CRICKET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21578, 25 February 1932, Page 4

CRICKET

By Slip. THE PLUNKET SHIELD MATCH Though the rain which fell during the Plunket Shield match between Otago, and .Wellington deprived the Otago Cricket Association of a “gate’; which would pro-, bably have provided the solution ot its financial difficulties, the fact that < the weather created conditions which helped *he bowlers is not in the least to be deplored. Indeed, the game provided encouragement for bowlers in a season during which the batsmen generally have had the upper hand, and proved that there are bowlers in the Dominion who are capable of taking advantage of conditions that are in their favour. Interest was high before the game which many expected to rival the famous Otago-Wellington match of a few seasons ago in the number of runs scored, and there is no doubt that on a hard wicket the scoring would have been a great deal higher f than it actually proved to be. Those who were able to watch the whole course of the game will not have been in the least disappointed, for interest was kept at a high pitch, and a wonderfully exciting finish made the match one of the most memorable that has been played m the Shield competition. Though Otago has to be content with third place in the competition, the province nas every reason to be satisfied with the performance of its representatives, especially in view of their weakness last season.. Their close game with Canterbury, their defeat of Auckland, and the great fight which they made to snatch victory from Wellington have again made them a strong force in the Plunket Shield competition. No more than that. could have been expected after a succession of lean seasons. , , , , The game which has just been concluded, however, showed that there are respects in which the team can be improved. Its chief needs are an opening batsman ot the Worker type and another bowler, preferably a'left-hander who can keep such & length as Newman and Badcock obtained. Had Dunning been able to retain his form of the previous two or three seasons, the latter deficiency would have been supplied. Ehnes, too, if he were less erratic, would admirably make up this want. So far as an opening batsman is concerned, there is as yet no one in eight. Bad starts have handicapped Otago for some time, and there has been a need of a batsman capable of “stiffening up the batting after early losses. Blunt has been relied upon for this purpose,' and when he has failed to stay, as he did against Wellington, there has been no one upon whom the side can count for a recovery. Though : there are great possibilities in the Otago batting, this lack ot a reliable first thiree or fopr will remain the province’s chief' handicap unless there are some further discoveries. , The bowling, like' the; batting, has freat possibilities, but tle province would e better with four reliable bowlers than with the present eight, any of whom might come off. , As has been previously etated, one more bowler with Badcock s accuracy would make up the- deficiency. It has been this possession of too manv bowlers that has made the task of dtago captains* so difficult during recent seasons, apd-St has no doubt been a cause of the‘‘vdissatisfaction that has been felt with respect to the leadership of the side for some...years past. .Otago has had no outstandingleader for a considerable time, and the judgment or the several who have been tried has been severely criticised. Hath it'been possible to call upon a captain of the Lowry type it would not have been nectary to ask a stock bowler ~ as . has-begn_ the case with Dfihning, to fill the gap.: Even the most severe critic will concede that the position of Dunning, a bowler himself, with seven others to call upon is a difficult one. Had he made earlier use of Blunt on, Monday, 1 however,^ not a great deal of cHticiem would have been levelled-at his leadership. When Wellington’s first innings .began on .Friday with only a quarter of an hour to bat it was expected that he would make use of Dickinson in the failing light. His decision not to do so on account of the possibility of an injury to the fast bowler as a result 'of the very insecure foothold will no doubt have satisfied many, though it is probable that, a-majority will maintain that the opportunity was too good to lose even if Dickinson did not bowl at his full pace. - Dunning’s?- failure to, make use of Blunt,when, J.hfhph- and Lambert were gr the attack was an unfortunate mistake. j The criticisiijlevelled at Dunning during the Canterbury, 7game that he bowled himself too much Twill not be the fault that most of those " who saw the match will have found with his captaincy. Before the adjournment oil Monday .he bowled really well andsHeserved .the .wicket which he took. After the' adjournment he bowled four ‘/oyers;- but did not appear likely to tak&va wicket.- Had he satisfied ' vrith a couple ,of overs at this stage and . ‘then made use of Blunt instead .of others who had already . been tried he would; have escaped criticism. He himself had-as good a chance as any of the others ©{‘ breaking, the partnership, hut his mistake was in not bringing Blunt on until 'Such a late stage, : ■ Dickingon’s l' value . to- the,, team was ;p^^4fe>his'lfine./stand -in, 1 the first innings l with Moloney and his l remarkable bowling in the closing stages of thr thatch." Both were performances which stamp him as a particularly fine cricketer, and he all but'won the match for Otago. . Should Cleverley not perform well against the South Africans Dickinson cannot be overlooked for the second test. Moloney’s first inning’s; display was one of the most pleasing features of the match. • It was a magnificent performance under; the circumstances and places him once again in the first rank of Otago batsmen. - , , , The Otago hatting on the whole was disappointing, though the conditions were not favourable to tall scoring. Both, displays were far below the capabilities of the side. Badcock’s recklessness makes it questionable whether he should continue to be used as an opening batsman. He has r given valuable service in all three matches but might do even better further down-the list against tiring bowling. Wellington’s success was) due to the fine stand of James and La Albert and the bowling of Newman. Jamess was a lucky innings' which should have been ended earlier, but Lambert’s century was well deserved and marked him as a, first rale batsman. Newman, under conditions that he liked, gave two' exceedingly fine performances and the Wellington bowling in both innings proved much more accurate than that of Otago. Taking the match as a whole, however, Otago s attack was little less effective, and on a dry wicket might well have been more dangerous. It was unfortunate that more could not have been seen of Dempster, who does not seem to be able to get into his stride in Dunedin. His timing and footwork, however, enabled him to score quickly when’others would have been on defence. A feature of the match was the excellent wicketkeeping. Both James and Hawkesworth gave outstanding displays, Hawkesworth, when experience vi taken into consideration, being. very little inferior to the New Zealand representative. The following are the averages of Otago representatives this season:

THE GAME IN CENTRAL OTAGO Cricket has a fair number of supporters still in Central Otago, and the play is of a surprisingly good standard. Conditions there are not as good as those in towns, but the’players make up for ? deficiencies in that respect by the keenness shown for the gams. Teams

have often to travel 30 miles for their Saturday’s game. The Naseby ground, in its picturesque setting, stilf holds pride of place as the best ground. Wickets are for the most part of asphalt or concrete, and some good exhibitions of batting are .seen. Even centuries are ‘by no means uncommon, and recently G. Dryden (Naseby) played a faultless knock for 100 not out against Patearoa B, the leading team in the competition. Patearoa with two teams is the strongest centre, and occupies first and second places in the competition. The B team has been beaten only by Naseby, while the A team has gone down to Waipiata and its own B team., , NOTES There is no foundation fbr the rumour that Lowry was passed over by the New Zealand selectors. He definitely advised them that he would not be available. Newman has taken 22 wickets in Plunket Shield matches at an average cost of 15.43. E, G. M'Leod, the Wellington representative cricketer, has shifted to Auckland, which province he represented before lie went to Wellington. A peculiar incident occurred in the Queensland-Victoria cricket match last week. Barnett hit the ball, and on the completion of a single the return from the field hit a’Beckett’s bat and went to the fence. A’Beckett said he would not take the runs, and . the umpire did not signal. Later Ryder, the Victorian captain, claimed the four, which was allowed. C. J. Oliver, former New Zealand cricket and Rugby representative, seems to have come right back to his best form with the bat (says the Sun). When just before Christmas he resumed playing he took things steadily, to give his injured foot a chance to get strong again. He has had five innings this season, scoring 33. 19, 62, 58 not out, and 96. Oliver’s return to form has made the Sydenham First Grade team more formidable than it was earlier in the season — not only because of his scores, but because his presence has made, the team more-confident.' _ . . A cricket product of the Richmond Amateur Boys’ Club, L. Nasl|, who took four wickets for 18 runs and one for four in Australia’s final test with the South Africans, is a Victorian who went to Tasmania three or four years ago. Before he went to Tasmania he played with Fitz Toy, in Melbourne club cricket, for a* couple of seasons, mostly in the second eleven. He was then a fastmedium bowler. Since then he_ has become really fast —the South Africans say he is the fastest bowler they have played against in* Australia. He has also become the best all-rounder in Tasmania, for whcih State he has played lor three years. Nash is 21 years of age. There is a likelihood of his returning to Victoria. , " •' . A novel billiards match was. played in England recently between two sportsmen, famous in their respective spheres. Tom Newman. The English billiards player, had far his opponent none other than Jack Hobbs, the Surrey and international cricketer. Hohbs won by 25 to 12, but his victory, is explained by the fact that he played with a cue, while Newman had to score the best he could with a cricket bat. The game Was one of a series .of humorous billiards contests staged to raise funds for charity. Two otherjjplayers used a whip and boxing gloves respectively to propel the .balls. , . , Since the war there have been as many as 80 official test matches played, and of ■these Captain E. W. Ballantine, touring with the South African cricketers, has reported 54. s He is travelling with the South African cricketers for the second time, for he reported the 1910-11 tour, and in addition he accompanied the 1924-25 English team, and the_ 1928-29 English team, captained, respectively, by A. Gilligan and P. Chapman, through Australia. Altogether he has reported 89 test matches in England, Australia, and South Africa, and has travelled a quarter of a million miles during his career as a cricket jour/ nalist. Originally a schoolmaster in Lon,don, he was appointed to a schoolmastership in Durban, in 1889, and later, in South Africa, followed the profession of journalist, becoming sporting editor ,of the Natal Mercury, until the time,came when he was invited to join the army of journalists in Fleet street in London. _ He has made a hobby of reporting test cricket and Internationa] Rugby Union, in addition to which he once made the complete tour of the Australian and New Zealand Rugby League, Jeam in, England, in 1921, and represented English and South Africa!} newspapers throughout the entire tour of the. South African Rugby team in T 912-13 through the British Isles. Captain Ballantine is preparing a book of his reminiscences, but he is waiting until he has celebrated his “ Century of Tests,” as a reporter, before publishing the volume which should be one, of the most interesting idealing with cricket.

BATTING. In, N.O. H.S. Rns. Avge. Blunt ..6 1 338* 385 77.00 Badcock .. 6 — 105 271 45.16 Dickinson . . • 2 — 52 62 31.00 Elnjes f • .. 6 1 49 119 23.80 Cherry .. 6 — 79 126 21.00 Knight Moloney . . Smith .. 6 — 6 1 .. 6 — 42 55* 39 122 97 116 20.33 19.40 19.33 Coupland .. 6 — 27 108 18.00 Hawke^vortH .. 6 ' 3 21 43 14.33 M'Haffie 2 — 13 19 9.50 Dunning .. " 6 — 36 56 9.33 Priest ' . • • o i —■ ..., * Signifies not out. bowling. Runs. Wkts. Avge. Dickinson .. 70 7 10.85 Badcock . .. 318 14 22.71, Coupland . Blunt Dunning Moloney .. 164 .. 183 7 7 23.41 26.14 .. 267 .. 156 .8 4 33.37 39.00 Smith ., 127 2 63.50 Elmes took one for 122.