CRICKET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23717, 26 January 1939, Page 4

CRICKET

By Slip

j FIXTURES ’ February 3,4, ,6, 7.-—Wellington v. ’ Auckland,,at Auckland. • | February 3,4, 6, 7.~Canterbury v. * Otago, at Dunedin. * March 2,4, 6 Otago v. Sir Juhen | Cahn’s Eleven, at Carisbrook., \ ( POINTS FROM THE MATCHES i Thanks mainly to a fine effort by J Silver, Albion made a great _ recovery I in its match against Dunedin. The ■ side had at one stage lost seven wickets | for 97, but stumps were drawn ( with 301 on the board. The rot' s was stopped by Everson and Collie, } who got 54 and 39, and then Frood j and Silver" put on 106 for the last j wicket. Silver’s contribution being 72 { made in, not more than 50 minutes, i Those who have followed Silvers ■ 'career have been waiting patiently for i him to make such a score because he * long ago proved his ability to make * runs, and actually entered the Albion I senior team as a batsman. Incidentally < it was the late “Bill” Vorrath who < made him a bowler. - In 1927, Silver. ] then playing in Third Grade, was assoi elated in a score by Albion of 330 for 1 three wickets, claimed to be a record t for junior cricket. Silver . (160 not > out) and A. Campbell (106 not out) ! were associated in an unfinished third'i wicket partnership of 280. In that * season Silver made 650 runs in 13 inn- ' ings. j It is claimed that Frood and Silver \ in their partnership on Saturday set i a new club record for the last wicket. . This performance naturally set mem- | bers of the side talking on similar i interesting records in the club’s his- > tory. It was recalled that, playing in I Bovs’ League cricket. Silver and A. Sinclair (still in the Albion senior - team) once opened both the batting and the bowling for Albion. Sinclair : scored 100 and Silver none. Sinclair took all 10 wickets, and Silver took none. , .. . _ . Kaikorai did well to dismiss Carisbrook A for 189, a score which reached those proportions only because Dougan chose the occasion to play an audacious and extremely entertaining innings ; of 75. made principally by powerful even batting display enabled Grange to make a useful 220 against University, a pleasing feature of which

was a half-century by Timms, who deserved his success. Most of the wickets went to Falvey, who had also bowled well in the previous match. Falvey is an excellent fieldsman, and the opinion is held that he can throw a ball even better than Alex. Knight. If Dickinson is not giving his usual service with the ball he was at least worth his place on Saturday as a batsman, for he made the top score of 36 in only 17 minutes. Dickinson at his best was a first-rate batsman, and should make many more good scores if he is not overworked with the ball. Chettleburgh played in his first game this season when he returned to the Grange side on Saturday. This season he has been coaching the Otago Boys’ High School team and has shown excellent results. PLAYERS DISCOURAGED “I was out on Saturday to the fifth successive Ibw decision that has been given against me. The bowler was a left-hander, bowling round the wicket, and the ball was pitched on the leg stump. I think that of the five decisions, only one was correct. This is the substance of a complain, made to me a few days ago by a junior cricketer. One is familiar, ox course, with the type of player who is never satisfied with an Ibw decision. He should,not be encouraged to air his grievances. But the young _ man who told me of his five Ibw dismissals knows the game and is not a “squealer.” I am prepared to accept his complaint as justified. The fact is that too many young players are being discouraged by bad Ibw decisions given by people who forget that the main point on which they must be satisfied is that the ball would have hit the wicket. If there is any doubt the batsman is entitled to the benefit. It should be difficult for a bowler to get such a decision in his favour, for in many cases the bah which strikes the batsman’s pads would have risen well above the wicket. The margin on which the umpire has to work is so small that when he gives the bowler the decision there should not be the slightest doubt in his mind. The trouble does not occur so much with regular umpires (though their decisions are sometimes open to question) as with youths who are called upon to act as umpires because no official umpires are available. The truth is that the umpires in junior matches often know very little about the game. The result of their bad decisions is to discourage young men from playing the game. The confidence of the Ibw victim is shaken, and he probably fails because he is thinking too much about his legs and not enough about the stroke he should be making. Nothing can help the game so much as good umpiring. Official measures to encourage it would, I am sure, be welcomed by all players. A FALLING STANDARD Seven wickets for 16 runs was the remarkable average secured on Saturday by Groves, the Old Boys’ slow bowler. A week previously Moloney, also a slow bowler, took five for 13. If these figures could be accepted at their face value Otago could congratulate Itself on the possession of two bowlers of the highest class. The plain facts, however, are that those who follow the game closely know that these figures are obtained because of weak batting by men who are simply out of their class. It must be granted that playing conditions have been such that batsmen have not had the opportunity to play themselves into form. But that is not the whole story. Moloney and Groves have had their opportunities in first-class cricket but have never been able to produce figures approaching their recent efforts. The explanation is that in representa-

tive cricket they meet class batsmen who know how slow bowling should be played. There appears to be no escaping the fact that the standard of our cricket has fallen. Despite years of effort by a coach the good young batsmen have not arrived, and not one first rate young bowler is in sight. The only sound method of raising the standard seems to be a concentration of the best talent in a smaller number of senior teams.. As it is, some bowlers are getting their wickets too easily, and false impressions of players’ ability are being created bv the ruling circumstances. These • remarks are not aimed at Groves or Moloney, whose ability one admires. Their performances are quoted as examples to illustrate the point which the writer is making. There are plenty of good cricketers in this country, but if the “ class ” players •are put on one side the standard falls away too quickly. There are obvious reasons why young men will not put sufficient time into the game nowadays to enable them to increase their skill, but no one with the interests of the game at heart can be satisfied with the existing position. D. M. DUNNET RETIRES An unfortunate accident at the nets at the Gore Hostel Grounds early in the season has resulted in the premature retirement of D. M. Dunnet. Lie Canterbury, Southland and Eastern Southland representative, who at the top of his cricket career was classed as one of the most brilliant wicketkeepers in the Domimon. Dunnet was coaching the Celtic juniors, and was standing alongside a young batsman showing him how to play certain snots. The player mishit a ball, which glided off the bat and hit Dunnet a terrific blow on the face. A medical examination later revealed that his nose and jawbone were broken, in addition to which his sight and hearing were affected, and as a result ne spent thtee months convalescing in hospital. Dunnet learnt his cricket at St. Andrew’s College, Christchurch, under the capable tuition of the English professional F. J. Shacklock. who died last year. Shacklock, who played for Nottinghamshire, was one of the most brilliant fast bowlers England has produced. and his wide knowledge of the game gave many young New Zealanders an excellent start in their careers. In his last year at St. Andrew’s College Dunnet captained the senior team, which was regarded by old boys of the school as being the best ever produced by the institution.

having been successful in every match it played. At the same time he also captained the Canterbury. Brabin Shield team. Graduating from secondary school ranks, Dunnet joined up with the Riccarton Club in the Christchurch senior competition, and it was not long before his ability as a wicketkeeper was recognised. Some time after, he took his place behind the stumps in the Canterbury representative team.

In 1936 Dunnet was transferred to the Gore branch of his firm, and soon after he joined up with the Celtic Club. In the two following seasons the Eastern and Southland selectors did not have to look far to find a player to fill the position behind the stumps, and he duly took his place in the touring representative teams, which challenged for the Hawke Cup. Possessing a rare sense of anticipation, Dunnet seldom let a. ball past him, even from the fastest bowlers, and few batsmen dared to leave the crease with him behind the stumps. His speed in removing the bails for a stumping or a run-cut was remarkable. Moreover, his ability as a ’keeper was not his only recommendation, as he could rank with the bes* in the province as a batsman, his smart footwork and clean stroking being features of his play. Last season he compiled 102 for Celtic against Mataura. and for Eastern Southland he scored 70 against Town and 84 against Western. It is most unfortunate that he was unable to play this season, as there is little doubt he could have secured a place in the Otago team for the Plunket Shield series. G. H. Mills, the regular Otago ’keeper, has been concentrating more on batting this season, and his work behind the wicket has not been up to the standard expected of a pro vincial representative, but there has been no one to take his place. It is worthy of note that W. R. Patrick, the Southland coach, who has had as much experience in international cricket as any other player in the Dominion, writing in the New Zealand Free Lance in 1937 before the New Zealand team was selected to tour England and Scotland, contended that Dunnet. as a wicket-keeper, was the equdl of E. W Tindill, who was eventually chosen for the tour.

The game of cricket has not been Dunnet’s only accomplishment Before his retirement from Rugby football he played for St. Andrew’s Old Boys (Christchurch) and Albion (Gore), and he was selected for the full-back position in the Eastern Southland representative team in 1937. He also played a fair game of tennis and golf, while he possessed ability above the average at the art of fencing, having won the championship of Christchurch in 1935 THE AMAZING BRADMAN Don Bradman is still breaking records. When he scored 135 not out for South Australia against New South Wales- last week he scored his sixth successive century in first-class matches, equalling C. B. Fry’s English record, established in 1901. Previously he had broken the Australian record of four successive centuries. Actually Bradman’s last century was his eighth in succession on Australian wickets, as he passed the hundred mark against Tasmania and Western Australia last March before the Australians left for England. Against South Africa in the 1931-32 season Bradman had four centuries in successive matches. That feat was equalled by Hammond on the last tour of Australia by the Englishmen, and by C. G. Macartney in England in 1921. Now the record is his alone. Bradman’s figures this season are remarkable. He made 118 in the centenary match in Melbourne, 143 against New South Wales. 225 against Queensland (in Adelaide), 107 against Victoria, 186 in Brisbane, and 135 not out against New South Wales. His runs

total 914, giving him the amazing average of 182.8. With another match to play against Victoria, he should easily reach 1000 runs this season. This is his eighty-seventh century since he began in 1927, and he has made 21,365 runs in first-class cricket in 254 innings (32 not out), which gives him an average of 96.2. An Australian writer was surprised recently to find that the opinion among the more rational spectators was that the Bradman of to-day is better to watch than the Bradman of five or six years ago. A grizzled veteran who played cricket in England some 50 years ago, said: “ Bradman used to make strokes that Lionel Palairet, Tom Hayward, Bobby Abel, WaHer or Maurice Read, ‘Tip’ Foster, even ‘the Old Man’ himself would not have dared to attempt. His wonderful eye saved him. Now. when his eye is not so keen, he realises that he must observe the canons of the grme and play cricket. I used to marvel at his huge scores, but he annoyed me with his weird strokes. Did you ever see him get behind the ball as he does now and meet it with the full face of the bat? No, sir, never! Now I think he is the best batsman the world has ever seen, and that includes W. G. Grace, Jack Hobbs, and Victor Trumper. I never thought I would put anyone above Vic. I would have liked to see Don facing Tom Richardson. Colin Blythe. Syd Barnes, Frank Foster, Maurice Tate (at his best), Charlie Turner, Ernest Jones, or Hugh Trumble, That would have been the test.” NOTES The suggestion has been made officially in Auckland that an interisland game should be played as part of the Centennial celebrations. An Auckland writer suggests the following New Zealand team:—P. K Whitelaw (Auckland). H. G. Vivian (Auckland), W. M. Wallace (Auckland), J. Cowie (Auckland), V. J. Scott (Auckland), E. W. Tindill (Wellington). T. L. Pritchard (Wellington), I. B. Cromb (Canterbury), A. W. Roberts (Canterbury). R. E. J. Menzies (Canterbury), D. A. R. Moloney (Otago). M. P. Donnelly (Canterbury) twelfth man. Mr Vernon Ransford, who has been appointed secretary of the Melbourne Cricket Club, was a distinguished .cricketer. A bright left-hander, he had his first test match in the 1907-8 season. In 29 innings, six times not out, he made 893 runs—top score 143 not out —and his average was 38.82. He had a tour of England in 1909. and was third in first-class averages to Bardsley and Armstrong, and just ahead of Trumper. For Victoria, beginning in 1903, he had 119 innings, 12 not-outs, 182 top score, and made 4358 runs for an average of 37.24. He was also a noted outfield. When informed of Mr Ransford’s appointment, Bradman, who was an applicant for the position, said. “I offer my heartiest congratulations to Vernon Ransford on his appointment. It is sure to be an extremely popular choice, and I am sure that he will do a great job.” Asked whether he intended to stay in Adelaide. Bradman replied, “Oh, yes. I am quite happy in Adelaide.” Teams representing Pareora and the Mornington Tramways recently met in Dunedin to play for the Wilson Shield, the visitors, who made 133, winning by 27 runs. For Pareora W. Hurst made 54, J. Smith 20, L. Baker 14 and A. Hurst 11, and the most successful bowlers were W. Hurst (four for 34), W. Davidson (three for 22), and L. Baker (three for 25). The outstanding Mornington batsmen were J. H. Otway (29), W. Stiglish (26), G. Mattingly (21), and J. Hollander (14). Hollander also kept wickets impressively. G. Mattingly gave a fine performance with the ball to take eight for 49, and H. Parsons secured the other two wickets at a cost of 17 runs. Probably the decisive factor in the match was the excellent fielding of the visitors. They were later entertained at the Provincial Hotel, “where the shield was presented by the donor, Mr Wilson, of Ravensbourne. The arrangements for the match were in the hands of the secretary of the Mornington Tramways team (Mr R. A. Otway).