NOTES BY SLIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2241, 11 February 1897, Page 35

NOTES BY SLIP.

• . • A peculiar incident took place m the secoud innings of New South Wales in the receat match with Victoria. Donnan wa« in the habit of following up the ball, and Layer, pretending to bowl, brought his arm right over and threw at the wicket, but, missing it, one run resulted. This was credited as a no-ball. • . • The style of T. 11. North, of the Lancaster Park Club, iv bowliug is being adversely criticised ia Christchurch, where the opinion is freely expressed that, his fastest bailn we thrown It is understood th*t the reason ho was taken off in thnQusenslaud ma'.ch was that the visitors obj-cbed co him. • . • Tho most consistent scorer in Senior Cup matchen in Otago this season has been M'Kiolay, of the Dunediu Club. He has Watted in six iunings, and has accomplished a duck in every one of thirn. Ifc will be au even'ful d«.y when he experiences the wild aeusa'ion of scoring a run. • . * Th« fi-sb match between New Soußi Wales and Victoria took place in March 1856. or nearly 41 years ago. In that iufcerv,il 58 matches hive been pUyed, New South Wales winning 27 and Victoria 31 * . • The VVesi; Australian Cricket Association has decided to offer £1200 and t'aiu fares for the team travelling b^iweea Perth and Albany if tbe urxc E'tghsb eleveu which is to visit Australia will play in Perth on their way to the eastern coloDiep. Surely thab is a high enough bid to satisfy Major Wardill, who has the arrangements in hia hands. • . • Some b'illiaut batting w»i wifcnf s»«*d on the Adelaide Oval on Jwuiary 23. The North Adelaide score againtt Adela.iiio was raited iroin 389 for eight* wicket* to 4tj : i. Clem Hill carried his toti.l fV«>m 143 to 24-1. Adelaide reßp-mded with 220 for five wirk^ts Againsb Hiudinarsh Suuth A.dsiaide made 270 for seven wicket*, of which Rrediaau outributed 170. ' . ' Although Victoria h»ve y«t to play the return match with South Australia, tho result does nob matter in S3 far «s concerns the destination of the Sh*flie!d Shield, which ha« niw be&>a won by New 'South Wales f cr the second year in succ-jss'ou. By w'uniug every lna^en. New South Wales have sufficiently demonstrated their superiority over their rivals. It ii . noteworthy that all the four matches played by New South Walei were wou by identically the sams 11 players. • . - After wh*t wo saw .if S. P. Jones in fchs field ia Duued'n it is cerftaiuly somewhat staggering to read in the notes upon the Queensland tract's tou-, contributed by one of them to the Sydney Ritere^, th*tf "the zeal with which Jones wonted throughout delighted the New Z**l finders." But possibly that is " writ aarcisbic" ' • . • The century by G. H. S. Trott on the 25sh ult. is the first he has ever made, in inborcolonial ma.tches against New South Wales. Ib war Trofct/s tenth century ia flrst-olais matches, seven of them having been got in England, two in Syduoy, and the other in Victoria. ; * . •Id the matches bebweeu New South ; Wales and Victoria th« performance of M. A. Noble in making over 70 in each innings has ! been equalled once only ; 70 and 60 odd have i been made by Trobfc, Moses, and oue or two ' others, but A. C. Banuermin's 78 (run out) amd 101 (uot out) in Melbourne, iv 1882, is the ouly other case beside* Noble* 71 aud 153 (not out), which i» certainly a big distinction for a young crickftter. Noble, ifc will be remembered, visited this colony a few seasons a?o as a member of J. C. Davis's second New SDuth Wales touring team. " No one I ever saw," remarks tbe veterau C. Bannerman, " cou'd upset a side like Lyoufc. Let him ba in five miuufcos and he has tied his opponents iv a knob. I remember on one of the occasions when I stood umpire for New South Wales in Adelaide. Lyons cume iv ; took block ; hit a four ; wiped his forehead ; hit j another four ; re-wiped his forehead ; hi ft two | or tbrea more fours which the fieldsmen Btopped | for singles ; hit a fiver ; changed ends ; wiped ! his forehead and hitched up his pants. I looked up at the board, thinking that he must be 20 ; he was 50 ! Ifc was the biggeib surprise I ever got in cricket." Apropo?, Syd Gregory relates that once wheu Lyons was battiug in England he weab from the pavilion inlo tha dressI iug room for hia pipe and coab. H^ put on his | coat, filled his pipe, li«ht«d it;, took half adoz^n dr»w3, aud came back. Tho game was over ! The mighty s miter had played the devil in those few momenta ou a bad wicket. * . ' One of the Queensland team, writing to Sydne.y Iv^feree upon tho tour in New Zealand, says, inttralia :—": — " Ths Quee&slanders throughout tli-s tour experienced the difficulty and disadvantage of playing on all varieties of wickets — t'sxt, s!o.v, and fiery. Tbe besj wicket in New Zealaa:! is thab &b Nipier, bulng very fast [ and true. Auckland is » good wicket, bub very : slow— almosb as slow as a Queensland train. ! Wellington is fairly fait, but fisry. Christchurch, which h»s the best reputation in the matter of wickets, was tha most treacherous of | all, and batting on ib was very trying. Proj longed dry weather was the" can.*e assigned to [ this condition by the ground man. A rather serious but amusing breach of the rales occurred on this wicket, the Queenslanders finding on | going on th» field ou the second day of the match that the wicket had been mown and rolled during the night. Tha ground man had innocently allowed his ze»l to override his di«cretiou in his endeavours to resuscitate a broken-down wickat. As this rendered a most signal assistance to the New Zealand team, the Queeuslanders at the time were rather annoyed, ' bub the officials and the New Zealand team wero not responsible in any way for what occurred. Ths Dunediu wicket upheld its reputation for slowness, and one of the Queensland bowlers (Hoare) revelled iv ib, to the greab discomfiture of the Duuedin batsmen. . . . If you are a cricketer going to New Zealand, ; and desire to make a big score, go to Napier ; I if you seek impartial applause and generous critics, go to Wellington ; if you want to have j a ' howling good time,' go to Chrisbchurch ; and ' if you bave a good story, tell it anywhere — except Danedin." ■ '.' The following clippings from the Bulletin have reference to the play in the receut match between New South Wales and Victoria at Sydne/: — "Graham is a wonderful shot from . the field afc the wickeb. Two or three times while Htandinp against the fence he bhrew the ' ball iv at lightning pace full on the f»tumpa,seudiug the bails flying. Once Gregory was almost out to one of these sensational returns. . . . Johns'a Bullish trip has seasoned hia nerves. Some of bis work was artistically perfect — catching Coningham and Gregory, for example. Aud he stumprd his man so quickly that the batsman's stroke and the flipping off the bails i seemed one act. . . . Roche, who got six ' wickets for 63 first mnince, is a ted-heided

young man cf msdlutn stature. Having lost his first and second lingers and part of his thumb, he is a bowling curiosity. He turns his slow ones well from the off, and he shoots down quita a first-class fast one at judicious intervals. . . . Bruce batted out; of form first innings fur his 16 runs Bruce is none too popular with tho Sydaeyites. He is remambered as the subtle logician who, when picking the last Australian Eleven, threw out Lyons because the English s«aßou might be wet, aud Turner because the Btiglinh season might be dry. . . Cricket has now and then a tincture of humour in it. When Turner went on to bowl la*t Saturday he sSTlfc down four preliminary bills wibh professional solemnity ; then carefully measured his run by stepping it out beforehand ; then m irked himself a starting-point with Wi» foot ; graxped the ball tightly, raised his arm aloft, ran up and delivered. Four ! Trott rather likes Turner, and it was the sweetest of drives this one " • . ' Two Otago records were nearly but not quite knocked on tlie he»d at Ctrisbrook last Saturday. Tho two records were established in one match, and there would have been something appropriate in their being both beaten in oje match The records in question ar^ those for the highest innings total aud for the highest individual score. They were put up in tbe eert8( n of 1885-86 by tbe C»ri«hrook Club playing with t.ho fiefunot Bxrolsior O'uh. That match ha<), I fancy, a good <le.*l In d-> ivith.kiiling tbe Excelsiors. The CirisWrcylc t; even scored 458, • of which W. Q Dixon c a mfd, 219, aad a peculiarity about tha latter scoro was that in compiling it Dixon made a century en eaoh of tho two d*ys» ou whica tho match was played. Toe near* s& approach to the total of 45S wbiah has been made «iuca thou until Saturday was the OarUbroo. 1 !: Club's 432 against Opoho two seasons ago, although there is not much doubu that had tbeGrauge bad another hour's play ia this season's matoh with the A'bion they would have cono vary near it ; and tuaaingular thing about lash Saturday's play wan cuat it was supposed tha^ tbe record total bad been beaten, the telejraj^h board shovrieg that tha eighth and ntuth wickets fell a*; 463. When the individual ocoret w«re totted uo at th« end, I)O7T6Tor, it was iound tbstt they gavo a tokalof 455, or tkree runs short, with one wicket to f*U. It was naont ta»t«li*ing te be beaten by time when a record for Ob* go was so nearly created, and tko disappointment waa all the koeaer front the faob th&k it was believed tkat the old record had beeu passsd This impree3ion was due to tha fact) that the independent record of tbo ruoc, jo.-ted down by the scorer as they were m*d«, so as toke^phim-elf abreast of bhe score, showed that; the total had reached 463 There i» the bar* chance th%t the soorer may have failed to note a couple of fours ia the book. The book scores mu»-t, however, be accepted, and tbe Cari»brook A team of this season realise fully how disappointing it i§ to bo "so near aud yet so far." ■ . " Fisher's individual contribution of 184 fell short, it will b»*eeo, from Dixon's record by 35 ruDS — a goodly number, but; not much when & batsman ba* scored 184 and is smiting vigorously. Though ho failed to achieve an Ot»go record for an individual innings, Fi»ber may congratulate hiwaelf upon having scored what, ia — up to tha present, at any rate — tho l*rgesb number of rui»R ma^.e by any babsutan in Rti7 matcho* in New Zealaud this mmoo, tor he beat! Lash's scorn in tbo raa'.ca between the Midland and Rivals ab Wellington by 4 runs, and his score ii. uioroever, the largrst that has ever been made in Otago in & single afternoon. Indeed, I question wbethar in seaioi- cricket a higher score than 184 has been credited to any b%t*m-m for ku afternoon's work in the colony. lam not clear upon that pmDt, bus possibly my C*nterbury confreres, who are both mines of iufo-maiioa on che subjec* of Now Zealacd records, c*n enlightea us. Fisher's performance waa a most refreshing one, not oaly because of the exk«nb of his innings, but) beo.*usa of the return to his old methods which ie wibneue<i. The opposing c«ptain, knowing, as he could not help knowing, of Fisher's f >b\\ weakness for » half stroke whicli r^aolts ia his spooning up a bill bbtwecn the wickets, poafc'd a man close in to snap up the expected catch. This wat a goo*' turn that was dove the bitsman. Ha observed the trap, and sbraightway b«gan to slam tha bowling about. At first he was troubled wibh Harknes^ who bowled really well bub with little luck, and a flukey *nick early io the innings ju»t took a fast one clear of thesfcumps, but it was not for long that he was uneasy, aud then commenced a splendid exhibition of hard drivirjgand almost perfect cutting. The great merit of the innings consisted, however, in its being chauce'.ess. When he had got his three figures be lifted one or two, but, though there were fieldsmen close at hand, they luckily fell ou' side the boundary and were thus quite safe, bub be waa not missed at all. Ou one occasion, when he was about 140, Harkness appealed fot le«c before, and it must have been a clo*e thing, for the batsman was certainly iv front, Jpufc I conclude that the ball broke ia. At all events Mr T. A. Hunter, who is no sooner back from a 12 months' scamper round the world than he is run in to act as umpire, ruled in favour of the batsman. \ 406 — 7—184 was fche healthy state of the game vfhfn Fiaher was at laat bowled. • . * I am personally under an obligation to J. Hops for having brought to pass that which was written in tbese notes l&at week, when it was announced that ho. intended, oa the resumption of play in the match between the Carisbrook A aud B teams, to make a big score. Ido not know whether his 63 is the highest icore that he has ever mude, but I incline to the belief that it is. At any rate it was compiled in a thoroughly tr&desrnanlike manner, and in the course of bis partnership with Fisher he kept pace fairly well with the latter, notwithstanding thab he (Fisher) was in the smiting mood. Hope attributes the fact that his wicket was captured at all to his being tired out. For a player who usually goes in last and is not expected to make rnns to see a hundred odd added to tbe score is, as he says, something unusual. If Hope helped Fisher to wear the bawling out, Spraggon assisted to pulverise it. Tnere was little rest for the j fieldsmen while these twa were together. One was as aggressive as the other until both became somewhat exhausted with the rapidity of the run- j getting, and then Fisher began to gat the bulk of the bowlicg and to monopolise the scoring for a while. Spr&ggon had much reason to ! thank Haynes, the short-stop, for his indul- ' gence to him. Twice ho tipped balls which Haynes ought to have held, but eventually the short-stop accepted a more difficult chance than either of those he had missed. •. • Thomson, who followed Spraggon In, shaped very uncomfortably for a while, but once he had broken the ice with a sweet carpet drive which travelled co the pavilion he was quite at home. He could not, however, look at Fisher in the rate at which he scored. BortoD, too, scored much more rapidly than Thomson, and made a number of fine leg strokes. Seven wickets for 414 was the net result of the A team's bitting for the afternoon, and that was a less favourable result than seemed probable a few minutes before the close. Borton and Thornton lost their wickets off nearly successive ! balls. The former was out to a simple-looking ball, aad the latter played oa immediatolj I

f eftsrwards. Austin, who succeeded Borton, i did not get a stroke, and Siedeberg, who took Tboaasou's place, had two balls to play. Had i Borfcon, therefore, survived another ball — tha ! last of an over from Howden — and had Thorn son survived two more balls iv tho following ovw from Harkneas, fcut five wiekofcs would have fallen in the afternoon. Th« B team's captain, it &eo>med to me, did not sufficiently vary his attaok, for only six bowlers were tried, and four of thess wero wholly unsuccessful. Harkuoss, who bowled with a lot of hard luck, sent down several balls that juafe whizzed ovir the top of the wicket, and ho maintained bis pacs well, notwithstanding thai he sent dowa over 200 balls. • . ' A fresh list of Senior Cup average * i appears elsewhere. A fortnight hence I | hope to be able %o preseut tha full , figures. I do trust lhat the secretaries of j c'.ubs will asii&b me to keep these tables up to i date. Without their assistance the attempt to ■ keep the averages before the players and the , public throughout the sa-viou must be abandoned, and I am satisfied that that would be a pity, for thsro is litkla flouU that tho periodical pnblioakioQ of these figure* t«nds to an increased intemb in tho matches, not only on tha part of the players engaged, but also on the part of the , public.

Th« match, to bo commenced next Saturday, I betw«ou tha Cariskrook A and Grange will be 1 tha w«»fc important intorolub match of the I season. A victory for the former will undoubtedly mwn that the Senior Cup will go to the Caritbrook Club, whoreas if the Grange win tho outcemie will iv all probability be that the two , teams will ha?e to have another m&tch to deaide tbe supremacy. TUe first match of tba seasoK b»tw<Miß the taami, which was won t-v ( the Carisbrook, w»s uufwrfcunatoly played unm r j conditions such as are hardly likely to occur thi-j j time. • . • A sirj lo paragraph must suffice for a reference to the Cup irutohea flm»hed la&'fi Saturday on the Opaho aud Caledonian grounds. Tha Opoho failed lamentably to seize the opportunity which the absence of A. Dawnes from ( the oppoßiog side gave them. Three men nmdo runs, but the obh«rs did hardly anything. j Unfortunately it is tha oase this Eeason thai, ia batting the tail is the greater part of the Opoho team. Nicbol Ins more than juntifii.d his promotion to the Ftrst Eloveu. If a fe-» more I like him could be introduced from the Second Xlleven tho Opoho team would be much im- , proved. The Duuedin Club hid their game ia baud agaiaat tha Alkiou whan they resumed. ; Clem. Beck pl»yed an innings iv the style thai; was familiar with him a dozen years ago, and Kinrif aud Ccoxford as nsual made a few. One "quMtioa is suggested by the Dunediu bowliug analyst*. Why did Kinvig, ofE whom , ouly 10 run* wera got iv 20 over?, have les-j | show than Skitcb, whoso avsraije wua not nearly i so g< od ? Rob»ou hK« done »o little with thn 1 bat foe his club this aeftson that his success was gratifying. ' • . * Commenting on M. A. Noble'» play j against Viotoria for New South Wales, * j Sydney paper says :—": — " Iv the match he put ' together 224 run* fer once out ; and in the j second inuings of 153 ht fave ouly one positive I direct chance, aud midfl only about two. weak ■ strokes from begiuniog to end. His batting was free, fcarleM, confident, aud altogether attractive. H« hit one 5(4 for an overtkroir) and 13 4's. A curious point in connection with kis innings was that, though at one time it appeared doubtful whether be • would be able to get the task mao to stay with him Joug tnough for him to reach the cntm.y, he waa ultimately suc««s»ful, thanks to Ho well, in travelling more than half-way to the second hundred." * . ' There is considerable comfort to be de rived from the knowledge that all the Otag< bowlers hnve be«n sceriDg well lately — Fisbo.* with his 184, Djwnes with his 111, Hope with, his 63, Parker with his 42, and Kinvig (who must now b« accounted a bowlar) with his almost invariable doubles. There should not ba much tail in tha team that goes to Christchurch. . Inth«S<mior Cup matches at Christchurch ou Saturday, tbe Sydenham and Addington thirteen scored 131 against the TJnifced eleven, who made 132 for fi»a wickets (Wigley 50, Clark 4*) ; the Lancaster Park eleven made 191 (Wilding 89, H»*ell 30) again* t the United thirteen* 68 for four wickets (Vincent not out 32) ; and the Lancaster Park thirteen made 56 (Pearce taking seven wickets for 17) against the Midland eleven's 268 for six wickeU (D. Reese nob ou(r 128, De Maus 27).

Matches. Played. Won. Last. Oarisbrook A Grange Opoho Uariibrook B Duuedin Albion C 6 6 6 6 « G 5 3 2 2 1 3 4 4 6

! * . • The following, table shows how the teams ' engaged in the Senior Cup. stand :—: —