CRICKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2896, 15 September 1909, Page 62

CRICKET.

!COTES BY LONG SLIP. A. Anthony, fche Canterbury cricketer, left la&t week for Auckland, whteire he intends to take up his residence. His departure wall leave a big gap in Canterbury's ranks next season. Writing to a friend in Adelaide, Mr F. Lave-r, tins manager of the Australian team in England, stated that afc tire con-olu&ion of the tour, about the middle of September, they would enjoy a fortnight's motor tour th rough England and Scotland, as the guests of M& Peter Dawson. A curious incident marked bhe olosLng portion of the Kent innings against Somerset at Layton on July 20. C. Blythe wa« caught in the long-field by B. L. Bisgood and returned to. the pavilion, but P. R. Johnson broug-ht him back agawi on the ground that tlie fieldsman had taken the ball over the boundary. Middlesex against Gloucestershire, at Bristol, scored 145, and won by an innings and 31 runs. Gloucestershire macla only 33 and 81. F. A. Tarrant, the Victorian, scored 55, carryinig hir bat through the innings tor Middlesex, and aieo captured seven for 18 and six fox 49, including the hat-trick. Tarrant will be able to play for England or Australia, though, of cour^, not for both countries, if the suggested ttsb match rules be adopted by England, Australia, and South Africa. Cotter is now considered the fastest bowler Ln the worLd, and 'his length has greafcily improved ot late. Speaking of Cotter, an English writer avers that he has the longest stride of any bowler of to-day. Three steps after delivery of the ■ ball take Cottei to whciie a short "silly point" would field. The present tour of the Australians .n England has beem respon^ih!© for a batting performance which stands alone, and probably the gireatesfc feat ever performed by a batsman. Bardsley's double cantury in tho fiftih test match "is quite by iteelf, and will no doubt stand unbeaten for many years to come. His scores of 135 and 130 were so well made that he deserves tho very highest praise that can be bestowed upon him. The nearest approach to scoring a double century was when the late Percy M'Donnicll scored 124- and 83 at Adelaide in 1884. George Giffen avers that he never 6aw batting to eoual M'Donnell'e on that occasion, and w>nen he ran M'Donnell out in the second innings, George wished that he was anywhere but on the Adelaida Oval. Others who have just failed to do the trick are Shrewsbury, who in 1893 scored 106 and 81; George Gunn in 1908, at Sydney, 119 and 76; Albert Ward in 1904, at Sydney, 75 and 117; and Clem Hill, 98 and 99. The best first wicket partnership stands to the credit (of Hayward and Jackson, Who at the Oval in 1899 scored 185. Bardsley and Gregory ran tbe record very close by totting up 180 in the fifth test for ft first wickot contribution.

-W. Bardsley's 211 against Gloucestershire i is the highest innings ever played by an Australian against that country, George Giffen's 180 in 1893 standing next. "The outstanding feature of the day's play was a masterly ' display of 211 by Bardsley, who for the fourth time during the tour played an innings of three figures. Going in first overnight and making 18 he stayed until the total was 371, being sixth out. Before lunch lie batted in brillant style, obtaining 110 of 163 put on in less than two hours, | having previously scored 102 out of 188 in | two hours and 20 minutes. After luncheon, which was lengthened by 25 minutes owing I to a light rain, Bardsley continued to play j very bright cricket, making 200 out of 338 I in four hours. Then he quietened down ( considerably, taking 40 minutes to score his ■ ' last 11. It was in every respect a great | > innings, marked by superb cutting, leg-bit-ting, and hard driving, all of his strokes being kept well down When 144 Bardsley j gave a hard return chance to Dennett, and at 187 a sharp one to Langdon at point; but those were the only blemishes. His chief hits were twenty-six 4's, ten 3's, and seven 2'a." j The Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's on July 20 was attended by repre- ( sentatives of England, Australia, and South j Africa. The . suggested rules for the tri- '• angular scheme and test matches were ;' adopted, and are to be considered by each . country before being adopted. They are as follow : — I 1. Test matches are those played be- F tween representative elevens of England and of Australia and of South Africa, and also between elevens of Australia and South Africa. " 2. A Cricketer who has played in a test match for one country canot play for any other country without the consent of all the contracting parties. > 3. Qualification by Birth. — A cricketer, unless debared by rule 2, is always eligible lo play for the country of his birth. i 4. Qualification by Residence.— A cricketer unless debarred by rule 2, may elect to play for any country in which he has been residing and has resided for not less than the four years immediately preceding, and thereafter shall always be eligible to play for that country. i A capital speaker, Lord Harris once told an amusing story of how in his young days he was persuaded to take part in a grand two days' match organised by a certain club to open the cricket season. Great . preparations were made, and the services of a local publican, who boasted of being an ex -groundsman from Lord's, were en- ' listed as umpire. Unfortunately, owing to ] the wet weather, the match seemed likely to finish out first day, as by luncheon time ! each of ths teams had completed a single innings. On resuming one of the bowlers made several appeals for "leg: before," but the decision was always in the batsman's ■ favour. "How's that, then?" he asked triumphantly, as he at last scattered the stumps. "No ball," roared the umpire; "and it ain't no use for you to keep on \- bothering, young fellow. This 'ere match has got to last two days out. That smy lefreshment tent over there." ALBION CRICKET CLUB. The forty-seventh animal meeting of the Albion Cricket Club was held on Friday evening in All Saints' Schoolroom. There was a very fair attendance considering the inclement weather. ! The following is the annual report: — "The committee has pleasure in presenting the forty-seventh annual report, and in doing so desires to express its congratulations to the members on the continued prosperity of the club during the past season. The membership, which numbered 70, still continues to be one of the highest in the city, notwithstanding many losses by reason of removals, etc. The committee decided to enter five teams in the O.C.A. s competitions, and accordingly entered a First, Second, two Third, and a Fourth Grade teams. This etep was only , moderately successful, the junior teams , being weakened by reason of transfers to , fill up vacancies in the higher grades. All | the teams acquitted themselves well. The , First Grade won two out of eight matches played. Special praise and credit is due to the S*>cond Grade team for its splendid performance of winning, for rh<j^ second year in succession, every match played (eight), and consequently ttie Second Grade t Shield, obtaining 30 out of a possible 32 ( points in the association's com.petition. > The Third Grade B team did not do so well "as anticipated, winning two out of 12 , matches. Mr L. G. M'Millan* with an average of 10 runs per innings, won the batting average, and Mr A. Otto was the • most successful bowler, with 32 wickets at an average of 10 runs each. The Fourth I Grade team won six out of 10 matches, ' but was heavily handicapped owing to continual transfers. The balance sheet shows that the club's finances are in a satisfactory condition, although consider- s able anxiety has been caused to the com- ( mittee by the unreasonable delay m pay- , ment of subscriptions by some of the mem- i bers. The club was creditably represented in senior representative cricket by Messrs F. Williams, C. Wordsworth, T. M'Farlane, and E. Cummings. Mr C. Corbett had the honour of being selected, but was unable to make the trip. In junior repre- . sentative matches Messrs W. D. Shelton, ■ G. Duthie, L. Grigg, F. Mills, W. Brinsley, and A. WorraJl worthily upheld ths j honour of the club. At the commencement of last season the wickets were improved, two new practice wickets being provided, and the whole of the club's portion of_ the ground top-dressed and levelled off. Winter practice has again been indulged in, and , several members have availed themselves | of this opportunity of improving their ( play. Members of other clubs have also , participated in this privilege. _ In ap- j preciation. of Mir Ritchie's kindness in> lending his store for practice, the members , presented him with a silver-mounted (in- ' scribed) umbrella and a travelling rug. ' Since the end of last season we have lost | the services of one of the hardest workers and the most enthusiastic and energetic • secretary the club ever possessed — namely, Mr W. D. Shelton." . | The Chairman, in moving the adoption i of the report, stated that they were all delighted at the success attained by the Second Eleven. He hoped that the incoming season would prove more successful for the club than the past had been. The First Eleven, though not successful in oarryin'-r off the shield, hail done coed work. It was runner-up in the fielding competition last year. This was a very pleasing feature, as fielding had a lot j to do with the fuccess of a club. It was

a true "saying that the man who missed th# catch lost the match. He therefore urged members to roli up to tha club practices. This would materially add to the chances of success of the several teams. If every, member did his duty they would certainly do much better nest season. The club possessed sonw» of the most promising younjr players in the city, and this enhanced the prospect of success in the future. ■ Mr H. H. S. White seconded the motion; which was carried unanimously. The motion for the adoption of the balance sheet, which showed a small credit balance, was carried unanimously. The election of officers, resulted as follows :— Patron, Mr J. Allen, M.P. (reelected); president, Mr T. A. Maitland (reelected); vico-prosidents— Messrs A. Wright, J. Cummings, 11. H. S. White, J. J. Clark, R. Brinsley, T. Ritchie, G. Race, F W Ansell, Rev. Canon Woodthorpe; ' treasurer, Mr G. W. Canter (re-elected) ; f secretary, Mr G. Pickard ; assistant secretary, Mr R. Binaie; club captain, Mr E. Cummings: delegates to the 0.C.A., Messrs iT. Ritchie and G. W- Canter; auditors, Messrs H. H. S. White and J. Duncan; delegate to Sports Protection Association, ■Mr G. Pickard ; Selection Committee, Messrs E. Cummings and J. Baker f pracI tic© captains— Messrs E. Duthie, C. Hart, 1 and N. CrAmond; committee— Messrs Gr- ' Duthie, F. Williams, W. R. Brinsley, B. Curamings, C. Corbett, and W Strang. A vote of thanks to last, year's officebearers concluded the meeting. OPOHO CRICKET CLUB. The twentieth annual report of the committee of the Opoho Cricket Club says,, inter alia: — , , „^ _, The Senior Eleven played eight Cup , matches, winning four and losing four. The Second Eleven played eight matches, winning two and losing six. The Third Eleven played 15 matches, winning three and losing 12. There were 37 playinff 1 members and six honorary members. The club is in a fair position, but would have been much better had all tho members paid their subscriptions. During .the season the club lost the services of Mr . Alex. M'Lean, one of its oldest and most enthusiastic members, through his proi motion and transfer to Alexandra. Occasion was taken! to mak« him a small presentation in recognition of his long and valued services to the club. Mr Job Wain's Cup has been won by W. Kilgour 1 (in the First Eleven) with a batting aver- v 1 age of 28.8 runs. In bowling, H. Bckhoff, with a bowling average of 9.7, wins Mr .W. Collie's trophy. In the Second Eleven, Messrs M*Gavm and Co.'c Cup is won by j W. G. Gollar, with a batting average of ! 11.1, and the bowling average is won by ! J&mes Sharp with, axt average of 6.3, who takes Mr James Murphy's trophy. In the Third Eleven, Miss S. Wain's Cup, carrying with it Mr W. G. Collar's medal, ' is won by F. Pine, with a batting average of 9.7; and the bowling average, carrying' with it Mr R. Kilgour' a trophy, is won by T. B. Wilson, with an average of 7.3. \ > The First Eleven during the season had the services of Frank Ayles, who proved himself .a keen sport. BELATED BOWLING ANALYSIS., LONDON, Septemer 7. * The. following is the bowling 'analysis in the Middlesex match, stopped by rain a fortnight ago : — Cotter, no 'wickets for . ! 83 runs; Whitty, none for 76; Armstrong, one for 36; Hopkins, three for 75; Ransford, one for 15; Noble,- nena for 18. 2000 RUNS. LONDON, September 7. Rhodes has completed his 2000 runs for the season.