CRICKET.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 19 October 1914, Page 8

CRICKET.

OPENING THE SEASON

So far as this district is -concerned, Wednesday will open the season. There will be a. match- between learns to be selected by the committee. They hope that there will be a good muster to give the season a hearty welcome. The ground is looking well,' and is in better, condition than at this vtime last year. A great effort will be made to get enough funds to put on more work than there was last: season, and so improve the outfield. That has always been the weakness. It would t>6 a great advantage to fieldsmen to be able to go down confidently to a fast ball, and would also incidentally effect a, great improvement in the play, especially in that part of the game in which all can, with practice, excel. Fielding is one of the most interesting phases of cricket, and one of the most important. Part of the time at practice could with great advantage be always spent with an extra ball being thrown about among the players. Part could also be used in practising returns to the. wicket. How often this art is of the poorest quality is known tq his post by anyone who has the part 0? keeper to fill. G. A. Faulkner, the great South African and English crack, Says of tllG slovenly, careless fieldsman: "How often en© hears the remark bemoaning jfcfce-'f figging' that" has to b^ <W-iii the field! Very few players really derive much pleasure from fielding; in fact, when once their turn at bowling or batting (as the,case may be) is over, the game to most* participants loses all interest. How chill a view to take!. Provided the ground is a good one and turf well tended, what could be more delightful than employing every effort to prevent a good player from scoring? Even in Australia, when we South Africans often had what some cricketers would term the 'mortification' of having to field for a, day and a half, I must candidly admiti that very few days seemed too long. Perhaps lam keener than most players, or perhaps I have grown wise enough to turn a so-called .'hardship' into a pleasure. Which is it? How often.it has been my inclination, when watching some game, to pounce on some slacker in the field! Nothing aggravates me more than to wutness indifference; —which in. many cases is nothing jnore or less than downright laziness. This latter fault should be regarded as a crime, in my opinion,' and dealt with accordingly. Nothing should be treated so drastically." Most of the great batsmen and bowlers are also magnificent in the field, and often save by their smart work as many runs as they make. The Herald says of North Taranaki prospects: Nothing definite has yet been decided about the number "of teams entering for the Thursday competition, but-as Tikorangi, Ingle wood, Phoenix, and High School have all deeded to compete, there is at least the knowledge that Thursday cricket will this year be a reality. There is also a possibility that Waitara, New Plymouth, and a local office might enter fearns.