later, the firsp game Bishop W,ood, played, in pld; Mauges bowled him for a duck. His ■ last victim was Bishop Steward. By this time,Manges was nearly blind and could- hardly see the batsman’s wicket, but he. sent dpum a straight one and got,the bishop 1 first balk ' He h'bd also bowled the Bishop of. Tasmania., (om a. visit), for a duckSo- he -realised his. amhition, ; and, still, lives to dream happily of-, bishops and ducks.”'. : , . • The, of- Tasmania who is, mentioned; would .bp-. Bishop ,H. H. gomery, one-time captain, of the Harrow Eleven, whose all-too-brief writings on. the game are well known t-o collectors- of cricketana. However, 'we are getting away fronr-' cricket in the Solomon Islands. A) note which, appeared in, “The Cricket-) er’ some, months, ago has led, Dr, box) to write' an interesting and; amusing letter which the editor- of that journal lias published in the “Cricketer Animal, 1931-32.” Dr. Fox, who if,I known- to maiiv. New,. Zealanders, and, wlio- also has won international lame among anthropologists by his very sound 7 and 'penetrating anthropological I work; ip,- the. Solomon . Islands is now, headmaster of the mission school <■ Rawa, on the island of Ugi. He is a very enthusiastic cricketer, and has been plaving and loving the. game in Norfolk ‘island and. m the Solomon. Islands'for 30 years. There are about--120 natives in his school. And now let Dr. Fox take, up the story lnniself glorious FINISHES.

“The boys are immensely keen, on house,, matches —there are five houses in the. school. These matches are limited to two hours and a half; into which we have to get two innings a side- We just !do it, making from

250, tQ.. 300/runs in the time. - Thjs ; is : because all Melanesians think every ball should be hit for six, and if they can’t do it they try to. (I am myself a miserable stonewaller, an object of universal detestation, but what would .not I give to hit sixes!). We- have the most glorious finishes, closing with the utmost daring to, get a win, and abhorring draws. in the final last year the Gave (Crab) House players 'had' to get 108 in 21 minutes, They just did it! ../ “They all take guard most carefully, but purely as. ritual;, they then, stand ■a bit to leg and. prepare, to hit. If anyone gets a nasty knock from -a. haivd hit the ball; is brought; and rubbed: on :t4#> spiie • spot,, and all .is. well. They, are. good; bowlers and grand fieldsmen, A, possible catch is, hardly, ever- miss-. ed, close in, on a high one. in the -opt,fipld, and the picking-up and throw-ing-in is magnificent—better than, any I saw,- in New. Zealand last year on holiday, though, it sounds.-absurcl?’-By the, way, Dr. Fqx’s reference to ; the bail’s being rubbed on ’ thft sore .spot. when. a, player, lias., spfferpd: a knock from, it is rather interesting to ah.iaropolpgists, If ■suggests’ that" their mission training has. not yet' eliminated frorp the minds- of these, young natives their belief in what is, some, times called homoeopathic magic. It may be that they think thp. lift)© devil in the ball which hurt them returns to. the ball when it is rubbed on the sore spot!:' Dr. Pox tells, some good stories ■about cricket in the Solomon* Islands, On one occasion the ball landed; from a- hit; in t-he. top of a sago palm tree which grew within the boundary. The tree was too.: smooth to be climbed. The sago palm is a- soft tree, though, land- easily cut down. While the batsmen were, running, a fieldsman dashed for a shed to. get an axe, and the tree was cut down, and; the ball, was thrown, in to the wicketkeeper, before the batsmen had run six.*

04;ER, 50 RUNS FROM ONE HIT.

Jg[er.e ip the. sjory’. of- bevy pT -i-uns; were." scored from one, hifr m a,. match- .. xf„ He_u.ru, on the island of San, CVijil toval, where Dr. Fox was stationed for some years,. “1 was upipire,’’ he .writes, ‘.‘We; were- playing on a sandy piateau. 20, feet above the.’beach, with no boundaries*' it was a fine fiit to leg out to sea. The weather had been terrible, and there was a, tremendous sjirf tumbling in. They wanted, to-, calf it a lost ball—the cowards —but 1 could see it, .a- nice new., red. ball, bobbing ..o-out on the'w ; aves, and I said: ‘Certainly' not; run it out.” “Square-leg was a stumpy little chap and they told him to go in; but he looked at the surf thoughtfully. The team, had to, throw him in . several times before, he, went out-—he kept-get-ting washed back. 1 was wondering what to do about it. It was 2 o’clock and we were to draw stumps at sunset;. bub I am ap ignorant umpire and 1 could not remember any 7 , cases, of s.tqmps. in the middle of; a, hit, I? can declare it a:, lost hall ! Even &o. hpw many runs are scored for a ball lost after .600 runs have. been run for a hit ? Howevpr, it . was all right ; they, did; get him out, and he swam to .the ball. : Rut it. toofr ft, long time, to throw it in. You know how it- is when you are fielding in. a. very - heavy ■sea, and- how hard- it is to. throw' far!; The batsmen should have got more than 53, but they were very 7 exhausted.” .

Another bright, lit,tip, story, that Dr,.. Fox tells ;is of a. match iff. which, Bishop F. M. Molyneux played for, the mps-. kion. steamer Southern Cross against the Pa wa. team. All the members of. ’the steamer’s eleven were whites; In that match Bishop Molvneux made top score, for the, Southern. Cross.; buk he .made, only one yuh, and. that ,by copr r tesy !' “John.'Tapani, our demon tek CE” says. Bt-, Epx, “bad: just, bowled the captaip, of, t-he .ship) ifijddle. stump... He felt 'lie mustn’t bowl the bishop with the next one; so he sent down a short, slow ball, which the bishop hit for a single. I said, ‘Tut! Tut! John!’ and he showed no more misplaced pity.” ■ ‘ •