CRICKET.

NZ Truth, Issue 243, 19 February 1910, Page 3

CRICKET.

AUSTRALIA v. WELLINGTON.

„ A Burlesque Exhibition.

;sanguid Play by the Visitors

%$ WU Win .by Six Wickets.

(JBr "Scout.")

■Australia's opening match of its New {Qfcaland- tour began on Friday week, When "a local combination was pitted against the formidable visitors. The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive, though a light northerly made matters cooler, as the afternoon wore on. .^Caretaker Twist had prepared an excellent wicket ; fast from the WellingtsiL'viewpoint, but scarcely up to the visitors' liking. When the coin was spun, Tucker* got the option, and the Wellington i&j}pper elected to bat. Rumor said tUte procedure would have been adopted hatt 'Armstrong been successful m the

Tucker and Midlane started batting opetafions, Emery and. .Whitty being, entriis^d^.w.ith, the -attack. Midlane was Miaping^very confidently when he jumped o^t to. drive Whitty. missed the ball, and Gorry lifted the bails.

T^dfier who never looked like making runs, failed to , negotiate a -well-pitched updone from the left-hander, and an ominous rattle of his leg stomp pro* cla'fiied his downfalL ■ , ... 'Ifte partnership between ' Mahony and Soiter , provided a tame interlude,, [ither v batsman shaping with anything like, confidence. Ultimately, Pacy, who hSd rt supplanted Emery, beat Mahony with a<'t>alT c which whipped up fast from the' pitch and fotind the middle pin. *P^Jrter's dismissal came when he snicked" due of Facy's into Emery's hands at secpnd slip, the ball,-, however; cannonIng into 1 the maulers of Dodds. Foster WM scratching all . the time at ' the wt&eta. JBrlee qaickly had Sis timbers upset by lsnsfctj> 'y Blacfelock executed a couple of cni}p ( . drives before Kellaway, with a fast fchinjjj ball, penetrated his defence ; Lkws iWhed until Kelleway caught him softtat. mid-offi, Emery being the bowler ;• t,'"Kliivig promised to make a decent wvdi&y when Kelleway settled all argupiint by dislodging his wicket with a JHort-piteniadl one wtich. brake back: sharpand 1 Ronerfis stopped the cjut l^'.cajryfng the score from t5 to , iO7 B Rtft^cr played aJiyticing lilcw faultless tliciet. but it was off a useful! quality, necertlielfss^ "Pbe? went, at the loose stftff with refreshing aggressiveness, until Battery dissolved the partnership by whipjtag m an off-brealc to Roberts, who failad t» stop it. ' Patriclt. whff Srougfit off a few vfgor-Vki'off-drinres, was cleverly caught, left band!* by Dodds a& square Teg; and 107

was the tally, with, the side all out. s.Ofi the .bowlers, Whitty was singled St for .special prominence, and had he en persevered with Wellington's total w«uld have been smaller than it was. When getting dongerous, Armstrong pull«fd him. out of the crease. He varied his piMb and pace admirably, and swung m from koth sides, to the discomfiture of the' batsmen. '

s»<Faey, the Tasmanian fast bowler, who BtiwJs a medium fast ball, has a curious

action before delivery. He kept a capital length, but was not served by the pace of the wicket. He swung m some troublesome ones from the off. -

Theyc was nothing hair-raising '- m Emery's exhibition with the sphere. His dreaded "off-break" had no terror; for the batsmen on this occasion. His length was unreliable. Kelleway maintained an accurate length and wanted a lot of negotiating: The visitors' ground fielding, was anything, but clean and sure, and the" returning lacked smartness. • However, they were not called upon to exert themselves to much extent. The placing of the field was an object lesson to the local men; Gorry, m the role of "Aunt Sally," was only fair. Mayne and Simpson were Australia's pioneer batsmen. The former soon went, caught by Tucker : off Brice. Simpson • quickly sized up Charley Hickey. Putting plenty of power into his hits, ■he spanked Hickey/s deliveries all over tl 1 c country. Using his feet well, he stepped into the slow ones, and m a very short space of time the board showed 50. One ball : he banged among the spectators grouped on the pavilion bank; In three overs Hickey had: 40 knocked off him, punishment' which influenced Tucker replacing him with ■ Kinvig, ' a change which steadied the rate of rungetting. Simpson's forceful innings came to an end when he banged one of Kinvig's into "Patrick's hands at..mid-off. There ., were " ..no faulty strokes about Simpson's display. Kelieway shaped very quietly, and Smith, who has a reputation as a hitter, put no ginger into his efforts, albeit a few of his strokes were very neatly executed. Kelieway was given -l.b.w. to Patrick, and Smith had bis stumps disturbed by a capital- length ball' sentdown by Kinvig. : ■■->'■•■.■.■»/.-. *-*•. ' Dodds performed shakily right up :to the time of his dismissal by . Hickey, off Patrick. Armstrong, who had.} a hurricane round of- ..hand-clapping" tendered him as he meandered to the wickets, failed to give much trouble to pencillers' or fieldsmen. The seventeen-stone Brobdignagian backed up for a run off Dodds'' bat. The Tasmanian, however, took ho risks, and remained in' ••■his crease; The ball ■yfas re-turned-by Hickey to 'keeper Roberts, and ! another Australian went back pavilionwards.. ,;...■■-. ..;..'. - . ..... Before stumps were drawn Whittv and Gorry, were also victims to the local side. : Three balls were sufficient for- Whitty, Patrick removing his bails with a beau-

and 20 was quickly opposite his name, at which stage Simpson snared ldm off Whitty. The stroke which brought about his downfall was a wretched one.

, Patrick, top-scorer of the first innings, failed to get going, Douds accepting a catch from his bat, Whitty being the bowler. Tucker started off promisingly by back-cutting, Kelicway to the boundary, ! supplementing it with a late cut next ball, which also meant four. Armstrong beat the loaal skipper with one that j broke acress from leg. Biice was soon squelched ; snicking one of Kelieway' s to the cordon of sl.ipsnen. Tha ball cannoned from Armstrong's bands to Emery's who held it. Kinyig was shaping towards a good, score when a "creaser" delivered by Emery upended his timber stack. After batting for just' on 2hrs 35jnins Midlane threw his wicket away by jumping out to Armstrong with the seeming object of planting the ball somewhere near the . "Cale." He missed it and •Gorry did the rest. Midlane, for his 07, played restrained, chanceless, excellent cricket. His defence was very solid, and it was admirably blended with crisp and vigorous aggressive strokes. His timing and placing were capital, his back-cutting was neat: and artistic, and his leg-hitting sure and powerful. Midlane always met the ball with the full face of the bat. The visitors joined m the demonstation which followed the little man on emerging from the field, He richly ; deserved the applause and ha 3 practically made his place certain m the New Zealand teams to meet Australia next month. All through his long innings Midlane had watched the ball alertiy, and it was a pity that such a wretched stroke should have terminated so superb a display. He had s«en 18? runs put on the slate whileat. the , wickets. . ' .-■■'. Roberts again demonstrated his usefulness as -a consistent tun-getter. He brought off some very fair strokes, too, one being a late cut to the ropes, and another a spanking stroke on the leg side. The. "keeper," who had been blessed with a lot of luck, was ultimately given out l.b.w. to Armstrong. : There was quite a roar of applause when Hickey smacked a full tosser from Armstrong to leg boundary, He had five to his credit when the Wellington innings terminated. That good old reliable "Mr Extras" was an invaluable ally to Wellington, as his quota of 32 shows.

The bowling of the visitors was of vary moderate quality. Armstrong burlesqued