Out Door Sports And Pastimes Cricket.

Free Lance, Volume VIII, Issue 400, 29 February 1908, Page 14

Out Door Sports And Pastimes

Cricket.

By Touchline

AMID conditions that were pleasing the final match foi the Senior Championship was commenced at the Basin Beserve last Saturday. A charge of sixpence was made for admission, but this did not militate against the attendance of the public, who were there in as goodly numbers as during the preceding matches of the present season. The rumour that an instruction had been issued to the Cricket Association's groundsman not to use any more water on the preparation of the match wickets was unfounded, for, barring a patch or two on which no grass was visible, the whole of the wicket was green and pleasing to the eye. • • « It was generally anticipated that the team that got first strike would be good for any number of rums, but even the most enthusiastic supporter of the Old Boys team did not anticipate that the opening batsmen on the ex- Collegians' fide would have such a merry time as they did at the expense of the Midland bowlers and fieldsmen. • # # Sid Jacobs and Ernest Beechey were the opening batsmen, Charlie Mitchell and Ernest Upham opposing them, the former with the slight northerly that was blowing to help him and the latter against it. A score was long over-due from the auburn-haired ex- Wellington College boy, he having fallen so far from grace of recent years as a batsman as to be sent in generally at the fall of either the eighth or ninth wicket. The change to the old order — viz , opening batsman — was a good move as things turned out, the tally being 54 — 1—261 — 26 as Jacobs was ruled out lbw. to a ball from Mitchell he tried to hook to leg.

Ken Tucker was Beechey 's next partner, and quickly the runs went down to the credit of the Old Boys, the score-sheet showing 223— 2— 60 as Tucker was letired. Beechey kept going in good style, his successive paitneis being Mark Lomax, Pearson Blacklock, and HtuoM Monaghan. When stumps weie drawn lor the day at twenty minutes past six, in a light that had been very poor in the last hour and a half, the total score was 345 for five wickets — Beechey 158, J. P. Blacklock 32, Tucker 60, Jacobs 26, Lomax 3, Monaghan 38 (not out) and Wills 9 (not out ) • • • I have expressed the opinion in these notes before that Ernest Mansfield Heechey was the finest left-handed batsman in Wei ington. Some people have been inclined to doubt that statement, but the ex-Wairarapa lad successfully silenced all his critics last Saturday. " The finest display of batting given in Wellington this season " was the general verdict of the many spectators at the Eeserve, and, truth to tell, it is a long while since I have seen such a finished exhibition of batting. Eight from the first ball he rpceived, which he promptly drove to the boundary behind the bowler, until he crossed his century— after two hours' batting — he never looked like getting out, and kept a perfect control of himself, but withal putting the wood on to the ball that wanted the happy despatch to the boundary or to the open field. Beechey can diive — no one has ever cared to dispute that fact — but the variety of strokes he brought into requisition last Saturday while gathering together his century and a half of runs surprised me greatly. The drives straight past the bowler, both to the off and to the on, were splendid all the time, one landing amongst the trees in the plantation at the Caledonian end, and another swinging beautifully almost to the other side of the Eeserve befoie it landed. These were not surprising strokes to come from Beechey's bat, but his bag was a big one on this occasion. The square cut just inside of point's reach, the forward cut just beyond it, and the late cut were all excellent strokes, and the swings to leg pioduced many runs. Towards the end of his long innings he got palpably tired, and the beauty of his earlier strokes were gone, the power to put the wood on having departed. • • • Congratulations to this Old Boy on his first century in senior cricket, and the highest score in his career. He has paved the way to a more than probable victory for his team, but the Midlanders are hard fighters and the subsequent happenings in the game should be well worth watching.

Beechey had all the limelight, therefore the ' greater amount of space-room is his desert, but to Ken Tucker is due a lot of the credit foi the fine stand made by the pair. It is true that he mide a couple of uppish strokes in the slips, one bouncing out of the hands of second slip, but in this instance the ball suddenly came in to him at the finish and he had to play quickly at it after having made up his mind to let it go by. But he showed a squaie face on his bat to the bowling, and, as ie was at its best when he went in, his display was all the more meritorious Tucker made some fine daisyclippers ttirough the slips, the old-time square cut foi which he has a reputation was frequent and free, but several of his hook strokes to leg went skywards. There were no fieldsmen there on those occasions, however, so the end lustified the method. • • • Sid Jacobs gave his best display of the season, reminding me of many good efforts from his bat in times that are past. He played the forward stroke in defence all the time, smothering a lot of good balls in that manner, but although he kept his end going in good style, he was at no time really convincing In his junior days his opponents were always glad to see the last of Jacobs, but he is not nearly so good a bat nowadays as he was then. Although the bowling was tired when Pearson Blacklock took centre he did not settle down. He got quickly to work, however, and during his stay forty runs were added to the scoie, thirty-two coming from Blacklock's bat. All the same, he was too eagei to get mns, and a possible chance in the slips beside the lofty catch that disposed of him proved that his timing was weak. Haiold Monaghan followed Blacklock, and he played himself in before opening his shoulders He made a few good strokes, a slashing drive wide to long-on, having the full face of the bat behind it, produced nine runs — seven for the hit and two for an ovei throw. Sam Wills was brought back into i,ne Old Boys senior team for the final match, and looked like making a lot of runs when he took strike. But he started off by running two short runs in his first three — a terrible lot of energy wasted for nothing. It is just as well , to remark that a mn is short if the bat is not grounded within the popping crease. Wills and Monaghan have yet a further opportunity of showing their abilities, as they will continue batting when the match is resumed to-morrow (Saturday) afternoon. • • • As I lemirked earlier, the wicket was in goou order, and played splendidly. The

bowlers could not do much on it, and it was not surprising that the batsmen had the better of the deal. Ernest Upham and Charlie Mitchell were the stock bowlers, and both kept well on the spot, but few deliveries from them being in any way loose It was a fine ball that Mitchell beat Tucker with — the pace easily deceiving the Old Boys coach — and Upham got two beauties past the same batsman, only to miss the wickets by a shadow on each occasion. He also got the worst of a confident appeal for lbw. against Jacobs early in that batsman's innings. Claude Hickson was the first change, and he hal haid luck in not getting Beechey's wicket in one of the overs he delivered, the ball just going over the top of the leg stump on one occasion, and the remaining five deliveries kept him thinking all the time. Alex Bruce bowled a couple of overs, but the fielding he had done previously had tired him out. Arthur Patrick bowled some very good balls while he was on, and William Wighton kept the batsmen fairly quiet, although he would have done better if he had pitched his bowling farther up. " Haven't you got any more bowlers, Upham 9" roared a barracker from the pavilion steps. By way of illustration to show that the Midland cap am if a rare grafter, one of his change bowlers said to him, "I'm too tired with chasing the balls to get a decent length." " All right, I'll give you a spell." And the Midland captain went on again, although he was thoroughly tired out himself. It is a tradition in Wellington cricket that the Midlanders have been the finest fielding eleven in the senior championship. It is true that they were sorely tested on Saturday, and it is equally true that as a team they were found wanting. There were plenty of fieldsmen on the offside — three a* least of them deep and wide — yet many shots went past them to the boundary. The batsmen showed much ability in placing the ball clear of the men on the off, yet there weie many strokes that should have been intercepted if the fieldsmen were as expert as they should have been. Dropped catches are a serious matter, and although there were only two that actually went to hand that were allowed to fall on the ground, yet they should have been held, and would have been in the olden days. Arnold Williams, as the custodian of the stumps, was in good form, keeping the extras down finely, and jumping across to the ones flying past on the leg-side in accordance with his reputation The batsmen gave him but (Continued on page 19.)