CRICKET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20316, 26 January 1928, Page 4

CRICKET.

Bx Smp. FIXTURES. January 27, 28, 50, and 31. —Wellington v. Auckland, at Wellington. February 17, 18, and 20.—Australia v. Otsgo, at Dunedin. JAorch 30, 31, and April 2.—Australia v. New Zealand, at Dunedin. OTAGO v. WELLINGTON. NOTES ON THE PLAY. Spectators at the match between Wellington and Otago saw a mixture of good and bad cricket. At times the play was exciting and at other times it was depressing. The heavy defeat which Otago Buffered was not the result of poor batting, though Otago made a had start. It was the result of lamentably poor bowling, and had the visitors not been able to pile up a good score they would have been a very ordinary batting side. The Otago batsmen flattered the Wellington bowling when they were dismissed for only 155 in their first venture. It gave the Wellingtonians confidence when they began their first innings, and they did as they liked with the local men’s attack. The failure of the early batsmen in the second innings resulted in the falling of Otago supporters’ spirits, but then the Otago batsmen showed some of the fighting spirit which has marked so many of their games. An innings defeat was prevented and Wellington were left with 42 runs to make to win. An interesting feature of the game was that four centuries were scored. They were: Foley 136, James 108, Dickinson 104. and Vorrath 103 not out. Unlike the other hundreds, Foley’s was ehanceless. It was an impressive knock. The Wellington colt showed that he has patience and the right run-getting temperament. He pla’yed no rash shots, and cne of the greatest features of his batting ■was the way he kept the ball down, in which respect he was a shining example to other young cricketers. He was not above the ordinary on the off, but on the leg side he was unusually strong, and showed a good variety of shots. James’s innings was a very different cne. He saw that the bowling was weak and he set out to treat it as it deserved, bitting lustily at anything loose. Though be was helped by dropped catches ho showed that he is an accomplished batsman. James's performances all round were impressive. Behind the wickets he took the ball perfectly, and his habit of throwing himself at the wickets after taking a return showed Dunedin people something new in wicketkeeping. The feneral opinion of James was summed up y an Otago representative who remarked “A man who misses nothing behind the sticks and can make 100 runs will do me.” Though Dickinson in scoring his 100 bad more luck than it is the lot of most cricketers to enjoy, he must bo given credit for playing a fine fighting innings. Fie hit hard and took risks, but he got away with them. One can remember several instances in which Dickinson has done well when better batsmen have failed. He has the happy knack of coming to light when runs are needed. It is a great pity that Dickinson has lost his Eting as a bowler. At his best he was among the first flight of New Zealand cricketers, but it seems now that he would be more successful if he became a medium fast length bowler. Apparently he must reduce his pace if he is to be accurate. Yorrath’s success in Otago’s second innings, from the point of view of Qtagoites, was one of the most pleasing features of the match. The young left-hander has previously pjayed seven innings for his province for a very small average, but from the time ho went in on Monday it was obvious that be would make a recovery. At the start he had to face Badcock. who was swinging away to the off. but he stepped across to the professional and gave his deliveries the full face of the hat. It was not long, however, before he discovered that he could take liberties with the Wellington man, and he began to do some of the fastest scoring of the match. Ho did not give any chances until he had a tidy number of runs to his credit, and altogether it was a particularly fine innings. It was fortunate that the last man in was such an experienced hand as Torrance, for had the veteran not played safety the Albion colt would not have been able to reach the hundred. It would he difficult to imagine a more striking contrast than the two innings of Knight, who scored 11 in 50 minutes in bis first venture, and a bright 85. the finest knock of the match, in his second. Knight’s intention, of course, in the first innings was to play himself in. but he pave a wrong impression of the strength of the bowling, and a good ball came along before he could start to open his shoulders. In the second innings he was aggressive from the start and continued to score freely while wickets wore falling fast. Knight at his best i? an unusually good batsmrwi. but it does not pay him to practise restraint. Blunt maintained his reputation as a reliable batsman by scoring 43 in Otago's first innings, but in his second knock he wont out after collecting only eight—his smallest scoi-c since the match against Wales on the English tour. M'Mullan, one of New Zealand’s most consistent batsmen, made only half a • dozen runs altogether. Galland’s innings of 55 was one of the brightest of the match. Ho started in the samo strain in his second strike, but failed to last. Behind the wickets he did good service and missed nothing in the way of chances. The least said the better of Otago’s bowling, but local followers have something to be pleased about in the recovery of Douglas, who took five of the Wellington wickets for 88 runs. Douglas has been, described by visiting cricketers as a trundler of promise, but for a time be completely lost form. His recovery means a great deal to the province and to bis club. The fielding of both sides on the whole was not good, but in the outfield some cf the Wellington men showed local players a point worth remembering and bringing into practice. They stood well out, and as the ball was delivered they began to move up. A moving fieldsman can get to a ball more quickly than one standing flat-footed, and Bndcock particularly saved runs by adopting the keep-moving method. The Otago team, by scoring 374 in its ■jecond venture, topped 300 in the second innings of each match it has played, a fact which shows that it has batting strength. Wellington has a fine all-rounder in Badcock —a graceful batsman, dangerous bowler, and a reliable fieldsman. Ho is arnnog the best cricketers the Dominion bus. .Not a few of the Otago batsmen went our us the result of catches on the log side. The visitors employed what is known as the “ leg trap,” and very effective it proved. It is disconcerting for a batsman when there are three or four men close in on the leg side and the bowler keeps sending them down in such a manner that there is every chance of the batsman pushing the ball into the hands of the waiting fieldsmen. We have bowlers in Dunedin who could make use of this means of attack, but how often does one see it employed? The following are the batting and bowllr»g averages of players who have represented Otago this season: BATTING. In. N.O. H.S. Runs. Avge. G. R. Dickison 2 104 113 50.5(1 R. C. Blunt 4 L. C. Eastman. 4 A. W. Ailoo 6 J. MAlullan 8 A. Galland 8 A. Knight ..8 1 83 201 28.62 AY. Vorrath 8 1 103 162 23.14 R. Torrance 8 3 30 81 10.20 R. Cherry 8 Y. G. Cavanav'h 8 C. J. Elmos : 8 W. Douglas 6 2 12 30 7.50 BOWLING. Runs. Wkts. Avge. Knight 124 6 20.60 Alloo 383 15 25,55 Eastman 333 12 27.7.1 Douglas 342 9 38.00 Torrance 520. 12 44.08 Dickinson .. .• • 172 2 86,00 pj m es 109 1 169.00 JJlunt 201 1 201.00