PAVILION GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2913, 12 January 1910, Page 65

PAVILION GOSSIP.

■- «F. N. Crawford will not be eligible to re- ■ present Australia against South Africa next season. In international cricket he ,:an .-play tor England only. -••- A Cbristchurch comment: In spite of the i heavy scoring in club cricket we have, so | .far, been hopelessly outclassed by the snpe-:,-xior bowling of the Otagc and Wellington men. . Of the 22 men who :ook part in the first : match between New South -Wales and South Australia in 1890, S. ■E. Gregory is alone left to play an active cart in first class cricket. In this season's inter-State cricket New South Wales has already: been represented, by 23 players, and • these .include only one ~-of those who visited Eta-gland with the Australian team. Australia will have a very solid team to meet the South Africans next season. It .is satisfactory,'' too, oo know that most of . the new bowlers coming along are tolerably capable batsmen. . f George Giffe'n is : the only South Australian to take six or. more wickets in each innings against New South' Wales. In 1892 he got six for 133 and six for "58; in ' 1894 eight for 77 and eight foxltiS'. In' Sheffield Shield cricket M! A; Noble - stands first a,s century-maker, with 19 (12 ; against Victoria and 7 against South Au-s----j tralia). .Clem Hill-has -made-13. (7 against jNew South Wales and 6 against Victoria). In taking, six wickets for 50 in the jNew South Wales second innings last week, J. : N. Crawford becomes one. of a select few who have taken six wickets or more in an innings for South Australi- in the past 20 years. Our old friend W. Skitch is settled up in , the Poverty Bay district. Playing for Tapaf roa against Tokomaru the other day W. i .Skitch got 7 rums with the bat and one for iitwo "with the ball; H. Skitch compiled 24, i'and secured three wickets for nine. ;.:,. Assisted by seven others, M. A. Noble, {• W. W. Armstrong, A. 'J. "Hopkins, and A. ■ ..Cotter played.-..- two matches at Singapore, lJ winning . both, the 'scores being small. I,Cotter and Noble were very successful { ..bowlers, and all four -performed well with the i .'bat, f -.--.•,, i., •M« A. Noble,, while in Ceylon; is reported ; in the Press to have, stated that "Clem Hill y would most likely.-succeed him in- the ca-p- ---}' taincy of the next test team. Hill was '.every whit capable of leading a test team. '1 Trumper was likely to succeed hiir in the ; captaincy of New South Walesi." '•J'.' Victorian batsmen, have made 35 centuries "■ against New South Wales—W.. W. Armstrong j six. T. Horan, P. A; 'M'Alister, V. Hansford, I and .T. Worrall three each; and 30 against ] South Australia—W. W. Armstrong and F. I Laver four each, V. Hansford three, and P. | A. M'Alister and J. H. Stnckey two each. For New South Wales against- South AusI tralia- six or more wickets in an innings i have been taken on 18 occasions—viz : .T ! J. Ferris (2), S. T] Callaway. C. T. B-' •j Turner (2), W. P. Howell (2). M. A. Noble, I A. M'Beth, G. L. Garmev. T. P. M'Kibbin (4), P. C. Charlton, A. ,L. Newell, M. Pierce, I -and A. Cotter. i. The recent match at Adelaide is the first rj against South Australia in which Ml A. Noble has not figured since, he first appeared lin 1896. He played in 26, matches without i a break, which clearly shows his interest in, .: and desire for, the supremacy of New South I Wales cricket. In these matches he scored 2146 runs and secured 80 wickets. Tasmania has nominated N." Dodds and A. C. Facy for- selection in the Australian team to visit New Zealand. The former as wicket-keeper and batsman is so well-known by his performances that his inclusion would appear to be practically certain if the team be got together. A. C. Facy is a fast bowler, I and a, son of Mr Peter Facy. secretary of the Ta.smanian Cricket Association. New South Wales batsmen have scored 38 centuries against South Australia —M. A. Noble seven, S. E. Gregory four. V. Trumper, A. J. Hopkins and R. A. Duff three each, J. R. M. Mackay. A. Diamond, H. Donnan and F. A. Iredale two each. For South Australia 19 centuries have been made—Clem Hill seven, G. Giffen and D. R. A. Gehrs three each, and J. J. Lyons two. ,In the ordinary course of events V. Trumper must have become. the captain of New South Wales in the absence, or withdrawal, of -M'. A. Noble from first-class I cricket. But V. T. (says " Not Out") has j figured so rarely in inter-State matches of I late years that a few weeks back it was j not surmising to find the position awarded to another player, apparently more keenly interested in the supremacy of the State. Out at Goorangoola, 24 miles from- Singleton (N.S-WJ there are some sturdy Aus-

tralians. dn Saturday week a cricket match i was played at Singleton between Goorangoola and another team, and one of the Goorangoola players, after leaving his bed, milked 17 cows, brought in a load of hay , and placed it in a shed, shod his horse, and rode into Singleton. During the afternoon he assisted his club to victory, and I rode home the same night. Two other members of the Goorangoola team milked 3o cows before coining into town. j A glance over the list of matches be- i tween New South Wales and South Aus- . tralia reveals the fact that the representatives of the latter State have had some score leather-huntings from the players of | the mother State. The highest score is 918, which stands as a world's record in first class cricket, and which was obtained ■ in January, 1901, at Sydney. In December, ■ 1899, 807 were amassed; 713 in December, | 1908; 681 in December, 1903; and 624 in the same month. South Australia's highest is 576, at Adelaide in December 1900. FIRST GRADE. Albion v. Change. The match Albion v. Grange resulted in an casv win for the former by an innings and 39 runs. On December 18 Albion disposed of Grange for 60, and on going to the wickets compiled 182. At the close of the day's play Grange bad made 6 runs without losing a wicket. _ The .match was resumed on Saturday in splendid weather. Grange did not fare much better in their second" innings than they did in the first, the whole siide being dismissed for 83, towards which total 0. Chadwick contributed 25 and W. Oglg 10, -.vhile the extras amounted to 14. ' M'Fariane eaiptured four wickets for 20 runs, Woraswonth five for 32, and Cummings one for 10. Albion thus secured another four-point win. Caeisbrook A. v. Opoho. This match was resumed at Carisbrook on Saturday in perfect weather and on a good wicket. In the first innings Opoho had compiled »124 and Carisbrook had lest six wickets for 155. Continuing the innings Carisbrook carried the total to 246 before the innngs was closed with nine wickets clown. Allco plaved .well for 26, and Cameron for 37, not out. Going in for the second strike Onobo made a better stand than in 'Tihe first innings, the total reaching 153, of which Higgins (63) and Eckhoff (32) were the principal contributors. There was some little excitement at the . finish of the match. Carisbrook wanted 32 runs to secure a. four-point victory, and had 20 minutes to get them. Hopkins and Bannerman took the crease, but Bannerman lost his wicket without scoring. Five minutes before time Hopkins and Rutherford knocked up the runs, securing a fourpoint victory. Following are the scores: Opoho. First Innings .... 324 Second Innings. ■ Kenny, lbw, b Fisher .. ... •••■ 3 Case*-, b Fi:-'h;-r -.. 14 Hiegms, b Fisher .. 63 ■ EckborT, c Hopkins, b Adams ..' 32 CaJi-away, h Fisher. ••.,,•• .. ■ 5 M'Gavin, c Adams, b Rutherford 0 Timlin, net." out .. .. ... .. 13 Kilgour, b Fisher .. ....... 2 J. Downes. b Fisher ..!*.. '"'.. 0 M'Kay. c and b Rutherford .. 2 Graham, lbw, b Rutherford' .. 3 ' ■'•" Extras'.''.■; .. .. .... ■'■..' .. 16 I •'•*•;' Total ! -'i. ..- ..'..■ ■■■-..• 153 ■ Bowling 'Analysis.—Fisher,. ; .' : 144. balls, 9 maidens, 67" runs, 6 wickets';' I 'Rutherford. 91 balls; 5 maidens.,. 26 runs, .3 wickets; Hop- ; kins, :24..ba115, 18 runs; Adams; 24 balls, 26 runs, 1 wicket. Rutherford' bowled one no-ball. '■' . ■ ■■: ■■ >i: • GArisbbook. —First Innings. Hopkins, c Kenny, b Eckhoff .. 1 Utiley; c' Kilgour, b B'ekilioff .: 2 Adams, e Downes, b Etekhoff. - .. 0 Bannerman, lbw, b M'Gavin .. 26 Fisher, e Casey, b Eckhoff .. .. 70 Rutherford, c '-M'Kay, b Casey 42 Watson, c and b Eckhoff .. ..' 4 Alioo, st Higgins, b Eickhoff .. 26 L Cameron, not out 37 Wilkinson, b M'Gavin 11 H. Ban-away, not out .. .. 9 - Extras :, .. .. ... .. .. 18 Total for . nine wickets . (innings declared closed) 246 Bowling Analysis.—Callaway, 132 balls, 68 runs; Eckhoff, ?J3B balls, 8 maidens, . 94 runs, 6 wickets; M'Gavin, 58 balls, 46 runs, 2 wickets; Casey, 48 balls, 1 maiden, 15 runs, 1 wicket. Eckhoff bowled one wide I and one no-ball. Second Innings. Hopkins, not out .. 19 j B'annermiau, b Eckhoff 0 I Rutherford, not out .'. .., ..10 j Extras 4 Total for one wicket .. 33 '•■ Bowling Analysis,—Eckhoff; 15. balls, .15 : runs, 1 wicket; Casey,' 12 balls, 12 run®. !. Casey bowled one wide. j Cahisbhook B v. Dunedin. I There was a good attendance to witness ; the conclusion of. the Cards brook B-Dunedin '■match on, the Caledonian Ground on Satur- ' day... . In the first innings Carisbrook had compiled. 246, while Dunedin had lost two j wickets for 49. Resuming on Saturday ■ Dunedin were all disposed of for 195. ! Maokersg batting well for 57. On the • drawing of stumps Carisbrook had lost ! three wickets for 95, securing a victory on | the first innings by 37 runs. The feature j of the match was the bowling_ of Mac- ■■ artney. who, mantaining a splendid length, I kept the batsmen quiet. Details: j Carisbrook B.' J First Innings .. 232 j Second Innings. G. G-. Austin, lbw, b Mackersy.. 19 j F. Ussher, b Mackersy .. .. 1 | P. F. Godfrey net out .. .. 40 i C. Fenwick, st Oondliffe, b ! Young .. 15 I J. Dramm, not out .. 12 j Extras .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 Total for three wickets .. 95 Bowling Analysis.—Torrance, 72 balls, 1 maiden, 31 runs; Mackersy, 48 balls, 24 runs, 2 wickets; Young, 24 balls, 25 runs, 1 wicket; De Le Mere, 6 balls, 3 runs; J. Wilkie, 6 balls. 4 runs. Dunedin.—First Innings. T. Young, c Ussher, b Chadwick 12 C. G. Wilson, b Macartney .. .. 31 A. Eckhold, b Chadwick .. .. 0 ' Oondliffe, c and b Godfrey .. 15 J. Wilkie, b Chadwick 8 S. Gioyen, b.Siedeberg.... , ~,' .... 21 . W. Mackersy, b Austin ~ .... 57 T. De La Mere, b Macartney "., 11 Porteous, not out .'. .. ... .. 7 G. Leys, absent .. ' 0 R. Torrance, lbw, b Austin ~ 8 Extras .. .. 30 Total .. .... .. .'. 195 Bowling Analysis.—Chadwick, 150 balls, 8 maidens., 42 runs, 3 wickets; Macartney, 174

balls, 10 maidens, 33 runs, 2 wickers; Austin, 76 balls, 5 maidens,. 23 runs, 2 wickets; Godfrey, 102 balls, 3 maidens, 48 runs, 1 wicket; Siodeberg, 66 balls, 3 maidens, 19 runs., 1 wicket. SECOND GRADE.

The match, Dunedin B v. Grange, was continued on the Caledonian Ground. The first day's piay had resulted in Grange being disposed of for 51 runs and Duneding scoring 152 for six wickets. Fannon and Whitty resumed on Saturday, the former taking his score to 32 and the latter to 17, the total for the innings being 183 Davidson bowled well, getting all three wickets. Grange's second innings (battingthree short) 'totalled 68,. Wright (32) and Johnstone (13) being the only batsmen to show form. Graham (two for-7) and Latham (two for 8) bowled best. Dunedin won by an innings and 64 runs. The Albion secured a four-point win against Opoho on the North,.Ground'. Requiring 119 runs, Albion sent in Worrali and Duthie to bat, Worrali losing _ his wicket without scoring. Shepherd joined Duthie, and carried the score to 18, when he was caught by Abbot. Binme then joined Duthie, and these two brought the score up to 42. when Bihnie was caught. Duthie, who was batting well, was then joined by Grigg', and these two batsmen carried the score to 124", Duthie being 59 not out and Grigg 30 not out. Albion thus won by seven wickets. Tha match St. Kilda v. Carisbrook C was started before the holidays, when Carisbrook had a lead of nine runs on the first innings. On going in for their'.second innings on Saturday they put together 135 runs. Foster (11), Holmes (28), Seoular (46), and Alloc (16) all batted well for their runs. M'Farkui* ithree wickets for 16 runs) and Harvey (three for 17) bowled best for St. Kilda. Requiring 145 runs to. win. St. Kilda started their second innings, and! had six wickets down f0r.61, when matters did not look too good for a win; but, owing to the splendid batting of the last four men, they -put on the required number of runs, thus winning the. match by one wicket and 4 runs, and. securing a fourpoint win. For the winners, Rice (32), Fidden (10), Carver (15), GV Edwards (18), Barlow (23). Milton' (27) r "'and Betting 'l3 not out) all batted splendidly for thenruns. Holmes secured four wickets and Johnston four wickets for Carisbrook. THIRD GRA3SE.'. ; v- ' ],.

Carkbiook E clef-sated Bay ; at Anderson's: Bay by ?s; : run,s. : .Scores':—] Ca.i-isb.rouk, 99 (Waleott 30 not out, Bradley ; 23, de Lautour 18, and ©.-"Smith-10). ,• ■'An--j de-reon's -Bay,'- 24. "For'' Oarisbrook ; Cuddie (five for -10) 'and -Eraser > (four for 9) secured the wickets. For the Bay Abercrombie and Kirkwood bowled well. Albion A (126 runs) met and defeated Opoho."(77), at. Opoho. Brown (41), Burke (29),, Cameron (19), and- M'Millan (14 not. out) : were the most successful for the Albion;: wlidS Walker; Turnbull (16),. Stilij (1:4) were the mos.t--successful batsmen for the losers. Pollard-- (three wickets.- for 23) and Brown (four wickets for 14) were the Albion trundlers. Albion B (86) defeated St. Kil.da (64) on the North .Ground. Marks (IS), ■ Crawford (16), and ■ Piokard (10) were the. Albion members most successful with the bat," and M'Faull (11),''' Tillyshort : (18) batted well for the -losers. O'Connor (six wickets for i 36) aidthto (four wickets for 16) were the Albion' 1 bowlers. Albion in their second innings- had lest seven wickets for 58 at the call of time (Crawford 16). j . FOURTH GRADE. - ; ..,---..-;-, Albjon : (81) defeated' the Christian Brothers B team (£0) by 1 run on the Opohd/-Ground. For the winners Girvan (21) aaid R. Fyfe.(lO) were the. meet successful batsmen, while J. Fogarty (40) batted I very -nicely for the losers. Cameron (six wickets- for 26) was the most effective j bowler- for the Albion, .while Fogarty audi M'Kett'zie.divided the. bowling honours for-! the Christian Brothers. ' j Momington defeated-High School-by defaults -■-■: '.. .... .. - .. •> MATCHES IN OTHER CENTRES. ,' WELLINGTON, January 9. - The sixth round of the "Wellington .senior j cricket matches was commenced yesterday I in splendid .weather. East B- made 83 ; against East A (Bowles 17, Dickson 12). i Hales took three wickets for 14, and Gibba \ four for 20. East A lost three wickets for \ 276 (Midlane 111 not out, Mahoney 62, Tucker 33). North, playing against Victoria College.- were all out for 156 (Hick-! son 38. Sherende.ii 34).-, Monagha.n took four wickets for 26, and Dempsey two for 8. Colley-e scored-155 fdr'.-six wickets (Foster 50, Fludlav 20. ■ Berendeen 29 not our.). Central -made- -171- -asaiiiat:-; Petonc (Biroh 46 not out, Beeehey 32, Mason 24). Petcne lost seven wickets for 96 (Brice 37, Isherwocd 22, Freeman 21). Kinvig captured , two wickcis for 2 .-runs.;;- .-.. . '*■ | (."HRISTCHURCH, January 8. - j The fifth round'■ of''the grade, matches | commenced to-day in -fineweather. The play j was robbed of .a certai , iT ; amount of interest . owiniz to the absence in Auckland of the j rP'O. players, but most of the teams left j places for . their crack, players, who will I be available next Saturday. In the First Grade- St. Albans nut. -up a good score ' a.o-ain.st West Christchurob. compiling 219 (T. W. Recce 61.. Bishop 41, ■ Ackroyd 37), j having 138 up for the second wicket, j Miles also made 36 . not out, and Wilson 26.: West Ohristclmrr-h respohded with 100 for six wickets. Lihwoed fared badly a.Hra.inst Riccarion.. beincr- dismissed for 143. oflwhich Howell mado 40;- I!. Ridley 36, and Owen 22. •> The first- ■pair for Rioca"km— AM. Norman (69) a-id.E. R, C-a.y-.gilH (73 not out)—put on. 126. for the first wicket, and at the call of time the score was 179 for three wickets. Sydenham and ' East Ohrktch.urch played a very even game. East ChristchurC'h scored 101 and 67 for four wickets in the second innings, to Sydenham's 106. Sims, for East Christchurch, made 52 not out. NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS : v. DUNEDIN ELEVEN. The true enjoyment of a holiday is to know how-to take it. A -party of teachers from New -South Wales- lias sounded the heights and depths of enjoyment by taking a holiday tour through--'New Zealand playing .pricket in the ; -chief centres. ; ,The. present - particularly amiable : p.ne ;.' , moreover.,, . it, boasts one ..or. two reasonably decent cricketers, who are known in. First Grade matches in Sydney. The local profession does not incline much ■ to the best of all summer games. Time was when Otagb could place an eleven in the field;':composed fully of the scholastic profession,;: but it is not,, so now.., In .the. present instance the-local team had to be

made up of players quite outside the walls of the schoolroom in order to put in tho fieid a reasonable eleven to give the visitors from Sydney a good game. The match took place at Carisbrook on Wednesday, in the presence of a few enthusiasts. The heaw rain of the previous day had rendered tho wicket, slow to easy, and this was its condition when the New South Welshmen went in to bat. The pioneer batsmen —Rose and M'Mullan 'who captained the visitors) —made a tolerably useful start, having put on 38 for tbo f.rst wicket. Rose was the one to eo being beaten bv Rutherford after scoring 10 m good style. The second wicket fell w.th th.> score at 51, but after that the wick-its dropped rapidly, until the advent of Ponoghue. who batted splendidly for 29, and caused the game to steady up a bit. M'Mutian played freely for 28, and O'S'iea shaped promisingly for 11. Tha innin ''.-5 closed for 125. Rutherford was the most successful bowler for the home team, securing six wickets for 42 runs. Tb° fielding of the Otago team was clean, and there was no evil from the dropped catch. - The Otago batsmen, on going to the wickets, were all disposed of for 110 runs, to which total W. Uttley was the chief contributor with a well-compiled score_ ot 40 The onlv other batsmen to get into double figures were H. Watson, Rutherford, and Richards. The visitors won an enjoyable game by 15 runs. ,'-,., *,' ' Of tb« five matches played, the New South Wales teachers have won three. Tho visitors will depart this morning for Queenstown, returning to Wellington to plav another ■■■ match before finally leaving for" their homes in Sydney. Following are tlv: details "-0NEW South Wales.—First Innings, J H Ross, b Rutherford .. .. 19 F M'Mullan, lbw, b Rutherford 28 O. Smith, c and bL. Watson .. 8 R. Magrath, b Rutherford .. .. 2 H. E. Altaian, b Rutherford .. 0 Donoghue, b Ongley 2$ Fanning- b Uttley .... ••""•• 6 O'Shea, c H. Watson, b Rutherford '.-,< ■■•:.• •■" ■.•• •• •• I ' L Maauel, c : and b Ongley .. .. 4 ■ De»er, c Uttley,, b Rutherford .. &,. Elston, ;not out .. .... .. •• 7 ■ i Extras ';. .. »,;■-. •• •• 6 'Total .. .. 125 Bowling Analysis;—Rutherford, 12-1 balls. T maidens, 42 runs, 6 wickets; Uttley, 18 balls, 21 runs, 1 .wicket;: Ongley;. 18 balls, 1 maiden 10 runs, 2,wickets; L. Watson, 36 balls, 1 miaide.n,' IK rims, 1 wicket;" H. Watson, 21 balls. 1 maiden, 18 runs; R. Allco, 24 balls, ; 1 maiden,; -p:] runs. Rutherford bowled one no ball. - - B-tjSTEDlN.—First Innings. W. Uttley; b Allman 40 Delamere, b Manuel 4. Blamires, c O'Shea, b Manuel 8 H. b, Magrath .. .. 12. Rutherford,", c Rose, b Allman .. 14 Ongley, lbw. b Allman 0 TL Watson, b Mag-rath G.--H/rUttley, b Magrath .. .. 2 Slater, ""not out' 4 Richards,: : -*- : Allman 14 Alloo. '6'-=sitb., b Allman ...... 7 .'. . ..." .. ...... 4 _ Total .. .. ...: .. .. no Bowling maidens; 56. ruins, 5 wickets; Manuel, 42 balls, 1' maiden, 22 runs, 2- wickets; Magrath, 54-,Mils, 5,-miaidens, 12 runs, ,3 j. wick&ts;.. Smith,. 12 balls,. 3 runs; M'Mullaa i 24 balls, 13 runs. - THE PLUNKET SHIELD. ■>'/■• ATJGKEsiS© v., CANTERBURY. AUCKLAND, January T. O Ideal .cricket ~weather, an easy wicked and-an outfield-like a billiard table wera - tho conditions; this morning at Victoria Park when W. Brooke-Smith and D. Reese/, j the- captains'%)f the-. Auckland and Canters j burv representative - cricket teams tossed ! for "the right-,40 go in. and ba.t. . The<re wa< j no question of ..delibeiration, for it wasgerie- ! rally conceded; that., the side, which won tha toss was to have, a distinct advantage in the second contest of this season for the ■coveted -Elunket Shield, the. blue riband of the T>drmiiidn cricket world. Reeso won : the toss, 'and the sigh of disappointme-nti i that went v iip from local supporters was ! prodigious. ; however, failed . ; to gain a,nv\. advantage by the first use of! ! the feeing .disposed, of for the poor, i score of 140. t. The Auckland fielding wart ; also brillamt, and thus the total was' kept •at the minimum. ' '''. j The loco,!' eleven went to tho ..wickets "irt mid-afternoon, and at.the close of the day. had mads 201-.fo-r the- loss, of nine wickets, thus beiihr'oi' 'in. the lead, with cn-s wicket; to fall. Lmsk, with 33. was top scorer for Oantea-huiry, ■ while Oliff, of Auckland,made' top seorex of the day with. 43. He also secured, tho best howling average, tha figures'"beinjsr. four wickets -for 27 rune.. j The uncovtaihty of cricket was exemplified I in this player,"many thinking prior to the j match that ho should have been omitted I from the team'. . The match is neither won | nor lost.'yet,i for anything 'may happen, land Auckland's lead cannot be said to. to j overwhelming. I The tea.nis were:

Auckland. —Anthony, Ecmns, Sale, HaJckm. Beif, -W; Brooke-Smith (captain), Cliff, Taylor. Sneddon, Bbwden. Good. _ CAWTHfiBURV.—Reese (captain), Patrick, W. Carlton. Lusk, Orchard. T. Carlton, Orawshnw, >Hayes, Addison, Bennett, Boxshall.' B. B\ Wood, who was chosen, was too.ill to take part, although ho was able to be piese'riit at one pa.rt of the day's play. Patrick and Reese', went, to the wickets and faced the 'bowling of Relf and Haddoji. After three overs How den replaced Haddon. With 21 up Reese was caught by Brooke-Smith off Relf. i W. Carlton joined Patrick, and a spell of slow play followed. Neither batsman wass taking any risks. While they were attempting a short rum Sale fielded well, and returning smartly knocked the stumps down, Patrick beingrun out, after playing a nice innings. The> score then stood at 48: Lusk joined Carlton, but the latter, weirit to the pavilion without an increase in the score. Howclen beating- him : with • a : ball that broke from outside the leg stump and took the off bail. Orchard joined Lusk, and a longpartnerelrip. .enetied, the* score being .raised to ..98 before a... separation..was. effected. Orchard took .45 minutes to compile 21 runs. He was beaten by a ball from Hbwdien. which kept low. Oliff was associated with Howden, and both bowlers caused a lot .of trouble;, to the. batsmen. After the luncheon adjournment;, a rofc set in, and, with the exception of Addison, the other batsmen- failed'--to get into double figures. Lusk, afer playing finely for his side, was

twII caught by Sneddon close to the f 'boundary off Oliff. Hie runs took 80 minutes to compile. Relf bowled better than the figures indicate, sending down 15 overs, eight of which wore maidens, i Oliff's deliveries had the latter half of the Canterbury team tied up. The 140 , runs took 160 minutes to compile. j Auckland commenced their innings at 3 .o'clock, Hemus and Anthony facing Bennett and T. Carlton. The ox-Canterbury rep. played good cricket for his 30. Ho scored 14- off the four balls prior to the one which beat him from Kee.se. The score was then 50. i'em.us succumbed in the next over, Crawshaw making a magnificent catch in the outfield. Sale and Haddon then became associated, and carried the score to £9 before Haddon was bowled by a full pitched ball from Orchard, after scoring 21 by good strokes. Relf joined Sale, bur the latter was almost immediately disposed of, being caught by Lusk off Orchard. Sale never really got going. Brooke-Smith followed, but the Auckland captain never had a strike, Orchard's next ball getting 'him. Oliff filled the vacant place, the board reading 95—4—0. Another long partnership ensued, Relf playing delightfully free cricket, while Oliff was particularly rough on loose leg stuff. The score was carried to 159 before Relf patted one softly to Bennett at silly mid on. Taylor filled the breach, but did not score, and then Sneddon joined Oliff. The latter carried his score to 43, when he was clean bowled by Reese, the board reading 189 —8—43. fiis display was marked by his confident; attack on all classes of bowling, although It was marred at times by uppish strokes. Howden came in, and after scoring 9 was caught by W. Carlton off Crawshaw Sneddon and Good played out time. January 8. The match for the Plunkct Shield between Auckland and Canterbury was continued to-clay in fine but dull weather. Play commenced in calm weather, but as the afternoon wore on pi north-east wind came up. Drops of rain fell intermittently, but there was nothing approaching a shower until after the stumps were drawn. The light became bad after 5 o'clock, and a> conference between tha> captains resulted in stumps being drawn at 5.30. The attendance was considered satisfactory, over 3000 being present. The day's play opened promisingly, end some excitement was i aused by the long partnership between Sneddon and Good for the tenth wicket, '.7 runs being added, and Auckland's score thus raised from 198 for nine wickets to 275. Sneddon, a youth of 17, played nice cricket for 56 not out. Canterbury were at the tvickets all the afternoon, and at the call Df time had mode 214 for the loss of nine wickets. W. Carlton made 78 not out. being at the wickets almost the whole of the innings. Relf was the most successful Auckland bowler, getting four wickets for 39 runs. With 201 on the heard, Sneddon (16) and Good (1), resumed batting to the ' bowling of Crawshaw and Reese. Both batsmen played with confidence, and soon commenced batting crisply. As the runs ! mounted the crowd joined iu the fun. ) Sneddon was loudly applauded on reaching the half-century. ' Both batsmen had a hfe, and the innings was Sna.lly closed bv ' W. Carlton clean bowling Good'. The 74 runs added this morning were made in 57 minutes. Canterbury went in to bat at | 12.25 with a deficit of 135 runs. Patrick i ■ and Reese opened proceedings. Off the I ' last ball of Relf's first over Patrick was ' smartly caught in the slips bv Howden, | the board reading 2—l—2. W. Carlton j joined Reese, who -opened by scoring three i boundaries off Howden's first over. Relf was bowling maiden overs at this stage. ! Reese was dismissed by a fine catch by j Uliff at mid-cn, off Howden. 20—2—16. Lusk was next man in. He made some bad strokes, and allowed the ball to rise on two or three occasions. At the luncheon adjournment Carlton was 6 and Lusk 9. Not long after resuming Lusk ran cut to one of Howden's, which beat him, and Good stumped him easily. He was two yards out of his crease. lie had played a fluky innino-s for 17. 46—3 17. Orchard joined Carlton, but after he had scored a couple he put one into i Brooke-Smith's hands in the outfield, and that usually safe field dropped him. The j Set-off was expensive, for- the 1 partnership ' added 55 runs, of which Orchard made 36 before being caught by Sneddon near] the long boundary from a skyscraper put j up from one of Oliff's deliveries. He bad played forceful cricket, and his in- j rings had put a different complexion on I the game. His runs took 43 minutes to ( -unpiTe. 102—4—36. The making of 100 ! l.ins had taken ]O6 minutes, and Carlton! i a. 5 28. Crawshaw joined Carlton, and j } .ay steadied down for a while. A boun- j ( ary scored by Crawshaw saw Canterbury's : deficit wiped out at the cost of four wickers. On resuming after the afternoon tea adjournment play was slow, several maiden overs being played. Only 5 runs ! were added before Crawshaw was out lb\v j to Oliff. The retiring batsman had given ! a good display, his strokes on the off ' being well-timed. 158—5—26. The 5 runs j scored since the adjournment had taken ! 25 minutes to compile. T. Carlton did not j play Relf with confidence, and was clean ! bowled after scoring a single. 159 —6—-1. j Hayes then joined W. Carlton, but was ! t o.i cut, being clean bowled by Oliff j j ffce.r scoring 3. ' 162—7—3. Addison j ;' jincd Cailton, but did not stay long. J '. Jurin.g his stay at the wickets Carlton! passed Sneddon's score. Addison was out j lbw to Relf after scoring a boundary, j 175 —B—4.8 —4. Bennett made matters lively, 2 and knocked up 17 in a short time before j he was smartly caught by Relf off his own j bowling. 199-9-17. Boxshall filled the - vacancy, and 200 came up after 230 minutes' play. Carlton's score was then j 72. These batsmen plasod out time. Carl- j ton, who was 78 not out, was given an ( ovation on retiring. He had played ; patiently for his runs, and always kept a ; etraight bat. The chances he gave were duo to the wicket. January 10. The conditions were puzzling when the third day's pay of the contest for the Blunket Shield between Auckland and Canterbury was commenced this morning. The constant rain of Saturday slight and the heavy rain of Sunday had deadened the Ditch, and it was therefore problematical : is to how the wicket would play. The : early morning was dull, but the sun scon - appeared, and the wicket started to dry rapidly. When play commenced xfoe atmosphere was humid —so humid in fact that a southerner asked if Aucklanders suffered from many of these " perspirationary" days. The* batsmen found the wicket easy, and 25 'runs were added to the overnight Boore of 213 for nine wickets before Boxshall was dismissed. The last wicket added 59 run*, making a total of 238. W. Carl- .

' ton, the Canterbury professional went in when the first wicket fell, and carried his bat, being unconquered with 83 to his credit at the close of the innings. Auckland were faced with the task of making 104 runs, and many anxious eyes were cast on the wicket, but it was drying rapidly, and, while fairly easy at tie commencement of Auckland's innings, it became sticky, and the break howler got a lot of work on. Tho wicket was improving when play closed. Boundaries were harder to get owing to the outfield being dead. Auckland knocked up the required number of runs for the loss of three wickets. Hemus, who made 45, not out, ending the match in a sensational manner by scoring two sixes when 12 were wanted. Auckland thus won by seven wickets, and retains possession of the shield. r £he fieding of the Auckland side was again keen, and the men were well placed, while that of Canterbury was not so good. Luck did not enter very largely into the game, but what did was oertamlj in the local team's favour, Canterbury's worst stroke being when it was discovered, on the first day, that such a good batsman as B. B. Wood was too ill to play. Carlton (781 and Boxshall (3) resumed hatting for Canterbury when the proceeding's opened, the scoring board reading 2.15 for nne wickers. Relf opened by bowling to Carlton. Sawdust was in use, and the batsmen found the wicket easy. Boxshall gave Good an easy off Howden whan only 2 had been added to the total. Tho runs came steadily after this. As a result of the wicket many uppish strohes wove made. Oliff relieved Howden. and ended Canterbury's innings by clean bowling the veteran stumper when he had scored 18. the innings closing for 238. Vf. Carlton took almost five hours to make his 88 runs. His defence was absolutely sound, but wearisome at times. Canterbury filed into the field at 12.10, Anthony "''acing the bowling of Reese, while Hemus orvsned to Crawshaw. Anthony scored a boundarv off Crawshaw, and then was well caught hisrh up bv Orchard off Crawshaw, s—l—4. The wicket, wheh had been easy, was now getting sticky. Haddon joined Hemus, and both batsmen scorod boundaries, and 20 were up as tit.?, result of IS minutes' play. Haddon. who socred three snecessive boundaries, -was caught bv Boxshall off W. Carlton, who had replaced Reese, after giving a 'ladling display. His score of 21 took 23 minutes to conrnile, and was exactly the same ps that of hi-i first innings, 38 —2—23. Brooke-Smith then went in, and opened his account with a square cut to the boundary. The wicket was sticky, and many good judges thought Reese in error in not putting on W. Carlton and Orchard . earlier. Bennett, who had -replaced Crawshaw, was freelv scored off, -while W. Carlton was very difficult to play. Fifty came up as the result of 41 minutes' play. After the luncheon adjournment Brooke-Smith scored several boundaries off the Canterbury fast bowler, and when 80 came up Brooke-Smith was 28 and Hemus 26. Orchard replaced Bennett at this stage. When 31 Brooke-Smith misjudged a ball from W. Carlton, and Orchard effected an easy catch at mid-on. The outgoing batsman played crisp cricket, his late cutting being well timed. He took 50 minutes to make his runs; 92 —3—31. Sale joined Hemus, and the latter the match by scoring two sixes offi Orchard. Hemus had played more patiently than usual for his runs, taking- 84 minutes to make 45. The scores were as follow: —• Caotekbury.—First Innings. Reese, c Smith, b Relf .. .. 9 Patrick, run out 22 W. Carlton, b Howden • 9 Lusk, c Sneddon, b Oliff .. .. 38 Orchard, b Howden 21 - T. Carlton, st Good, b Oliff .. 9 Crawshaw, c Smith, b Oliff .. 0 Hayes, b Oliff 2 Addison, c and b Howden'.. .. 10 Bennett, not out 9 Boxshall, b Howden 1 Extras 10 Total 140 Bowling Analysis.—Keif, four wickets for 39 runs; Hadclen, none for 22; BrookeSmith, none for 4; Oliff. three for 54; Taylor, ncu-c for 31; Howden. two for 54. Second In.nings. Patrick, c Howden. b Relf .... 2 Reose, c Oliff, • b Howden .. .. 16 W. Carlton, not out 88 Lusk, st Good, b Howden .. .. 17 Orchard, o Sneddon, b Oliff .. 38 Crawshaw, lbw, b Oliff .. .. 26 T. Carlton, b Relf .... .. 1 Haves, b Oliff .. .. 3 Addison, lbw, b Relf 4 Bennett, c and b Relf 17 Boxshall, b Oliff 18 Extras 10 Total £3B Bowling Analysis.—Relf took four wickets for 44 runs; Howden, two for 67; Oliff, four for. 61; Taylor, none for 31; Hadden, none for 21; Brcoke-Brnith, none for 4. Auckland. —First Innings. Anthony, b Reese 30 Hemus. c Crawshaw, b Orchard 16 Sale, c Lusk, b Orchard .. .. 15 Hadden, b Orchard 21 Relf. c Bennett, b Crawshaw .. 37 Brooke-Smith, b Orchard .. .. 0 Oliff, b Reese 43 Taylor, c T. Carlton, b W. Carlton 0 Sneddon, not cut 56 Howden,, c W. Carlton, b Crawshaw 19 b W. Carlton 32 Extras „ .. 16 Total .. .. 275 Bowling Analysis.—Reeise, two wickets for 44 runs; Bennett, none for 34; T. Carlton, none for 42; Addison, none for R; Orchard, four for 67; Crawshaw, two for 24; "W". Carlton, two for 35; Lusk, none for 7. Second Innings. Anthony, c Orchard, b Crawshaw 4 Hemus, not out 45 Hadden. c Boxshall, b W. Carlton 21 Brooke-Smith, c Orchard, b W«. Carlton 31 Sale, not out .. .. .. .. .. 0 Extras ~ 8 Total for three wickets 104 Bowling Analysis.—Crawshaw took one wicket for 14 runs; W. Carlton, two for 30; Reese, none for 10; Orchard, none for 14; Bennett, none for 29; T. Carlton, none for PROBABLE CHALLENGE BY OTAGO, Although there has bean no official announcement, it is generally understood that in the event of Auckland defeating Canterbury Ota&o will challenge for the,

Plunket Shield, the match to take place at Auckland next month. ENGLAND v SOUTH AFRICA LONDON. January 3 England, who at the call of time on Monday had 147 on for no wickets, mado 310 in the first innings in the test match with South Africa—a Lead of 10?.. In their second innings South Africa have lost three wickets for 124- runs. January 4. In the first test match South Africa's second innings yielded 345 runs. England, requiring 2-14 runs to win, have lost seven wickets for 144. January 5. Faulkner, one of the South African team, played two brilliant innings of 79 and 143. January 5. England, in their second innings, scored 224. The South Africans won by 19 runs. Thompson (63) made a great effort to save the game. He was the last out. Vogler and Faulkner took all the M.C.O. wickets, Voglor securing 13 for 181 and Faulkner .seven for 160. Simpson-Hay-ward, in South Africa's first innings, captured six wickets for 43. VICTORIA v. SOUTH AUSTRALIA. MELBOURNE. January 4. The cricket match between Victoria and South Australia was continued to-day. In their second innings Victoria have made 429 for the loss of seven wickets, the chief scorers being Smith (146), Armstrong (119 not out), Ford (44), Delves (28), Kenny (27), and Scott (24). January 5. The cricket match between Victoria and South Australia was advanced a stage further to-day, when the home team completed their second innings, which yielded 458 runs, making a grand total of 664. Armstrong, who made 124. played an attractive and forceful innings. His partnership with Smith yesterday resulted in 170 rime being added to the score Smith's wee one of the best innings of the season, ths principal feature being his forceful driving. Laver made 23 not out in Victoria's second innings. South Australia have lost seven wickets for 210 in their second innings, and therefore require to make 95 more to win. S. Hill mad© 53, C. Hill 48, Woolcock 37, . and Crawford 4. January 6. The cricket match Victoria, v. South Australia was concluded to-day, the home team winning by 81 runs. In their second innings South Australia made 223 (S. Hill 58 and Quiet 24). NEW SOUTH WALES v. SOUTH AUSTRALIA SYDNEY, January 9. (Received Jan. 9, at 5 p.m.) The cricket match between New South Wales and South Australia was commenced yesterday. The home team were disposed of for 92 in their first innings (Waddy 30, Hopkins 13, and Diamond 12). Whitty captured five wickers for 43 runs. At the close of the day's play South Australia had lost nine wickets for 84, Whitty (21 not, out), Woolcock (18), Mayne (16); and S. Hill (15) being the chief scorors. January 10. The cricket match between N.S. Wales and South Australia ws*S continued to-day. In their first innings South Australia made 207 (Mayne 61, Whitty 34, and Wright 28). New South Wales put up 289 in their second innings, the chief scorers being Kellaway (1081, Minnet (37), Diamond (30), and Emerv (30).