DOMINION CRICKETERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19736, 8 September 1927, Page 15

DOMINION CRICKETERS.

A WIN AND A DRAW.

MATCH AGAINST THE ARMY.

I - GAME RUINED BY RAIN.

EFFECT OF BAD WEATHER. BY COLONEL PHILIP TREVOR. LONDON, July 26. It was an even better victory than it might appear to be on paper which the New Zealand cricketers won last Tuesday at Chiswick where they defeated our Civil Service by an innings and 15 runs. The feature of the match was, of course, the unfinished partnership of Mills and AUcott, which began after seven wickets had fallen and which produced no fewer than 190 runs.

When these two batsmen came together the New \Zealanders, in spite of a fine innings by Blunt, were not in a good position, but thanks to them Lowry was actually able to declare the innings closed that evening knowing when he did so that the defeat of his side was not even a remote probability. The matchwinning capacity of batting of the forcing type was again in evidence. New . Zealand's 421 runs were got at the rate of about 80 an hour. That is a moderate pace for the New Zealanders, but it is in advance of our average in first-class county cricket.

Next day the New Zealand bowling asserted itself. Despite another plucky innings by C. H. Bennett, Henderson and Blunt had the side out for 150 runs, the fast medium left-hander having an even better bowling analysis than the slow right-hander. It was a good victory and won in the right way. The Civil Service are already a pretty good side and with the necessary official encouragement they could in the near future justify the official distinction of first-class. - Match Against the Army.

To the great disappointment of everyone the New Zealand match against the Army at Folkestone was ruined by rain. There was no play at all on the second day of it, and only a few minutes on the third and last. The bad weather on the Thursday and Friday was the more to be regretted seeing that the tourists were by way of being up against it. Very seldom do they win the toss, bat first, and get put out for less than 200 runs. And that was their fate at Folkestdne. Now it is as a batting and not as a bowling side that the Army rank and have always ranked.

It came therefore as a great surprise to me when the toldier oowlers got the New Zealanders out cheaply on the first day of the match at Folkestone. But ; t did not come as a surprise 1,0 me when the soldier batsmen subsequently topped the New Zealand score for the loss of only three wickets. If only the weather had kept fine it would have been most interesting to test once again the recuperative batting power of the New Zealanders. There is no need for ma to make excuses for them beyond to draw attention to the disadvantage they have been at during the past few weeks on account of the continuous rain with which this country has been afflicted. You cannot dismiss the weather question as one concerning merely fast, slow, or sticky wickets. You cannot fairly ignore either the physical or the moral effect of it. Influence of the Weather. The New Zealanders opened their tour in fine weather and they instantly established a considerable—a very considerable —batting reputation. Because of late they have made two or three only moderate scores on slow wickets I decline to take that fact as evidence that they are lacking in the power to bat well on soft turf. My memory goes back too far and is too retentive to allow me to do that. This phenomena, if you like to call it so, is too well known to me, and consequently it is not a phenomenon. I havo noticed it in the case of the Australians and the South Africans as well as in the case of the West Indians. The Southern Hemisphere has the Northern Hemisphere beaten to a frazzle in weather. I leave it to the scientists to explain how it is that bad weather morally depresses those who are used to good weather.' It is enough for me to note the fact that it does depress them, and that I know for a Certainty that such depression is very practically translated where the Empire game of cricket is concerned.