PLAY ON SECOND DAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18292, 8 January 1923, Page 6

PLAY ON SECOND DAY.

CHAPMAN IN GOOD FORM. ENGLAND NOW 46 BEHIND.' FOUR EASY- CATCHES MISSED [BY TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.] CHRISTCHUKCH. Sunday. Followers of cricket have had nothing to complain of concerning the sport they have had during the past two days. The test match has seen New Zealand's hat-j ting at its best and the Englishmen too j in excellent form. j The first day's play having left New i Zealand with a very respectable total, it' was expected that the gate to-fFay would be big and the hopes were realised, the sum of £490 being taken, making a total of £716 for the two days. -a The match is now in a very interesting stage. The Englishmen are 46 behind with three wickets (two of them poor ones) to fail, and if the Now Zealanders do not-collapse- on Monday the game should end in a draw with the honours very even. With a good wicket, a fast outfield, glorious weather and the players all doing their best., the game has been a pleasure to watch so far and should go a long way toward increasing interest in cricket here. It was not expected that the remaining New Zealand batsmen would make much difference to the total, but McGirr batted like a champion. In fact, he gave as good and as forcible a display as anyone on the side, scoring all round the wicket with well-placed forcing strokes. Tie received some assistance from Alcott, and the hopes of New Zealand's supporters were high when the innings closed just 25 short of 400. The opening English batsmen never looked jjike making runs. When he had scored a single, Titchmarsh, who had been scratching badly, put a soft one from McGirr into Shepherd's hands, but found the fieldsman wanting. A moment later Shepherd took a much more difficult catch in the ■ same position from Wilson, low down and with one hand. The scoring was extremely slow-. Wilkinson Has Life. Soon after Bernau appeared at the crease, he settled Titchmarsh with a ball that .beat him ail the way. Wilkinson, too, was scratchy at the start and lifted ' one or two dangerously. close, to the field and Chapman did the same for an over \ or two early in his career. Wilkinson should have"been run out' but Shepherd finished off a fine piece' of fielding by a bad return. The first 50 took 63 minutes, three minutes longer than it had taken New Zealand to make 100.'-. Nothing much occurred up to the lunch adjournment, but Chapman and Wilkinson, particularly Chapman, got busy on resuming and runs came quickly, 100 being added in* 71 minutes. Chapman hit practically everything, Garrard being the only one to keep him quiet. The Aucklander at one stage sent down six overs for 13 runs which, considering the calibre of the batsmen, was first-class. They were proceeding merrily on their way when "Wilkinson was beaten all the way by Bernau—a half-volley which he tried to drive. The partnership rattled on 129 in 93 minutes. Wilkinson batted for two hours! The third wicket fell at 172, which was exactly the total .when the New Zealanders'" third man departed. Chapman did not survive much longer. McGirr missed him in'the slips, but then Bernau bowled him with a beauty that kept.a low swing across from the leg and bowled him of! his pads. Bernau then had three for 37- - Chapman had played a splendid innings, using his reach with" effect, and scoring freely on the leg and the off. Calthorpe was never happy, nor was Lowry at first, but after tea he commenced to make the bowling, look very cheap. It was a rather expensive let-off when Garrard dropped him off Alcott when he was 25. He gave a bright display, and his 60 included eleven boundaries. He scored faster than Chapman, reaching 50 in 53 minutes. ■ ■ - Tail Starts Wagging. i Hartley and Brand showed unexpected aggressiveness after a spell of slow play, .which moved the crowd to ironical barrack, and matters livened up when Snedden put himself and Blunt on. It was unfortunate that McGirr had to go off owing to an injury, but the week-end spell may. do him good. \ Taking it all round the New Zealand fielding was good, but nothing like so clean as that of the Englishmen. At least four easy catches were dropped, which is not as it should be. Sneriden handled his bowling fairly well on the whole, but was obviously nonplussed toward the end, and to try Blunt was an expensive experiment. He. also kept Bernau on too long, tiring him when a rest might have made a lot of difference. McGirr i sent down 25 overs for 69 runs and one wicket; Alcott 26 for 67 runs and two wickets; Bernau 25 for 74 runs and three wickets and Garrard, who was very steady, 18 overs for 45 runs and on© wicket. Condliffe was the reverse of impressive behind the wickets. He certainly received a number of hard knocks, but his handling was not clean, and he let too many extras go by. His stumping of Lowry, however, was a quick piece of ' work. With renewed sting in the bowling on Monday the visitors may find it difficult to make up the deficiency. The two. batsmen who are yet to come, Freeman and Gibson, are never expected to make runs, and if New Zealand can manage to keep ahead it will have the satisfaction of a : moral and well-deserved victory, even if : the game is a draw.