OUT DOOR SPORTS AND PASTIMES

Free Lance, Volume XV, Issue 815, 11 February 1916, Page 19

OUT DOOR SPORTS AND PASTIMES

By Touohline.

CRICKEJT. Dilatory Players. - FOR two Saturdays in succession matches on the Basin Reserve have not commenced until a quarter to three, and 'the rules of the Wellington Cricket Association provide that the latest hour of starting play is Ehalf-an-hour. earlier. Both of these afternoons -were glorious for the, playing of the games, and it seems to me that punctuality, should be observed by the players; The days r are beginning to shorten now, and the whole of the- play possible should be indulged in. " Therefore, the players ought, to make it their businessto get the- ball rolling; as near the arranged time as possible, in th e interests of the game and to their own ' advantage; The University Fellows did not, make up the leeway they lost on the first day in their match against North, and went down very badly at the finish—an innings and 40 runs. Longhurst and Fenton were the absentees in the second innings, which closed for 82 runs, Arthur Birch (21-0 being the only one to make any real ..progress. He went in., rather late for him, and got busy right away, jumping in to the ball and driving it very hard. In this innings University ii i reduced a new. player to Wellington in Foster, who has had playing experience at Oxford University, and shaped in a manner that convinced he will be a strength to the side when he gets used to the pace, of : our wickets. By the way, the men from Salamanca hope to get a full eleven in the field for the restof the season. Trentham v. Central. At one stage of this, match it looked as if Central were going to make, up the

leeway they lost on tlie first day of the - match. A. Paterson and W. R. S. Hickson aidded 38 runs for the seventh wicket, a brilliant catch by G. Howe behind the stumps dissolving the partnership. Cricket is a remarkable game. D. M. Sandman and J. G-. Kinvig had been bowling very well, but the batsmen were not to be tempted. The Trentham captain decided to shift his bowlers to opposite ends, and to enable this to be done he put F. Smith on to bowl one over. It was in this over that Paterson lost his wicket. T. Taylor joined up with his captain, and the hopes of the Central supporters began to revive. The pair added 47 runs for their partnership together, and it was broken by a brilliant catch, of . which more anon. With Hickson's dismissal the end was not far off, the last wicket falling 36 runs short of the total set by Trentham. The double-figure scorers were: —W. It. S. Hickson 52, A. Dind 27, H. E. Burton 17, C. W. Robinson 16, T. Taylor 16. * * • * *. Fast Bowler C. W. Robinson caused a bit of a sensation when Trentham went in to bat the second time. At his first turn at the bowling crease he took six wickets for 17 runs, sending down six no-balls during the performance. Off one of these no-balls, G. Howe's timber stack was rattled, but it was no good to the side.' At half-past five Trentham., had. only on e wicket left —two men being absent—and 65 runs were on the board. Visions of ah exciting finish began to loom in front of the spectators, but Gordon Kinvig, who had been batting finely, was joined by McLean, and the pair began to pile on the runs, while the time passed cut the story short the total reached 144 before McLean .was dismissed—79 for the wicket. The double-figure scores were: J: G. Kinvig 57", G. Howe 25, McLean 23, McCardle ll> At the end of the Innings stumps were drawn, as it was too late for Central to worry about trying to alter the decision arrived" at on the first innings of the game. • » ' * . * . «• The Old Boys and Petone Players had a rare tussle on the Petone Recreation Ground. The two full innings 'were played, victory ultimately resting with the Petone -team by the narrow margin of 7 runs. The" scorers were: "Petone. 116 and 155 (Powell 52, W. A. Cate 38*, W. S. Brice 17, A. Tregear 12. J. Rodgers 10); Old Boys, 86 and 178 (E. M. Beechey 57, Ronaldson 38, Christie 28, J. P. Blacklock 16. B. Marris 11).

The bowling performance of K. H. Tucker, one of our veteran cricketers, was the outstanding feature of the match. In both innings he took nine wickets for 46 runs—lß wickets for 92 runs altogether. This looks uncommonly like a record for championship matches in Wellington, but I have grave doubts whether I can verify it or not. Anyhow, it is a wonderful performance for a man who has been playing senior cricket, for over 20 years. •* * * ■» The Butt Team Failed in what looked like a promising attempt to defeat the leading team in the championship contest. In the first innings the tail was a pronounced one, and eventually East scored the threepoint win. The tallies of the game were:—East, 189 and 155 (H M. MeGirr 65, W. R,Gibbes 30, Gould 18, K. Osborne 10); Hutt, 152 and 90 (Balks 20*, .Kitto 18, W. Hughes 10). •» Successful Bowlers. North: T. R. Southall, four wickets for 27 runs; J. S. Hiddleston, three for 24; W. T. Bray, one for 14. Trentham : D. M. Sandman, seven for 97; J. G. one for 55; F. A. Smith, one for 13. Central: C. W. Robinson, six for 35; A. Wilson, one for 22"; H. E. Burton, one for 0. Hutt : J. Styles, two for 53; J. Patton, three" for 46; Balks, three for 9. East: W. R. Gibbes, seven for 31; H- M. McGirr, three for 15. Old Boys: K. H. Tucker, nine for: 46; E. M. Beechey,. one for 31. Petone: J. Rodgers, five for 52 ; W. S. Brice, four for 91. ffow the Teams Stand. The results of the games finished last Saturday give East a commanding lead for the championship, one that will take a lot of catching up. This is how the table -°ad' now : — - » . Three Point Two Point jcsTS Matches. Matches. ' S'm «§•. >— * a-s S 'S So, Won. Lost. Won. Lost; oi2 East ... 6 2 0 - 4-0 14 Petone ... 6 4 10 17 Central ... 6 1 0 3 2 5 North ... 6 3 1 0 2 2 Old Boys ... 6 2 1 1 2 J Trentham 6 1 2 2 1 1 Hutt ... 6 1 4 0 1 —11 University 6 0 5 0 1 17 a#7 « ' # A Moot Point. - -u was ojae incident in the Trent-nam-Central gamt that caused many discussions, and helped considerably to .heighten the interest in the" play. Stan -tlickson got right on to a ball, from D. • Sandman on the leg side, " and it sailed straight for J. G. Kanvig, who was standing on the edge of the boundary. The fieldsman made a brilliant catch, jumping in the air to get the •Hi over the boundary-line with the ball in his possession. There were many .arguments as to how and where Kinvig fell, although my view of the happening is as I have described it. I am willing to admit that the matter admits of a lot of argument, but it seems to me that the batsman was "not out" on this occasion, although ad.judged so by the umpire. In fairness to the official, it is but right to'•say that he was _of the opinion that Kinvig had landed in the field of play after he had caught the ball. My comments in this connection are not in the nature of a tilt at the umpire; it is Only the general principle I am arguing on. One man will tell you that the ball is "dead" directly it is caught, and what happens afterwards does not matter. I contend differently, and what I argue is that after the ball has been caught in the field of play the fieldsman must not carry the ball over the boundary-line; if he does, the batsman' should be adjudged "not out," and be credited with a hit over the 'boundary. This is how an instruction from the Marylebone Cricket Club reads, and bear in. mind x this instruction was given by those empowered to administer the ' law of cricket, and with a full knowledge of the meaning of the said laws:—\ "If a ball hit or pass over. or through the boundary or is. carried over it by the fieldsman, the umpire should call a boundary hit. . . It is for the umpire to" decide if a hit has reached the boundary." This seems to me to be plain English, and means, if it means anything, that if a fieldsman is forced over the boundary in his effort to catch the ball the batsman should be given the benefit of his stroke. Others may think differently probably, but that is my opinion:, and one I have' held for a very long time. I would be pleased to publish any arguments from the opposite - standpoint. The East were so stuck for a team against the Hutt that they had to play Arthur Cooper, their scorer. This is a fair indicaton of the number of playing members the East Club have at their disposal this season.

Passing Comments. H. E. Burton, W. R. S. Hickson, and T. Taylor will all be absent . from the Central team to-morrow (Saturday) afternoon, for business and holiday reasons,- and the executive of .the club are wondering where they are going to get eleven players from to take the field against Petone. I have been asked: "If a ball hits a batsman on the leg .and then hits the batsman's: bat, and he is caught off the stroke, is he out ?" The answer is yes, a decision to that effect having been given by the Marvlebone C.C. D. M. Sandman is on the headquarters staff at Trentham, and- M. P. Naught on is iiv tha pay-office. Their turn in . going to the front is a loiig while in coming, but they -will get there as soon as the authorities will let them. The ball presented by J. Mi Blackham, the old Australan wicketkeeper, to the Victorian Cricket Association for patriotic purposes, realised £600. J. W. H. T. Douglas, through New Zealand with the last English cricket team, has been promoted to a captaincy in the Bedfordshire Regiment. . There was an exciting finish to a firstgrade match in Sydney a fortnight ago. Paddington and Sydney were the teams, and the latter won by 1 run. C. V. Grimmett, the old East player, is a member of the Sydney Club's eleven. Members of the East Club will regret to hear of the death of Mr. John Hall, senr. (father ,of George, Pierce, and John Hall, of' the Brightwater <Nelson) team. The deceased gentleman was well known throughout the Nelson and Waimea districts, and his sudden demise caused a painful sensation. From the "Otago "Witness": —"It seems only the other day that a smart knickerbocker youth accompanied his father to Christchurch to witness the match' between Canterbury and Otago. This youth, a son of 'Gillie'„ Wilson, the old Otago captain, is now Lieutenant Wilson, of the Otago Battalion, mentioned in despatches, no less. Young 'Gillie' took a keen interest in cricket, and threatened to develop into a \batsinan like his father, when the big game started, and he went to the front. He was'wounded twice 3 has since been promoted to captain, and is now mentioned in despatches." This paragraph has reference to the eldest son of C. G. Wilson, the chairman of the Wellington Cricket Association.