Out Door Sports AND Pastimes

Free Lance, Volume XV, Issue 813, 28 January 1916, Page 17

Out Door Sports AND Pastimes

By Touohline.

CRICKET. The Call of the Races. THE weather turned out gloriously fine for the playing of cricket last Saturday afternoon, but the majority of the teams -were short-hand-ed. It is said that the call of the races proved too strong for a' goodly number of the players,. and their places had to be filled by substitutes. . In Christchurch there are no cricket matches played on New Zealand Gup day, the fact being fecognised there that the sports in the cricket, teams enjoy- watching the sport of kings, and, in consequence, they ate v not asked to strain the loyalty to their clubs on such tf an important occasion. It seems to me that something in a similar direction will have to be the rule in future in Wellington if happenings like last Saturday's are not to be a common occurrence. A question was asked me last week, when was the meeting of the Cricket Association held at which it was determined to continue the playing of matches last Saturday. My questioner told me that a member of the committee informed him that if AnniversaryDay was observed on the Saturday there would be no matches; if Monday was the holiday the matches would be played -as usual on the Saturday; I could not satisfy my .questioner, and probably there is no answer to his query. The meetings of the. Cricket Association these days are few and far between. * «■ The Central-University Match nearly ended in a sensation. As a matter of fact, there was a tinge of excitement in it in the closing stages. On the opening day of the game University could only find eight flayers, their first innings totai reaching 64 as against the 189 set them by Central. On Saturday, however, the shoe was on the other foot —'University had a full eleven, and the Central captain had to take the field without A. Dind, C. W. Robinson, E. McCardell, A. Wilson, and E. Lowe. Four of this quintette were his main bowlers, and that he felt worried puts the matter mildly. The University score ran to 164—A. OFenton 49,' Smith 30, Condliffe 27, Pope 21*. This left the Centrals 40 runs to get to win, and they made a very poor start towards getting them. Four wickets were down for 13 runs, when W. R. Hickson joined H. E. Burton, and if either had been dismissed the University team would have scored the three-points' win. The pair, however, managed to hold the fort, and the Centrals got the win, Burton's _ tally being 23*. • But it was a close thing all the same, too " close for Stan Hickson and Billy Hood, the Central scorer. * * * * The North Team were considered to be in a hopeless position as the result of the play on the first day in their matdh against East. They were so far behind that they had to fol-low-on their first innings, and whes the time for starting came round last Saturday the roll-call showed five absentees. But things improved from their standpoint later on, and North were only twb short at the finish, viz.j L. Ueydon and E. Windley. The innings ran to a respectable total—l7B for the eight wickets —J. S. Hiddleston. 73, C. Q. Wilson 20,. A. Eaton 16, W'. Wagstaffe 11, "Mr." Extras 40. f With the dismissal of W. R. Gibbe3 (7) and H. M. McGirr (3) with the total at 11, it began to look as if the North had a chance, but W. R. Baker (33*) and J. Hutchings (21*) carried the score along until the 68 runs set them to win were , passed. East thus gained a threepointer, and have a commanding lead in the contest for the championship. So far they have not lost a game this season. # * * - # The Suburban Matches. D. M. Sandman, the Canterbury and New Zealand representative, registered a good performance for Trentham against Petone —70 with the bat, and seven wickets for 60 runs with the ball. But he did not receive much assistance from his mates —two of whom were marked absent —and Petone won the game. TalliesPetone, 145 and 121 for. seven wickets (A. Tregear 30, * E. Smyrk 26, Corner 21, J. Rodgers 18,

W. S. Brice 11*); Trentham, 130 and 129 (D. M. Sandman 70., M. P. Naughton 32, J. M. Smith 15). A threepoints' win for Petone. In an apparently hopeless position at the end of the first day's play against Old Boys, Hutt's prospects were not improved when the roll-call on Saturday showed four men missing. They had to accept an inning's defeat. Scores: Old Boys, 296; Hutt, 129 (W. Hughes 52*) and 50 (W. A. Alderslev 15, Kitto 10). «■ «■ ■» ■» Successful Bowlers East: W. R. Gibbes, five wickets for 31 runs; J. Huto'hings, one for 54; Gould, two for 20; North: T. ,R. Southall, one for 24; J. S. Hiddleston, one for 40; University : A. Duncan, one for 21; A. H. .Fenton, two for 12. Central: H. Schlaadt, two for 29; H. E. Burton, four for 22; T. Taylor, three for 53. .Old Boys: S. J. Wills, four for 16; B. A. Marris, two for 26. Petone: W. S. Brice, five for-72; W. McEwan, one for 3; E. Smyrk, one for 25; J. Rodgers, one for 29. Trentham: D. M. Sandman, seven for 60. «• ■& Personal Comments. J. S. Hiddleston, the North batsman, made the highest score at the Basin Reserve on Saturday, and, although there were some fine shots in his tally of 73 runs, he did not please me as well as he has done on previous occasions. Probably the fact that h.e lias been under a bit of a cloud this season curbed him in the earlier stages of his innings.- Now and again he let himself go, two fine lofty drives right into Rugby-st. being proof positive that there was plenty of power behind the bat. The innings, however, ought to have played Hiddleston into form, and we should hear from him to good effect in future matches. None of the other North batsmen call for any particular comment, but when C. G. Wilson and Hiddleston were together it looked as if East might have a fair total of runs to make in the final innings. But when well in his stride the North captain helped a ball into his wickets off his pads, and the side's stock fell considerably. 'On the East side, J. Hutchings and W. R. Baker helped their averages along with not-out tallies. The latter has y developed a tendency of playing the ball with his legs—a habit he should lose. It always carries with it the risk of an "l.b.w" decision against hirp. and the bat is the implement which should be employed to meet the ball wherever practicable. Baker is our most consistent run-getter this season, making his runs with a variety of scores. He has one he should lose, though, and that is the poke to the ball going down on or outside his off-stump. If he doesn't a heady bowler will look for that stroke, and a short slip close in will help the bowler to "secure ■ Baker's wicket.

Arthur Fenton, the University bats-man-bowler, surprised the natives on Saturday b.> the excellence of his batting. Fenton, has been doing so poorly with the bat recently that some people began to forget that he had any pretensions as a batsman. His display against Central, however, proved that lie has still the power to make runs, and with fine shots, too.

Smith—l have yet to discover his initials- batted very ably for ' University this season,' and .so also has Condlifre. Pope^—who, if I mistake not, is an old Wellington College boy and a younger brother of Dick's, an Old. Boys' bowler of the pre-district cricket days —gpt a fair tally of runs also for University, in a very taking manner. Gould, a new player in the East team, is a cadet in the Government Life Insurance Office, having but recently come from Dunedin. As a matter of.fact, it is said that he only arrived early last week, Be that as it may he wont on to bowl, and with a swinging right-hand delivery succeeded in securing the wickets of two ex-Dunedinites in J. S. Hiddleston and C.. G. "Wilson. ' ® « '•» a A New Record. ' K. Demuth (207) and J. McMahon (156), playiag for Marist Brothers' Old Boys against North in the Junior Championship, put up a new record for Wellington cricket. For the second wicket the partnership of the pair mentioned produced 305 runs, the best to date in any class of cricket played in Wellington. The previous best was 303, made by Charlie and Roy Murphy, for Kilbirnie against Stars, in what/ is kinown as the Junior Cricket Association.

D. C. Collins and D. Hay, while at Wellington College, put up the good tally of 288 for the second wicket against Old Boys, in a Junior Championship match. This stood as the highest partnership in matches played under the Wellington Criclet Association until the tally put up by Demuth and McMahon. The record stand in senior cricket for a wicket partnership waa made by W. R. Gibhes and W. A. Baker (241) in the match played by East against Trentham at the beginning of the season.

How the Teams Stand. » . Three Point Two Point .a "5 Matches. Matches. ' _g&, . - _ ■ a-§ cJ.2 <9.2 Sdi Wen. Lost. Won. Lost. §2

® « ■& « Casual Comments, Just to remove a wrong impression : Ihe person with "a wild gleam in-his eye referred to last week is not a player. He is one of those people who know little about cricket but who express decided opinions on how the gam® should be played. __ Frank Joplin, the University and Wellington! representative player, is not very pleased with himself thee® days. He is eager to get to the front to. do his little bit for King and country, hut the medical man says "No." In his early days he had an attack of rheumatic fever, which left him with & weak heart. This is the doctor's verdict, although neither he nor his parents were aware of it previously. Tom pouthall is another who is doing a.bit of legitimate grumbling. He is working for the 'Defence Department, and cannot be spared to work for his conn-, try farther afield.

7 wh East ... 5 1 0 4 0 11 Central ... 5 1 0 3 17 pld Boys . 5 2 0 1 2 4 Petone ... _5 3 1 • 0 .1 4 North ... 5 2 1 0' 2 —1 Trentham . 5 12 1 1 —3 Hutt ... 5 1 3 0 1 "—8 University 5 0 4-0 1 —14