CRICKET.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 10 March 1923, Page 9

CRICKET.

Congratulations to G. Stewart, of Eltham, on his fine century score; in the Miatch against Kaponga last week. Centuries are not very frequent here, and the player who makes them is entitled to great credit. Stewart has been the mainstay of the Eltham team since be came here, for besides consistently making good scores he has done niucli fine bowling. He is on present form the best in South Taranaki. The play in the Excelsior v. Stratford match was very even, the visitors having a narrow win. Cole's 50 was a great effort, but he should have been taken early in his innings. Midlands romped over Manaia, though in the second innings the latter team made a game struggle, but the handicap of 80 runs on the first innings was too heavy a penalty, and despite a very fine score by McMahon they were beaten by six wickets. A record that will take some beating was put up by Patea last week, when seven of their first and best players were dismissed for one r.un. Hemingway made the run and he was out clean bowled without making any more. Their innings realised only 16 runs. . . The Manaia Convent y. Okaiawa match was remarkable for its small scores. The totals were 26 and 61 against Convent's. Eight of the Convent wickets fell for no runs. ** It is noteworthy that in the M.C.C. ,y. N.S.W. match a century was scored in /each of '-/the/, former's innings. In the first /Chapman/'-.hit- brilliantly, and Calthorpe made 110 in the second. New South Wales had an impossible .taste.in the time at their disposal, and sacrificed good wickets in an .endeavour to force the pace. - .' 7__■•■;, A Star representative; had; ia.look in at the new ground now in course of making at Stratford, .arid 3was '"frankly amazed_ at* the extent; and. scope of ': the ■work ;beihg_ done. The tehnis 'courts—six t irii asphalt--:-are corripleted and look very well ind.eed. This remark applies aiso/to the bowling green. In regard to the cricket and} we assume, football I area, an immense amount of work has been done,. and much remains to be ! completed. /To take out the spoil from I so large an area and make and turf a I sloping bank all round about twenty j ieet highj is a contract which in itself i might test the optimism and deterinina- j tion of the strongest committee or local. "body. But when in addition to that all the centre has to be levelled piece by piece and the top soil, to be replaced after being taken away and stored, the: magnitude of the task-can be imagined.; Yet this is well: on the; way towards i completion. When it is finished and the/ /wickets laid down in imported clay, as is the intention of the promoters, Stratford will/have a ground, handy to the t6wn—-it is only a minute or two from the centre—which will compare inpre than favourably with any town much, beyprid it in size. 77:-: V Hawera cricketers should make- a point when 'in Stratford of seeing the preparations being made and the work to be completed. Then the work of getting special clay with Avhich to lay down wickets will seem a very small item. This/is all that is required to give Hawera a most excellent cricket ground.; - 7 1 Where so much of a'depreciatory nature has been said this season of the fielding of/the New Zealaridcricketers, it is pleasant to reprint a generous tribute, to the Wellington players by a Dunedin paper after .the Plunket Shield match. The critic says: A very brief seriteh.ee describes the Wellirigton fielding. It was superb. 3 The fielding area is one of /'the; best; tor ground work, arid this 3no doubt; riiateiially assisted the Wellington nieri )in demonstratirig what can/be done;by a team of highclass fieldsmen. yy Not - : a serious flaw could 7be7;chajrged /.against 7'the - side thibughbut/ a long j'dayy arid the/display. was appreeiatea. by the; onlookers, a, The work of^vDeiripsterTahd Hiddlestbh was quite a f eathf c}/e } / arid i nothing better -has I>een yntnessed; on/Caiisbrook th^^ear7 ■fiiddlestbn 'sv work/: in f*Dartii6.uiar^ r , i 'edm i e' as/ a surprise/ after /''.the"-'' ci'iticishi: levelled against 3Mrii*;; by 'Wellington; scribes: 70n his display I should srif* that-the: eriticisni to which he has been, subjected in tlj.JKnorth was quite uncalled ipr.-'Shepherd had toretire, owing to leg tro^ the Otago skipper paid- Hiddleston the ■ honour of requestirig that he take Shepherd's place, When he again did fine, work for his old ■ province. •',.;-' ;; :It vis reriiarkable ;to see l.the success secured by Mailey, the N.S.W, googly bowler,- in the Sheffield Shield matches. Out of seventy wickets taken he got thirty, while the only other to; get into double figures was Scott with ten. The other two States' bowlers-were much more evenly divided. Mailey had five not Out innings and thereby got an average of 62. Kippax secured the 3 : wonderful/average of 98 for five completed innings, and; Woodfull the great average of 85 fo^ "eight innings (two ■ not3out). 37- ■•■ '7-- '-/r;-'/-'-' . W.S. Brice, about whom there was so much controversy in connection vnth the third Test match,7was/ the only «entury scorer in Wellington last Saturday. This .'fact,--'coupled/with his performance of being; the/; 'only doublecentury • scorer this "season; would indicate' that he is amongst the first flight of batsuheh in. Wellington. But, strange to relate, he is rarely considered | as a batsmeri by the enthusiast; yet he will probably top the averages: in Welling- ; ton.'; And it:is 21 years ago/ since first "he- played 3 senior cricket. ■■ K. H/ Tucker, one of the selectors of the New Zealand teams, has been playing erieket longer in Wellington than any other player, this being his 2€} th season .as. a senior player. He had hard luck last- Saturday _in missing the century by/eeven runs. 7. "Mark" Gilmore's double century for Old Boys against Frankton has, a decided record flavour about it (says the.Times), centuries in a match : haye been compiled five times in New Zealand cricket. A. B.\ Williams. (Wellington), T; McFarlane (Dunedin), E. R. Neale (Nelson), and W. S. Brioe 7(Wellington) are the four; other batsmen/who have accomplished this noteworthy feat. 3 77. 7 It seems that to improve cricket in New Zealand the governing body/should not go beyond Australia, to find teams to tour (saiys the Referee). The proposition is,;much less costly, and the ultimate benefit is all the greater. 7 A -side like the one that came to the Do- . minion two years ago would fill the bill Ito a nicety, to wit, young fellows just,rising to -the top of their form, with a couple of well-known players of international reputation to help the publicity man to give the tour a boost. Alan Kippax's ■. re?ent 197 ranks twelfth on the, list of tall scores made "by New South Wales batsmen against Victoria. Murdoch's 7321 in 1882 is the highest, and HarryTMoses' 297 not out in 1888 is riext!7 The: others are «M. A7 Noble* (281 in71905);/T: Andrews ; (247 not?ont?Tin 1920)^Percy MeDori^ riell (239^ i n 1886), 7"^ict6r : Trumper <230 in ; 1901>, R/7S*iririett (216 not out in 1912)/ M; A. Nbbte7f2l37iri -1909), Austin Diamond (210 -hot but in 1907)> C. G. Macartney (201 riot but in 1913), and Syd. Gregory Y2ol7in 1908). F. Tarrant's 206 in 1908 is the highest by a Victorian v. New South Wales, and

ClemHilPs 365. not out for South Aui tralia against New South Wales is th greatest knock made in Sheffield Shiel cricket. Now comes Ponsford's 425----which tops the record for all intei State matches (Charlie Gregory held i with 383 for New South Wales again.s Queensland), arid pulls Archie Mac laren's 424, for Lancashire v. Somei set, from its pedestal. The Sydney Referee writes of th benefit match to Giffen: The Vie torians had the play to themselves oj the Saturday, and mustered up 308 fo seven wickets. Woodfu.ll played slov and somewhat uninteresting cricket fo the 123. But Ponsford created a. ver; favourable impression. One well-knowi I enthusiast, who has been following th< game for well nigh 50 years, immedi I ately picked him out as the mos' dashing and promising batsman sine* the days of Victor Trumper, which, o; course-, is putting the lad on a verj high pedestal. Still, there is no doubi he played delightful cricket for his 108, timed the balls splendidly, showed a good variety of strokes, and no end of confidence. In the report of the quarterly meeting of the N.Z. Cricket Couneifthe following extracts will be read with interest: The chairman, in outling the progress of cricket in the Dominion during the season, said that the Plunket Shield competitions had been successfully concluded, and the tour of the Marylebone cricket team had ended. In connection with the Hawke Cup contest amongst the minor associations, he stated that the trophy had remained in the hands of Wanganui throughout the season. This association had defended the Cup on five occasions, and had won all matches, thus 'establishing a record which had, so far, not been surpassed. He stated that, in this connection, the Management Committee! had the power to. allow Wanganui to refuse the acceptance of further challenges for this trophy, and at the request o£ the Wanganui Association, -which had pointed Out that the Hawke Cup matches throughout the season, had considerably hampered its club play, the committee had decided to/use its authority .in thisdirection. One other match for the Cup might however, be played at Easter. . Jie thought it would be advisable to send Home a team of young players who would be certain to greatly benefit as a result of the tour, and would return* to the Dominion, where they would be or material assistance in raising the standard of the game here. The main question .with regard t6 the sending ±lome; of this team was finance, but he had the word of several cricket enthusiasts that little difficulty would be experienced in this direction. The Feilding Sub-Association had requested the council that it be associated as a minor association. This brought up the .' question of the growing number of minor associations, and, although he did not think it possible, the" minor associatons, might, in time, rule the major associations 6ri the council. The matter was brie of. policy, and was berig considered Uy the 7 Management Committee.. -The eligibility of: players to represent New • Zealand in test .-matches-.;, would .have/ to be considered In England and Australia the rules regarding this were simple, and stipulated //that a player must be born in the country, or have fesided therein for four years.3 A ruling bri the subject, would have to be made in New Zealand. Speaking of the Plunket Shield games, he referred to the abandonment of the game between ./Otago and Wellington at Duriediri on account of wet weather. One association, he said, had taken umbrage at the committee's decision calling for the abandonment of the game, but he thought that the complainants— the WelliQgtbn Association—had little cause to grumble on this matter. ..'- The tour of the Marylebone team had been a; great "success, and Marylebone was to be thanked—and had- been thanked by the Management Conimittee—in sending such a fine combination to the Dominion. He fcad ho doubt that some^^ *of^he3riiehib^rS"(|f. the-te&hl would be at the head of the best cricket in Englandat a hot far distant date;* The lielatioiiship between.the Marylebone Club ahdTthe NeW Zealand; cricket au*thprities bad/been^of;Jhe;nib3t:cordial nature* sAt /the/ present/ tim*?, he gaid; it would he ihipossible to give an a'ceurate estimate of the council's finances, but,-*. with-, the good gates as a result of Me matches with Australia, he hoped -that they would be1 able to regard their '■pecuniary position without any great iqualms. With regard to the tour of the English team, the "prize of £10 10s for the best cricket ground played on by that team; during its tour of New Zealand; had been awarded to Mr A. Boss, caretaker of the Carisbrook ground, in ..'Dunedin. 7 The question of an Australian, team visiting New Zealand iv 1924 had been considered by the committee. It was essential to the furtherance of New Zealand cricket that teams frbm other countries should visit the Dominion, and this fact had been realised by the committee, but an agreement had not, up till the present, been arrived at regarding the exact date of the tour. The council could rest assured, however, that the committee would/ not bring out a team if it were to prove/ detrimental to the council's finances. An effort was being made to | mrange for the English team which was | to' visit Australia to; play several .matches in New Zealand. The Maryle|:bone Club was being approached with this object in view, and he thought, even if the Englishmen played only one Or two matches in New Zealand; it would prove of inestimable benefit to j New Zealand cricket, : He next referred j to the question of sending a New Zea- ! land: team to England in 1924. That j year was an off year as far as English [ cricket was; concerned, and no team I from outside was visiting the Mother- |' land.. . .: Writing of Clem -Hill's batting in the (Giffen benefit match, "Not Out" in the Referee says: The thought occurred right through the famous left!'bander's innings that ne dropped out of first-class cricket years arid- years too soon. He made the bowling look easy, and there r is not the slightest i doubt that there are hundreds and j hundreds of runs still left in him. The pity of it is that he was ever forced out of the game, in the manner so often told in the Referee. There is j--just'-ai chance that he will play against Maclaren's team when they return this .'way, but it seems to be hopeless to expect him to come right back into big cricket again. W. J. Whitty hit merrily for 43 towards the end of the innings, but outeide of Vie. Richardson and /Clem Hill the South Australian batting was very weak.