PLUNKET SHIELD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22970, 23 February 1938, Page 15

PLUNKET SHIELD

AUCKLAND TEAM'S .WIN DEFEAT, IN FINAL MATCH INNINGS DECISION |WELLINGTON'S GREAT BID |r»T TELEORAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] ijfx "WELLINGTON, Tuesday tiThe last day's play of the final Plunket Shield cricket match of the (oason, between Auckland and Wellington was full of interest and provided i large crowd with many thrills. Excitement was intense as Wellington raced against time in an effort to force an outright win against accurate fast bowling. Wellington had lost five wickets for 129 runs at stumps, being 17 short of the required 146. The game thus rolulted in a win for Wellington on the first innings. Under the system of points allocated, Auckland takes two for a loss on the first innings and, with an aggregate of 18 points, retains the Plunket Shield. Tho honours of the match were definitely with Wellington. .

On a comparatively easy wicket today Auckland fell in the second innings {or 212. the exception of Scott, who fully lived up to his reputation as a decidedly promising, if somewhat ungainly, batsman, and Postles, who plodded away laboriously for three and a-half hours in making 49, the butsmen -never really mastered the bowling. Possibly the Wellington public expected a great deal more than was possible from Auckland, in view of the huge scores piled up agi inst Otago and Canterbury. The ; features of to-day's play were the accurato bowling of Pritchard, Blundell and Lamason, and Scott's very useful innings. The match was a veritible triumph for Pritchard, who followed up his four wickets for 27 in the )irst innings by taking three for 33 jn the second, when' all his victims were clean bowled. The deliveries which dismissed Whitelaw and Carson "were nich that they might have brought the downfall of much greater batsmen. In shield matches this season Pritchard has taken 15 wickets', for 227 runs at in average of 15.1.

Lamason came through the game with flying colours, captaining the side ably and following up two solid innings by a fine piece of bowling in Auckland's second inning?. Blundell was responsible for one of the sensations of the game, hia first over titer tha tea adjournment yielding three urickets for one run and abruptly terminating Auckland'B innings. With one or two better-hitting batsmen Wellington might have secured the necessary runs for an outright win, But it was no easy task endeavouring to score olf bowlers of the calibre or Cowie, Carson and Simpson. All bowled steadily, a.nd by placing the field well out, Postlerf 1 confined most of the scoring to singles. j: Auckland's fielding was patchy, conratently good ground work being offby missed chances. Details of the scores are as follows: ftfj'AUCKLAND first innings ..... • • * « * • 156 V*' Second Innings TOitelaw, b Pritchard . . . < > • 8 Postles, b Lamason • 49 Wallace, c Pritchard, b Parsloe . . 28 Carsont b Pritchard . . . . • • 25 Mills, b Pritchard . . . • • • • not out • • • • 74 Matheson, b - Lamason ...... 1 Edmonds, b Lamason . . .. . . 10 Cowie, c Tradill, b Blundell .... 0 McMahon, nt Tindill, b Blundell .... 0 Simpson, c Lamason, b Blundell . . ~. . jjjotal 212 —Pritchard took three wickets for 33 runs, Blundell three for 55, Parsloe one for 35, Lamason three for 34, Griffiths none for 17, Donnelly .none for 10, Moloney none for 15. WELLINGTON Tint innings •'« • • 223 Second Innings Bfce, b Simpson . •». .• • • •:«. *:«. 31 Parsloe, c Edmonds, b Cowie . < Moloney, run out . . . • • < x * 20 apt Simpson . . > • Donnelly, c Scott, b' Carson , < v:« Winason, not out * • witchard, not out ... .. •*. * • ® Extras* .... . . . • . • » • 1" ft-Total for five wickets • • • • 129 ■Bowling.—Cowie took one wicket for 30 runs, Matheson none for 28, Carson co® for 35, Simpson two for 23. TABLE OF POINTS AUCKLAND'S ELEVENTH WIN , This is tiie eleventh time Auckland Urwon the Plunket Shield. The total Points scored are as follows: —Auck- » 18; Otago, 16; Wellington, 12; vWterbury, 0. . „ , x ijhe system of scoring in Plunket Shield matches is as follows: —Outright *in. 8 points; outright loss, 0; win first innings, 4; loss on first innings, •£ tie on match, 4 each; no result •fter six hours' play, 4 each. has held the trophy on occasions, Wellingtcm has won it ®£nt times, and Otago twice.