OTAGO CRICKETERS' RETIRE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2861, 13 January 1909, Page 62

OTAGO CRICKETERS' RETIRE.

THE AUCKLAND FIASCO. MR RITCHIE INTERVIEWED. ; Most of the members of the Otago cricket team returned from their northern tour by \ ; the second express last night, and on alight- ! ing from the train were heartily cheered by < a large number of wellwishers. They were subsequently entertained by the Otago s Cricket Association at the "Grand Hotel, - where a few brief speeches were made. I Mr John Hope (Mornington) said it gave | ' him great pleasure to see the members of ] | the Otago cricket team return to Dunedin, j to which he, in the absence of the president I I and vice-president of the association, had \ ' the honour to welcome them back from their j northern tour. In it they had worthily , j upheld the honour of Otago. — (Applause.) , j No team had ever more worthily upheld the j honour of the home province. The main object of this tour had been, of course, to ( ' bring back the Plunket Shield. They had not Drought it back, but he did not think they need feel downcast over that. — (Laughter.) They would have brought it back had they not been rooted of victory. A I j team would probably be sent next year, and f •from what he could gather that shield would i come south. Mr Hope went on to refer ' to the phenomenal success achieved by the , captain cf the Ota-go team (Mr C. G. Wiljson). This trip had been mainly due to I the efforts of this gentleman, and, though the result was perhaps not exactly what he expected, it must be all the 6ame highly i gratifying to him. and would go a good I way towards repaying him for all he had ' done. It must be remembered that for a j trip like this funds had to be raised, and in > ' many eases leave of absence obtained. All j this entailed a deal of time and trouble, but | the result had proved a success. He was | sorry Mr Wilson had not been able to return with the team. He was a thorough sportsman, who placed cricket first. He had much pleasure in proposing the health of the Otago cricket team, coupled with I the names of the manager (Mr T. T. j Ritchie) and the deputy captain (Mr Wil- j j hams). | I Mr T. T. Ritchie, on behalf of rhe team, i i thanked the association for ito reception and | |Mr Hope for his kindly remarks. As to i the team itself, he was very satisfied with i nbai it laa-d clone, but regretted not 'having ] v.on that match at Auckland. Certain rei poits which had been circulated were very ■ far from being correct, and he wished to | impress upon his hearers that the very fiist thing they had done in Auckland had been to try to get this mutch arranged so that it could bo played to a finish. Auckland, however, could not be got to agree 1 to anything beyond a three days' match. 1 At the commencement Auckland had not ' any idea that the Otago team were any- [ thing- like a-, -.trong as it afterwards I proved itself to be; and aiter t'li-e first J day s play the Auckland secretary had said I that his team would be unable to play more j thjn three da vs. The Otago team had urged tliat the match should be played out to a finish before a single ball had been i bowled. On the third day Auckland just played for the draw, and nothing but the draw. If a ball was three inches off the wicket they did not attempt to hit it, and ! if one came to leg they just stopped it with ; their pads. This sort of thing had done groat harm to the game. Outside of this, however, he was glad to say that their trip ! had been >n every waj most enjoyable. I He wished those who had hinted that Mr j Wilson's cricketing daye were drawing to ' a clo-o could have seen him play. His cricketing days were by no means over, j and he played a better bat than ever . Wanganui and Hawke's Bay had treaTPcl ! them right royally. He w^a.-> quite satisfied j that both Canterbury and Otago were btronger than Auckland. Take away Rolf, and the bowling of the Aucklanders would be little better than second cla-s. If Otago wore to play Auckland to-monow Otago would win. He believed a gieat endeavour would be made to send a team north next j year. Seveial other speakers added their testimony as to the sucoe-3 of the trip. THE TERM " CRICKET." From reliable reports from unbiassed source.? it is evident that Auckland had, in its wisdom, evolved a curious species of rnockeiy to which it lias been plea&ed to apply the term "cricket," a game, by the way, in which the first essential is to ' play the game." It is to be presumed that Lord Plunkot gave the shield to he "played" for, and not to be a subject for | mean displays of. ultra-professional slimness. The fact of Auckland playing, as it did do, for a draw, and nothing but a draw, is to be regretted. It is not magn:fioont, and -it is not cricket, and incidentally ca£fc.s an undeserved reflection on the \rAnj players in New Zealand who play the game for tihe love of the came. With a flew of throwing further light on thi 3 snbject, an interview was sought with MiRitchie, j THE MANAGER SPEAKS OUT. j Interviewed by a representative of this journal last night, Mx Ritchie had a good deal to say concerning the match at Auckland He said that the Auckland players did all they could to delay the progicss of the game The Otago men had reason to complain bitterly of the Aucklandero' iaetics. The screens were shiftad often, and usually quite unnecessarily. When anyone

was seen, even walking towards a screen the j batsman stepped back and declined to go on Tr.'ii grew co pointed that it drew a rebuke from tho umpire, who said : " Oh, go on playing ; this is absurd.'' To anyono -.talking past the screen the batsmen took exception im nediately. "In fact," sail ?.'- F.'tcHs " they lost no opportunity of delaying the £xuie as much as possible. Bells v.-hicl' could, iind should have been hit to the borndaiy they merely attempted to Uock. One or ' two "ball s they actually kicked conLcnipluovuly away. Balls off the wicket thej let pass, and when balls came to leg they simply turned and stopped them with their 'eg*. They only played balls that jeopardised the wicket." Mr Ritchie went on to say that if this sort of thing was to form the contests for the Plunket Shield, it would be better for docket if it had not been presented. Play such «<s this only engendered jealousy and bad fueling. He believed that Hie whole I spirit of cricket lay in its social side, and he had reason to believe that this was the view Lord Plunket took of the game. Questioned concerning the remainder of the tour, Mr Ritchie spoke in glowing terms of the hospitable treatment they received j from the Wanganui and Btawke's Bay cricketers. At Na,pier Mi- E. H. Williams took no end of trouble to ensure their comfort and enjoyment. It -will be remembered that last year the umpiring at Auckland was deemed anything- nut satisfactory. This time, howeverT Mr Ritchie said the umpiring was a matier of universal satisfaction. The ump''-e? were Ma^vs G. Pr&in, of Dunedin, and Sar.dow, of Auckland. The Otag-o team left Auckland on Wednesday, arriving at Wanganui at 3 o'clock next; day. Playing there two days, they left at 7 a.m., and arrived at Napier at 6 o'clock. Thence they went through to V«Vlilng-ron, and had a, capital passage down. Mess!-? Wilson and- Siedebergr will probably return to-day.