THE ENGLISH CRICKETERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18736, 14 December 1922, Page 8

THE ENGLISH CRICKETERS

TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND. ARRIVAL OF MR A. C. MacLAREN. (From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, December 13. Mr A. C. MacLaren, captain of the English cricket team that is to tour New Zeaiand, reached Wellington to-day. Mrs MacLaren is with him. They will leave for Auckland to-morrow. Mr MacLaren expresses the hope that the visit of his team will give a fillip to New Zealand cricket and improve the standard of play here. The tour will also, he says, improve the play of most of the young men in his own team, of whom no fewer than nine come from Oxford and Cambridge. “ I think you will find,” he said to a reporter, “ that this side will give you a good game. You will probably find that we will not be so difficult to get out, but we will be difficult to got runs against. In Gibson, Calthorpe, ancf Brand we have three really good highclass amateur bowlers, and then we also have Tyldesley and Freeman. When I can see the strength of your side I may prefer, to leave the professionals out of our side, and so make it purely amateur, but that all depends on how you shape against ■ua If you commence to nit ns about, then we will have to keep our professionals.” Mr MacLaren stressed the point that the side was unable to get the amount of practice that was desirable. Without giving any offence to the parties responsible, he felt that they had rather “killed the goose before it had laid the golden egg ” in putting the team into the field too quickly. “ You must give the boys time to practice,” he said. “They need time to get accustomed to the conditions, and they cannot get accustomed to the glare such as that in Australia in less than a fortnight. Wo have to obtain our practice in the games, and those who do not get runs do not get practice. Only about three of ■our fellows were in any form at all in Australia. We all lacked confidence. Although I got a few runs against New South Wales, I never timed a ball all through my innings. It was a fine performance in. dismissing New South Wales with eight international players in the team for 201 runs. We should have beaten them. It ■would have been a wonderful performance. Wo ought to have got more runs in the second "innings. 1 did not expect to beat the States unless wo had some practice. Before leaving Home I said that we ought to beat one of the States, but we took on the weakest one when we had had no practice, and that nullified our chances. At Adelaide we went straight to the hard •wicket without any practice, and wo had the glare to contend with. I reckoned that South Australia would be the hardest team to beat. The first side is always the hardest, but for a match of that nature a week’s practice is essential. You really want a fortnight. We very nearly snatched victory at Victoria. The wickets in Australia are a great deal faster than those on which w© play at Home.” Mr MacLaren stated that when the M.C.C. considered the proposal to send the team it did not realise that n team was going to South Africa “We have got to send our best side to South Africa,” ho said, “ and that has certainly hit our side a littlo.” Ho could not say, what the strength of his team was compared with that of Wynyard’s team which toured the dominion a number of years ago. He thought, however, that in bowling the present side was much better, but not so good in batting. Mention was also made by Mr MacLaren ■that he had with him a graphoscopc for the purpose of taking pictures of the matches, fie proposed to use them in giving demonstrations and lectures in aid of the funds for disabled soldiers. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, December 13. The English cricketers arrived by the Moeraki.