CRICKET.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10673, 24 January 1911, Page 2

CRICKET.

SOUTH AFRICANS AT HOBART. [By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.] (Per Press Association.) Received January 24. at 10.40 p.m. Hobart, January 23. A feature of to-day's play was the fine frii innings of Nonrse and Strieker, wlio ],r:i; tii ally did what they liked with the bowling. The stand made by Windsor and Eltham for Tasmania was a brilliant effort, and staved off what looked like a heavy defeat. Tim match was drawn. SOUTH AFRICA. First Inning 178 Second Innings. Comniaille, Ibw, I) Boddain... ... 9 Faulkner, c Martin, h "Windsor ..: 87 Strieker, b Windsor 88 Nonrse, not out - '■..■'. 112 Snooke, e Hawson, b Windsor ... 88 Llewellyn, r Eltham, b Frost .... II Sinclair, h Frost ... ... ... 2 Pearse, not out '... - 25 Extras 8 Total for G wickets ' ... 430 The innings was declared closed. Bowling analysis: Boddain, 1 wicket for 93 runs; Windsor, 3 for 117; -Paton, O.for 48; Carroll, 0 for 60; Frost, 2 for 77; Martin, 0 far 29. TASMANIA. First Innings ... , 195 Second .Innings'. Smith, e Campbell, b Llewellyn ... 11 Martin, e Pearse, b Vogler... ... 29 Eltham, c Campbell b Pearse ... 51 Hawson, c Sherwell,;b Vogler --•• 9 •Hudson, b Llewellyn 5 Windsor, c Sherwell, b Llewellyn.. .83 Paton, not out .... 15 Carroll, not-out 9 Extras 4

Total for 6 wickets ... 216 Bowling analysis: Llewellyn, 3 wickets for 66 runs; Voglof, 2 for 82; Snooke, 0 for 11; Nonrse, 0 for' 18; Faulkner, 0 for 16; Pearse, 1 for 18. ,NO NEW ZEALAND TOUR. (Per Phess Association.) Ckristchureh, January 23. Mr F. C. Raphael, hon. secretary of the New Zealand Cricket Council, has .received a cable from Mr Fitzgerald, manager of the South African• cricket team, stating that he regrets it will be •impossible to arrange for the South Africans to visit New- Zealand.

, SPRINGBOK'S VICTORY. THE THIRD TEST. (Sydney Morning Herald.) "South Africa victorious." This was what .the score book showed, after probably the hardest fought test in the history of cricket. For the first time . the . Springbok had vanquished the Kangaroo. No sportsman in Australia begrudges them their well-won victory. Early in the day it looked all out a Springbok victory. Then Armstrong and Kelleway got going, and once more Australia looked a likely winner. Then the pair departed, and no hope was left to the locals; but-Genre came with - a rush, and_ once more the tide turned. With his dismissal not the veriest optimist dared hope for victory. Then came the sensation of the match. Cotter came with a magnificent rush at the finish. He lifted the game out of the depths of despair, and placed it for a few merry overs once more on the pinnacle of possibilities. He slogged as never he slogged before. His mighty strokes fairly sparkled with sixers and fonrers. If Australia had to go down then let her go down fighting like Grenville and the little Revenge. The ?core jumped upward. It began to dawn on the crowd that victory was still within the range of possibilities. They cheered deliriously. Women, jumped from their seats and screamed, and waved their parasols and handkerchiefs when, with a mighty swipe, Cotter banged the ball right out of the arena, and fell prostrate with the effort. The enthusiasm of the crowd know no bounds. From the ringside came the confused _ babbling of incoherent yells, advice, warning, encouragement, and commendation coming simultaneously from thousands of throats. Then, like a bolt from the bine, came Whitty's dismissal, and silence. But the cheers broke forth, again as Cotter, like Thumper a few days earlier, fought his way amid a wildly excited crowd of cheering Australians. It was the lightning conductor's big day. Almost had he pulled the game out of the fire. When Sherwell proudly led his victorious team off the field the cheers again resounded, and hundreds rushed forward to grasp the Springboks by the hand. It was a glorious victory. It was the reward of pluck and skill and unswerving determination. At last South Africa had shown that she was a worthy competitor for the cricket supremacy of the Empire. It was probably the greatest test match that has ever been played anywhere. Certainly it is the greatest in mere matter of runs. The aggregate score was 1646, which is over a hundred more than the greatest number ever before registered in a test match. Then it marks an epoch in the history of the game. It is South Africa's first victory over Australia in test cricket. Not only that, it makes'the eventual winning of the rubber still a matter of dispute. The record now shows two to Australia and one to South Africa. The victory will give an enormous fillip to the tour of the Springboks. It will greatly help South African cricket. Also it will make Australian champions feel that here are foemen well worthy of their steel. Hitherto the Adelaide Oval has been regarded as Australia's lucky wicket. It is 19 years since they lost a test match there. Then Lord Sheffield's team had compiled a big total on a. perfect wicket, and rain came down in torrents. Australia hatted twice on a •dnepot. Grace and his merry men won by an innings and 230 runs, the worst dishing that Australia ever suffered out here. From this game, however, the element of chance was entirely eliminated. The wicket wore wonder-, fully well. Less than a dozen balls behaved erratically during the entire match. The victory was one of sheer merit. It is difficult to particularise where so many did so well, but Faulkner, Zulch, Snooke and Llewellyn carried off the batting laurels for the visitors, while Schwarz, Faulkner, Llewellyn, and Sinclair were most in evidence with the leather. The last day Kelleway made a big effort to fight his way to victory. By a plucky effort he made top score for his side, and for a colt ill his first series of tests played with the confidence of a, veteran. His 65 was certainly the greatest innings he has ever played. This is the age of young men. Youngsters on the bright side of 30 are today doing the work which a couple of generations ago was sacred to the mature man of two score. When people loom large for a space in the public eye any little personal pars are mostly veryacceptable. Little details about international cricketers are eagerly sought after by the man in the street as well as by the juvenile hero worshippers, who I themselves some day hope to emulate the doughty deeds of the champions. So it will not be without interest to note that Schwarz is the old man of the cricketers, for he will be 3C next May. Llewellyn was a star performer 12 years ago in Africa, and is also in his 35th year. So is Sinclair, who is a month younger, and Vogler a month younger still. Davie Xonrse is 33 all but a few days, and Hathorn 33 all but a few months. Sherwell, the Springbok skipper, is only 30, Snooke 29. and Faulkner has just seen 30 summers and 2S winters. The youngsters of the visitors are Strieker "26, Zulch almost 25, and Peglcr, the juvenile, is 23. As is fitting, Clem Hill' heads the ages for the Australians with 33. Truroper is slightly younger, and Carter, the wicket-keeper, is 32. Big Warwick Armstrong is only 31, and Algy Gehrs 30 Tiby Cotter has just- passed the 28 milestone, Warren Bardslev is 27, just in his prime, and Vernon'Ransford is .Hist a quarter of a century. Macartney is 24 not out, so also is Whitty. Kelleway, the latest test recruit," is the baby of the two teams, on the 22 mark. So, man for man, the Springboks are just a bit older than the Kangaroos.