CRICKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 61

CRICKET.

NOTES BY LONG SLIP. ' The sporting manner in which a number of Dunedin gentlemen have come forward and each guaranteed £lO, to go towards liquidating the £l5O which is Otago’s share of the expenses to be incurred by the tour of th© Australian team, is worthy-of all praise. The tour is now to eventuate,.; the New Zealand Council paying all the expenses. In the case of the Otago match the travelling expenses, hotel board, etc., of the visitors will be defrayed by the council, the Otago Association controlling the fixture, and taking the proceeds of the , gate. After paying the expenses of the t ground and other incidentals the guarantors will each receive back then - IAU , or in the case of a poor attendance, as I much per man as the lessened amount will j The names of the 12 Australian ciicketers who are to make the tour should give every satisfaction to lovers of the game. Arm-; strong, Barcfeley, Whitty, and Hopkins were members of the Australian team which went Home last year; Emery is a bowler who has sprung into fame by-his recent performance against Victoria*, while Kellaway was a century-getter for New South ■ Wales in the interstate match against Adelaide Two wicket-keepers are in the team in Gorry and Dodds. This combination reads as a very strong one indeed. Tpeu deeds on the cricket field .should pio*e well worth watching It will be noticed that'the team is made up of 12 men—not 14, as originally suggested. j Much surprise has been expressed m , local cricketing circles at the omission of S T Callaway’s name from the 15 plaveis selected to practise with a view oC being picked to represent Otago in the Shield match at Auckland next month. On first noting the absence of Callaways name from the selected 15 I imagined that the ©x-Canterburyite bad 1 mtimatea ms inability to go north, and was consequently not available for the tour Pmsonal in quiry of Callaway elicited the fact that he , had not been approached m ®ay way as to his ability to go . north. Farther m- j quiry of one of the members of the Selection Committee placed me in possession ot - the fact that though 15 men had been. | ejected for practice the committee was not j debarred from asking any other player to - turn out, neither was- it imperative that ; the committee should confine its ultimate selection of the Otago team from • the 15 players picked for' practice. However this may' be, stress has been laid on the inten- . tion of the Selection Committee to pick a thoroughly representative Otago team to ; Contest tL Plunket Shield, ana -in my opinion an error of judgment has Men , committed by the Selection Gornmitteo , in omitting Callaway from the 15 selected for practice. Callaway, m my ' humble opinion, should certainly have had a place in the selected 15 before, at the very least, ttvo of the ; players chosen —to go no further. Speakto a prominent and long-time member of” the Opcho 'Club, for which Callaway ; now plays, he gave it . as his opinion that : the reason of the omission of Callaway was because the Selection Committee had “no time ” for, tKe Opoho Club. I <*o not place any value in this statement, knowing as I do that the Selection Committee ire a level-headed and 1 fair-minded trio, i \nd knowing that, Callaway’s exclusion is all the mo,re difficult to understand , Dear Long Slim—l notice that Hawke s ! Bay has challenged the Aucklanders for possession of the Plunket Shield, and therc is nothing wrong with this, as they have :;s much right as any other provincial district to become the proud possessors of this evidently coveted bit of metal. Their right to challenge is perhaps stronger this.n those who already have had a try and failed; but the broad question of ~whether the possessors should bo harassed 'innumerable times, during one season is j bound to be raised, sooner or later. _ This iis not a matter which has to be considered from the view of who the possessors are iit present, but from the- wider one of justice to all concerned. Take the position as it has been disclosed this season. Wellington and Canterbury have already had a try. and' Hawke’s Bay and Otago ' are to follow suit, with the right still reserved for more to follow. Auckland cricketers, like players in other centres, have to earn their bread and butter at i something more solid than playing cricket —if they didn’t, I am afraid they would often go hungry. They are thus called upon to leave their work every time a challenge comes alpng, and it is easily conceivable —nay, it is probable—that an : employer does not view matters in the , same light as th© employee, and that the former’s loyalty to his province is considerably strained before the season is ended. Rather than incur the displeasure of his employer, and thus jeopardise his job, a good player may refrain from asking off so often, and consequently his province suffers. This is not fair, and the controlling authorities, no doubt, could devise come rules whereby the _ holders of the shield should not be called upon to defend their title more than, say, twice in one season. Then there is the disorganisation of club cricket to be considered. The great body of players have to stand down and view the game from outside the ring, while the few participate. This is all right enough once or twice in a season, | but when indulged in too often it is not i conducive to a healthy, live interest _ on \ the part of those, who are anxious to join in a game. At the start of this note I finoke about the shield being of metal. : We at this end of the Dominion do not ; know what it is composed of. as we have . never seen it, but we intend to view it i before the season is over. —I am. etc., ; R. F.- —[The rules governing the compo- j tition for the Plunket Shield provide that j the association holding the shield . shall bo j subject to the right of challenge- by , any j other association, but shall hot, be . called to play more challenge matches in any j Season than the committee of the council j Khali consider advisable. This rule. I imagine, will have the effect of preventing any association being unduly harassed in the matter of challenges.— Long Slip.l f The indications of the previous Batur- ! day’s play in the Opoho-Grang© match '

turned out correct, eo far ae the win was concerned, but the four points was rather a surprise The Opoho succeeded in ciinj ing their total from 129 to 174 before the first innings closed, the principal contributor to this total being Casey (46). Before being given out, stumped, Casey was really caught behind the wickets off Downes, but the tip escaped the vigilance of the umDownes ae usual, got the most wickets, ending up with five for 40. Out of 38 overs he had 21 maidens. The average is one which no bowler need be ashamed of, but a matting wicket is not one exactly to DownesV liking, as he cannot get the same amount of “work” on the ball, un the turf he would probably have done much better against the same batting. The Grange started their second innings with a deficiency of 43. Aggressive cricket was the policy under those circumstances, and after knocking up 140 runs for three wickets the innings was declared closed. Popple (34) and Johnston (3o) made things merry, until the former was beautifully caught in the long field by J. Downes. The fielder had to run. a considerable distance. and just as the ball was crossingover the rail he made a spring, and succeeded in bagging it. He well deserved the hearty applause which he got tor his successful effort. , Chadwick played a verj serviceable ami cbanceless innings for 33 not out, Downes had two lives in his 18 not out. He sent up a sky scraper, which the fieldsman inexcusably let drop, and he returned a hot one to MJGavin, which was also declined. The Grange, with 97 to the good, and a little under an hour to play, declared their innings closed, with the off-chance of getting all their opponents out before tinn\ as this? was their only chance oi winning. However, things did not turn out exactly as they had planned, and instead of getting' rid of . the latter adopted the aggressive policy, too, and hit to such purpose that the 98 required to win were, put on the slate thiee minutes before stamp-drawing time with the loss of four wickets. Even Kenny roa© to the occasion, and made two or three o-ood hits, fsut tlie-principal hitting was done by Callaway - (43), who seemed to fully realise that the only possible way to "ot two extra points: for his side was to hit out, and he did thjs very effectively. One mh-hty stroke deserves special mention—a de-sn one from' the; pavilion end, almost in a direct' lint; With the wickets, light over the rail into -the scrub, at the south end. Few, if any,*, bigger hits have over been, seen in Dunedin, and it would be interesting to take the exact measurement of it for future comparisons, j Seldom does it fall to the lot of an umpire to say that he was prepared to i giiv© a man out if an appeal had been ! made, but that this appeal never came. I am informed that such a thing actually did occur in the Opoho-Grange match M‘Gavin, was bowling at Popple. This batsman (who, by 'the' way, has a bad habit of batting with" his leg in front) was a j rumber of times struck on the legs, and on one of these occasions the umpire had i no doubt m his mind but that for this obstruction the wicket would have been hit. tio-. vcver, never once did M'Gavin appeal. Perhaps he-has some conscientious scruples about getting a man out in this way. Few bowlers there are who lose an ; opportunity like this. Rather is it the other way about; appeals when there is no chance. '. .; The decision. of r .lbw is always unsatisfactory, both to the umpire and to the player, but, judging from the number of times it has to bg -.given in an ordinary day’s play, the habit of getting the leg in front of the wicket must be pretty pre- ; valent. It may be contended by some that ; the umpires are too exacting, and do not j weigh sufficiently the -exact place where a | ball strikes a player: sufficient for them I chat the leg was in front, irrespectiv e of whether the ball would have struck the wicket or not. Umpires, however, should not give a man out , this way unless they feel absolutely sure of the justness of the verdict. An umpire has to bo fair to /the batter as well as the bowler. Taking it altogether, perhaps the number given out is a fair criterion of those who deserve this fate. If this, is so, the proportion is ; too high, and players—-especially in Senior Grade should learn to play with the bat and not the legs. One senior man has been out no less than five times this seaeon for this offence. Evidently the lesson i’S a hard one for him to learn—in his case experience has not taught, so far. | It was chiefly due to the fine stand mad© by D. Smith (146) and W. W. Armstrong (124) aganst the pick of South Australian bowlers in the second innings that i Victoria was able to score a win in the : return match with the Adelaide men by 81 runs. It was the forty-eighth engagement between these States, and of that number South Australia has now won 20. Speaking at the annual dinner of the : Yorkshire Cricket Council at Leeds re- ; cently the Hon. F. S. Jackson said that no one could feel that in international cricket England had passed through a satisfactory season. No selection committee could' have had a harden- task than the England selectors were faced with. It was a mistake, especially in test match cricket, to depend too much upon reputations in selecting a team. The men with big- reputations should know whore to stop. He could not quite understand why England, with two or three good fant bowlers, should have entered any tost match without at least one. Ho honed the mistakes committed in this direction would not occur in England again. He thought England were really beaten on their merits, but the Australian bowlers ( all came off at the right time, and Noble’s i captaincy bad played a nrcafc part in the \ Australians’ success. Hirst was feeling the effects of long years of service, though he would still prove Yorkshire’s stand-bj, • while there was no one who should bo ; chosen for England bcfoi-o Rhodes.— i Cricket. I Some bowling figures showing the mar- ; vellous work of C. B. T. Turner in his | playing days should prove of interest at j the present time, seeing that Turner was j to have been given a benefit, on the Syd'i nev Cricket Ground jg§t weekk.. - , xn testTTnabfffies KeTitook lUX'Yricteis ~fdt 1670 runs—average 16.53. Turner is still in good form, as he plays every Saturday with the Government Savings Bank, and has been scoring well and taking wiolcets with the ball. “The Terror” was loyal to New South Wales, .and resisted many flattering offers to remain in England,

T where he probably Would have been playing even how.' W. L. " Murdoch, the ex-Australian Eleven captain, was asked by an Argu<s interviewer in Melbourne whether it was correct tihat the decadence of English cricket is attributable- to the growing popularity of golf. In reply he said: " That may be so, but I don't agree with that view. All the young fellows who have the ability and the taste for firstclass cricket who go up to the universities would never, give up cricket for golf. All who have, the taste and the time play cricket still; but England is running through a bad period. There are thousands playing the game, but this generation is not producing champions. The question of time, of course, affects a lot of men. They cannot afford the time for county cricket, but they play in the Saturday afternoon games. Perhaps not so many can afford the time as formerly, but it is the Jack of really high-class players coming along. The old ones are hanging on because there are no youngones to take their places. You seem to be in the same position in Victoria. Your cracks, Armstrong and l Ransford, for instance, are out of form temporarily, and' the young men playing their first or second .nterstate match cannot be expected to fill their places straight away. I've really seen so little since I returned from England that I cannot express an opinion as to Australian cricket —it would not be fair. I saw that innings of Clem. Hill's, and I do not expect to see many better. He seemed to me to get out only when he was tired." At the Leeds Assizes an action for Jibel was brought by Richard Whitehead, described as a male aurse and masseur, against the Yorkshire Liberal Newspaper and Publishing Company (Ltd.). The action arose Out of an accident sustained by Mr G. L. Jessop in the test match at Headingley last July, by which he strained his back. The matter was referred to by a London newspaper, which said that the injury had been aggravated by the first treatment. ', In the Yorkshire Evening News on July 12 there was a picture which, plaintiff alleged, led to the assumption that the faulty treatment was his work, he being the masseur to the Yorkshire County cricket team, and having for the past two years given special attention to George Hirst.- Damages amounting to £SOO were claimed. The defendants denied malice, and" paid £5 into court. In his evidence plaintiff said that after the accident Mr Jessop was attended by a gentleman who was represented as " Dr " Walford. He aid not agree with what Mr Walford was -doing. Dr Thompson, an Australian- -doctor, who was watching through the window, said afterwards tha't Walford ought to be thoroughly 'ashamed of himself, as ho> had caused Mr Jessop unnecessary suffering, and might have caused him irreparable injury. Plaintiff accompanied Mr Jessop to the hotel, but beyond that he .did nothing at all. He thought that ".Dr'!. Walford was «.' fully qualified medical, man.. Plaintiff went on to say that soon after the libel appeared all the street arabs in Harrogate shouted at him as "he walked along the street, and accused him of being a "rotten rubber." The jury; found for the plaintiff, .vith damages (£2O). It Is thought that Trumper would have played for New South Wales against South Australia at Sydney, thus considerably strengthening-the team, but he forwarded the following letter to Mr Percy Bowden, the secretary of the N.S.W. Association: "Dear- Sir,—ln reply to your notice of the 4th inst: I must state that I am not available for the forthcoming match against South Australia. Your electors will not be surprised. For the first time in the history' of Australian cricket your association-has adopted the English custom of appointing the captain of their State team, but why not have followed ftat custom and appointed the senior player, providing La could play in a majority of matches. Your association not doing so is an injustice to me, and leaves me only one course &> adoot, and that is to withdraw from the Eleven. On my arrival from England the First Eleven was selected to play against the Second Eleven, and a •captain other than myself appointed by the Selection Committee. I immediately withdrew from that team, and a similar action of the committee regarding the team for South Australia and Victoria necessitated me dropping out of these teams also. Had the selection of captain been left t-S the different teams I have no objection whatever to playing under any captain, no matter even if he be the junior member, and (if necessary) giving him any advice at my disposal. I would like "to state that Mr Diamond is a very dear friend of mine, and this a.ction I am taking must not be construed as being against him. Under usual cricket conditions I would have been pleased to have made the trio to South Australia and Victoria in accordance with my promise to some of the leading cricket, people in South Australia, but owing to your committee's new action in appointing the captain 1 could not possibly do so. I wjroatly regret that the treatment of your association leaves me no other course but to retire from the team to meet South Australia.—l remain, yours faithfully. Victob Thumper." The Sydney Bulletin deals with the above incident in the following trenchant manner: —"At time of writing- the air is full of another yelp from the same old crowd over what, it calls ' the treatment of Victor Trumper.' As a matter of fact, it should be cursing' the vagaries of the gentle Victor, who foi- years past hns defied the Cricket Association, and declined to recognise its authority. The Cricket Association did the richt thing by appointing Diamond boss of the team, and thereby preventing , it—it It had been mad enough to have thought that way-—electing Trumper to the position. Imagine a professional being captain of an interstate eleven, and that Trumper is a professional is beyond all dispute. He runs a sports depot and is in cricket as a business. On one occasion he elected to be a straight-out professional, and accepted the professional fee for playing in the New South Wales Eleven, complaining that the Cricket Association rl,i<J not put as much custom, as he would like in his firm's way. He also, after accepting- the invitation of, andt an advance of £SO from, the Board of Control, declined, -when well on his way to England, to sign the agreement ■which had been subscribed to by the other members of the team. A pretty gentleman to be State captain to be sure ! Also, it is doubtful if he would have been the tower of strength that his barrackers make out. There was a time when he was a mighty batsmen before the

gods, but that he has pssed' his zenith a.nd started on the downward journey is also very obvious. Anyhow, why should he be considered! in the match against South Australia. Only one© in the last six matches between the Wheat State and New South Wales hae he played for his suffering State. He has been absent from the last four matches against Victoria, and only stuck to hie State four times in the last 10 matches. In 16 interstate matches he has been absent 11 times. Anyhow, this mad worship of bygone giants makes one very tired. Also it is bad for the sport. The object of cricket is to make our young men strong andi able-bodied, and if professionals are to have a monopoly of the positions of responsibility and honour at any time they may graciously deign to play, it is discouraging to the younger men. In addition it give® the profession swelled head, which puts it to the expense of outsizes in hats.” The following table shows the positions of the Senior Grade teams to date :

CHRISTCHURCH NOTES. (From Our Own "Correspondent.) » January 24. The sixth round of district competitions was commenced on Saturday in fine weather and on. good wickets, and some good pier was witnessed. West, Christchurch batted first against Linwood, and made the good score of 235. H. M. Chrystall made 125 before being caught. It was his first century in senior cricket, and was a good effort, alihougn he gave ® couple of chances. Included in his score were 17 4’s and a 6. D. _Rec.se made 36, Taltersall 16, Sutcliffe 15, anti there were 13 extras. Russell, a promoted junior, got three wickets for 19. Linwood lias four wickets down for 69. Thomas hit up 32 in quick time, including three 6’s and a 4 off Malone 1 . King (16) was the only other double-figure scorer. Boulton, got two wickets. - St. Albans disposed of Sydenham for 142. Five wickets were down for 20, but the tail wagged to some purpose, Bennett hit up 33, Watson 14, end the last, two men- (G, Wilson and evergreen ‘‘Johnny” Fowke) made 42 and 19 (not; cut) respectively, and somewhat retrieved the position. The St. Albans colts got all the ,wickets : --Sandman seven for 68, and Crawshaw three for 53. Sandman continues to improve, and good judges consider him -the best break bowler in the province. His average to date must be one to bo proud of. The Saints have lost four fpr,..-fi3- T. W. Reese made 50 by pretty ‘'drioket, and Wood got 21 and Crawshaw |||£S(i!iot out). Watson took two wickets. Riccartbh totalled 195 against East Christchurch. Caygill (30) and Alf. Norman (23) made a good first-wicket stand, and thent Ellis made 70 in his usual neat style. T. Carlton made 43 by good cricket, and Fryer put on 11. Ellis’s effort was an excellent one. W. Carlton, the pro., got six wic|set:f;-;,fpr 65 runs. The Easterners started-losing Sims (0), W. Carlton (19), gpiuks (2), and Crichton (1) for 27 runs. Boxshall hit up 12, and the side has lost five wickets for 48. Bain and Rix each go t _twd ,y» ickets. ... ’ Saturday’s .best ' senior bowling figures : D. SapitoairJSt.' A.), 290 8m 58r 7w; W; Carltbh 'Wm C.)," 3m 65r 6w; A. E. WafcL (E.C.), 230. 7m 52r 3w; E. E. Crawshaw (St. A.), 250 Bin 53r 3vv; A. Russell (L.), wickets for 60 runs, Howell one for 30, and Thomas two for 34. In the lower grades no team reached a 200 score, but 199 and 198 were registered. The highest individual scores were 78, 77 (not out), and 75.- •

Played. c Q £ cd j£ C £ a fS Albion ... 5 5 — — 20 8 £. Carisbrook B ... 5 3 2 Garie brook A ... 5 3 2 0 c. Dunedin ... 5 2 3 ““ 0 4 A. Opoiho , ... 5 1 4 Grange ... 5 1 4•r