Cricket.

Free Lance, Volume VI, Issue 289, 13 January 1906, Page 20

Cricket.

THE weather at the end of last week was sufficiently bad to cause a pleasant feeling to pass through the veins of local cricketers When the Orioket Association decided to. postpone all matches. The grounds were in a very bad condition through the rain that had fallen, and, although there were sign© of the weather clearing up, what play there could have been would have been anything but a pleasure .to the players. • • * The mam attraction this week isthe match between the Auckland and Wellington representatives. Play commences on the Basin. Reserve this (Friday) afternoon, at 2 o'clock, and will be continued on Saturday and Monday. Thie AucManders are making an, extended tour of the colony, and have already played! matches with. Wanganui, Otago, and Canterbury. I can safely promise followers of the game that the Auckland! match will be a better display of cricket than the Canterbury one. 'That's easy)" says someone; "it couldn't be worse- !" Ihe Aucklanders, however, have a good team on tour, weak perhaps in bowling, but many of the batsmen are aggressive, and score quickly. • ♦ • I was told positively by on© who ought to know that Oonyngham would not be selected to play against Auckland. If this information was available before the team was selected, the Cricket Association should ask the Selection Committee for their reasons for excluding the Newtown player. Perhaps, they could get a meeting of delegates together to discuss these reasons when received. The non-inclusion of Conyngham in the Wellington team to play against Canterbury brings to mind' the case of a Dunedin player who was left out of the New Zealand team that toured Australia- In this instance, the sole selector received instructions to omit the player in question, but he declined to do bo until he received! definite reasons for such an action. In the present case, the boot seems to be on the other foot. Some of the members of the Wellington team of Wednesday cricketers that played a match in th© Wairarapa in the holiday season have been complaining that no notice whatever was taken of their match in these columns. I am willing at all times to print any items of interest, but I cannot be in more than one place at one time. Therefore, in the places whiere I am not at certain times, if notes of matches are brought to me, I will give them a hearing. The Thorndion Club players that toured can accept this as meant for them as well as the Wednesday representatives. The Waiwetu cricket team went for a tour to Auckland during the holidays, and one of the party writes to me from Te Aroha on the 31st December, as follows : — "We are having a very good time, and excellent weather on our tour. Everywhere we have been the treatment we have received has left nothing to be desired, and we have a good crowd of fellows. The team consists of twelve players, as under: — T. H. Wilson, G. S., W. P-, and A. Pringle, J. Fanning, F. Mason, J. Pilcher (Waiwetu), A. C. Pearoe (Phoenix), T. Clmkard, R. C, and D. B. Niven (Wellington), and C. Matthews (Wellington College)— a very quiet and orderly lot. "We- started against North Shore on Christmas Day. It was terribly hot. Shore batted first, and put up 294 before they were dismissed. We followed and our last man lost his wicket with the last ball of the day. our tally being 275. It was a beautiful wicket, but we were unfortunate in losing three men to lFw decisions, and the match by 19 runs. "North Shore were - without their three representative men, but otherwise they had a good team. Our chief Boorers were: — Clinkaird 46 (not out), B C. Niven 42, Wilson, 46. Bowling • Matthews, four for 62; Pearce, three for 58; "D. B>- Niven, three for 82. North Shore gave us a stand-up lunch, and we enjoyed ourselves very much.

"Tuesday, the 26th (Boxing Day), we went to the Auckland Racing Club's meeting, at Ellerslie, to pick the winners, and in the evening some went to the Opera Bouse, and others to Fuller s to see the famous magicians. "On Wednesday we left by the 7.50 a.m. tram for Pukekohe, ai riving at 9.43 a.m., and 1 started our match against the Franklm Assocdation there on a concrete and matting wicket. The fielding ground was not too good, and the grass stopped the ball, so small scores were the order. "Our opponents batted first and took two hours to score 70. We made 110, and Franklin 72 for seven wickets, so we won by 40 runs on the first innings. Wilson 19, R. C. Niven 17, D. R. Nivem 16, Matthews 15, a.nd Pearce 12 wene the highest scorers for ui^. and with the ball the most successful were • Fanning, five for 21 D R. Niven, one foi 35, Matthews, three for 23, Pearce, two for 12; Pringle, three for 23. "We were given lunch and dinner, and had a select little concert in the evening. 'Daddy' Niven, with his 'Baby on the Shore' son?, being very mracb encored. "At 6 a.m. next morning we were driven out to the Ostrich Fairm, a place of 3500 acres, with over 600 birds on, it. The intricacies of breeding were explained, and the birds shown to vis. The turn-out was a four-wheeler, with three horses, and some of the roads were about one in seven. These were negotiated at a band-galilop by our driver. "We left by the 10.15 a.m. express for Hamilton, and arrived about 1 p.m., putting up at the Waikato Hotel, and started a two-days 3 match against the Waikato Association at 3 p.m. We batted first, and put up 130 runs, the length of the grass preventing the ball from travelling. "Waikato scored 1 114 runs. We batted again, and soored 99, leaving Waikato 116 to get to win. Our bowling and fielding, however, were excellent, and the match finished shortly after 6 p.m. on the second diay in a victory for us by 42 runs. "Our, chief scorers were: — First inningß: A. Pringle 29, W. Pringle 29, Fanning 17 (not out), Wilson 15: second innings: Wilson 29, Pearce 24, Fanning 16. Bowling: A. Prdngle, eight for 68 ; D. R. Niven, six for 43 ; Fanning five for 35. "A Hamilton, we were treated right royally, everything being done that was possible for our comfort — good luncheons, afternoon teas, and big dinner; on the second day, and a slashing smoke ooncert. 'Daddy' Niven and Grahiam Pringle were well to the fore at the latter and the whole team took their turn either in singing or reciting. Complimentary speeches were made, and a very pleasant evening terminated at 11 p.m. "We left Hamilton at 11.15 a.m. next morning, for Te Aroha, and had a big send-off from the people. We rest here to-day. and leave at 6.10 for Waihi, whom we play to-morrow. "On Tuesday we inspect tlhe mine, and leave for Thames that evening, playing the Thames Association on Wednesday, and the Eden Club on the Domain, Auckland, on Tbuirsday. "The people in this district would be only too pleased to get teams to travel this way, and are exceedingly hospitable, and do evervthmg they cam to make one's stay comfortable." A correspondent writes urging the claims of McDermid for the position of wicket-keeper in the Wellington representative team. While a&matting the ability of the player mentioned m that position, I would not give preference to him before A. B. Williams or C. P. Blacklock. Williams I regard as a better "keeper" than McDermid 1 , and both Blacklook and he are better batsmen tlhan the ex-Melbourne player. My correspondent suggests the foL lowing as the team to play against Auckland: — Conyngham, Bnoe, Upham, C. Hickson, Monaghan, Tucker, J. P. Blacklook, McDermid Laws, Jiedgrave, and Hutchings, with Dredge as twelfth man. • • • Mr. J. P. Shand has resigned, through business reasons, hie position on the Management Committee of the Wellington Cricket Association, and h s place has been filled by Mr. ken. White. By the way, cannot the daily papers throw a little more limelight than has been given lately on the meetings of the Cricket Assocdation? The Melbourne Cricket Club is sending a strong team to tour New Zealand, at the invitation of the Cricket Council. W. W. Armstrong, the allrounder of the Australian team, will be in thie party. The match with Wellington will be played during the second week in February. (Continued on page 21.)