AT THE WICKETS

NZ Truth, Issue 882, 21 October 1922, Page 9

AT THE WICKETS

Cricketers of New Zealand a few years back also included: C- A. Richardson (Wellington), who was not only at one time an extremely hard batsman to get out m New Zealand, but was looked upcJh (some years ago) m New South Wales m the same light. The writer has repeatedly seen this player defy the best bowling talent m Sydney cricket, and at a tim*e when Charles Turner, Andy Newell, Sid Callawa'y and other great bowlers were at the zenith of their fame. It Js questionable to hay mind as to who was the greatest stonewaller — Alick Bannerman- or our mutual friend. Charlie was captain of New South Wales on more than one occasion, also of Bast Sydney, and a yery able -skipper he was; a keen judge of the game and of player. He was a brilliant field m the' * slips and. a very estimable fellow. F. Wilding (Christchuroh) was at the time of my residence m Canterbury a player I would have liked on my side.' j3very time. He; has frequently gone into bat when appearances looked extremely' bad, and has completely changed the whole aspect of the game by his bright and forceful batting. He was" the essence of keenness, and one who hp.s done more for Canterbury cricket m the past than any other cricketer I know of. What a heady old bowler . Mr. Wilding was, and how often he effected a separation' where other recognised first-class bowlers failed! Jas. Lawrence (Christchurch) was at one -time the best batsman m 'Canterbury, and his partnership with Len. Cuff against Auckland will long be remembered by those who had the good fortune to be present. .A wonderfully keen cricketer and sparkling field, and most popular with all visiting teams. Douglas Hay (Auckland) some years back was a lovely bat to watch. When going this player had quite a number oT good shots m his repertoire. A quick energetic field, with. a good return. Dug. was a member of the Grafton team. . Ken. Tucker (Wellington) • was a most solid run-getter, with sound de-. fence and shots all round the wicket,, but had a great liking for the off drive. He played his best w hen fighting an uphill battle. A beautiful and safe field at cover, with a deadly return. „ This player was one of the best all-round cricketers the Dominion has produced. It is only two or three seasons back that he established a bowling record for senior cricket m Wellington province by taking 18 wickets for '88 against Petone, — 9 -wickets m each innings. Tucker Is still a good cricketer when he takes the game seriously. He was appointed sole selector for New Zealand 1 last year, , and 1 know of»no player with better claims for that position, as he ; possesses all the qualifications which go to make an ideal selector. C G. Wilson '(Wellington) is chairman 'of 'the Wellington TJricket Association and has -done an immense \ amount of good for Wellington and New Zealand cricket since holding office. Mr. Wilson Hvas a very fine t batsman a few years back, and at one i time of his career -was almpst m the top flight of Victorian cricket. Sincecoming to the Dominion he has made hundreds of runs for Southland, Otago and Wellington. He is a great "^authority on the game, and always willing to help a promising youngster. Although he is now classed a "veteran" let us -hope that he may be long spared to still further push one" of the grandest games along, rfot only by his cricket, but by advice and interest m all matters pertaining to the gameI cannot pass over the Wellington Cricket. Association without referring to the consistent good work which Mr; Martin Luckie has 'done for years

CRICKETERS I HAVE MET

fllllHEß lEHISCOICES

(BY L. T. COBCROFT.)

for the cricketers and association. When I first had the pleasure of meetnlg Mr. Liuckie, some twenty years ago, he was then an active worker for the , progress and betterment of our cricket; and cricketers of, this province should feel indeed proud to think that Mr. Luckie ia just as loyal now as he was then. He at one-time was a participator m our games on the field, and, playing for Wellington, would frequently cause the collapse of the opposing sides by his bowlingBeing lef thanded, he generally • bowled round the wicket, and at times came back a good deal, which made him a very difficult bowler to negotiate. Another very correct batsman of Canterbury m the early days was Clifford .Ridley, brother of Archie. This player played very correct cricket and gave me the impression that he was going to be out of- the common, but such was not the case, as he never made the improvement anticipated. He got plenty of runs m club cricket, but evidently lacked the temperament of a representative player. H. G. Wigley (Canterbury) was another player that gave the, full face of the bat to the ball, and it was a tough proposition to break through his defence. A beautiful club batsman with quite a number of. strokes, yet, as m the case of Clifford Ridley, so it 'was with Wigley, he was not a,success m interprovincial matches. J. N. Fowke (Canterbury) was the wicketkeeper of the South for a number of years, and was really a firstclass exponent of that art. He played m innumerable representative fixtures and was generally the was oi th© team- Good old Waiuku. x The two Mills's, Ik© arid George (of Auckland) were very successful batsmen m the northern province at one time, and worked' their way into the New Zealand team for Australia. I never had an opportunity of seeing them play before we left New Zealand, and whether they were off color or not I don't know, but they never batted on one occasion m Australia, to give you an idea that they were representative cricketers. Both were very good fellows: m fact, the whole team were. - ■ . Jack Hutching-s (one of the oldest members of the one-time famous Midland Club, of Wellington) has been a consistent all-round player for years. He was a few years back a very versatile batsman and a great scorer for his club. He also did well m interprovincial games. A nice clean fieldsman and a bowler with a nice legbreak, also a good fast ball. Getting on m years now, but is still a fine club man and as keen as mustard. Arthur Holdship originally played for the old Wellington Club and made,, quite a lot of runs for that club. He also did; well m interprovincial games. Holdship acted as skipper to the New Zealand 1 - team which met the New South Wales side at Lancaster Park. A good stylish batsman wtih a fair range of shots; brilliant field at midoff, but only a fair bowler. He was a great entertainer, and teams were never dull if Holdy^ happened to be present. Charlie Clark, the tall Canterbury | player, was one of the keenest cricketers it has been my lot to knowHe represented his province on a number of occasions with a fair amount of success. * Charlie was a medium to fast right hand bowler, and captured lots of wickets for the Uniteds, who had their ground at Hagley Park, but as a representative bowler he did not meet with much luck. A batsman of the aggressive stamp, with a partiality for the off drive;, very fine field. Cricketers from the various provinces will ever remember the hospitality shown to them by/Charlie when they have visited the Cathedral City. ■Fred. Laws was m the first flight oj' our cricketers some years back; a good solid batsman and at times a most difficult bowler. I remember seeing him tie the English team up on the Basin Reserve. A very safe and reliable field. . / Frank Holdsworth, (Wellington) represented the. province on quite a number of occasions, and- a really firstlass cricketer he was. Being very tall, he macle.Xull use, of his height when bowling, and with slight assistance from the wicket could make the ball get up As a bats'- 1 man he was after the Jessop type, and .the-' spectators would frequently see the ball sailing over the fence during this player's stay at the wickets. I remember meetjgpr Holdsworth when I was playing for N.S.W. versus Wellington. Len. Cuffs name is associated principally with Canterbury cricket, and it was playing for that province that he and Jimmy Lawrence gave Auckland' such a leather -hunting. Cuff was a finished batsman; a great* field, and a famous all-round athlete. Writing, of Canterbury m Cuff's time recalls the fact that undoubtedly the best batsman m the South Island was Bert De Mau. This player was quite m a class With the State - players of Australia. His driving was clean, crisp, and had any amount ot power behind it. He was also sweet on the late cut, besides being "wonderfully l strong on the leg side. Allek Downes (Otago) played almdst as many representative games as any of the South Island players. It was as a bowler' that Downes dame before the public," and what a list of successes he obtained! Bowling right hand over the wicket, with a lovely off-break which made a lot of pace from the pitch,- he captured hundreds of wickets, and if the pitch was slightly worn or showed any signs of breaking up he was almost unplayable. Downes never took batting on Beriously, yet he at times gave exhibitions Which would do a top-notcher credit. The New Zealand players will remember his 74 runs against Southern Tasmania at I^aunceston when runs were badly wanted. I really think that Downes's exhibition that day was the best given on the tour as an artistic and wristy display of batting., Downes was a very fine centre threequarter at Rugby and also one of the best referees m the South Island. A player who did much to keep Auckland m the foreground of cricket some years back was Robert Neill, known to all as "Bob." This player always ' seemed 'to possess the happy knack of rising to the occasion, and when, things appeared to be m a bad way for the side Bob would come to light by making a good score or would ?o through the opposing team wtih the ball. Bowling slowly, with a slight turn from, either side, he was not afraid to pitch .^hem up (which is absolutely necessary^ for a slow bowler to do if he is going to get wickets). Bob lasted for quite a long time m Auckland cricket, and it would

' be quite interesting 1 to know how many wickets h© obtained. Wally Pearce, the old Midland play-, er, of Canterbury, was the Cast bowler of that province for some years, and opinions #ere expressed at the time the 1 N.Z. team was chosen to go to Australia that he should have been Included as a second fast bowler. He, took very little run up to the wickets,' but mastered up a lot of pace? and bowled a great number of yorkers. He was an ungainly batsman to watch, with a crouching style, but was a very hard hitter and generally contributed a fair quota of runs to the score. K. Olllvier, of Christchuch, was the son of a gentleman who did "a power of good m the cause of cricket and other branches of athletics. Young Ollivier showed great promise as a cricketer, being rather a good Blow bowler, good batsman and first-class field. enthusiasts will remember the N.Z. match against the Australian Eleven on the Basin Reserve when Clem Hill hit Ollivier for three sixes and three fours m the one over. Ollivier was also a brilliant tennis player. A, Cate (Wellington), a member of the well-known Pel;one Club, has been a first-class wicketkeeper for years. Alf. has a heart like a lion, and I have repeatedly seen him with his fingers knocked about, stand up close to the wickets and take Stan Brice when /that bowler has been bowling his' fastest, and then on a wicket which was a long way from being perfect Cate is- still playing the game, and let us hope he may continue to do so, as no more popular player is taking part m the competitions. than the/ curly-headed Petoneite. * Wellington has indeed been fortunate m custodians of the Bticks, as we also have m Condliffe, or "Cotiny," another fine exponent m wicketkee'ping. This player on his day is a really first-class keeper, "and has been for a great number of years. Conny at times is a hard man to get out, and is often put m early m the Innings. Horspool (Auckland) is still m the first flight of cricketers. A most consistent run-getter for his club for years, and a fine representative player. Generally leads oft! with Hemus for the northern city, and his opponents are always pleased to Bee the back of him. Sandman has been playing for anumber of years for Canterbury and , has been of immense assistance m all departments of the game. About six years ago this player could not be left out of a New Zealand team. Always able to get plenty of turn on the ball and frequently bowled, what cricketer's call the "wrong "un," which generally ended up m a batsman's dismissal. Sandy scored .quickly while at the -wickets, and would always have a iK o at .them. He should be good for a number 'of seasons yetButterworth (Wanganui) has been for some years a great . scoring batsman, most stylish and finished, his strokes being beautifully executed. This player bas been severely handicapped; for representative cricket on account of not living m one of the "centres where the Plunket Shield is played for. Ongley (Palmerston North) still plays the game, and at times bowls with all that old accuracy which made his name famous against the English team on. the "fTe 3 * Coast. A good sport is Ongley, and may he Impart some of his knowledge to the promising colts of . Mana.wa.tu. Stan Hieksdn, of the old Wellington Club, was a cricketer the-public wished to see more of. Handicapped by 1 having to use glasses, he at times batted brilliantly, and all bowlers, whether fast or slow, were pasted all over the field. A very hard working outfield and sure catch. What a pity it is for players like Williams, the Blacklocks, Hicksons, and other wellknown gentlemen to have turned the game up so soon! ' Old cricketers will remember Tommy Malone, the Canterbury bowler. This" bowler had a great run for. some years m rep. cricket. His action appeared to be very doubtul, and some wellknown players argued that he threw. He most certainly had a peculiar delivery; but this was accounted for by his having his arm broken at one time of his career. When a qualified umpire like Jim Phillips passed him without calling no-ball It was quite evident' his delivery was above suspicion. He made the ball do a lot from both sides, and had that nip off the pitch which made the batsman watch him very closely. 1 Mick and Don Naughton got a lot of runs for the . old Petone Club, and also had the honor to. be chosen m the Wellington representative team. Mick, rather short of stature, was a right-hander, and 'was a most attractive batsman to watch. He was a quick sporer, with innumerable shots; quite a smart fieldsman. His brother Don batted left hand, and laid the j wood on every ball a bif^ loose. Very i few batsmen of the present day had a better mid-oft and cover shot, and like the majority of left-handers, he was very severe on a ball pitched outside his legs- A Rood energetic field; .still not'too old to play the game. The Cave brothers were the backbone of Wanganui cricket for* years. There were always two, if' not three, In the team, and useful members they were. Times out of number they were the means (by their bowling and batting) of Wanganui giving visiting teams a drubbing. They also performed well against English and Australian teams. < Marshall waa another able cricketer hailing from the town that gave ua the champion sculler of the world, Marshall was looked upon by old Wellington' players as being far above the ordinary as a- batsman. Freddy Midlane possessed more strpkea. than any batsman" m New Zealand, and was an old member of the Phoenix team, who produced quite a number of good cricketers. Midlan-a was the idol of the Wellington boys and very popular with all enthusiasts of the game. A most successful player m representative cricket. Freddy was a heady little chap, and a very smart field. Midlane played cricket m Australia for a season or two, and did fairly well. • Scholium, of Gisborne, may be given credit as the best bowler the minor associations- have producedc I would like to see this player living m one of the cricket centres so as to give him a chance of showing some of the Shield batsmen what he was made of. Bowling a little over medium pace, he mixes it, and has a lovely off -break.Tom Seuthall is how domiciled m Masterton, and I noticed the other day that he had been elected secretary of the Masterton Racing Club. Congratulations to the tall Masterton man. Southall is the class of bowler that, Wellington badly needs, being a slow left-hand with a very high delivery. He had a method m every ball he sent down. Tom loved to have a batsman go out to smite him out of the ground; as sure as Fate the long fellow would add his scalp to his belt. He was one of the few bowlers who realised he had ten men besides himself to help get a batsman out. Sid Orchard, of Canterbury, was not only a good cricketer but also represented New. Zealand as full-back m one of the All Black tours of New South Wales. A left-hander with bat and ball, he never remained very long at the wickets without giving the L fieldsmen something to occupy their