NOTES.

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

NOTES.

Albion are leading for the First Grade Shield with seven points, Grange have live, and Dunedin two, but Carisbrook have so far failed to score. Grange have 12 fielding points, Albion 11, Dunedin 9, and Carisbrook 7. Only three First Grade matches have been played so far, and, given line weather, four more cun be played. When Albion and Grange meet on Saturday, Grange will be without the services of M'Mullan and Alloo. Owing to an attack of neuritis in (he arm. Oldfield was not able to keep wickets f,,r New South Wales in the recent match against South Australia. Tn view of the impending visit of the English eleven, Oldfield has been advised to nurse his arm, and possibly ho will not go to New Zealand with the Australian team.

" I was unlucky,” said the famous English wicketkeeper, H. Strmhvick. in announcing, his retirement, “in everlastingly having to cope with great fast bowlers like Richardson, Lickwood, Knox, and Hitch. There was never a regular slow left-hander to provide me with a quiet time.” Strmhvick adds that in his time he lias had "ever}’ finger-joint broken. Playing for Old Boys (Nelson) against Wakapu on Saturday afternoon, E. Neale made 151. This, following on not out innings in previous games of 200 and 231, gives him an average of 582 for once out. Members of the Canterbury cricket team are still chuckling over a story they heard when up north concerning a Hastings umpire in a first grade match who refused an appeal against a batsman who was palpably out —stumped (says an exchange). Asked later why he disallowed the appeal he replied that the batsman managed to get back to the crease before the appeal was made. It was interesting to listen to the comments of the Sydenham supporters present at the Riecarton-Sydenham cricket match while, W. Cunningham was bowling in his old form (states the Christchurch Sun). "Keep him on —don’t take him off,” said one as Cunningham laboured away, He needs plenty of bowling to bring him back to his old self again.” There is much truth in that remark. Rightly or wrongly, there is a feeling that Cunningham was not given a full chance in England in which to strike form. He is the type of bowler who needs work and plenty of it, and he certainly was given little opportunity in England after his early failure. And yet such men as M. L. Page failed ns batsman for some time, but were persisted with until they struck their true form. Lowry showed himself to be a shrewd judge and a fine captain, but he did not appear to understand the requirements of Cunningham. Two unusual incidents happened in the Ponsonby-Ellerslio suburban cricket match played at the Domain recently, when the umpire was called upon to give decisions on some of the finer points of the laws of cricket (states the New Zealand Herald). In the first instance, Elliott, of Ellerslie, touched a rising ball and in its flight it hit the wicketkeeper’s pad, and was deflected into Stallworthy’s hands in the slips. A confident appeal, however, was disallowed. This decision is contrary to the rules, and Elliott was indeed lucky to survive it. A little later Roberts touched a rising ball from Burton, and it rose on the offside, a few feet from the wicket. Yates, Ellerslio’s wicketkeeper, attempted to catch the ball, but was obstructed by Roberts, who hit at the ball, and prevented Yates from catching it. Roberts was instantly given out, but be claimed he was merely protecting his wicket. This claim, however, is only justified provided the ball was in clangor of rolling on to the stumps. In this case the umpire’s decision was the correct one.

Alec Bannerman, “ The Rat,’’ as his comrades knew him, played cricket more seriously than any of his contemporaries. Ho had no sense of humour in cricket. Ho was batting against South Australia, and one of his opponents was a merry sou! who, to beguile the time while Alee was stonewalling, softly hummed to himself popular songs. Alee stood it for a while, and then, leaving his crease, walked up to the offender at slTort slip and said, “Do yon know. son, you’re playing cricket? If you want to play cricket, play it; and if you want to sing, go and sing, but for heaven’s sake don’t sing comic songs in the slips.” and then he went back to the wicket and took block. The council is naturally keen to assist the minor associations in the matter of fixtures, and for this tour it has allotted seven of the 11 matches (excluding the two Tests) to the _ country districts (states a AV ellington. writer in criticising the itinerary of the Australian team). Of what advantage will these games be to the visitors in the matter of preparing for the Tests with England? Moreover, the visitors will bo required, as on previous tours, to do a great deal of travelling, with 'but few days free from travel or play from start to finish of the programme of engagements. One prominent Australian player on a previous visit pointed out that there was too much travelling, and he urged that the minor associations should be combined for the purposes of matches with representative teams from overseas. This, it seems to the writer, should have been done in the case of the present tom*. Matches with the combined North Island and South Island minor associations would' have been preferable to the arrangement by which the Australians are to spend more than half of their time (apart from Test play) in meeting country district, teams in two-day games.

An incident which occurred during Kippax's innings of 315 not out. arising out of a ticklish position in which an umpire was placed, has been widely discussed by cricketers. The incident 'is explained as follows by the Sydney Mail: The unfortunate decision in Kippax’s case meant, with regard to his quota, a difference of 191. Readers will remember fhat the Now Soulh Wales captain, when 125, ran out to hit a no-ball. In ordinary circumstances that was all right, as he could not be stumped, bowled, Ibw, or caught. But the _ unexpected sometimes happens, and it did in this case. He snicked the ball into his wicket, and the fact that ho had played it placed him within the range of a run-out decision. The wicketkeeper picked up the ball and pulled up a stump while Kippax was still out of his ground. The square-leg umpire said, “Not out,” to an appeal for run out. It was a most unusual incident; indeed, I cannot call to mind a similar happening. The squarelog umpire has admitted that Kippax nicked the ball into his wicket. The decision was unfortunate for the Queenslanders, who thereafter had an uphill battle to fight. Tho umpire’s reason for saying not out was that, tho batsman was not attempting a run. The umpire was wrong.