ATHLETIC NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11852, 2 January 1902, Page 3

ATHLETIC NOTES.

WHAREHINE V. KAIPATIA FLATS. A pleasant game was played at Wharehin*' on December 21, between Kaipur.4 H'lats and Wharohiuo, resulting in a win for Wharehinc by 16 runs. Subjoined aro the scores':-: ;, Wharehine.— and second innings: J. - Moffatt, 0 and 3; W. Mofratt, 0 and 0: A ; Brookes, 0-and 9; V T.. W'theford, 2 and J- • P. Gnoo, 9 and s;' H. Stables, 0 arid 4" \F. Maroroft, •■ 5 and " 10; •?*'. Brookes, 11 and/• ■ ? 0; J. Halfpenny, 2 and 'J; 11. Marsh, 0 and! 7; E. Marcroft (captain), 0 and 4; 7 ■ ' and 6; totals, 36 and.sß. Grand total, 94.. _Kaipara Flats.— and second inningsi. Kaynor (captain), 5 ami 3: C. Gubb, 3 : '■■ and 9; A. Brott ' ° and 0: >f. Melville, 3 and 5; M. 01168 .! 6 and 6;* H. Young, 0 and Or , i. Jones, 0 and 0; H. Rotherham, 1 and 0;: Ernest ■ Witheford,; 3'. J. - Hudson, '• 1; n w\ /// Vipond, 2 and 3; J. Vinond, 8 and 0; extras 8 r . n and ' 2; totals. • 3*9 and 29. ' Grand total, 78.HA.Correspondent.] MOUNT ALBERT BOWLING CLUB. At the Mount Albert Etowling Club yoster-' day /.< the following ; : games;; were I played:— ' Messrs. Wheeler, Ashton. Harrison, 27 v ' \\i]son,Garbek, and Parry, 10. Championship singles .Coyle,; 25, \. James, 9; James, 24, v. Brownhill, 8; 'Coyle,: 18/ v. Prioatle? * 15 ? Parry, 20, -v. Woodroffe,, 14 /' Haselden ' <-5. v. Woodroffe, 13: Bouskill, 20, v' ' Priestley. 16 ;,'Ashton,= 21, v. HarrisoiV : l6 •" : Barker/ 18, ;v. Parry. r 14; :" Haselden, : 28, v' Coyle, 6; Parry, 17, v/Haselden; 16; Coyle. 26, v Vr ßar ¥ r > 13 ;; Cle '' :19 v. Woodroffe,.. . Kj-V-Haseldeii,--'-20,- : "v;;'Boi'u.ki»l. 17; James: ?i^^" r i;- 1 .* 1 " ino ">-' 16; ''Ashton,.2o,-v.-James,', It). 1 lie championship amcs will be con-' turned to-day. ENGLAND'S VICTORY IN THE FIRST; TEST MATCH. ) Commenting on tho Englishmen's victory'., in tho first test match playeil on the Sydney, Ground/ tho well-known writer, "Not Out. '■*! says:—" Maclaren' team has won' the first' test match by ail innings and 124 runs, and-; won it in a manner that leaves~not tho; shadow of doubt that on the cricket 'of tho; match the better side came out ■ victori-, ous. ... No one anticipated such a mag-1 nificent victory foi the Englishmen as wa» ; gained, for their superiority rested not in., any one department of the game, but in all., Yet for ■-. an English win there -were", many I prepared. On first'hearing the names of the 1 eleven selected to represent Australia 1 folfc* that Maclaren's task was made lighter than it ought to be, for the Australian selectors, ignored form in getting their team together. It was .' a magnificent triumph lor Maclaren personally and for his men. Jit is a' - 'vindication of his judgment and an answer 5 to his critics .in England that may- keep, them ongaged during the winter. ft was amore glorious win even than any one of the four gained by the Australians over Stoddart's team, for the Englishmen prior to tho match were not performing. well, and the Australian team was picked from All Aus- . tralia by three first-class cricketers. When' Stoddart's team beat Australia in the opening match of 1897-8 I felt that, barring. - downright bad luck, Australia wouldi %-ia sure to ■ win the rubber. But this time,., - with history repeated, one feels dubious as! to the future. An old Australian player,. ""."■''• who was recently in England, and has seen most of the.Englishmen on their own pickets, and who at the same time is a. rather; ' good judge, thinks that, with luck -equal/ Australia will win the remaining four test matches. - All , I can say to this is that if; Australia bo- not represented by some new' ■ blood, and if some of the olde> players; do not exhibit improved form with the batt and in the field, feel tolerably sure that, his prediction will riot be fulfilled. It may, . however, be taken as a matter of certainty [' that in the next match at Melbourne Aus- ! tralia will be represented by a greater side 1 in greater foim >han that which succumbed I ■ ■ with so; much .: completeness : and* with such- '. little.life on Monday. This defeat, com-'' pleto a3 it, ii. must do Australian cricket .. great good,'a.'j one cannot help feeling that'] .■•;-.-■, it will do English cricket. A feeling per- i meatus cricketing circles in' Sydney that this; match will open the eyes of the selectors to-' the fact that there are more than 11 or 12;' cricketers" worthy of representing Australia against England. With this feeling;!: . in thorough accord. ", .I-havp' heard soma rather unkind things said about the selectors and about the team generally by men whoseexperience as cricketers ought to mako them a little, less prone to give voice to, or, even believe,. such things. .'> Selectors now have .' opportunities in front of them of banding - together a great team that will battle hard arid ably' to win back the laurels. The captaincy of England by A. L. Maclaren was one of the 'two greatest features of the cricket of the; Englishmen. In the manipulation ■of his bowling he had, of couse,- a great advantage over Darling it; the fact that no two .of ■ his leading bowlers : are : alike in stylj, ; whereas, now .-that Jones is not,a'great fast bowler, the bowling at the command :of Darling was marked by comparative sameness in style and methods. . The Australian captain, that he did: not give Trumper a trial, could not have . made much better use of his bowlers. But in the matter of placing the field Maclaren stood out as a Napoleon of the cricket field. * . Compared with the average captaincy in Inter-State cricket, Darling placed his men well/ but when compared with Maclaren in • this match, the comparison largely favoured : the Englishman. ' : 'Maclaren, it is quite - clear, has made al ' •• ■' special study of the style and strokes of each . of the Australian batsmen. The number of fours ,; stopped neai the edge of the track was really enormous, especially on > the back- -■ cut and in the out-field. Maclaren 13 not bound down to orthodoxy in cricket, ■' Possessing such a knowledge of ■; the game as ho : does, tallied to- tt , study of his . opponents, >individually.:-.and collectively, he makes a' really great captain. C Having seen him in '■ his ; two Sydney; matches, 1, can ■' qui * appre-' ciate the views recently expressed by Ranj:"./ that he is the finest captain in. English: cricket. The second really great feature of the English cricket in 'the: match was the superb .character;; of their fielding. No one - among - ■ the thousands who watched .the match was more deeply interested in it than those famous players, H. H. Massie and Harry ' Moses. :*i After ; watching '-; the ' beautifully • sus- '■. tained : excellence of thp Englishmen's fieldwork, one was anxious to know if any of the - ; earlier teams was classed, by; either of .the •; great old players mentioned as equal 'to Mac- : " laren's as' a fielding combination. , Both I '. gave the: palm to/ the present'team The 'brilliant, hitter 1882 observed that in r-omo of : the 1 earlier .teams : i there, were men, like* ' Vernon; Royle- and L. B. Studd, who were to-be classed among the greatest fields of the world: but no other team, he thought, com-, •:; bined in the side so. many great holds. It is generally conceded, too, that-in the mat- . ter of returning the ball from the field, oloso :in oi-deep;, no English team 1 of the past compared .with. Maclaren's. Jcsson, Gunn, yldeslej*,/. and : Quaife are- all superb throwers, and there is seemingly not a really /. ;wen»k thrower in the eleven that boat Aus- " tralia.