lain Rains Dargaviile Shield Cricket

Northern Advocate, 13 March 1948, Page 8

lain Rains Dargaviile Shield Cricket

The Dargaviile Shield cricket match between Whangarei and Mangonui was ruined by the rain. Less than three hours’ play was possible yesterday and the steady downpour during the night and this morning precluded any cnance of further play till midway through this afternoon.

By scoring 202 for the loss of only three wickets in 175 minutes yesterday, the Whangarei team more or less assured its retention of the shield for the 1947-48 season.

After conceding the holders a good start in the morning, Mangonui resumed its challenge after two hours of rain in conditions that gave it little hope of gaining an advantage and, in the 100 minutes of play before rain and a bad light necessitated an early drawing of stumps, found itself in a most unenviable position. RUSSELL IMPRESSIVE The break of over three and a-half hours between the morning and afternoon sessions had one good effect as far as the Far Northerners were concerned. It enabled them to get rid of Weston before this batsman had settled down again, He added only one more run to his score and then went Ibw to Russell, who was the most impressive visiting bowler. Nisbet joined his club-mate Kelly after the opening stand had produced 89 runs. The pair quickly hoisted the total to 115 before Nisbet played indecisively at an off-break from S. Switzer and was bowled off his pads. MASSEY AND KELLY Massey opened his account v/ith a hook to the boundary, but then played himself in and had singles off his next 10 scoring strokes. He then livened up and displayed an excellent range of delightful scoring shots. His back-cutting and hooking were pretty to watch and his innings was the highlight of the day. Kelly was right at home and was timing his strokes, particularly on the leg side, with precision. The total was hoisted to 201 and the partnership had been worth 86 when Massey became Switzer’s second victim, out Ibw. Hook faced only two balls before play ended for the day. Kelly had reached 81 without giving a chance. The only time he looked like going was in the first 10 minutes of the match, when he should have been run out. He scored most of his runs behind square-leg, on the drive, and with punches into the covers. A remarkable feature was the fact that he did not hit one boundary. Kelly’s smartness between the wickets kept the scoring rate better than evens. GREASY BALL Considering the greasy ball and approaches, the Mangonui bowlers did well in the afternoon session. In fact, the attack then appeared more lively than in the morning. Russell came off the pitch quite fast and swung the ball occasionally. Switzer managed to spin a little from the off, and White and Harrison were reasonably accurate with their medium-pacers. The poor fielding of the challengers was obviously caused by the rough grounds on which they play in their home county. Their reluctance to get down to stop a shot and the manner in which they turned their heads as the ball was about to reach them could only be the result of a sense of danger which an uneven field would develop. Scores: WHANGAREI First Innings *•' D. Weston, Ibw, b Russell 49 A. Kelly, not out 81 R. Nisbet, b S. Switzer 9 H. B. Massey, Ibw, b S. Switzer 53 G. Hook, not out 1 Extras 10 Total (lor 3 wkts) 202

BOWLING O. M. R. W K. Russell .. 12 1 29 1 G. Dawson 16 5 40 0 S. White 6 0 17 0 S. Switzer .. 14 1 38 2 F. Panther .. G () 27 0 R. Harrison 8 0 18 0 J. McIntosh 0 23 0