CRICKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 60

CRICKET.

AITSTRAIiIATSr FIXTURES. I January 18 — England v. Tasmania., at" liaun1 ess-ton. 1 January 24 — England v. Tasmania, at Hobart; - I • New South "Wales v. Victoria, at Sydney. January 31 — England v. Victoria, at Mcl« bourne. February 7 — England v. Australia, Fourth. Test, at Melbourne. February 14 — England v. New South Wales, 1 at Sydney. ! February 21— England v. Australia, Fifth. ; Test, at Sydney. v t February 29— England v. South Australia, at Adelaide. March 12 — England v. Western Australia, at Perth. April IB— New South Wales v. Queensland, at Brisbane. areTES by L9N6 slip. The returned Otago cricketers are not enamoured of the- umpiring in the North I Island, and allege that some of the " leg j before " decisions were astounding. Despite the rather inglorious results of ' the inatahes against Canteibury, Wellington, and Auckland, the Otago cricketers 1 had a good time on tour, and ' desire me to thank the associations of Canterbury, ' Wellington, and Auckland for their hospitality and good-fellowship extended . throughout the, trip. The members of the Otago touring team wer« specially delighted wifh. their trip to I Auckland, where they were treated right ' royally by the cricket authorities and the j spectators. On lining out to take the field the Otago players were greeted with hearty handclaps from the spectators around the ringside. One prominent' member was impressed bj the great' interest talken in the game by the fair sex, and opined that if the local ladies could be got to tako such an interest in the game as their far northern sisters cricket would b© a much more delightful game to play, and would have a splendid influence on the players. It is no£ generally known that after his } sensational performance in Wellinfjfcon the Dunedin bowler Torrance while "in Auckland was apjproache.d by letter with a. view of . taking up his residence in Wellington njaying for one of the city clubs. Torranoe wrote declining the proposition, ab the same time thanking the authorities for their appreciation. In this connection mv , friend 1 " Touchline " has ih» following :. j " Richard Torranoe, the Otago representa- { tiv© bowler, is .said to be settling in Wel- ! lington, and will throw in' his lot with. ' the Phoenix te^am." Torrance has decided) \ to remain in Dunedin. There were some good offers going to members of the Otago- team, if they succeeded in" making a century for the province against Auckland. For instance, ona wellknown enthusiast was wrerjered to give £5 -to -fcii-e- Otago jjl^yex- 'cvla.o- joxskl© 100 against Relf and Co. ; a similar amount was offered oy a second party? while a suit of clothes was offered by a tihird, and newhats, etc., were to be had for very few runs. Two members of the_ team, while ' failing to make centuries, were presented: 1 with £1 each for their batting and bowling ■ performances respectively. I The recently returned Otago cricketers are of the opinion that the. Auckland wioket was the worst they had ever flayed on in first-class crioket, and this , not to justify their wretched batting. Arnold Williams, of. Wellington, played his first representative match in 1886 — for Otago. . . ■ . - ', The "small boy" element in Wellington 1 did not impress the" Otago cricketers very ! favourably,, and the gamin of the . Basin, Reserve were, unanimously given ihe -palm as being" the most precocious met "on ;ha tour. The Otftgo team of touring cricketers returned from their rather inglorious trip, after being badly beaten by Canterbury. Wellington, and Auckland, on Wednesday evening. They were * met at the station by a few who commiserated with them 'on their defeats. ~ The players freely admit that in all iho matches the better team on the run of ( the play won, 'but they cannot believe that there is such a margin as the results^ would indicate. 'Asked for an explanation of; the team's non-success, one player attributed it to the pace of the wickets; another to the lacK of confidence in going for tho bowling, which was o-enerally admitted to be without sting; while anoiher tersely put it down to " bad totting." Tho question of a ooedh has already been raised by some enthusiasts^ and* there k a proposal to send round th© hat to engaga the services of a good man for next season. One player remarked after toe Auckland! defeat: "Our fellows cannot bat," endi stated that unless the province woke up and! secured the services of a coaoh of the oali- 1 " bre of Relf, of .Auckland, the game will go to the dogs or some ofcheir animal. Ws have heard the cry before, and it has not gone unheeded, but while the influence oft these tutors of eriaket waa well Jiariedl at the time, immediately the coacMnjj was , withdrawn the players drifted baclc - into their old cricket naosis. However, I should like to hear of a good man being engaged! —a player of file type ot La-Trtoa, fihs> «rulcK not only bowl and ¥at but iuvd th® iljrteresti of the orrajreter a* hear*!, Ti,na- oqul<J impafti hoe knowledge with, the best restate. Jim Baker is still progressing favourably after the recent operation for a poisoned leg. I regret that the veteran wtli aave to take to crntoh.es - for & bit, But iuraa that ho will soon be aM» to «iscapi them.. Jim B&ker has played his lc&6 same jbls season, hyt ijfi is devoufe^b- -to fte wished thai he will be £bfe $0 "State strike agajji next season and help to avenge this seS&ja'* defeat** -

By the way, a batsman like Baker was badly wanted on the northern tour. Someone who could make runs against all opposition, and one at least who knows not "nerves." I fear me more than one of our northern tourists were victims to nerves on the tour. Otago batsmen in the Wellington match found Oobcroft's high-tossed slows rather disconcerting, and' were _ more or less in trouble to that bowler. , The Otago bowler, Torrance, was lauded very highly by the manager of the .New South Wales teachers' team, Mr L-. Deer, at the smoke- concert held in Wellington-on the first day of the Otago-Wellington maTch, ■when tho Otago trund'ler put up the sensational performance of capturing six Wellington wickets" for 23 runs. The speaker "reckoned that the Otego trundler was quit* good enough for anything on the other side. A .Wellington writer describes Eokhold's batting as "tiring' to watch, and painful to think of, but of immense service to bis side." If Eckhold could cultivate a few good scoring- strokes, says the Wellington | critic, he would make a really fine, batsman, -as his defence is very solid." Really this is too much. The irony of it. Relf, the English pro- x fessional now in Auckland, heads both the batting" and bowling average for interprovincial cricket this season. His batting is 94.0, and bowling 7.5 runs per wicket. A. B. Relf will leave the Dominion in March, in time for the English cricket seaeon, lie has been approached on the subject of another season's work for Auckland, aad will give his decision shortly. He has been asked to "interview certain English professionals while at Home, on behalf of the Canterbury Association, with the view of securing their services for that province. It .is probable that Canterbury will endeavour to secure two men from itomet In batting, the first Otago man, Eckhold, is thirteenth on the list of leading New Zealand batsmen, with 29.4 runs; Siedeberg is fourteenth with 28.6. In bowling the first Otago man is "Torrance, sixth on the list, with 17.7 runs' per , wicket; Downes is eighth, with 20.1 runs per wicket- t The Otago touring team, before returning home, presented , Mr Wilson (captain, selector, and manager) with v a case of .pipes. Mr -Wilson, in reply, eaid " that he had given fielding "great weight in choosing -,the team. The introduction of good cric&eters^ from the other side would benefit Otago cricket a great deal, and perhaps something might be done before next season. He ' had something in view, at any rate. Mr Wilsop said that the behaviour of the team had been excellent, and he had been sneoially complimented hy' the proprietress of " Glenalvon " (Auckland) Upon the gentlemanly 'conduct of the men. Although Otago had lost«,all three matches, he was nevertheless greatly pleased with their bowling and fielding — especially their fielding. In batting young players must wait for loose, balls,' and above all things mutt thoroughly master the -.bowling before trying fancy strokes. In bxJwling, variation was a neecs3ity. The Otago team contained .at present, a bowler who, with judicious variety and steady practice at that variety, might easily' become the best bowler in New Zealand. Ac it was,-,- he did not vary 'his bowling, and 6ent down practically the " same ball all the time., He, stated that if he should bo the selector next season i he would again give fielding every con- j 6ideration. , I ' At a* recent meeting of the New Zealand j OrickejG Council the honorary secretary reported that it had been suggested that a match should be played between the holHera j of the Plunket Shield and the Resfc' of New Zealand. The matter of fixing a date for 'the match was held-over' indefinitely. The above proposition meets with little favour by Otago .cricketers-, and were any | ■■players from this end considered in th 3 j New Zealand team it " is doubtful they would make the trip to jfche convincing ground, which would, of course, be Auckland. - . ' The generosity -of the Otago Crioket Association" in paying wages to players who had lost their weekly salaries through taking part in the recent northern tour oost the association £20. This sum is included in the expenses of the trip, which cost £199 7s 3d. Mr C. G. Wilson, selector, captain, and manager of the Otago team, has been x •heartily congratulated on the manner in -which, the xecent northern tour was carried out. The gentleman .who acted in the capacity of selector captain, and manager was- relieved of much of the responsibility of the various offices by the exemplary conduct of the players generally. Mr W. .MacjSean, who has resigned his position as a member of the Ofcago Cricket Association*, and is about to take a trip to •England, was one of the hardest working members of the association, and his resignation was accepted with regret. I ta!ke this opportunity of wishing Mr Mac Lean a pleasant trip and a safe return. The 'weather was decidedly- unfavourable for cricket ■on Saturday, and the local willow-wielders had aq experience entirely new this season. The wickets were decidedly in favour of the bowlers, and the scores generally 'were small. There were no sensational performances,- and the- games, though not altogether uninteresting, were quiet and lacking the champagne of cricket. At the drawing of stumps on Saturday 1 evening the match Albion y. Grange was left in an interesting condition, and there should be a good cricket fight at the finish on Saturday next. The cricket contest Albion v. Grange .was decided on -the North Ground under conditions which' did not favour the batsraen. The Albion captain won the toss and decided to bat. Hiddleston and M'Farlane. w&re Abe opening, batsmen. The former, wio & a, promising cricketer, did nqt last long, anof succumbed tp a catch by Ferguson off -Beai with.' the last baJJ of the ovar. M'Farlane batted very attractively 'for 27, ecorihsf well 'all round the wicket =b9toio be was stumped, This player will come well to the fo.re before many cricket eeii&ons are, over his, head^ "to J)uthie belongs the honours of con-tributing-the highest individual ecore of the ujidbcß.— to .wit, , 39. The batsman played vigpjfbus. cricket for nis runs, and went at the bowling with great confidence. Included in his ecore was one, hit for 6. D. Cramond was the only .Qther aonMefiffure scorer on. the Albibn side, his contributing total- being 15". It has frequently keen" remarked in these, columns that Cramond -«e©uld- be -one of the 'best cricketers in Dunedin if he only took the g&me seriously. The Albion mantis too inclined to treat vthe- whol^ matter aa a ioke. The •levity is good for, the,.individual, but bad for ijke game of run-stettinsT; , „. - After the. dismissal of .Cramond the remaining Albion wickets fell "like autumn leaVes. Corbett . was sent back to the

pavilion beaten by Downes for 3; N. Cramond succumbed to Ogg without contributing to his side's total; Williams was unfortunately run out for ,4; Hammond's wicket was scattered by Downes without a run. being scored, and Cummings was run out for nil. "Mr Extras" contributed 11, and the- whole side were safely in tho pavilion for 103. So en-ds the tale. Ogg and Downes divided the bowling honoars, the former securing four for'- 38 and ike Otago representative two for 35» At stump-drawing Grange had lost s'"x good wickets for 74 runs, and now Stand in a. fair position, to pass Albion's first inning's . total.' The glorious uncertainty may, however, be exemplified. W. Beal was a non-contributing agent, being beaten by Cummings without scoring. J. Roberts got into double figures before his dismissal came .about — bowled by M'Farlane. The best cricket on the Grange eide was that played by C. Beal, who in his total of 19 showed several nice strokes round the wicket. The Grange man was eventually out to a catch by Cummings off Hammond. W. Ogg, who might have performed well with the Otago team on its northern tour had opportunity offered, hit out vigorously for 16. Ogg is not a stylish,\but he is o.n aggressive batsman when he gets going, and is essentially a good man to watch from the spectator's viewpoint. Henderson fell easily a victim to a catch by D. Cramond, but W. West for his score of 12 exhibited one or two nice strokes. C. Ferguson (10) and Brydon (0) are the not outs, and will carry .on the game next Saturday. Several bowlers were tried by the Albion captain, the changes being rung out with frequency. Dry's two for 10 was th& bestaverage, with Cummings two for 13 next. On a wicket greatly in favour of thebowlers the match Carisbrook A v. Dunedin was commenced • on. the Carisbrooic Ground.. The As.took first' strike, and, thanks in the main to Watson^ Fisher and Butherford succeeded in putting together 180 before the last man was sent back disconsolately to the shelter of the pavilion. The first three Carisbrook wickets fell early,- Torrance, the Dunedin trundler being the destroying angel, getting 8. Foster caught for 5, T. Adams lbw for 8. and clean bowling W. Foster for 5. With the .association of Fisher and Watson some" good cricket wats shown. Both batsmen played attractively, and were not separated until 147 was telegraphed. Rutherford compiled 16, but the remaining bat»en failed lamentably., Butler, Harrawayv Johnston, and Bannerman contributing 7 between them. Martin was not out without scoring,- but "extras" got into .double figures. # The feature of the innings was the batting of Harold Watson, who played the best cricket during his career in Dunedin. It was an innings full of merit and delightful to look upon. vThe Carisbrook man is gifted with a variety of strokes, and he showed ftiese to great advantage. Notoriously unlucky in the past, Watson has been unable to show his true form, but he gave a splendid display on Saturday lastj. the forerunner, I trust, of many- such 'exhibitions- ' ,'" . , , „ . Fisher, too, played fine cricket for his runs and clearly indicated that his display in Canterbury was not his true form. The bowling of Dunedin was entrusted to Torrance and W* Mackersy. Both showed good form at the trundling crease. Torrance came -out with the splendid figures of seven for 75, and' Mackersy three for 55. The fielding generally of the Dunedin team was good, the picking up being clean and the throwing-in accurate. Dunedin did not have much time to efet runs- on Saturday evening, but it was stimcient time to lose three good wickets betoe stumps were drawn. Delamere went un-^r early; caught in the slips, by HaTraway off Fisher. The fate of W. TVlackersy, too, was quickly decided, this consistent batsman' being dismissed without scoring. Torrance contributed 5, ,^en he fell a victim to Fisher— clean bowled. Eckhold (18), and Graham (6) are left to carry on the argument on Saturday next, when it -is honed the remaining Dunedin batsmen will make something of a stand. - But little crioket was ,p«ssible at Opoho on Saturday owing to rain. The match set down for decision was between Opoho and Carisbrook B. The hill team won the toss , and elected to bat, but when 17 runs had been scored that oLd enemy of cricketers, Jupiter Pluvius, betrayed his presence in no uncertain manner, and stumps had to be drawn. • . , . o j. j In Second Grade cricket on Saturday Albion put together the sound total of 227, Shelton (30), Strang (28), Cameron (22), Vorreth (74) being the principal contributing agents. The batsmen generally showed good form. Opoho have Tost four wickets for 52. and unless the unforseen happens, their case seems hopeless. ■ Seven wickets for 21 runs is a good bowling performance. . ThY honour of this beloSgs to a trundler named 1 Kirkwood playing for Anderson's Bay against Mornfamous Yorkshire cricketer, George Hirst, .learnt his cricket with the village club at Kjrkheaton, which he joined at the age of I*. His first appearance for the county— this was when he was 18— was ma match against Cheshire, when he utterly failed to distinguish himself. All that he could do was to score some half-d&zen runs and take a couple of wickets. During the next two seasons Ihe fulfilled professional engagements with local clubs, and it was not until he was 22 that he gave promise of becoming one of our leading cricketers. "Georgie" Hirst, as' he is called, is a. man of tremendous physical strength, and has never been known to show fatigue either when bowling or batting. . Major Trevor Bays Noble a very high compliment over his captainship in th^.recent test match at Sydney. He as I was as » partisan to see his supporters fail, as a lover of cricket they gave me sheer delight. Never once did he lose his grip of tho game, and his control of it and of his men was afc its best when things were going against him the most. A correspondent - writing- to Sydney Referee aske: (1). Who was the better allround cricketer in his best day, M. A. i Noble or G. H. Hirst? Answer : We regard N&ble' at his best as the better ' allround player. (2) Who was the fastest bowler in his prime, E, Jones or Spofforth? Answer; Jones. (3) Who is recognised as the fastest bowler produced in Australia or England?" Answer: Opinions differ,- but modern, .cricketers consider Jones at his best to Jiave been. - - - Hanjitsinhji.— His Highnes? Jam Sahib of Nawanagar Ha& arrived in England, and is 'staying with his brothers, K. S. JoovaneinJJii and Dil Wafsinhji, at thj& Grosxe&or

Hotel. He is accompanied by several sirdars, a "large- Suite, and an English nurse, for he is not fully recovered from his recent severe attack of enteric, which left him v^ry weak. At the critical period he was unconscious ior several days. He bore traces of his recent illness, though he is, if anything, stouter than ■when he left England three years ago, and expresses himself as feeling fit. The trip has been undertaken on medical advice, arid may be for six or eight months, or may even be extended until next autumn.Everything depends upon his health. As to whether he will be seen in the cricket field whilst in this country, Prince. Ranjitsinhji would not give a definite answer. ' Commenting on the nervousness of j certain players in the first test match, an Australiar writer says there i 6, perhaps, no cricketer who has not experienced nervousness in a big match. An, old-seasoned cricketer, who was a member of several' Australian elevens, once said that he seldom knew how he got over fche first over. Others, like tile boy walking along the dark street, whistle to give themselves pluck on the way to the wicket. Said Bobby Feel on oneoccasion to the bateman as the incoming man was' whistling coming to the wicket, "I do like to hear a man whistling coming to the wicket. I know he is mine." Clem Hill is the only batsman, Jingiisn or Australian, who hae made over 2000 runs in test matches, his record being 2082, with the following his biggest innings: 188, 100, 119, 99, 98, 97, 96, 88, 87, 87 81, and 80. The Yorkshire County Club has decided that of -the sum of £1915 13s 2d realised from Denton's benefit, -£1400 be invested on the beneficiary's behalf, and to hand him a cheque, for the remainder. In response to the circular from the M.0.0., the committee. agreed to support the suggested visit of the Australians m 1909, and also to -support the test matches, the arrangements to b& the same as on. the last yi The n dea-fch is reported of Arthur Pike, the one-time Notts wioketkeeper, at the age of 44 years. For several years he did excel-lent-work for' his county behind the- sticks and also with the bat, and of later years he was placed by the Marylebone Club on the official list of umpires every year. It is stated that the number of runs (1259) scored on the Basin Reserve during the three days of the representative cricket match between Canterbury and Wellington* constitutes a record for the colony. The average runs per man works out at 34 2; With its v sporting vicjssitudes and thnllu* finish in the last over that could be bowled, the. game will be long cherished as a glorious memory by the enthusiast. George Gunn's celebrated uncle, William Gunn, made only one century m a test match— viz., 102 not out, at Manchester, against fhe 1893 Australian Eleven. Every English team, including the present, which has played eleven-We matches in Australia, has been beaten at least once. Major Trewr, with the English team, thuslv:— "We are now more 'convinced than •ever of the strength of the- Australian .batting As a matter of fact, we English travelX I think, all along held: a rather higher opinion of the batting at the disposal of Australia than some- of the good judges > of cricket in Australia. As we got the evidence of match after match m differentparts of the country, we were puzzled to discovef whence arose the idea that -there was a dearth of promising young players;.. Unfortunately for < the electors took a clever- step, * and made a bold move.x How well that policy answered in Hazlitt s case is now a mailer of history. An interview with the late G. P. ye«L OD > who, it will be remembered-, died m West Africa in August, 1902, is recalled. He was captain of the .team organised by Lord Hawke in tho disastrous 1887-8 season, in. which year his team visited Australia, and also Shrewsbury's combination, cagtamedby that splendid sportsman, C. A. SmitK The interview was published in London Cricket a few years ago, and in it the late Mr Yemon describes the feeling he had when making a catch in the country off a lofty hit by Bonnor. He told how,, while waiting fop the. ball, and hearing the remarks from the crowd a few feet behind! him, his legs began to- shake, and he feared that before tho ball fell into his hands he would collapse. The relief experienced when he made the catch was great. 'A strain ot this, kind affects people differently. Some are n«Pvous in going for a catch, others, tvuite oblivious of the crowd, find themselves trembling after they have made a successful effort. The trembling after a catch is made dbes not last for any length of time ; but a missed chance appears never to be forgotten. The cruellest experience a man can have is to be barracked, by the crowd after he had missed a catch. Not a- few firstclass cricketers have given up the game because of the treatment they have received, from the spectators, who, but a short while before, cheered them to the echo because of a great innings' or a great catch. The following are the • aggregates and averages of the leading batsmen in interprovincial cricket this year:—

, innings. Relf (A.* .. ■•- , .. v.- 3 EEomus (A.) . 3 o <■* 3 VTalioney (W.) «t> <- 4* JVooa (C.) -.2 3rook-Smith' (A.) .. - 3 Reese (C.) -* . .. 6 3eechey (W.) .-) .-<t 3 31acklock (W.) >• 0,1 4 • KMUiama (W.) . ; .o .. 3 iloorehQUS© (C.) '.j\ ». 4 .Usk (C.) .. .:}, fy .. 4 Sckapld (O.) .i o «'- 6 Siedoberg (O.) g\ t- 6 2innmizigs (A.) 'f, • • 3 XIU.US. il.VCi.ttg 282 • 94.0 218 72.6 209 69.6 128 64.0 162 54.3 298 49.6 142 47.3 179 44.7 97 32.3 128 32.0 118 29.5 147 29.40 172 28.66 81 27.0