CRICKET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21264, 19 February 1931, Page 4

CRICKET.

By Slip. SILLY MID-ON REVIVED. Ted a'Beckett lias revived the position of silly mid-on, which was made famous 60 years ago by Harry Boyle, also a Victorian (writes C. P. M. in the Sydney Bun). . , ~. . , With all the changes m batting technique which the years have brought about it was interesting to see a position in the field revived in which Harry Boyle had specialised, but which had been allowed to go out of vogue. Present-day experts called the position a’Beckett took “ forward square leg ” and ‘ silly * e SThe catch which dismissed Fairfax was off a genuine attempt to on-dnve, and it Bill was out to a square-leg hit, the tact that a’Beckett was in the road was merely a tribute to clever anticipation. It may seem strange that in view ot the number of brilliant catches x>oyio made in that position with the earlier Australian elevens, more use has not been made of it. The erratic length goog y and swing bowling has had much to do with it. „,, ~ . Before the boldest fieldsman could be cot to stand at “suicide point on the on side he had to feel unbounded confidence in the ability of the bowler to maintain a true length, and Blackie nils the bill in that direction. . A’Beckett was at silly mid-on in the Leeds test, when he caught Jack Hobbs. He was standing almost near enough to pick the great Englishman’s pockets, and he took the ball so close to the batsman and the ground that' Hobbs doubted the catch, and appealed to the square-leg umpire, who did not hesitate a moment about his decision. An amusing catch at silly mid-on wa made in the eighties, when New South Wales was playing Victoria. The giant George Bonnor was hitting when Blackham, Victoria’s captain, openly, called np Worrall, one of the pluckiest of cricketers, and placed him at silly md on. It seemed like inviting him to commit suicide against eudi a noted hard hitter. But Old Jack knew bis psychology and that Bonnor, like most big men, was soft-hearted. . “ Bonn.” probably thought to himself, “If I let fly with all my strength 111 kill that poor chap.” Anyway,, m next to no time he was so put off his B®™® that, as Blackham expected, he knocked up a “ dolly ” catch into Worrall s safe clutches.

PROTECTION OF WICKETS. ' An old player gives the following list ti “ dont’s? which should be observed if wickets, which require a great deal ot preparation, are to be protected: P Don’t pat the ball back to the howler after playing it, when it is lying on the wicket near you. There is always a •danger of knocking out a piece of the turf,'and perhaps spoiling a g°°d wicket. Pick it up by hand and return to to the bowler in the correct manner. .. ' Don’t run on the wicket unnecessarily, either at practice or m ApTcarefuily overseas teams were watched careiuuy it would be found that they religiously ran on the side of the wicket. .t/ven a mark left on the wicket might cause a ball to play tricks, might be the cause of a batsmans downfall, to eay nothing of shaking hie Don’t go on the ground for. practice after rain without first inquiring ' the groundsman or someone in authority whether the wicket ie playable. Don t enoil it for future practice. . P Don’t dig holes in tne wicket when playing your shots. Remember other players will . Don’t run over a m ? tc \ wn preparation when running after a ball. NOTES. X)unedin eaS ttat' 8 a 80 post^mem^nt rlC al^ay^ wettest for a very long time. T“e “ai «Bffieultv during the past few months nas been ■to obtain suitable condition during the week for' practice, and the effects are bef n r seen in club cricket generally. When it was mentioned to a wefi‘b no 'ivn player the other day that very httle good Living has been seen thisseasonhe stated that it was only be expected, it re ouired confidence to drive properly, he added and players lacked that confidence because they were not obtaining sufficient Pr Dunding is the type of cricketer who usually provides something worth watching a nd he gave a fine display to score 147’ against Southland. This was his second century in Dunedin, his first being 117 for Carisbrook before his departure for England, when the south end team knocked up its record score of 517 for three wickets against Albion. Worker on that 6 occasion made 194, H Duncan 104, A W. Alloo 51 not out, and H. C. Alloo 33 not out. Dunning scored a couple of centuries in England, and in his first knock on his return to New Zealand he “Tl'Vto that' Southland ™ unable to plfo. ita full .trength m the field against Otago, for. its best players can only progress against such howling as the visitors faced in the r ? match between the provinces.. It is to be feared, if the team which came to Dunedin is anywhere near representative of the strength of Southland cricket, that the game in the south is not making the progress that it-should. .Yet it has to be remembered that the side was a young one and that most of the players have their best years before them. There were some very obvious faults in the batting of the visitors, and coaching seems to be very necessary, though, according to what one heard from the visitors, better wickets and more assistance from the local bodies are required first. At -lie same time, Southland should be able to produce bgwlers who can keep a lengtn, for a few overs at any rate.' ihe tact that Johnston, the left-hander, was suffering from a leg injury was a handicap, hut the howling generally was very erratic. Good length bowlers are likely to be Southland’s greatest need in future representative matches. Weak howling gave.D. Smith, the exAustralian, his chance in the Otago-ooutn-land match, and he succeeded in playing a knock for 98 that for stylish batting baa not been surpassed by a young player for a very long time. It was, indeed, a delightful innings and gave further proof of the possibilities of this 19-year-old colt. He is not likely to strike such easy bowling very often, but it was a coo'd chance for him to develop his shots, particularly his drives, which were the best feature of his display. The fielding points for the last rouna of matches were as follow:—Old Boys 0, Dunedin 4, Carisbrook 4, Grange 3, Chn tian Brothers 4, Albion 4. The totals are now as follow:—Dunedin 23, Carisbrook 21, Old Boys 21, Grange 19, Christian Brothers 18, Albion 18. . lan Cromb is reported to be making such a good recovery from the operation which he underwent a few days ago that he should have ample time in which to become fit to take his place in the blew Zealand cricket team for England. The Rev. E. 0. Blamires is by no means a back number yet (states a V ellington writer). He was in great form tor United against Carterton, when he only failed by TO mns to reach the century. A Hoar (64) and F. Hoar (32) helped their captain to put on 337 for the loss of nine wickets. When Alan Kippax made his first appearance in Sydney dub crickct tlns Beason less than three weeks ago—until then his cricket since he returned fiom England with the Australian ieamJai been in representative matches only—ho knocked 22 runs off the first over howled jn the match. That was the start ot the innings in which Kippax scored 16runs, including ft 6 and 25 4’s, in 132 minutes in faxiltless bat ing. „ . The Wellington player, Win fJaker, Tins been a tower of strength to the Mi cl land team this season -gh iunmg he has hit up exactly 500 runs, wiui scores of 170 and 166 to his credit. Tins gives him the excellent average of .62-o0 runs an innings. In bowling he has tak 18 wickets for 366 runs, an average of 20 33 per wicket. ; j) Gr. Bradman, in an interview latently, during which the possibility of his visiting New Zealand was mentioned, remarked—“l’d like to visit New Zealand with a team.. If the Australian Board 01 Control sends one next season and I m invited I’ll do my level best to become one, Tf fhe nartv. You know such matters rest with the board and the New Zealand Council.”