NOTES BY SLIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2403, 22 March 1900, Page 46

NOTES BY SLIP.

Rain on the two preceding days gave bowlers in the pennant matches at Melbourne on the 3rd insl. an oppoitimity of showing their supremacy over baWien ior once. In almost eveiy game scores were small, and bowlers' averages good. The incident of the day was at Ifitzroy, where the home team, who had made 251 on the previous Saturday, soon disposed of Carlton on the wet wicket for 81, Pullar alone making any stand against the bowling of Mitchell, Ellis, and F. Tarrant. Fitzroy went to the wicket, but after one ball had been sent down their captain took advantage of the rule which allows a captain to declare his second innings closad at any time during the continuance of the innings. The Carlton men were nonplussed at the cleverness of the Filzroy captain, but they were still more surprised when Tarrant and Mitchell sent the whole side to the right-about for 13 runs, the smallest total ever made in a pennant match. Tarrant took six wickets for two runs and Mitchell four far 5. Filsroy won by ]57 run*. East Melbourne got through a trying couple of hour* against North Melbourne much more .satisfactorily than their supporters could Lave hoped, the'scores, standing—North Melbourne 2SI (Bean 86, Noonan 56), East Melbourne 107 for four wicket*. The University, who are level with Eu,-t Melbourne for the premiership, by annihilating M.C.C. in Jie second innings have just a chacoe of snaiching the game and the premiership out of the fire. The M.C.C. have made 279 (Over -67) aonxl 23 for seven wickets, and the TJiirverfauy beared 83. M'Lean bowled effectively foi the students, taking five wickets for 9 xuns. South Melbourne have scored 224- and 56 for six wickets against St. Kiklu's 70, and Richmond 143 and '40 ior three wickets against fiawkuburn's 275 (E. Rush 76, Jones 67).

( New rounds of the local competitions at Sydney wore commenced on the 3rd mcl. Pine ■weathe. prevailed, the wickets were in excellent run-getting condition, and the scoring, in the first grade particularly, was good. In four of the five matches, the side batting first exceeded 340 rims, and in three instance* only a few wickets were down. The centurymakers were Pite, Pye, and M. A. Noble, and a couple of North Sydney batrmen, in Hopkins and Redgrave-, ran into the nineties. The experience of South Sydney asainst Leichhardt was notable. They lost two .star men in C. Gregory and Erers for 52 runs in the fri^t 40 minutes; and then for the remainder of the afternoon Pite and Jackson defied the nine bowlers brought against them. Pite eventually made 202 not out, and his hits included sixers and fivers. This is his highest score so far in senior cricket, and his return to form is a Tiiatter for congratulation. Last reason and early this season he rhaped -s cry poorly ; but of late he has quite recovered his place amongst the promising young batsmen. Jackson's score was 95, and South Sydney's total 346 for two wickets. Central Cumbeiipnd made 356 (i J ye 100, Lindreiy 55) against Redfern, who lost two wickets for 17. Against Waverley a score of 365 for eight wickets (M. A. Noble 135, Gee 84) was made by Paddington ; East Sydney scored 208 for seven wicket's (Oamphin 62) against Glebe ; and North Sydney, 375 for six wickets (Redgrave 97. Hopkins 92, W. S. Duff 57) against Burwood. The result of the match between the Melbourne Club and the New Zealand team at Christchurch last week is not a little humiliating to us. It is the revelation to vs that, vyhile the colony has been indulging the belief that its cricket was improving, in reality we are still quite a fourth-rate or fifth-rate cricketing- community. For, look at it from whatever way one likes, the hard fact remains, and must be acknowledged, tha f a mere club team, and not quite a first eleven at that, from Melbourne has beaten in an innings what was supposed (barring the substitution of Fov/ke ond Robertson for A. B. Williams and A. Downes, who were unable to play) to be the best team New Zealand could produce. The presence in the Melbourne team of a member of the last Australian Eleven, and of thrse previous on<ss, in Trumble, who is admittedly one of the best all-round cricketers in tho world, and of a member of two previous, and a prospective member of some future, Australian Elevens in H. Graham, softens the blow somewhat, but it must be remembered also that besides these two players Koss is the only m ember of the Melbourne team who lias played this year for "Victoria. Trumble himself evpresses the opinion that cricket in New Zealand has deteriorated, and that is an opinion which, coining from such a source, mu&t be respected. So far as Otago is concerned, I do not think it ran be gainsaid that since "Lawton was allowed to lesve our »ricket has deteriorated, and probably our experience is that of the rest of the colony. There is no systematic coaching of young players. In the Cavisbrook Club, which has the best facilities in Dunedin for bringing on colts, the custom, I am told, is for the members of the various elevens to practice on geps<.rate wickets. I can conceive of no system which is more calculated to discourage yoimg players than one fcbat deprives them of the advantage of batting against the bowling of senior and in ore experienced players who are prepared to help thorn with their advice. At any rate the need in Otago ju=>t now, and apparently the need in other parts of the colony as well, is of a professional coach. It is probable that one can be obtained from Australia at a remuneration which is within the means of the local association ; but if arrangements cannot, be made whereby the services of a professional can be obtained from the other side, a supreme effort shoald be made to obtain one from England.

It is easy to be wine after the event. Wisdom after the event fliows that the selection of the New Zealand team was made too fooii. If it liad been delayed until after the Melbourne Club's match against Canterbury, the selector would probably have seen his way to include at least one ■player whom h.e omit-

ted; if it had been at all possible to dela> it until after the Otago match, Mr Baker would certainly have made further alterations. As it is, the team which did duty for the colony last week vrjs certainly not the best rept'esentative team of the colony. Fax from it, I should say. Indeed, T am by no means sure that another team of at lea«t equal ability could not have been selected. Take, for instance, play era like Neill end D. Hay (Auckland), M'Carthy (Taianaki), A. Williams, Midlane, and Gore (Wellington), A. E. RidIpy and Wigley (Canterbuiy), Gecldcs, G. G. Austin, Fisher, and A. Downes (Otago) — a team chosen from the.se players would have made a very good gamo. with the New Zealand team of last week if they would not actually have beaten it. Mr Baker probably hod his o^'n reaf-ons for making his pelectioii when he did. Certainly it did not result in the best ten.m being selected.

W. G. Grace has contributed a characteristic letter to the discussion when the twentieth century begins. He sayb :—"I: — "I am of opinion that the twentieth century begins on January 1, 1901. A cricketer does not rcore a century until he has completed it. I never heard of a man claiming a century even if run out when running his hundredth run. A second century begins at 101, so the twentieth century begins in 1901." Hugh Trumble, interviewed in Christchnrch after the Melbourne team's match against the New Zealand Eleven, said he did not pretend that the New Zciland players had come up to his own e::prctalions. Nor does lie see much chauc-j of improvement until the youngcricketers arc systematically coached and better grounds are provided. "You have plenty of promising material here," he said, "as good as you could expect to find in any community of the Mine size ; but you haven't the appliances for turning it into first-class player.3. A cricketcj won't improve much unle&s he is constantly playing against men better than himself ; and this is just what your men have very few opportunities of doing. The more intarprovincia.l matches you have the better; these games are the very best stimulus your cricket can reoaive. But in addition' each centre should have a good professional coach. A suitable man could be got from Australia at a. very small cost. There are lots of capable players thera ■who would be glad to come over, and I am sure that they would soon effect a great improvement in every department of the p-a-rae. It is a wonder to see that with so many enthusiasts supporting the game here the young players have not been r-'iven the advantage oi continuous coaching. There is no other meaiio by which New Zealand can hope to hold her own with the other colonies, where cricket, as everyone knows, has received a vast amount of attention since the Australians discovered that their representatives were not very far behind the English players."

When asked what he thought of individual plovers who had been selected to play against the Melbourne ieam, Mi Trumble protested that it would be presumptuous for him to express an opinior about men whom he had paen at the wickets perhaps only for a few minutes, and then possibly at some disadvantage. "1 am inclined to think, though," he added, "that you did not get the very best eleven to represent the colony. Probably this was due to the' fact 'that the selector had to pick bis men such a long way ahead. If he had seen all -ihc provincial games, be might have done better. The inclusion of Aurbia, for instance, would have been a distinct impiovement. He is a very promising player, vvatches the ball well, and pliyy with plenty of vigour and confidence. JBis cutting is splendid. If he were in Australia he would soon find his way into one oi the best teams. A. E. Ridley is another man whom I should have selected. He played a reolly good innings for Canterbury, and would probably have clone, even better for the colony. Midlane did not do much for hiy province, but he fallowed some very nice strokes while he was ot the wickets. Richardson's innings wad an admirable one in every respect, and ought to catisiy the New Zealand playerd that it is quite ro&pible to make runs against Australian bowling." In speaking of our bowling, Mr Trurnble thought that, taken all through, it wag not of a very high order. The trnndlers did not get nearly so much brea'r on as they might do on the wickets. Robertson, however, was a good bowler of the slow-break cla^s, and Downes and Fisher both bowled very well against them in Dunedin.