CRICKET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18021, 21 February 1922, Page 4

CRICKET.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

It is gratifying to know that the Management Committee of the New Zealand Cricket Council has definitely decided to play a North v. South Island match this seaeon, Many seasons have elapsed since the last inter-island match was played, and the revival of tho contest, in viow of the fact that no foreign matches have bee:a arranged this season, is in the best interests of the game. It was generally anticipated that the match would be played at Wellington, but owing to tho Basin Reserve not being availablo for a Saturday match until April, it was decided to play tho match at Chrietchurch on March 10. 11 and 13. Mr. Ken Tucker, tho woll-known ex-New Zealand representative cricketer, has been appointed selector of the North Island team, and Mr. A. Martin, who was recently in Auckland as manager of the Otago tearo, was appointed 6eloutor of the South Island representatives.

The contost should create a great deal of interest, and with tho best players in both islands engaged, tho game should bo of a high standard, and productive of good cricket. The team to represent North Isiftnd, if tho best players are availabio, enould form a strong combination, including as it w:!i, the pick of Auckland and Wellington, which provinces, have proved superior to Canterbury and Otago in Piunket Slne.d matches this season. The South la.anu, however, is eipeetod to be wen represented with tho best, of tne Canterbury and Uiago players, and a close and interesting game may be looked for. Another item of good nows in cricket circiee is the announcement tnat negotiat.oo.3 have been completed lor the visit to flow Zealand and Australia of a strong hngiwh amateur team next season. Mr. A-.C. MacLaren, the famous Engi-sh captain, is responsible tor tee combination, and tnat f «rt alone, if nothing more was forthcoming, is a suthoiont guarantee that the team wul be of tho highest class, and will includo the best of tQe Eng.ish amateurs available, Mr. MacLaron has assured the New Zealand Council that the team he is bringing to New Zealand is, in his , opinion, the strongest amateur side that nas loft MSland, including a majority of the team which, defeated the Australians at Eastbourne last year. In that match the English amateurs wero deposed of for 43 runs :n the first innings, but made a great recovery in the second, compiling a total of 3516. of which G. A. Faulkner played a splendid innings for 153. and A. Ashton a solid irtflkfl for 75. Australia, compiling 174 in the first """ng?. and 167 in tho second, was defeated by-: 8 runs—the first defeat of the tour., Tais was A. C. MacLaren's last match ill firstclass cricket. As the English captain refers to tho fact that the players for the New Zealand tour will inolude a majority of the team which 'defeated the Australians, it is interesting to note the personnel of the English aide, which wbb as follows:—M- K. Foster, 6. A. Faulkner. G. Ashton, H. Ashton, C. Ashton, A. P. F. Chapman, M. Falcon, G. E. C. Wood, A. C. MwLaren, C H. Gibson and W. Brearley. It is practically certain we have heard tne last of the proposed Australian team's tour of New Zealand. The Now Zealand Council has received correspondence from Australia which makes it clear that no team is coming this season. The committee expresses regret that, in spite of its efforts, tbo tour has not been arranged.

The Club Championships. c The woather was fine and the wickets generally in good order for the continuance 01 club championship matches on Saturday, but there was nothing of a startling character in the batting, which was lor the .most i part lacking in enterprise and Buffering a ] trifle from over cautiousness. This spirit i appears to have ontored players of late, and . it comes out in their batting. One- dots not wish to encourage the reckless hitter, but it would improve the standard of play and J players if a little more daring was infußed i into the batting. On wickets that are in any way treacherous, where the ball plays all manner of tricks it is not possible for batsmen to develop daring and daßh, all their interests being concentrated on the ball and what it is going to do, but on faßt, true wickets, where the ball comes ] along, true as tho wicket itself, the batsmen have a chance to open out and develop .a variety of strokes. In club championship « matches thiß season tbe batsmen as a rule I have not made the most of their opportunities on good wickets, and, from sheer > lack of confidence and enterprise, there, is a- tendency to over cautious cricket, making J good bowling difficult, and true wickets appear treacherous. This is the impression that some of the hatting has conveyed this , season, but fortunately this is not always the case; there have been soveral sound exhi- ' bitions by teamß and individuals during tho season, , ,;. .„, . There was nothing specially brilliant to tho batting on Saturday, and the team. scpreß were moderate, but several fine, individual performances were registered, which relieved some of the games from mediocrity. Bowj lers, too, though not having a great deal to assist them in the wickets, performed well, and secured fair figures. The match between Eden A and Parne 1 was not remarkable for any show of brilliancy in the batting, and with one or two exceptions was marked by considerable reBtrsint. The opening batsmen started wo 11, but with the disposal of the first four wick- i cts, tho remaining batsmen, with one excop- ' jtion. appeared to play over-cautiously, and i many strokes that might have been made , good scoring shots woro played defensively . or without power and precision, This may J be accounted for in a measure to the good . length bowling of Dorrington and the slow . break bowling of McLeod, but the batsmen 1 appeared to make the attack more difficult . than it was. Another reason advanced for i the lack of enterprise in tho batting is that i the wicket was playing queerly, and the • bail required careful watching. That is certainly true, and is a reasonable explanation, but, notwithstanding, there was a tendoncy to make the bowling and the conditions more difficult than they wereThe batting of Cummings was steady at the outset, and he devoloped his strokes as he got the measure of the attack, but ha did not appear to bat with his customary power and precision. He played several fine shots < on the off, Mb driving being particularly < good. With his score at 20, Cummings drove i one from Anthony high to .the outfield, , whore McLeod failed to accept the oatoh. Going on, Cummings earned his score to . 26, when he played one up to C. Badeley at . red off. Gflftß *W a *&X3PP ° r 34. scoring well on the ks side •before sue- , cumbing to a catch by Dow at short leg. Whelsn's Good Display. The best display of batting was that givon by Whelan, who played a splendid innings for 40, made by powerful driving on both sides of the wicket. He timed the bowling with certainty, and made almost^ every stroke s, scoring shot. He hit seven fours, and was eventually out to a catch by Anthony at point. It was » good Ml e^:? tt Ji dashing to a degree, but totally devoid of reckless hitting. . . Brooke-Smith was Quiet, and was out to attempting a fine .cut. playing the ball on to his wicket. Heighway did not show his usual form, but Hanie Bhaped well in compiling 28 not out-a score which he made the previous Saturday against . North Shore. Harvie ib certainly an, acquisition to Men, for in addition to batting he bowls a good b The bowling of Dorririgtpn and MeLeod was a feature of the Parncll attack. Dorrington kept a splendid length, and was difficult to scoro off. Out of 12 overs on.y 18 ' runs were scored off him, and he secured two wirkets. McLeod also, punled the batsmen and captured four wickets tor A. . Parneil made on unfortunate, start, losing Anthony from a smart, throw-m by BrookSmith and Moore retiring owing to a nasty ■ kno k on the fore-finger, of his from a bumpy ball. Mooro will be able to resume hie mnings next Saturday, and with Possibly better luck. V. Badeley did not flhow his usual form and was easily disposed of by Taylor. McLeod bat ed well during tho short time he was at the crease, compiling most of his runs on the leg. side. Spenco and Somervell were early disposed of, the former being out to a catch by Gillespie at square leg, and Somervell was caught at the wicket before he had Boored. C. Badeley. is not out with 23 to hie credit, but Parneil is not in a good position with five wicketg down for 83. Horspool's Third Century. Grafton made a good showing against University in compiling .260 in the first innings, but it was practicaUy the effort of one batsman, E. Horspool, who played a fino - innings for 162—hi« third centu*/ in recent olub matches. Horspool gave a splendid display in his own inimitable style, end played all tho bowling with tho greatest confidence His shots on the leg side and his hi"h driving were features of a good strike. Apart from Hoispool there was not a great deal in the Grafton batting. Pattereon, the ex-Canterbury cricketer, however, batted well for his score of 32, scoring freely with sound shots on the log side. Baker compiled 30 but his batting waa not impressive. Ailcott ran to 15. and Sloman also reached double figures, but tho remaining batemen failed lamentably. Fivo batsmen were responsible for 240 out of a team total of 260. and five batsmen with extras were responsible for 20.' Player was the most successful bowler for University, securing five wickets for 65 runs. TJnivorsity did not make a very good start • iu their first innings against Grafton, tho .first wicket falling at 19. when Graham was ' bowled by Graham. Tho light was bad when 1 University wa s batting, but improved later and held good to tho drawing of stumps, when University had lost four wickets lor 106. Lusk played a good innings for .56, scoring well with crisp shots on both sides of the wicket, and with an occasional leg glance. Lusk is in tho veteran stage, but i has lost little of his form in batting. Goodwin played a dashing innings for 21. scoring freely with powerful shotß all round the i wicket. Eden B did better than waa expected against Y-M.C.A., at Reinuera on Saturday, compibng 161 runs for nine wickets. Eden did not start' well, tho first two wickets , falling cheaply, but a useful stand by Poa- ■ ties and Blair improved the position, and 1 60 runs were on at the fall of the sixth i wicket. ■ Another partnership . by. Saunders and Blair waa responsible for the addition

of 60 odd runs, and the score was. 121. whorl Saunders, who had compiled SO, was bowled by Christian. Blair played a good innings for 63, scoring with line strokes on both sides of the wickot, a particularly effective off drive being a useful shot The Y.M.C.A. innings was som6what inconsistent, and four batsmen wero practically responsible for the day's score of_ 138 for eight wickets- Miller was the principal contributor with 34, Christian batted well for 24, and Cullimore (19) and Innes (18) also batted well. This* match is left at an interesting stage, and the proapoeta aro bright for a close finish. Ponsonby. after a bad start and a steady third, and fourth wicket, developed a long tail in tho match against North Shore on the home wicket. Snedden and Flynn. who usually open the Ponsonby batting and give the team a good start, failed to get going, both batsmen being dismissed early. It was leit to Righton and Smith to save the situation, which they did by careful cricket, tho former playing a patient innings for 4!), and Smith batting steadily for 60. Tho remaining batsmen, with th« exception of Leikiß, who compiled 12 not out, were disposed of cheaply, and tho innings closed for 177. Coatea, the North Shore fast bowler, was tho most successful trundler for his side, securing six wickets for 46 runsNorth Shore has lost four wickots for 99, Mid, as usual, C. Dacre has come to the rescue of bis side with a brightly-compiled 35. Elliott played a good innings for 37. and L- Dacre is not out with 11 to carry on next Saturday, The match is at an interesting stage, and a close finish may reasonably be anticipated. The outstanding feature of a match playod at Adelaide recently between a team captained by the Governor of South Australia and ono representing the polico force was tho form of W. Richardson, a younger brother of Arthur Richardson, of' interState fame. He took six wickets for 41 runs and then knocked up 48 with tho bat before retiring. In this match tho famous ml 1 , •! was howled for a duck. Ihe failure of the Wellington team to retain the Phuket Shield emphasises tho need for more strict attention to training methods as well as to the consideration, in choosing future representative teams, of players not lacking in confidence, says a Wellington writer. One reason put forward for Wellington's sound defeat is that the team had to face an attack of a kind seldom experienced in Wellington. The slow bowling undoubtedly upset our representatives, and they were unable to produce anything of the kind in return. Then, too, the wicket differed from that at tho Basin Reserve, and did not suit the bowlers. Tho outfield was not on a par with the Ba«in, and generally there waa a strangeness about tho condition?. All things considered, however, Wellington should have done much better, particularly in having first strike on the wicket. Mr. W. A. Oldfield, ono of the wicketkeepers of the last Australian Eleven, intends to leave Sydney about tho end of this month for a trip to England. Toward the end of the tour of the Australian Eleven in, England, Mr. Oldfield recoved a business offer which would have enabled him to play cricket for Lanoashire, but he refused it. The trip he intends to make will extend ovf t 6ix months, and on his raturn,to Australia he intends to go into business in Sydney. Warwick Armstrong, tho captain of the Australian Eleven, who has been assistant secretary of the Melbourne Cricket Club for 15 years, hae resigned hiß position. When in Ecgland with the 1902 Australian team, Armstrong became the friend of Mr. Peter Dawson, tho well-known Scotch distiller, and on each of the tours since then tho fact that Mr. Armstrong was a member of tho Australian Eleven had opened the doors of Mr. Dawson's hospitality to tho team. Last year Mr. Dawson entertained the Australians at u river picnio on the Clyde, during which they were shown over the shipbuilding yards. As soon as Mr. Dawson heard that Mr. Armstrong was retiring from first-claw cricket, he offered to appoint ham as his special representative for Australia, and the offer was accepted. Mr. Armstrong w.u make Melbourne his headquarters, and will continue to play with tho Melbourne Cricket Club in pennant matches.

METHODISTS V. RAMBLERS. A matoh will be played to-morrow afternoon between teams representing the Methodist Conference and Eden Ramblers at Eden Park, play commencing at 2 p.m. The following will represent Eden Ramblers :—Arblaster, Cameron, C. Dacre. Ir.Ulespie fiaivie. Jackson. MoCoy. Mills, Park," Whelan. Williams; reserves, Beale. Kalder, H. Robinson.