STORY SIMPLY TOLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27275, 29 December 1949, Page 6

STORY SIMPLY TOLD

EXCELLENT BATTING AGAINST MEDIOCRE BOWLING

PA CHRISTCHURCH, Dec. 28. The story of Canterbury’s win is simply told.. Hadlee, Leggat, O’Malley and F. B. Smith all batted extremely well against steady but uninspired bowling. Auckland’s greatest need was for a leg spinner, and if there had been one to bowl from the south end he would have found footmarks on and about the leg stump which would have been of very great assistance to him. In the early stages Hadlee showed a certain amount of caution, and throughout his innings he treated the best of the bowling on its merits. At what seemed to be measured intervals, however, he found a ball to hit high and safe for 4, and thus kept the scoring rate about a run a minute.

' Leggat added only 12 to his overnight score, but had a full share in the opening partnership which put Canterbury well on the way to victory. O’Malley gave a delightful display, driving powerfully but easily, and scoring with the graceful on-side strokes which distinguish his best innings. Smith, although he had to have the assistance of a runner, made some typically powerful cuts and .Irives. Auckland’s bowlers, particularly K. Dollery, stuck to their unenviable task pluckily, and if luck had gone their. way Canterbury might have had a fitemer battle. Hadlee was missed at 'least once, and on several occasions •fhe batsmen sent the ball dangerously :lose to the fieldsmen. F. E. Hemmingson could do little with the ball, but bowled intelligently, and Dollery, although a little snort of length, was always hard to get away. Donaldson was unable to get the life from }he pitch he had found on the second morning, and Hollywood, although he was turning his off-breaks, gave away a lot of runs. It would have taken a bold captain to keep him on, but he did seem more likely than the others o beat the batsmen, who found little difficulty with the straight up and down bowling of most of the others.