CRICKET.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1351, 20 January 1898, Page 26

CRICKET.

ISTOBDAfIT’S TEAJJN AUSTRALIA. THE THIRD TEST MATCH. BRILLIANT BATTING BY DARLING AND HILL. Adelaide, January 13. With the exception that Howell takes Me* Kibbin’s place, the tsst team .is tlld same a& that which played the Englishmen ih Melbourne. MdKibbm had Domian .are the emergency . mfeh. Howell strained the. muscles &£ his thigh in bowling yesterda . If he is Unable to play on Friday MeKibbin will ire l place, him., Giffen’S name Was mentioned, bdi, sd fair Se far as can be gathered, that w&s all. . Adelaide, January i 4; The test match began to day in beautifully cool and pleasant weather, ‘the .attendance was 12,000. Tr6tt Won the toss from fet'oddart, who took the place of Wainwright in thb English team. McLeod and Darling began the innings on a perfect wicket against Richard- - son and Briggs. While the Victorian stonewalled, Darling began brilliantly, and made some magnificent off drives and cuts off both bowlers, besides lifting Briggs for 5., The first hour’s play realised 61, Darling being 46 and McLeod 15. Hearne and Hirst ■ were now tried at the bowling crease. After luncheon the scoring was' slow. When McLeod was 21 Ranjitsinliji missed a simple chance at point fr>m Hearne’s bowling. At 97 Briggs relieved Hirst, and with his seoond b»li bowled McLeod, who was batting an hour and 55 minutes, and gave only orro chance during his monotonous though useful display. Hill began busily, but Darling quite eclipsed him by the vigour with which he sent the ball flying in all directions. He was severe on Hearne with charming cuts, and again hit Briggs for five. When his score was 86 Darling made a hit to cover off Briggs, which Hearne could not quite get back to. At 135 Richardson replaced . Hearne, and Darling brought his score to 98 with a sequence of three 4’s. At that, stage he gave a terrifically hot chance to point, which “ Rangi ” could not hold. i hen he completed his century sensationally by bitting Briggs to square leg clean out- of the oval. This is only tho second time such a hit has been seen on the ground, which is an unusnally large one. Darling made his hundred in two and a half hours, At 170 Haywood and Mason were tried. At the 4 o’clock adjournment the scores were “Darling, 117 ; Hill, 45, and the total, 195. In exactly an hour since the partnership began 98 runs had been scored. Darling had made mostly boundary hits, while Hill had got his runs by splendid allround play. Hirst and Richardson resumed * bowling, and from th‘e latter’s third over 10 runs were scored, of which Hill made 8. Then the same batsman hit 11 off one of Richardson’s overs, but from the first ball of the next over ho was caught at short stop. His innings extended over 98 minutes. Hill’s was a superb display, for although he was so brilliant he did not make, a mistake, and he hit all round the wicket with equal skill. Seven 4’s were in his score.

Gregory began so cautiously that in a quarter of an hour he had made only two singles. The score reached 250 after four hours’ batting. Darling, after taking a breather, opened out at Briggs, whom he hit for 10 in one over, and 8 in the next, four of the hits being 4’s. Darling completed his 150 in four and a quarter hours. Hearne and Mason were now put on, but Darling punished , them in the same way as he had the others. * The score was carried to 300 in four hours and a half. The batsmen cautiously played out time, the score standing 310 for two wickets Darling played magnificently during the four hours and forty minutes he wa3 at the wickets, and the only chances he gave were those mentioned, neither of which was easy. He hit one six, two fives and 26 fours. At times his hitting was terrific, but he never sacrificed caution for brilliance. Gregory was in an hour for 15. The bowling throughout was brilliant, but the wicket was so good that the bowlers cou’d get no work on the ball. Adelaide, January 15 The weather was considerably warmer when the test match was continued to-day. The attendance was 7000. Richardson continued the attack to Gregory, who scored a single off the first bill rrotn the fifth Darling was caught by at short s„op without having added to bis store of 178 —3 for 311. Iredale started slowly, while Gregory rapi'Ty doubled his scored When the latfc r was 32 he gave Stoddart at mid-off a chance off Briggs, which was dropped. Moat of tue runs came from Kichardsou, while Briggs s.eijt down his first 12 overs for 5 runs and 10 maidens. The first hour’s play re&li-ed 41 runs. At 360 m->fc relieve t Briggs, aiul Gregory banged 10 off the over, ami wus miss dat the wickets. O f rka fTst ball of Hirst’s second over Gregory vva? giv*n out caught at the wicket, though he was positive he did not touch the b.JI. t. e was batting i jvo hours and 25 minute.- f V>r his 52, and as he was got out at 374, tm i urth wicket had ruton 63 runs. Luncheon was then taken, Iredale hiving made 25. After making 3 while Iredale added a duzen, Trott-was bowled. Noble opened with great care, and made nothing more than seven singles in 35 minutes. An unfortunate accident now happened to Hirst, who, while in the act of delivering a ball, strained his abdominal muscles, and had to retire. He was examined by a dootor, who ordered complete rest for at least the remainder of the afternoon. Briggs bowled in his stead, but was ineffective, and with 420 up, Mason and Hayward were tried. Hayward, aided by brilliant fielding, kept the runs down for a while, but Noble soon began to got on to both bowlers with beautiful, clean, square outs and off drives. At 447 Storer replaced Mason, bnt his slow leg-breaks did not worir, one over yielding nine runs. Kichardson took the ball from Hayward at 474, and with 1 his fifth ball, a slow one which broke from the off, beat Noble, who had been ip an hour and twenty minutes, and had batted prettily for his 39. The tea adjournment was then taken, with Iredale s score at 76 Trumble went out with Iredale on resuming. Kichardson and Briggs had charge of the bowling, but “ Kanji ” could not field, owing to an injury to his loft hand, received in trying to stop a hard cut from Noble. When 19 runs had been added, Iredale played one from Richardson on to his wicket. t He was batting three hburs and twenty

minutes, and did not give a chance. He hit seven 4’s.

Kelly joined Trumble, and 500 soon appeared as the outcome of eight and a half hours’ batting. Mason, who got Trumble at fcydney and Melbourne, and Hearne were now tried, and they steadied the rate of scoring. Kelly, after taking 4b minutes to reach double figures, became more aggressive, and chiefly from his bat came the runs which sent the score past the Australians’ Melbourne total (520). At 528 Stoddart took the ball from Mason, and-with the first ball of his second over bowled Kelly’s leg stump. Kelly had been batting 55 minutes for his 22. - With Jones in Richardson wenG on. Eight off one of his overs made the score 551. The Englishmen’s Sydney score was passed by a run got by Jones, through Hayward at third man missing a difficult chance. Stumps •were drawn, the score standing at 552 for nine wickets, Trumble being 32, not out. Adelaide, January 17. The test match was resumed to-day in rather warm weather. The attendance was 11,000. The takings of the match are over .£IBOO. Trumble and Howell resumed batting. The latter hit vigorously off Richardson, and chiefly through his agency 20 runs were added in ten minutes. The duration of the! whole innings was 9hrs 25min. Maolaren and Mason began the Englishmen’s innings to the bowling of Howell and Jones. The first half-hour s play yielded 29 runs. With four added Jones bowled Mason with a beautiful ball. Banjitsinbji got Jones’ first ball away for 2, and off the third he gave Kelly a very difficult chance at the wickets. Trumble now went on instead of Jones, because he always troubles “ Ranji,” and the third ball was scooped up to mid-on, where Jones secured it. Luncheon was then taken, with the score at 30. After the interval, Howell, in his second over, beat Maclaren with a beautiful ball. 3 for 34. Storer, after making four, pulled a ball from Howell into his wicket. R owell at this stage had bowled 16 overs, nine of them maidens, for 12 runs and two wiokets. Ihe fourth wicket fell at 42. Hayward and Druee made a good stand, and played nice cricket, though when he had made seven Hayward gave a difficult chance of stumping to Kelly off Trumble. At 79 Jones relieved »rumble. While Howell continued to keep down the runs, Jones was rather expensive. Hayward twice getting him to leg for four. The century was completed in two hours five minutes. Jones therefore gave way to Noble at 105, and off his second over Druce was finely caught by Darling at mid-on. Druce had batted prettily for an hour and 10 minutes, and the partnership had put on 64 runs. With one run added the players adjourned for tea. Howell, who had bowled 31 overs for 38 runs, resumed bowling after tea with Noble. When Hirst had made 19 he gave a difficult chance off Howell, which Trumble could not hold through over-balancing himself after jumping high to reach the ball. At 150 Trott replaced Howell, who had bowled 39 overs for 52 runs, and Jones went on instead of Noble. Runs came merrily for a time, Board, who was running for Hirst, doing some very smart work in this direction. ,At 172 Jones bowled Hayward off his pads. The retiring batsman was batting two hours and Ihree-quarters, and the only chance he gave was a difficult one of stumping. He hit five 4’s, and with Hirst put on 66 runs for the sixth wicket. With Stoddart in Howell displaced Trott, and Trumble took Jones’ place. Hirst, who was batting splendidly, hit two 4’s off Trumble, but Stoddart was content to block ball after ball from Howell, who was again keeping a splendid length. At five minutes to 6 Noble displaced Howell, and Stoddart out the first ball for four, and snicked another dangerously for three. The batsmen carefully played out time. Hirst was in two hours for his 50, and he gave a chanoeless display. The Australians fielded splendidly, and no reasonable chances were missed. They, however, had very little difficult work to do, as the batting was slow and cautious. Following are tne scores : Australia. —First Innings. McLf od, b Briggs ... 31 Hill, o Storer, b Kiobardson 81 Darling, o Storer, b Richardson ... ... 178 Gregory, c Storer, b Hirst ... ... ... 52 Iredale, b Richardson ... 84 Trott, b Hearne ... ... ... ... 3 Noble, b Richardson 39 Kelly, b Stoddart 22 Jones, run out 8 Trumble, not out ... 37 Howell, b Hearne ... ... ... ... 16 Extras ... 22 Total ... ... ... ... ... 573 The bowling analysis so far is—Briggs, one for 128 ; Richardson, four for 164 ; Hirst, one for 63; Hearne two for 91; Hayward, nil fyr 35; Mason, nil for 41 ; Storer, nil for lo ; Stoddart, one for 10. Adelaide, January 18. The test match was resumed this morning under extremely unpleasant conditions. A gale of wind blew across the ground, carrying with it considerable quantities of dust. Noble and Howell resumed bowling, and with nine runs added stoddart was splendidly taken by Joues at mid-off from a hard drive. When Briggs had made 5 he waß missed by Howell at slip off Noble. The batsman showed his gratitude by cover hitting Noble to the boundary twice off successive balls, but off the last ball of the over he was caught at the wickets. Two balls from Howell were too much for Hearne. Richardson and Hir§t made an unexpected stand. Both hit freely, though Richardson had some luck with his lofty ones. Jones was tried instead of Howell, without effect. When 56 runs had been put on in 40 minutes, Trumble, at slip, caught Hirst. The Yorkshireman was batting three hours and 20 minutes, and did not give a chance. He hit 11 4’s. The duration of the whole innings was five hours and 25 minutes. Maclaren and Mason began the second innings to the bowling of Howell and Noble. Maclaren’s first hit was a warm return to Howell, and he also gave Noble a similar chance. Directly afterwards, with 10 up, Mason was caught at mid-off from a similar stroke.

Eanjitsinjhi made 19 quickly, and then was missed at long-off by Darling off Noble. Fifty runs were reached in an hour. At this stage, Trumble displaced Howell, who had bowled a dozen overs for 19 runs. After a spell of Blow play Maolaren got eaoh bowler to square leg for 4. At 75 McLeod relieved Noble. “ Ranji ” out each bowler to the boundary. At the luncheon adjournment the score was 91—“ Ranji,” 45; Maolaren, 43, Trott and McLeod resumed

bowling, and a hundred went up as the outcome of an hour and 52 minutes’ batting. Directly afterwards both batsmen reached their ha f - century. The Indian Prince made light of Tr.i'tt, whom he hit for two 4's, and aG 118 Trott gave way to Howell. The batsmen were playing masterly cricket. They took no risks, but played ail the bowling with the utmost respect. At last Ranjifcsinhji made a mishit and skied a ball to slip, where Trumble held it. He was batting two hours and a half and after the first few minutes his batting was in his best form. He hit eight 4’s. The partnership had produced 142 runs. Hayward was in 20 minutes for one run. Then he returned a ball low down to McLeod, who made a fine catch. Storer having made six in two hits, cut a ball to Hill at third man, who held it. Both wickets fell in the same over. Druce and Maclaren p ayed out time. Howell finished up the day by bowling eight maiden overs. Maclaren played a great innings. He was in three hours and twenty minutes, and after the first two difficult chances to the bowlers, he did not make a mistake. He hit five 4’s. The Australians fielded brilliantly apart from Darling’s mistake. Iredale, Jones and Gregory were very smart. Jones, owing to an injured shoulder, could not bowl at all. Following are the scores :~ England. - First Innings. Maclaren, b Howell 14 Mason, b Jones 11 Ranjitsinhji, c Jones, b Trumble ... 6 Storer, b Howell ... 4 Hayward, b Jones 70 Druce, c Darling, b Noble ... ... 24 Hirst, c Trumble, b Noble 85 Stoddart, o Jones, b Howell 15 Briggs, c Kelly, b Noble ... 14 rtearne, b Howell ... 0 Richardson, not out... 25 Extras ... 10 Total ... ... 278 Bowling analysis—Howell, four for 70 ; Jones, two for 67 ; Trumble, one for 39; Noble, three for 87; Trott, none for 14. Second Innings. Mason, c Jones, b Noble ... ... ... 0 Ranjitsinhji, c Trumble, b McLeod ... 77 Hayward, c and b McLeod ... 1 Storer, c Hill, b McLeod 6 Druce, not out ... ... ... ... 0 Maclaren, not out ... . ... ... ... 70 Extras ... v ... ... 7 Total for four wickets 161 The bowling analysis so far is : —Trumble, none for 17 ; Noble, one for 4k; Trott, none for 18 ; McLeod, three for 36; Howell, none for 41. London, January 17. Intense disappointment is expressed at the poor stand made by the Englishmen in the third test match. The newspapers refer to the batting as a wretched display, and the score as a paltry one.

OTHER MATCHES.

SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP. The second round of the Championship matches was begun on Saturday on the Basin Reservo. The weather was fine, and the wicket, especially No 1, were in good order. There appeared to be a “ spot ” or two on No. 2 . The play was not of a very particularly enlivening character, although some excellent batting was shown by Richardson. Ashbolt and C. Gore of the Wellingtons, and Williams and K. Tucker of the Midlands and A. Howard of the Rivals. Another feature was the remarkable bowling performance of Holdsworth, who bowled eight overs, six of whioh were maidens, and secured four wickets for 2 runs. He also bowled a wide and two no balls. From present indications the results point to victories for the Midland and Wellington over the Rival and Phoenix teams respectively. A few details of the play are as follows : RIVAL V. MIDLAND. _ The Rivals batted first, and quite distinguished themselves, nearly reaching three figures in spite of the formidable bowling opposed to them. The total reached 93, four of the team getting into double figures. Howard showed improved.forra in compiling his 35, and Glasgow, who" gives promise of being a good batsman, shaped well for his baker’s dozen. Wilson laid the wood on, and included in his 17 was one ’ big hit over the fence G. Howard also played well. Holdsworth bowled with remarkable success, as will be seen by his figures. Upham and SteveQson also did well/ The fielding was good, and two or three fine catches were brought off in the slips. The Midlanders made short work of ,the weak bowling of their opponents, topping the Rival’s score, and obtaining a lead of over 50 for the loss of only two wiokets. Williams (53) and K. Tucker (32), both not out, were the principal contributors. Williams, however, gave an easy chance early in his innings. Messrs A. Ashbolt and C. Gross were the umpires. Following is the score :

Rival.—Fir it Innings. A. Howard, o Upham., b Stevenson ... 35 0. Howard, c Hioason, b Upham 12 Read, b Upham ... ■'! 0 Williamson, b Upham ... 0 Glasgow, c Williams, b Holdsworth ... 13 Wil, on, c Upham, b Stevenson 17 Johnson, b Stevenson 1 Frith, b Holdsworth . ... 0 Smythe, b Stevenson... 4 Jones, e Stevenson, b Holdsworth ... 2 De la Mere, not out ... 5 Extras 4 Total ... ... 93 BOWLING ANALYSIS. Balls. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Upham... ... 90 4 38 3 Smith 30 0 16 0 Stephenson ... 104 7 33 3 Holdsworth* 48 6 2 4 *Bowled 1 wide and 2 no-balls. Midland.—First Innings. Lash, b Frith 22 Hickson, b Glasgow 19 Williams, not out ... ... 53 K. Tucker, not out ... 32 Extras 23 Total for two wickets ;. 149 PHOENIX V. WELLINGTON. This match attracted considerable public attention. The Phoenix went first to the wicket, but the bowling proved too strong for them, and they (with the exception of Waters, who compiled 29 runs as the result of a lucky innings) made no sort of stand. Several of the batsmen, however, were out to very feeble strokes. The total of the innings was only 66. Ashbolt obtained an excellent average, six for 41, and Hales assisted with three for 21. The fielding of the Wellingtons

was excellent all round. The Wellingtons then went in, and compiled. 150 for the loss of three wickets at the call of time. Richardson gave further proof of his undoubted ability as a, master o' the art of d fence and hs untiring patienc v and in this respect he sets an example which the younger cricketers, and, in fact, many of the older ones, might advautageous'y follow. Richardson’s total of 68 included some good drives and a lovely cut or two. One chance only i 3 to be set vagainst him. As an exhibition of steady and patient batting Ashbolt’s 42 was an innings full of merit. The young Wellingtonian, who is undoubtedly one of our best all-round players, if indeed he cannot claim to be the Giffen o p local cricket, is now showing capital form with the bat. While this pair were at the wickets some excellent cricket of the sound, if not thoroughly attractive, order was displayed. C. Gore batted attraotively for 32, and is still notout fdx of the Phoenix trundlers were tried, Roberts and Millward being the only ones to secure a wicket. The fielding wis not first-class, and at times positively weak. Following are the scores: — Phcenix. —First Innings Burton, b Hales 3 Webb, b Ashbolt 0 Naughton, c and b Ashbolt 1 Waters, 1.b.w., b Ashbolt ... 29 Midlane, run out ... ... 12 Wallace, b Hales ... 2 Roberts, b Hales ... 0 Benbow. st Niven, b Ashbolt ... 11 Millward, sfc Niven, b Ashbolt 1 • gier, not out ... ... ... ... 5 Wells, st Niven, b Ashbolt 0 Extras ... 2 Total 66 BOWLING ANALYSIS, Balls. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Ashbolt ... 80 0 41 6 Hales 84 5 21 3 Richardson ... 6 0 2 0 Wellington.—First Innings. Ashbolt, c Burton, b Millward 42 Weybourne, run out... 2 Richardson, c Burton, b Roberts ... 68 C. Gore, not ost 32 Hickson, not out ... ... 3 Extras 3 Total for three wiokets ... 150

NEW SOUTH WALES DEFEATS SOUTH AUSTRALIA, Adelaide, January 12 In the second innings of New South Wales Jones took six wickets for 70, Evans two for 50, and Reedman two for 11. New South Wales defeated South Australia by 216 runs. The local team in its second innings scored 189. The principal scorer was Darling, 33, not out. Howell took three wickets fer 50, MoKibbin three for 51, and Noble four for 63. A meeting of the committee of the Wellington Cricket Association was held last Monday night in the Exchange Buildings. It was decided to write to the Manawatu Assooiacion informing it that owing to the representative eleven not being able to get away a match could not be arranged. It was also decided not to play Junior Cup matches on the Petone wicket. Mr F. L. A shbolt was presented bv Mr Knapp, on behalf of an anonymous donor, with the ball which he so successfully used in the recent match against the Canterbury representatives. The ball was suitably mounted. Mr A. R. Holdship notj being present, the promised bat for the highest individual score in the Wellington! team was handed over to Mr Levers for presentation to the winner. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to the modest and generous patron of the game who had given the trophies. A most enjoyable game of cricket was played at Kilbirnie yesterday week between teams from the Te Aro House and Waiwetu Clubs, resulting in a decisive victory for the oountry team. In the evening the visitors were entertained by their opponents at the Trocadero at a smoke concert, the affair proving an immense success The toastß honoured were those of “ The Visitors,” “ Kindred Sports,” “ Onr Country Cousins,” “ The Ladies ” and “ The Press.” Several members of both teams enlivened the proceedings with Bongs, recitations, &c. The Junior Cup match Wellington second v. Phoenix second was played on the College ground on Saturday, Wellington batted first, putting up the respectable score of 171 (W. C. S, Levers 65, W. Woon 37, F. W. Christian 17, not out, and M. Crombie 10). The Phoenix could only respond with 77 (Anderson 19, Sir K. Douglas 14), and follow-

inf on loat six wickets for 23. In the PhceKgfe first innings F. W. Christian took five wickets for 23, and T. M. Luokie three for 31. The Phoenix, with four wickets to go down, want 71 to save the innings defeat. No fewer than five of the Phoenix lost their wickets in attempting impossible short runs. The following table shows the present position for the Junior Gup : Club. Won. Lost. Unfinished. Wellington second ... 2 0- 1 Midland second ... 1 1 2 Petone 1 1 1 Kilbirnie ... ... 2 1 Thorndon 2 1 Johnsonville v 2 1 Wgtn. Col. Old Boys 1 1 1 Wellington College... 12 Phoenix second / ... 12 1 liival second ... ... 0 3 It will be seen that no fewer than five teams will be leading jointly should the unfinished game Wellington v. Midland result in a win for the latter eleven. The Junior Cup match Midland second v. Wellington second was concluded on the Basin Keserve on Thursday afternoon, the former winning by 130 runs. The Petone - Johnsonville heat for the Junior Cup resulted in an easy win for Petone by an innings and 11 runs. The feature of the match was the excellent bowling of Brice and Arnold, and the splendid wicketkeeping of Cates, who stumped five men. The wicket was full of holes, which resnlted in a few very serious accidents. One of the Johnsonville batsmen had to be carried off the field after receiving a terrible wound in the ear, and the Petone wicketkeeper received a horrible gash under the eye, which necessitated his leaving the field. Johnsonville made 62 (4. Moore 25). Petone made 107 (Arnold 22, Haigh 16, Burns 14). Johnsonville made 34 in their second essay (Better 12). The Thorndons have all the best of the match with Kilbirnie for the Junior Cup. Going to the wickets first, they made 154 Pocknall, 50; Hawthorne, 44; Sampson, 22. Chapman (four for 6) and Waldie (three for 33) were the best of the bowlers tried. Kilbirnie, in their first innings, were all out for 25 - Chapman, 8; Topp, 7. Burns (five for 9) and Overend (four for 13) took the wickets. Following on, Kilbirnie have one wicket down for 24—Smith, 14, not out.

Tha Third-class Championship heat College Old Boys v. Kilbirnia commenced at the Athletic Park on Saturday. The former batted first for 51, of which Palethorpe scored 17 and Fordham 10. Don. Naughton took six wickets for 14, and (against the wind) four for 16 on behalf of .Kilbirnie, who, aided by very loose fielding, had scored 216 for four wickets when stumps were drawn for the day. Naughton c ntributed 91 (not out); Churchill, jun., 29 ; Burrell, 35; Mowbray, 24 (notout); extras, Fully a dozen catches were missed by the «jld Boys, who were a bit demoralised at the end of the play, references to golf, tennis, marbles, &c., being plentiful. In the Midland third v. Phoenix third heat fur the Third-class Championship, the scores were:-Phoenix first innings, 12-<; Midland first innings, 104; Phoenix second inn ngs, Bix wickets down for 29. Fisher, the Dunedin oricketer, who has just returned from Melbourne, said in an in erview that he did not wish to make any charge or complaint against the Australian Selection Committee or the promoters, but he thought it was very disappointing to be invited to go to Australia with the idea that if he showed good form he would get a place in the test team and yet to be given no opportunity of showing his true form. He thinks the only way by whioh New Zealanders can ever get to the front in Australian cricket will be by carefully-selected New Zealand teams going over and playing several colonies on their own wickets. From what be saw of intercolonial cricket,. he was convinced that it is not so very much ahead of New Zealand cricket as people imagine. Melbourne, January 12. In its match against Stoddart’a team the Stawell team, has lost .16 wickets for 233 runs. The chief scorers were—Brisden, 49 ; Nioholla, 48.-