SPARKLLNG CRICKET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18276, 18 December 1922, Page 9

SPARKLLNG CRICKET.

VISITORS' BRIGHT BATTING. TOTAL OF 350 .RUNS COMPILED AUCKLAND 5 WICKETS FOR 107 The match between the M.C.C. team End Auckland was resumed at Eden Park c:i Saturday afternoon. Rain over night and e.'ii'ly on Saturday morning so sorirusiv affected the wicket that on inspection it was decided to delay the commencement nnt.il 2 p.m. England resumed its trst innings with Titchmarsh (87) and AV'lkinsou (IS- at the wickets, and the. tMj'i was carrieJ to 350. The outstanding feature of the day's play was the magriiieent batting of Tit oh marsh. At- 83 i. t , ,) rhaneo in the slips to Smith, '.rd went on tn lompile 154. the second centurv of the team's tour. Th.e ground fehiins of Auckland was keen and smart, v t'ile the «'atching was brilliant, five c Vches being excellent efforts. The bowlpf \nthonv was a <i> stmetive feature. The F"'.;iish batsmen forced the pa« e late 'in the second innings, and some of the batsmen undoubtedly sacrificed th.cii w ic.Kots.

Auckland opened its first innings on a v.-rt wick or. and at tho drawing ot s ~s } KU { lost five wickets for 107 runs. Tho na:oh w ill be resumed at 11 a.m. t!v# nomine- Stumps will bo drawn at 5.15. MacLaren's Display. The exhibition of batting by A. C. MacLaren was a display of rare quality. Though past his best MacLaren has lost none of the qualities which made him the hern of test matches on English and \ustraliau fields, tie batted as an aitist, and such an artist as Now Zealand never knew, excepting possibly the late Victor Trumper. when the famous Australian in-to-nationalist was at the top of his form. From his first ball by Aicott, the bngl;sh captain "played cricket." Ho realised t V, e nrerirth of the wicket from the outand "taking a mental picture ot the rerfevt.!v-plaeed field settled down to pla> th.c game, as ho stated aften\aids v.as one oi the most enjoyable innings ot nis cvreer "Aicott had mo playing all out' to the finish of my innings, which 1 enjoyed to the hill with a howler extending me to mv b>est." s jmungs, to the critic' and the enthusiast, was ci master-piece of all-round batting, accurate t inline. perfect placing, and powerful caving. His score of 58 was made up of ten perfect boundary shots. His one mis-placed shot narrowly cost nun his wicket, when at 29 he attempted to drive Garrard past cover, and played the ball Straight hack to the bowler, who dropped a possible catchLowry's Cautious Innings. The batting of T. C. Lowry w a s watched with probably even greater interest than that of his captain. Lowrv is not unknown to Auckland cricket, havmg played for Auckland University and an Auckland representative team in the seasons of 1917-18. before going to Christ's College, whence he proceeded to Cambri'dze, there winning fame as an allround athlete, more especially as a batsman of the dashing type. It was wed that A. C. MacLaren should take the young New Zealander with him to open the English innings on a wicket in the citv in which he was so well known. Lowrv, following the advice ot his captain 'and forgetting for the time being his characteristic tendency to daring and dashing cricket, plaved a cautious, careful jnninzs for 29. made mainly by _ sound driving on both rides of the wicket— shots through the field to the Lowrv. to the regret, of many. wW'out plavin'c one from Aicott. when h* was well" set. The young New Zealandcr was actually out in two way?--f.rstlv bv playing one on. and secondly ?t " catch/by Eowntree at- the wicket a dismissal which was credited to tho vricket keeper on the opening day. Titchmarsh's Great Score. The advent of Titchmarsh, the Hertsford shire county cricketer, was awaited with special interest, as he haci won high honours at Home, and -was acknowledged the most consistent- run-getter on the side. a 'act that he proved bv a sporting innings f,.; tie total of 154. 'Titchmarsh-; following the lead of his captain, played cautious cricket, with a sound legal d foi renuirements to place the side in a good position before taKing any undue risks. He played almost perfect, cricket in characteristic style, to leave th-e fie.d, not out. on Friday, "with a score of 87. compiled mainly bv crisp, square, late and back cuts. Titchmarsh may be weak on the off-drive. If so. he did not show it, for h* 1 played few, if any, strokes of that nature." Resuming on Saturday afternoon c .-. a W et wicket Titchmarsh gave another finished exhibition. this time in sparkling V. vie. Again his perfect, square and late fitting together with a C;ip hack-cut, of admiration. The one real chance was when he resumed. He cut Aicott crisply through the slips to Smith, v.*ho missed the swift, swallow-flight of the ball, and showed his appreciation of the. •' life" bv adding 66 before he was bowled by Anthony. ' If the English capt: in had been accepted at 29. and Titchmarsh at 88. 95 runs would have been Eiv?d. reducinc Kngland s total to 255, a score which Auckland might reasonably be expected to compile on a good wicket. Contrast of Styles.

There was a marked contrast in *he styles 0? Titchm?:rsh and A. C. Wilkinson, the Annv '' I*l ek i ~* rr. who was associated vVith t'< <i *H»-rts batsman late on Friday and f,--r!v on Saturday. A great batsman by iMurp and inclination, Wilkinson rehimself on "the opening d*v, getting his ?ye in the play and attractively on the second day with sound, orthodox strokes in front tof te wicket. He reached 50 before placing r.r," to Dacre. whose smart pick-up and fi -vift ret urn to Powntree beat the batsman to the wicket. It was a swift and close action' and possibly a near decision. Wilkinson h : - •• e only six of the innings—a fc'ijh on drive over the rails—a perfectly--1 'med shot. \V w. Hill-Wood, the Derbyshire and f^n.liri'l;*e pl.iver, came, in at the stage v.rr, ( },. er , ■"ood wr kets were down for 143. but lie "lasted only long enough to troi'f- five before playing one from Anthony t • A'.crtt uh.n took a clever catch low down at rl almost out of reach. Th- advent of the star batsman. A. P. F. Chapman, was signalled with applause. Titrhinarsh was then dismissed. F. S. G. ( .-drhorpe. the Warwickshire County frirkuter, created a sensation when, after Cking centre, v.as clean bowled first ball by Anthony, who took his middle stutnp.

Dacre's Brilliant Catch.

Six of the best of England's wickets vc-r'. down on a pitch that was now playi;:t: pf-ciiliarly. Oeof. Wilson, the young Vi,]■!•■• him i f•tain, joined Chapman, who ••pened , ; tt ractivcly. and in daring and rlrsl-.ini' <-tvle ran into double figures. After straight driving Smith twice to tl,e 1 ■ nindarv. he attempted a big hit oft Antiioriv. ";ind Dacre. racing round in the i'e.-n field at long off. took a brilliant ,■ iatch The sensational <lis"the Cambridge batsman was c.'ppti d with pleasure ami regret- - , e-. M -e at his dispel from the Auckland viewnoi.it. and that he was t: t allowed to "cany on in Ins "asn iug attractive style. . , r At this stage. England had scored <51 >3 for the lo=s of seven wickets, live ot v l.irh had been captured by Anthony, ti.p Parnell bowler, for 30 runsFurther sensation followed -hen Am tlireiv again proved his worth. With a 1 rilliant one-hand ctchhe dismissed who had batted quietly fo. onlv" five runs. Anthony had now takon six' of the best English wickets foi the neaf S eight wickets j r V< Colonel J. C. Hartley, viceC -nt'i'ri ol "and' D. F. Brand, of Eton, became associated. The army batsman scored

steadily, smothered and half smothered the ball to score singles, "carrying on" with Brand in a varied, innings, that took the score to 338, when Brand, jumping out to drive Smith out of tho ground, succumbed to a clever catch by Whclaai in the long field. The team was essentially amateur, and as the two professionals, H. Tyldesley and A. P. Freeman " stood down," C. li. Gibson, tho hero of the famous Eastbourne match in which the hitherto unconquerod Australians were beaten in England two years ago, took tho crease as last man. Before the Cambridge cricketer had scored, Anthony beat tho batsman, tho icket-kceper, who was injured in tho leg, failed to roach the ball, and missed an easy chance of stumping. lho end came three runs later, when Gibson lifted Smith with a " skier " to Alcott. The Englishmen had batted for four and a-half hours, for 350 runs.

Auckland's First Innings. A heavy shower fell soon after Auckland s innings opened, and the treacherous turf was a serious handicap to the batsmen, especially Sneddon and McLeod, who slipped on the surface as they were about to make the strokes which brought about their downfall. The first wicket fell early. Anthony cutting Calthorpe in tho slips to he smartly caught by Macharen, w ho anticipated the stroke. Sneddon came in to assist Smith, who was shaping weli. but with the score at 45 Smith, after compiling 25, playing forward to Brand, was clean bowled. McLeod, the incomer, failed to play himself in at a critical stage, going for the bowling, with the result that on the slipperv pitch he failed to get fully on to one from Brand, and played it to Chapman at cover-point. three of tho best wickets down for ST. Auckland's prospects were not bright. orse was to follow. Sneddon, who had batted well for 18, also slipped and played a ball to Chapman. With four wickets down for 66. Daero came in at a critical stage. Garrard was playing confidently with rare-reaching strokes along tho turf. Auckland's score was 74 when Dacre pulled Brand round to square leg, to bo caught by Hill-Wood. Garrard welcomed the advent of Frater by on-driving HillWood to the rails, placing him past point, <o give Titchmnrsh a chance. The field failed, and tho century was raised in 88 minutes. Stumps were drawn at six o'clock, Auckland having lost five wickets for 107 runs, Garrard (37) not out, Frater (6) not out.

The attendance was estimated at between 4000 and 50C0. The grandstand was crowded to excess, the members' enclosure packed, and a large crowd assembled on the hillside and round the rails.

Scores:— ENGLAND.— First Innings. A. C. MacLaren, st. Rowntroe, b Anthony 58 T. C. Lowry. b Alcott ... ... ... 29 C. H. Titciimarsh, b Anthony ... 154 A. C. Wilkinson, run out ... ... 50 \V. W. Hill-Wood, c Alcott. b Anthony ... ... ... ... 5 A. P. F. Chapman, c Dacre, b Anthony 14 F. S. G. Calthorpe. b Anthony ... 0 G. Wilson, c and b Anthony 5 J. C. Hartley.. not out 16 D. F. Brand, c Whelan. b Smith 9 C. H. Gibson, c Alcott, b Smith ... 7 Extras ... ... ... ... 3 Total 350 BOWLING ANALYSIS. 0. M. R. W. Player ... ... 12 — 49 — Alcott ... ... 31 5 103 1 Garrard ... 11 3 31 — Sued den ... 9 2 41 — Anthony ... 14 — 43 6 Smith 15i 2 62 2 Dacre 4 1 17 — AUCKLAND.--First Innings. Smith, b Brand ... .•• 25 Anthony, e MacLaren. b Calthorpe 4 Snedden. c Chapman, b Brand ... 13 MeLeod. c Cha'jfmr.n. b Brand ... 8 Dacre. c Hill-Wood, b Brand ... ... 6 Garrard, not out ... ... ... ... 31 Frater. not out ... ... ... ... 6 Extras ... 3 Five wickets for ... 107 BOWLING ANALYSIS. 0. M. W. R. Gibson ... ... 6 2 0 9 Calthorpe ... 6 2 1 29 Hill-Wood ... 9 1 0 35 Brand ... ... 10 3 4 31 Chapman ... — — — HOW THE WICKETS FELL. ENGLAND. Batsmen V icket. Score. Lowrv ... I 45 MacLaren 2 129 Wilkinson 3 245 Hill-Wood ... ... 4 295 Titchmash ... ••• 5 300 Calthorpe ... ... 6 300 Chapman 7 313 Wilson ... ••• 8 323 Brand ... 9 Gibson ... ••• 10 350 AUCKLAND. Batsmen Wicket, Score. Anthonv * .5 Smith ... ••• 2 4^ McLeod 3 5i Snedden ... ••• 4 Dacre ... ••• 3 10;