BATTING AVERAGES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18324, 15 August 1921, Page 5

BATTING AVERAGES.

LONDON, August 12. (Received Aug. 14, at 5.5 p.m.) Mead (Hampshire) 65.46 Macartney 63.40 Bardsley 61.20 Sandham (Middlesex) 55.81 Hardinge 52.47 Bryan (Cambridge and Kent) 52.20 Kussell (Essex) 50.11 Shepherd (Surrey) ... 49.84 Chapman (Cambridge University) 47.72 Hallows (Lancashire) 47.24 Jupp (Sussex) 46.60 Armstrong 45.82 Ducat (Surrey) 45.26 Hearne (Middlesex) 45.04 Douglas (Essex) 44.70 Woolley (Kent) 44.37 Hendren (Middlesex) 43.78 BOWLING AVERAGES.

It must have been a dull day's cricket at the oval on Saturday. There was a long interruption of the play through rain, and the English professionals who batted, their captain having won the toss and sent the Australians into the field, played very slow cricket. A 6 the wicket, especially after the rain, cannot have been favourable to •' the bowlers, it would seem that the batsmen, probably playing to instructions, followed the rule of keeping their wickets_ up and waiting for the balls to hit, of which thera were evidently not very many. Such, a policy would be dictated by the fact that there is no time limit to this match, which is to be played out. It does not appear from the cabled report, which is less informative than usual, what special cause the spectators had for complaint against the Australians, and against Armstrong in particular, that they should have hooted and "barracked" them. Armstrong, who, as an English writer baa remarked, does not fuss, will." in all likelihood, not have been greatly disconcerted by a demonstration against him which, on the face of it, seems to have been the outcome of poor sportsmanship. The fact, however, that a visiting team of cricketers has been treated to a demonstration of the kind all Kennington Oval should be valuably instructive to some of the' English writers/ It should make it clear to them that it is not only to rude Australian crowds that the practice of "barracking", is confined. The play in the test match, so far .M it has gone, calls for no comment. Upon the whole, the dismissal of four batsmen of the calibre of Russell. Brown, Tyldealey, and Woolley for a total between them of 107 runs is not a bad achievement for the Australians. The week-end weather, however, may prove a very important element in the match. A wet Sunday, followed by a hot sun,-drying the wicket, would, mean that the winning of the toss gave the £jngy lish team an unusually great advantage'.';

Wjckets. Average. Rhodes (Yorkshire) ... , ... 112 12.87 Armstrong ... 81 • 13.14 Gregory ... 104 14.69 M'Donald ... 112 15.39 White (Somerset) ... . ... 126 15.81 Macauley (Yorkshire) ... 86 16.43 Leo (Middlesex) ... . ... 63 17.09 Bestwick (Derbyshire) ... 132 17.14 Freeman (Kent) ... , ... 134 17.37 A. Nash (Glamorgan) \ ... 71 17.45 Douglas (Essex) ... , ... 119 17.50 Parker (Gloucestershire) ... 138 17.55 Woolley (Kent.) ... 108 17.66 -A. and N.Z. Cable.