CRICKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 40

CRICKET.

NOTES BY SLIP. ■\ • C A. Richardson, erstwhile of New South Wales, has compiled two centuries recently in minor matches in Wellington. . •.' In a match at Melbourne between the Essendon and University Cricket Clubs the latter put up last Saturday (March 19) the world's record, scoring 928 runs for the loss of seven wickets. The top individual score was 2C5. • . • The secretary of the English Counties Cricket Association, with the concurrence of several of his colleagues, suggests that the Marylebone Cricket Club should select future English cricket teams for Australia in preference to the present haphazard method of selection. • . ' The weather was, bitterly cold on Saturday, when one of the most important inter-club matches of the season — the return between the Carisbrook A and Grange — was begun afc Carisbrook. The former winning the tcsggvrenfc in to ; bat, Broad and Fisher facing the Toowling of i i>he Downes brothers. Both batsmen scored j steadily, bringing 35 up, when Parker relieved i T. Dowues at the pavilion end. Off Ms first over the Grange succeeded in-getting Fisher caught by Lawlor at square leg, the retiring tatsrnan having placed 21 to his "credit. ' Fisher ha.d happily returned to h'.s 'pusishicg style of batting, and his score included a, bit for five over, the rails. 6. Austin assisted Broad to carry the score to 50, when b;e was taken in the slips by T. Downes. Hopo at once set to work, and the score efcsadiJy advanced, chiefly from the bat of the newcomer. Sixty, 70, 80, and 90 appeared on the board, and the bowling seemed, to be complete) ly collared. Then Parker retired from the crease, A. Downes changed ends, and T. Downes returned. A. Downes placed the field out deep and commenced to bowl for the out-fieldsmen. A complete change in the game ensued. Broad, who had never bien completely happy, was tempted, and not getting a fair hold of the ball sent it high in the air to Parker, who secured ib at point. Hope did not profit by his partner's example, but ran out to the very Dexfc ball and lifted it high to Johnston, who, standing just inside the track, made no mistake about the catch. While the board had showed 90 for two wickets, therefore, it now showed 92 for four ; but worse remained, for the next four men only managed to raise the score to 100, but Thomson, Hsrkuoss, and E J. Austin by resolute batting succeeded in carrying the total to 131 before the innings closed. T. Downes bowled with greatest euccesH for tho Grange, securirjg five wickets for 27. The Grange opened with Baker and Johnston, both men playing very steadily. Baker was caught and bowled by U. Austin aft 23, having secured 18 out of that total. Cramond commenced confidently, but was thrown out after Basking a good stroke on the off for 2. A. Downes quickly ran his score to 15, when he misjudged one from Austin, which Howden caught at third man. Parker, ths incomer, immediately opened out to Howden, bub was well taken by Thomson in the long field. Time was then called, the Score reading four wickets dowa for 50, co thaa the game traa left in a very open snd interesting stage. -Given a good wicket; next Saturday a close finish should result. Both teams fielded well, eleven out of the fourteen wickets falling to catches in tbe field • . * The Albion Club always make a better fight against the Dnfiedin than against any other team. It was so in the first match of the season between them, and it occurred again last Saturday The Duuedic, batting first, put together 123 before they were all disposed of. Croxford was highest scorer with 39, and his contribution was the cut come of clean, hard hitting. M'Keczie (30) played bis usu&l careful game, while J. MiFarlane (26 not out) showed much improved form, Clarke was absent from his &ide. Permin (Albion), a recruit from the Second Eleven, who is just a lad, bowled splendidly. Re haa a nice break both ways, and mixes his bowling well, and should be heard of in the'near/Julnre. The Albion's innings opened disastrously, ths first three wickets falling for 2 rune. Uttley and J. Black, however, getting together a most serviceable stand was made, and the total reached 46 before Black wa3 bowled off his pads by M'Kersey after making a most useful 14-. At the call of time the score stood at eight wickets for 82. Uitlfej, who went in first, carried out hU bat for 40. He played a fin« defensive game from the outset, and was warmly applauded on bis return to the pavilion. Williams (16) wag the only other double-figure contributor, and he bit up bis runs ici quick time. • . • Playing against the Bees the Opoho were without tho services of Gunthorpe, who was competing in cycling races afc the Caledonian ground, but only batted 10 men in the hope of having the beuffic of his services next Saturday. Opoho winning the tosg, went in, bat were all disposed of for 62 rung, Webb (who made 25) and White (12) alone making any stand againet the bowling of Geo. Harr&w&y, who secured the excellent average of six wickets' for 18 runs. Carisbrook made s. very poor start, having two wickets down for 1, but. mainly owing to the excellent batting of Butler, who hits exceedingly well to leg, tie Opoho total was passed with but five wickets down, and when stumps were drawn the total was 98 for the loss of six wicket*. Butler, who played an excellent iDningß of 43 not out, was the principal contributor, but Cooke (14) and Spraggon (26) also hi f . out well. The fielding was not up to the mark, several catches being dropped on both sides. • . • From the Bulletin : The fifth test match was "anybody's game" until one man — the only man of the whole crowd — began to hit out vigorously. Then ib was his game. — The English team's light went cub with the old yesr. Up to the end of December they had nine individual scores of a " century " and upwards in fleet-class matches, and since then thpy have made only two. — One member of the English team, who made'a point of irritating the crowd, is an old offender in that and other respects, and was once warned by the Marylebone C.C. to " be more careful in future."— A man -who has seen all the big matches of tho Ptoddarfc ' tour puts Briggs and Richardson first in point t of uniform popularity with toe crowd — auy- | bow, with the crowd that barracks — with Druce and Storer at the other end. Tbe last is natural enough, no doubt, because, as wicketkeepers, their duty has been to appeal oftenesfc against the Australians. — A few facts from the last test match : The Englishmen scored units in 10 out of 22 batting attempts, whereas the Australians had only four units among 17 individuals score. Four of the visitors — Ranji, Mason, Hearne, and Richardson — averagpd 5^ runs per head for eight inninga. Hay ward snd Drucß between them scored a third of England's grand total, bufc thnir joint coniribufcion of 172 was two ruus less than Darling gave to the Australian side. No other batsmen on either side averaged more than 45. Tbree Australians — Darling, Jpnes, and Trumble — i won tbe match, whilst Richardson was the only brilliant performer on the other side. When [] D&rliDg began to thrash. Richardson. ]xq wag

practically licking the English team. — The real eecret of the failure of the team is the reduction in the number of its reliable bats, after the style of Gideon's army, and the expectation of five men to play an Australian Eleven and win "on their own " On the one occasion on which they all five came off, they did win. In every other match, two or three of them have struck snage, and wifch them the baam. In the laab match, the new bowlers didn'fc take an important wicket. But three of the five men failed in the second innings, and the rest was^ilence. Wanted, a travelling team of (say) 16 players, from which eight or nine men in form can al■waya be picked for test matches. — One superstition that received severs punishment in the closing teat match ia the idea that the Britisher dies bard. Nothing could have been mueb softer than the English acceptance of approaching defeat. Bad temper, bad discipline, and bad morale were all conspicuous. During the last 20 minutes they pulled up a little, and went to a certsin death with something like decency, but up to that point their fhlding was in wretched contrast fco their former efforts. The failure was general and comprehensive. M&claren and Briggs were bowled for ducks. Ranji failed each time. Hearne kept a very poor length for him, and only got two wickets. Richardson lost his length, his temper, and bis head. Druce and the two Yorkshiremen collapsed in the eeoond innings. Mason in both Catches were miesed all round, even by Brings and Ranji. Hay ward and Storer alone played up gamely, stopping tike rot in each innings, and doing fairly re'iable work in the field. They, too, each missed critical chances once, and they were the best of a bad buncb.