CRICKET

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4301, 9 March 1901, Page 7 (Supplement)

CRICKET

(BY THE “HITITTE.”) Last Saturday’s games provided some fair exhibitions of ''batting and bowling skill. Clarke’s century was a fine display of aggressive bi.itsnianship, and tho manner iu which ho and Aiidla no slogged the ball about, was a. lino objeot-Ics-son to the rank and file of .senior players who regularly kill-time at the wickets and murder interest on tlio outskirts.

A good performance at a critical time Was that of Stephenson and Road at the fag end of tho Midland's .second innings. The score stood, at a trifle over 90 for nine wickets when they got together, and -they quickly ran the total up to over 130, at which total stumps were drawn for tho day. Ashbolt was’ again in gr.-od form with the leather, and took G wickets for thirty-nino runs. Clarho secured a similar number of wickets for even fewer runs, but against that it must said that tho calibre of tho batsmen op-' posed to him, was not equal to that’ ol the Midland team.

Tlio Midland team’s batting as a whole iv as disappointing. Williams was over-cautious; and, as for Weybourne, he pottered at the wickets for over half an hour for five runs. Holdsworth hit hard, but not often; Hickson gave a fair exhibition.

In tho Old Boys innings the only meritorious feature was the stand made by Douglas and Elacklock. Douglas laid on the wood nicely and carried Ids bat out; and tho score of Blacklock was marked by several nice strokes. ’

Ono bad feature of Wellington cricket this season has been tho consistent scoring of that unpopular nonentity—extras. Hardly an innings is played in whicii ho fails to strike double figures, and iu some Ids score runs up to close on 30 tuns. - ’ Whicii reminds me that in the Old Boys’-Phoenix match C. P. Blacklock has kept down tho extras fairly well. Blacklook has been showing good form behind the sticks of late, and ho is likely to develop into a really first-class wic-ket-keeper. AlcKibbin, the one-time tricky and deadly bowler of the Australian Eleven, seems to be regaining a little of his oldtime form. Describing a match played at Adelaide recently, the ooirespondent of the “Referee” says : —“Port Adelaide beat West Torrens rather unexpectedly, owing to the deadly bonding of McKibbin. On tho first day Ports made 120, and West Torrens had- throe wickets down for 6G. The remaining seven wickete made 41, and the Ports won by 13 runs. MoEibbin got seven wickets for 43.” Last season Mac was “under a cloud,” as far as bowling was concerned. He was playing in. club cricket in Bathurst, N.S.W., aucl had to “run hard” for his place in tho team once or twice. “The Hittitc” knows this, for ho was there.

Tho visit of an English cricket team to Australia, which was postponed last year on account of tho war, is likely to eventuate in September next. A writer in the London “Sportsman,” writing on tho subject, hints that matters have been definitely arranged, but adds;

‘Tt will bo useless making the trip unless the M.C.C., who are to send out the combination under their patronage, can get together a representative team —I will not say actually the best thirteen or fourteen men. The strain will be a great one with, a visit from Australia to follow in 1902, and the only thing will be for' the programme in the colonies to include as few minor fixtures as possible. General satisfaction will bo felt if Lord Hawke consents to go as captain, but this would not in any way interfere with the position of Mr A. C. Maclaren, who would' probably take charge of the team in the Test engagements. I was told the other day by someone who follows coursing that “Capt. Mann” had stated that ho probably would not be coursing next winter, as ho would be abroad. This hints at tlio visit in 'question, though it must not bo forgotten that las wife is an Australian lady.” The remarks of the old English cricketer, Janies Lillywhito, on the subject of throwing, as contributed to a London paper, make interesting reading. He says;.—'‘Having now for nearly forty years played or stood umpire in firstclass cricket, playing twenty years for Sussex without missing a single match, and the latter part of the time standing umpire—l know no reason why lam not standing in 1901, as my wish was to do so.

“Throwing, or what people choose to call it, was prevalent twenty, thirty, or forty years ago as now, but what have tho suspects ever done to live in cricket compared with such men ns Wootton, Grundy, Jackson, Tarrant, Caffiu, Griffith, Freeman, etc., of. the sixties, A. Shaw, J. C. Shaw. Ulyctt, the Mclntyres, and myself in tho latter decade, followed by the greatest bowler of airtime, in my opinion, F. B. Spof-

forth. Lehmann (almost his equal). Palmer. Boyle, PcM. down to the. present day, when we have such moil ‘as che two Yorkshire cracks, Briggs, Trait, -luck Homme, eUw, whose deliveries have been, ami are. abo\e suspicion. IVe look in vain lor suspects to compare with these men. “Throwing, however, is illegal, and L trust it ever will he, and therefore should be stopped : hut first prove tho throw. In three cases out ot lour suspected it is a fair ball, with only a iiftcuJiarity of action iu delivery—some little curl of toe wrist, or some unuefinablo motion hardly to bo described. But let the umpire bo as clover as he iikc.%, ho could in justice no-bail this for throwing, tho very action, of the bail from the pitch being ail against that theory. A throw must always break back 'sharply. Pick out the throwers, and nc-hali 'thorn, hut prove they throwfirst. If throwing became _ legal we should have our county officials searching the towns and villages the winter for crack throwers. They would probably want a dozen, and oven then ui a dry season run shorty by August. A thrower’s career would, inueed, be a short one, limited to a single season iu ail likelihood; and what mischief he might do hy can mg some of our crack.s batsman to stand down, through severe injury, half a season. ”1 once heard Pooley accuse Soul hcvlou of being tho biggest thrower iu England, at a lime when no one else couia .elect tho slightest sign of it. However, later in life, his delivery became open to suspicion, the disguise not being maintained, and I feel convinced that the wicket-keeper i-; the best man to detect a throw, and tho batsman next.

‘Drawn games arc unavoidable as things now stand. Tho hours ol play are quite sufficient for tho players to go ou contininusiy for six days a. week for several months and not get stale, •.larucularh’ ihe bowlers. For tho last thirty years legislation, has always favoured batsmen. 1 ir.sfc wo got the great white screens hcliind the howler’s arm ; then followed tho white coats for the umpires, also six balls to the over ; but tho ohief cause of drawn games in the magnificent wickets now prepared on almost all our -county grounds. Let some genius como forward for cure, and find something to assist the long-suffer-ing bowler.” An ropos of the “Throwing” habit, a discussion as to tho evil is taking place in Sydney and Melbourne. The _ latest theory, as to the reason of its existence is that Bull! soil wickets cause it! Says a writer on tho “Referee”: —“Several prominent Sydney cricketers —one un old International and Liter-State player—assure me that tlio Bull! soil is responsible for tho prevalence of the throwing evil in Sydney. _ Owing to the absence of clay foundations it is extremely difficult for tho bowler to make the bail rise bail high. The natural result is that the wickets are so easy for batsmen that, iu order to get a ll extra amount of whip, spin, and break, the bowler brings ail his wrist-play into action.” Several of the cracks failed to shine in this season’s Sheffield Shield matches. Howell only took two wickets, at a cost of 74 runs each. Oitfcii, iu bis six imiings, scored but Go runs, and ins four wickets each cost 123.5 rims. .Tones captured three wickets at an average of 3G.

A unique cricket match was played at Adeloug recently, the contesting teams being Adelong Tradesmen v. an eleven surnamed 'Whiting. The scorer and umpire were also similarly-named, and all are residents of Sharp’s Creek. Soares; Adelong Tradesmen, 76; Whitings, Du (John Whiling 28). Adelong, second innings, 90 (Moon 24, Bn del 18). _ Tho match was decided ou tho first innings in favour of Whitings.

Says “Slip” in the “Otago Witness”: “A rather curious incident occurred in the course of the play at Carisbrook on Saturday- Mills swept a ball from Ferguson to leu: with such force as to cause the impression that it would easily reach the boundary, v.hicli is the grass ( on the outer side of t!io track. The ball lost its impetus, however, on thb slope of the track and stopped dead about a foot from the edge. Tho batsmen—Pearlers being! associated witli Mills—realised the situation more quickly than tbo fieldsman, and commenced to run for dear life. Thereupon Johnston, who was the nearest ficidman, had not run after tho ball, expecting it to make the boundary,, and ho tore after it with all sliced, and disregarding the shouts of some of his 'comrades to "kick it to the boundary,” returned it in time to preVent tho batsman from getting more than five runs for tho stroke—one more than he would have got had tho ball found the boundary.”