HURRICANE BATTING

NZ Truth, Issue 1301, 20 November 1930, Page 16

HURRICANE BATTING

Kerr In Limelight

Again | (From "N.Z. Truth's" Christchurch Rep.) TN all four senior games m Christchurch ■*• on Saturday last, the finishes were close enough to impart more than ordinary interest to the games. A magnificent 139, not out, by J. L,. Kerr was the outstanding batting performance of the day, and easily the best cricket seen m Christchurch this season. When the ninth wicket fell, West Christchurch still was 18 points behind Old Boys, but Kerr exercised generalship m monopolising the bowling and m scoring rapidly by superb batting. Bean, the last man, kept his end up, and amidst keen excitement, Old Boys' total was passed and West went on to lead by 45 runs on the first innings. This last- wicket partnership lasted only 16 minutes, but it produced 63 runs, of which Kerr got 53. He deserved the applause which greeted his fine batting. Bill Merritt, as • usual, was the outstanding, bowler, bagging 7 wickets for 94. | Merritt and Burns opened a hurricane effort for Old Boys m an attempt to quickly run up a second-innings score and then put West m again. The two used the long handle ,to ,almost every ball received, and with merry fours and sixes, lifted the ball to all parts of the field, putting on 73 runs m 24 minutes. Merritt got. 65, Burns 36, and with the assistance of three sixes, George Grose helped himself to 52. The other Old Boys quickly went out and Burns declared with 9 wickets for 189, leaving West 90 minutes to get 145 runs for an outright win. Thanks to a forceful knock of 59 by R. Allen, West secured the necessary runs just on time. It was a keen and exciting match. A very fine innings of 68, run out. by G. Dryden, a young and promising lefthanded batsman, assisted by a forceful 48 by the stock bowler, Reg Read, enabled the Lancaster Park team to overhaul Riccarton's score of 242 and to defeat that hitherto unbeaten side by a narrow 13 runs. .■•■.•*■•■