CRICKET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23689, 22 December 1938, Page 4

CRICKET

By Slip FIXTURES: December 24, 26, 27, 28.—Wellington v. Otago, at Wellington. December 24, 26, 27, 28—Auckland v. Canterbury, at Christchurch. December 30, 31, January 2, 3.—Wellington v. Canterbury, at Christchurch. December 31, January 2,3, 4.—Auckland v. Otago, at Dunedin. February 3,4, 6, 7.—Wellington v. Auckland, at Auckland. February 3,4, 6. 7.—Canterbury v. Otago, at Dunedm. THE PLUNKET SHIELD The Otago team will leave to-day to meet Wellington in the first- representative match of the season. It is a team capable of performing well, and, if it does, those who have formed the opinion that cricket in the province is declining in strength.will be pleased to welcome a restoration of confidence in the future of the game.. If the team does not acquit itself as well as its supporters hope, there are factors which should not be overlooked if criticism is to be just. In the first place, the weather has been in sharp contrast to last seasons pleasant conditions, and few of the players have had many opportunities to build up the confidence which they need. Play has been curtailed by the wet weather, and mid-week conditions have been such as to prevent the players from obtaining as much practice as they need. In addition, the wickets on almost every Saturday have

been soft, and a lively " track " at Wellington might find some of the batsmen at sea. Nevertheless, the team has a solid backbone of experienced players who, with patience, are capable of adapting themselves to changed conditions. . It is useless to continue to bemoan the loss of Dunning, who for so long has been the mainstay of the attack. The bowling is the best that the province can field, and, with reliable support, it should provide the home batsmen with a good test. Silver has p notable record on the Basin Reserve wicket, and is capable of inspiring the side. Purdue's performances against Dunedin batsmen justify confidence in him. and Leader, who may get some solid work to do. is bowling better than ever. Robertson is a useful standby as a fast bowler, and Elmes (left-hand) and Groves (slow) will add to the variety., While there is not sufficient outstanding batting material in the side, Uttley is working up to his form, ana Robertson's performances during the season have been outstanding. The others are all capable of getting ru'.is if they are prepared to wait for them, particularly in view of the fact that the Wellington bowling does not, on paper, appear to be especially strong. The team may not leave with the knowledge that its success is confidently expected, but it would be a mistake, on the other hand, to overestimate Wellington's strength. In any case, the absence of some of the more experienced former Otago players win give others their opportunity, and the results may very well provide a pleasant surprise. , The Auckland-Canterbury Plunket Shield game, which is to be played at Christchurch, will also be commenced on • Saturday. Canterbury will be much stronger than it was last year. Kerr and Roberts will again be playing, and with Hadlee (who made 243 not out on Saturday*. Donnelly, and Mulcock also in the side, this province will probably show that the standard of its cricket is not as low as last season's performances appeared to indicate. Auckland will field a team extraordinarily strong in batting, but many of its supporters are nervous about its bowling. Canterbury ought to provide the test, and Auckland's true strength will be known before it arrives in Dunedin to play Otago at the New Year. Wellington Players

Commenting on the Wellington team a writer in the Dominion says that J. A. Ongley is one of the most promising batsmen the province has produced for some years. This lad has an old head on his shoulders, and shows sound judgment in picking the right ball to hit. If he gets three good' overs in succession, they will roll back along the carpet to th? bowler, but if the naxt one is over-pitched it is likely to go up agains-. the pickets on the straight drive. He batted like a seasoned veteran in scoring 36 not out and 57 not out for Town against Country at the Basin Reserve recently in innings of 152 and 117, and it has to b 2 remembered that his runs were made against bowlers of the calibre oi T. L. Pritchard and N. Gallichan J. Ell. it is pleasing to see, is back in his best batting form this season. Here is another batsman of class, tie started off the season with 51 against Midland and followed this up with 105 and 21 against Wellington College Old Boys. 123 against Kilbirnie, and continued the good -work with 94 against University. He has thus aggregated 394 runs in Ave innings giving him the fine average of 78.80 an Innings. . _ W G. Rainbird and T. A. Harpur are two players whom the Wellington selector has given a chance to win their spurs. Rainbird has performed most consistently with the bat this season, his scores having been 80. 55, 6. 50, 7, and 112, giving him an aggregate of 310 runs and an average of 51.66. Harpur, besides being a useful batsman, is a left-hand slow bowler of merit. His efforts with the bat this season have yielded 0. 18. 29. 29, and 45 not out. and he has taken eight wickets for 141. Wellington, in T. L. Pritchard. has about the best fast-medium oace bowler in the Dominion to-day (the writer adds). He showed his ability in the Town v. Country match this vear. when he took six for 62 and five for 52. six of his Town victims being clean bowled. D. S. Wilson (Kilbirnie) will be able to support him with fastmedium deliveries, and there will be J. Ashden and H. F. Rice to supply the medium-paced deliveries. The team is rich in slow bowlers, having J. McKeown and J. Ell (right-handers) to call upon, and also N. Gallichan and T. A. Harpur (left-handers). SATURDAY'S GAMES Uttley's tactics in playing to protect a first innings lead on Saturday gave rise to furious arguments round the ground and to expressions of disapproval from spectators When Kaikorai's second innings began it required 125 runs in 65 minutes to secure an outright win. Uttley was deter-

mined to give Kaikorai no chance of achieving so spectacular a victory, and his placing of the field and instructions .to his bowlers were designed to prevent scoring. Kaikorai was soon compelled to abandon its task as hopeless. While one does not deny Uttley the right to adopt such tactics, which are well within the rules of the game, it is certain that they do the game no good. It is difficult enough now to attract spectators, and negative methods of play will only drive them away. One recalls an almost exactly similar position arising in a game between Old Boys and Carisbrook A. Carisbrook got the runs by a daringly spectacular display which did more than anything else in the game in recent years to stimulate interest in club matches and which obviously was enjoyed both by the Carisbrook men and by the defeated side, which bowled to get them out.

For the second time this season Dunedin's opening batsmen, Robertson and O'Sullivan, have scored more than 100 runs in an opening partnermship. They were given every chance because the Old Boys bowlers, hoping for an outright win, tempted them to get themselves out. The bait was not accepted, and the result was another demonstration of the increasing strength of the Dunedin side. The Albion side will have derived some satisfaction from its win' against Grange. The teams are old rivals, and their games are invariably interesting. Grange, however, has fallen sadly from its former strength and now lies seventh among the eight teams in the competition.

Dunning's farewell performance was .remarkable even against the weak opposition of the Carisbrook B side. A score of 54 followed by bowling figures of eight for 34 and six for 23 constitutes a performance that is worthy ot the best players who have ever played the game here. It is interesting to note that when Dunning leaves in a few days for Queensland he will be able to (renew his friendship with another ex-Otago and Carisbrook player. D. S. Cameron, who is stationed there. DEMPSTER'S RETURN Back in his home town after an absence of six years and a-half. C. S. Dempster is anxious to get back to his old fields of play (says a Wellington writer;, and cricket's large following here is just as anxious to see this grand cricketer in action again. Neither Dempster nor his admirers are likely to be disappointed. It is on the cards that he will be playing for his old club—lnstitute Old Boys—in the next series of senior championship matches. But that will not be until the first Saturday in the New Year. In the meantime, there are the Plunket Shield matches, and the return of New Zealand's No. 1 batsman has given rise to the auestion as to whether Dempster is eligible to play in the interprovincial games. Actually Dempster is here only as a visitor. He comes as the advance member of Sir Julian Cahn's team, which is to make a tour of New Zealand later in the season. He comes, too, as captain of the Leicestershire County Cricket Club. Nevertheless, this is his home town, and, if it could be managed, followers of the game would like to see him in his former place in the provincial side. There is, of course, the residential qualification to be considered. This, possibly, would be a bar to Dempster's inclusion in the match- with Otago, which commences at the Basin Reserve next Saturday. Then there is Dempster's position with his county to be Considered, and he himself would not like to be drawn into anything that would affect his county qualification. It is within the bounds of possibility, however, for authorities to stretch a point, and no doubt it could be done in this case, considering the circumstances. NOTES Snedden, the new Auckland bowler, stands about 6ft 2in in height, and weighs over 14 stone. He is reported to bowl at medium pace " with a slight swing and good lift." "Patsy" Hendren, the former test batsman, told a North Middlesex club at a dinner that he once took three wickets with one ball. "The eighth and ninth men were batting," he said. " Number eight drove the ball to coverpoint. Both ran, and, watching the ball, collided, were knocked out, and carried off. Number 10, ready to go in, fainted when he saw the others carried in bleeding, and number 11 did not have a partner." Sir Julian Cahn will be unable to see his cricket team play in the first two matches of their forthcoming tour of New Zealand. He will not arrive in Auckland until February 17, the day before the third match begins at Wanganui. The millionaire cricketer is so keen to play in this match, however, that he has arranged to fly from Aucklanad to Wanganui as soon as possible after his arrival. Quick thinking by Mr R. Blennerhassett, the Auckland umpire, was responsible for an excellent decision being given in the First Grade cricket match between North Shore and Middlemore at Devonport. The Middlemore captain, H. T. Pearson, in attempting a powerful hook, just grazed the ball with the inner edge of the bat, a snick so fine that few of the fieldsmen were aware that he had hit it. After touching the bat, the ball went through to the batsman's pads, and the bowler appealed lustily for leg before. The umpire was about to negative the appeal when he noticed that the ball, after striking the batsman's pads, had rebounded on to the wicketkeeper's pads and finally lodged in first slip's hands. He promptly gave the batsman out, remembenns that the bowler's "How's that." although obviously a leg-before appeal, covered all forms of dismissal.