MID-WEEK CRICKET

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 9, 8 December 1932, Page 12

MID-WEEK CRICKET

THREE MATCHES PLAYED

Three matches were played in the mid-week cricket series yesterday afternoon, at the Sportsground, when good conditions prevailed. The winners were Unemployed li and Combined Services A, P.D.C. and Optimists playing a drawn game. P.D.C. v. OPTIMISTS. The scoring was high in this match, P.D.C. declaring whon they had lost four wickets for 237 runs, Optimists hud two down for 173 when stumps were drawn. It was the batsmen’s day and the fieldsmen were kept busy, oockery made 104 and Somerville 94, which included 17 fours and one six. The detailed scores are as follow: P.D.C. Cockery. c Hickin, b Somerville 104 Hooker,' c Thompson, b Somerville 57 Brace, not out 52 Olliver, not out 5 Gilmour, run out ... 3 Rodgers, 1.b.w., b Hickin 11 Extras 5 Total for 4 wickets 237 Bowling analysis. —Somerville, 2 for 74; Hickin, 1 for 16. OPTIMISTS. Somerville, c Oliver, b Rodgers 94 McGregor, c Hooper, b Rodgers 1 Edlen, not out 58 Thompson, not out 7 Extras 13 Total for 2 wickets 173 Bowling analysis.—Rodgers, 2 for 41; Cockery, none for 34; Oliver, none for 15; Brace, none for 36; Blummont, none for 14; McGregor, none for 1; Allen, none for 7; Harris, none for 9. UNEMPLOYED B BEAT SERVICES.

The Unemployed Sports Club’s B team beat Combined Services B by 18 runs on the first innings in a hard game in which the scoring was very fair. Services were the second team to go to the wicket, but failed to make the necessary runs, the tailenders failing to score. The details aro as follow: UNEMPLOYED B. I/eng, b Dawick ... 21 Barrett, c Tilson, b Andrews ... 6 Attwood, c Harris, b Andrews ... 7 Mortensen, b Andrews 6 Cowles, b Andrews 48

Richardson, b Andrews ... ... 40 Graham, c Andrews, b O’Neil ... 16 Worsfold, c and b Dawick ... 4 Cooksley, c Stewart, b Dawick ... 4 Woulds, b Anderson 0 Ford, not out 0 Extras 28 Total 180 Bowling analysis.—Andrews, 6 for 4; Dawick, 3 for 29; White, none for 20; O’Neil, none for 29; Harris, none for 12; "Woodley, none for 21.

COMBINED SERVICES B. O’Neil, b Leng 15 Andrews, b Cowles 38 Tilson, 1.b.w., b Attwood ... 19 Dawick, b Attwood 52 White, c Attwood, b Leng ... 13 Ivempson, c Richardson, b Att- . wood 0 Woodley, b Attwood .. 7 Harris, b Leng 21 Guthrie, b Richardson 0 Harvey, not out 0 Extras 3 Total 168 Bowling analysis.—Atwood, 5 for 31; Leng, 3 for 31; Richardson, 1 for 20; Cowles, 1 for 31. SERVICES A BEAT UNEMPLOYED A. Combined Services’ A team beat Unemployed A by one wicket and 16 runs, being in a strong position when stumps were drawn. Both teams showed that they possessed a mixture of batsmen, but Services used the willow to more advantage. The dotaile.d scores are as follow:

UNEAIPLOYED A. Mayo, c Hart, b Quigan 4 Long, b Quigan ” Bowles, c Blair, b McGavin 40 Hancock, c Heapliy, b Childs ... 0 Ormond, c Hart, b Quigan 0 Weston, run out 42 Bailey, b Quigan 15 Webby, c Hart, b Childs * 2 Alunro, run out 4 Day, b Quigan 8 Field, not out f Extras ••• "1 Total ... , 147 Bowling analysis.—Quigan 5 for 32, Childs 2 for 24, AlcGavin 1 for 19, Blair 0 for 13, Heaphy 0 fpr 31.

COAIBINED SERVICES A. Childs, b Ormond 39 Hart, run out 24 Heaphy, c Ormond, b Hancock ... 22 Pledger, b Ormond 9 Blair, low, b Hancock 1 Wilde, b Ormond 0 McGavin, not out ... 40 Green, b Ormond 0 Forde, b Ormond 0 Quigan, b Hancock 2 Angus, not out 16 Extras 10

Total for 9 wickets 163 Bowling analysis.—Ormond 5 for 72, Hancock 3 for 41, Weston 0 lor 32.

The match was concluded at Oamaru yesterday between North Otago and the Hawke’s Bay touring team, North Otago winning by an innings and two runs. Hawke's Bay made 202 and 112 and North Otago 316 (Zimmerman, not out, 145).

PERSONALITIES IN THE GAAIE

CULLED FROM ALL SOURCES

(By “Slip.”) . Australia mourns, England is jubilant, tho “Kangaroo” has failed. However, there may still be a silver lining to the cloud. Coming ns they did straight from a a season of serious cricket, the Englishmen have held a commanding advantage in the early matches. The later Tests should find matters better balanced.

Roger Blunt may bo given a chance to have a cricket tour in North America next year. Sir Julien Cahn, who has found Blunt a job in Nottingham, intends to. take a cricket team to Canada and New York in August, 1933. Over the fence is out! A batsman in a first-grade cricket match in Sydney, a few days ago, hit a ball over a fence at square-leg. But lie was out! In making tho stroke he trod on liis wicket.

C. O. Dacre, who is to return to England at tli© end of the . New Zealand summer, to resume his engagement with Gloucestershire, scored 1214 runs in first-class cricket in England last

season, at an average of 29.60. Ho had 46 innings, and was not out five times, and his 1 highest scoro was 111 not out. In all Tests, including those against South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand the Australian wicket-keeper Oldfield has caught 54 and stumped 35 batsmen, and has, besides, when the call has sounded, made runs at the pinch. A. F. Wensley, the Sussex cricketer, who was for some time following E. H. Bowlcy, coach to the Auckland Cricket Association, has gone to India to take up a coaching engagement with the Calcutta Rangers Club. F. R. Brown,the “baby” of the English cricket team, is similar in build to A. P. F. Chapman. This 21-year-old player is 6ft tall and weighs nearly 15st. Ho is a red-haired lad.

Although he is now unable, because of a strained heart, to play cricket, and has becomo an umpire for firstclass county games in England, J. A. Newman, former Hampshire player, and coach to the Canterbury Cricket Association for three seasons, has taken up coaching duties in South Africa again, for the summer there. Maurice Tate has played, for England in 37 cricket Tests—2o against Australia, 13 against South Africa, three against Wost Indies, and one against New Zealand. In all these games he has taken 151 wickets at a cost of 25.94 runs each. Of these wickets, 83 were of Australian batsmen, at an average cost of 30.55. Fifteen of them were taken in the Tests in England in 1930, at 38.26 runs each. A distinct acquisition to the cricketing strength of Wellington is C. F. W. Allcott, the Auckland all-rounder, who has captained tho northern eleven for some seasons past. Allcott was a member of tho New Zealand team which toured Australia in the 1925-26 season, and made the pilgrimages to England in 1927 and 1931. What is believed to be tho first instance in first-class cricket of a bowler obtaining a hat-trick of leg-bcfore-wjeket dismissal occurred in the match between Yorkshire and Somerset. H. Fisher, tho Yorkshire ‘ left-hand slow bowler, promoted from tho county’s second eleven this year, was the bowler. There is on rooord an instance of a hat-trick of stumpings in first-class cricket, as long ago as 1893, and then, curious enough, three Somerset batsmen wero the victims; the howler was O. L. Townsend, the Gloucestershire amateur slow bowler.

The benefit match which was given this year to Frank Watson, tho Lancashire cricket professional who was very seriously ill with ponumonia last year, was ruined by rain. A match between a Lancashire County team and a team of professionals from the Lancashire League, with an amateur as captain, was arranged as a further benefit for Watson. The weather for the first day of this 1 game was ideal, but on the second day rain limited play to an hour and fivo minutes, and on the third day no play was possible, becauso of more rain. The gross receipts for tho three days amounted to only £145. An incident such as had not happened before in first-class cricket for close on 50 years happened in the recent match between Gloucestershire and Sussex. T. W. Goddard, the Gloucestershire professional, fielding at midoff, stopped with his cap a ball hit by A. Melville. The umpire at the bowlers’ wicket thereupon put Law 41 into force, and five runs wero added to Melville’s score. It is stated that Goddard was holding his cap in ono hand and mopping his brow with his other hand, and when tho ball was hit to him lie acted unthinkingly in stopping it with his cap. Melvillo had made one run from the stroke, and the decision to give him another four runs was announced in the luncheon interval. Tho 1932 season of first-class cricket in England was the most' successful for M. S. Nichols that this Essex allrounder, who toured New Zealand with Harold Gilligan’s M.C.C. team, has enjoyed yet. In it he scored 1430 runs, at an average of . 31.77, with his lefthand batting, and with his right-hand fast-medium bowling ho took 115 wickets at 24.92 runs each. Once before did Nichols get the cricketer’s double ; in the 1929 season ho scored 1301 runs at an average of 28.91 and took 104 wickets at 25.59. Five times altogether he has taken over 100 wickets in a season ; last year, though, ho missed that distinction by three wickets.

Alanv of the countless admirers of Jack Hobbs consider that tho great batsman is still good enough to play for England, and there are even some who suggest that ho may be called upon to play in the Tests in Australia. But Hobbs himself is firmly convinced that lie is past Test cricket, and that even in county cricket he cannot hold his place much longer. He was questioned on the subject when ho arrived in Perth with the English team, whom lie is accompanying as a special correspondent for an English paper. “People arc good enough to say I am batting as well as ever,” ho said, “but I know better. I may appear to outsiders to make occasional good scores, but I can’t bat with anything like the old certainty. I have to play the safe game now, and while I can still make some of the strokes, others which I used to make confidently are now shut off entirely. It is all the result of years, with consequent diminution in the keenness of the eyes and less flexibility of the muscles. Cricketers .reaching my age must realise that their powers are not wiiat they were, and I certainly realist it.” Hobbs has no fixed ideas about retiring from the game, but says he probably will not play much longer. He is even doubtful about next season.