CRICKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2923, 23 March 1910, Page 60

CRICKET.

AUSTRALIAN TEAM'S TOUR. The programme of matches arranged for the tour of the Australian cricket team through New Zealand is as follows: March 22, 23. -Taranaki. March 26, 28, 29.—Australia v. New Zealand —Second test match at Wellington. April 1,2, 4. Hawkc's Bay.

j , NOTES BY LONG SLIP

! A passenger by the Moeraki for Melbourne on Sunday was C. G. Macartney, the all-round Australian cricketer, who has been assisting loca l cricket under the i auspices of the Otogo Cricket Association. Macartney spent some five months in Dunedin, but ho failed to reproduce the form which made him famous in Australia and with the Australian Eleven in England. To most Macartney was a disappointment, | but his showing in the match against the j Australians raised him vastly in the eyes |of the public who were so ready to con- ! demn. The one glimpse of Macartney's I real form,, was sufficient to aronse as to | enthusiasm and to regret that he bad failed ; to show it in the Plunket Shield match jat Auckland. Macartney's future movements, by the way, are uncertain, but we may take it that unless something special oomes along we are not likely to see the ; Australian back in Dunedin next season. I Departed, too, last week C. Wordsworth, j the Sydney professional bowler, who by i this time has reached his home in Sydney, j It cannot bo claimed by his most ardent | admirers that Wordsworth has been, a success either as a coach or a bowler. He certaimly secured iv*okets on the North Ground, rather by his unorthodox bowling than by methods which should have proved more instructive in view of his position as coach. Tihe Otago Cricket' Association is not infallible: it has made more than one mistake during the past season, and the coach question is not the least of them: yet it is not now to criticiso and blame for what "has been," but to see to it that the experiences of the season of 1909*10 are zealously guarded .and turne " to profitable account next yean "We jnust have wickets" first," say the departed Australians. Then let us' have wickets. It has been proved that 'good wickets can be prepared in Dunedin as well as, -if not better than, most places. Did not Armstrong himself tell us that Oarisbrook was the finest wicket the Australians had played on in New Zealand? Given the wickets, secure a good coach sa.y the Australians. This has beer our sorrow ■ for some sea-rons past. Iri the i heart of us we want a good coach, but it j would appear that we are inclined not to \ regard the coach's abilities as his j price. That is fatal to it, and will always be fatal. The coach we get next year—if we do get one—must be a coach in every sense of the term. He must not. be agood bowler merely, nor yet a good batsman. Ho must possess the qualifications of the bowler with that of the batsman. "Not necessarily a bowler." "says Armstrong, j "'but a batsman first." As you will, but above all he must be a "coach." He may be a Ranjitsinhji, a Jackson, a MacLaren'; he may have all the virtues and qualifications of all the cricketers that ever lived: but if he have not the, ability to imnart | his knowledge-to the young cricketers and to mould their style of what use is he? We do not want a cricketer of great renu- | ' tation-if he be not a coach; we do not want I him to bowl down over after over of superb length-'if he cannot show the pupil how. I I every ball, irrespective of length or direction, should be played; we do not want : j him to make his 100- for Otago against j Auckland (if need be) if he cannot put I • the colt on the right read to making a oefitury; in short, we do not want him at i all if he be not the type who will make I cricketers of our young blood. The New Zealand team selected to meet • the Australians in the second test match at j Wellington reads a vastly stronger batting ! | side than that defeated on Lancaster Park. The inclusion of Homue and Sale, of Auckland, who were unavailable for the first test, .stiffens- the batting of the team where it wanted stiffening most. It .;: comes as no surprise to see M'Farlane i dropped— a, right good batsman on form, but scarcely experienced enough for the j { wily bowlers from Australia. And then— i S well, they say the Albion colt doe 3 not ! ! know nerves. I tear me he rather does. ' | Anyway M'Farlane is young, and Vis much : to look forward to. Siedebere goes back into the team simply and for no other reason than that he is a good bat. Put to be a good hat Siedebertr must play his | own game, and let the " fre».k" stroke alone. There are many stroke" in the i game of cricket, and t,h»v are all wanted when it'comes to r?n nnhill fi<?ht. Siedoberg should remember this. Bv the way, the Carisbrook man has obtained the necessary leave to go to Wellington, and departs by Thursday's express.

Apropos of some recent local claims: Owing- to the arrangement made with the Melbourne Cricket Club, the Victorian Association this season is in a strong financial position, but the placers want. some of the money which the officials hiad intended should be spent in advancing the game. Until this year claims for loas of time fegr players who have represented thenState have been few in number, the allowance of 7e 6d' a day a4S pocket money, in addition to hotel exnenscs. being deemed sufficient. The association ha.s paid claims for loss of time amounting to close on £IOO in connection with this mason's inter-State contests. Some amounts, however, are being inquired into, as members of the executive consider them preposterous. Two comments front Ohriefcchuroh after the first tost: " was out lhw first ball in the first innings, and in, the second innings bansred four boundaries and was then caught. He bardlv *eoms to have had sufficient experience in bi<? cricket to be succe<vsful in a New Zealand' team. He can hard'lv be included in the second test team."—FHe hasn't.— LONG Slip.l " Siedebersr was unfortunate in getting out on both ooonisions, and he was far from satisfied with either of the decisions. In the second innings he wa« well set when he was run out. the umpire having'his-back to the crease as Siedeherg crossed it. F« gave a forceful display for his 35, and some of his cutting was very effective. Although: usually acknowledged to be a good field, some of his work on the third day was far from brilliant" A Wellington writer bias it on good authority that Eelf would consider M-engage-ment by the Auckland authorities if thev talked bigger money. An English journal of high standing in the cricket world hao

i it that Relf was to receive no less than £SOO for his three months' coaching in p Auckland. Previously his cheque was £354. I Now Relf is probably the finest "coach" now ! actively interested in the game; but he is i placing what looks to be a superlative value j on his services when he would ask more than what amounts to above £4O per week. . It is understood that in addition to this excellent remuneration he receives first-class travelling expenses to Auckland from Home. It is also given out by the same authority that Humphreys, cf Kent, who gave every r-atisfaction to Christohurcb cricketers in 1908 9, was not re-engaged this season as he required an extra £IOO. With the prosent tendency of New Zealand cricket ossoI ciations to employ professional '"coaches," there is a fine fWd for the English professional, who could put away a nice cheque in the- colonies, but they mast bo careful not to close up the pockets of the associations by too large demands. They should remember that Australia is just next door, and there are some very capable all-round players over there who would be willing to offer their services to coach New Zealand budding talent f"t a reasonable salary. The writer has no doubt but that an eminently suitable man could be got from Australia for something like £250 for the season, especially if there was a prospect of reengagement. Mn ior J. C. W.iine. who was manager of the New South Wales team which visited New Zealand about 15 years aao, and who witnessed the recent test match, informed a reporter that cricket in the Dominion, especially in Canterbury and Otago. has improved "out of sight" compared with what it waa 15 years aeo. and the improvement was noticeable in all •departments. The only direction in. which there was no improvement was in the wickets, which he found ■ to be practically the same. The wickets did not seem to get that attention they required, and what was wanted was an able man like T. Warne. who went to America to instruct the Philadelphia Club, one of the leading clubs in the United States, to take the matter in. hand. As to the testmatch. Major Wain-e said that he had little doubt from the start as to the ultimate result, providing that conditions were eoua.l to both sides. "Yon have three or four magnificent cricketers here." he ockWl. "D. Reese is one. He is able to take his place in a.lmost anv team: he is a magnificent bat and a magnificent field, and showed strokes in this match equal to those of any of the twenty-two. You have the material here all right; they have the keen love <-f the game; they are young and athletic: all they want is good wickets/ With them the time is not far distant when New '■'.>. aland. j cricketers will rank with those of England. Australia, and South Africa. The game which" the New ZeaJander olaved at the hcerinning of the second inning.? was characteristic, and showed that tb.w are. a por-tion-of-the British race that r«?v»r knows when it ii beaten, and thev battled against great odds and made a wonderful recovery. With a little more luck on .their sido a much closer finish would have resulted." Referring to the Australian team, he said I that Mavh** had (riven, in the second inning® the finest exposition of accurate fast scoring that one could cet. There were men-in the team, he felt sure, who would ultimately make the<r mark in the future in I international cricket. j There appears to be a misunderstanding j between the Otagc Umpires' Association . j and the local Cricket Association coneern- ■ ing the -payment of umpires for the recent Otago-Australian match, and -matters are hung up in the meantime. Acting on a resolution passed some five seasons ago, the Otago Umpires' Association claimed 10s per day. for the services of each of the two umpires in the match against Australia. ! Strong exception has been taken to the amount of the charge, but I fail to see, in ; the face of the resolution standing in the I minutes, how the local Cricket Association can take " strong exception" to the claim. | But I do agree that when called upon to pay the fee the Cricket Association certainly has the right to appoint its own umpires. The Otago Umpires' Association places its members in the light of paid officials, and as such they mus« be regarded. Where loss of time only is claimed (as would have satisfied one of the umpires in the Australian match) the position would be entirely different. As a member of the Umpires' Association, this official had to conform to its rules, and one of the "resolutions laid down is that. for representative matches umpires be paid 10s per day. Of course the question may be raised that "per day" means a full day's cricket, in which case the argument of what should be charged for the third day of' the Aus-tralian-Otago match, which occupied less, than two hours, must be settled 'between the associations interested. It should be clearly understood, however, that the-claim is made on the Otago Cricket. Association not by the two umpires asi individuals, but by the Otago Umpires' Association, of which they are members. Messrs Austin and Ferguson have no say in the question. "The finest wicket we have played on in New Zealand" was the verdict of Mr M'Kenzie, manager of the Australian team, Mr Armstrong, captain, and- endorsed by the Australian cricketers generally, concerning the wicket prepared by Mr Watson at Carisbrook. This is to introduce the fact that at the conclusion of the contest the Carisbrook groundsman, who bad, in addition to preparing practice -.rickets and " the finest match wicket in New Zealand," performed many and varied services in connection with the touring team, was tendered a sum of money by the manager which could not possiblv lead Mr Watson to suppose that he was "being treated over-generously. At tire outset let it be distinctly understood that this is no affair of the Australian players themselves, seme of whom it is alleged expressed surprise at the amount. The expenses of the tour are being charged up against the New Zealand Cricket Council, which body, while looking to the manager of the Australian team to keep the expenses down, would, one may take it, not dispute any reasonable expenditure of the foregoing nature. SECOND TEST MATCH. ;''' AUCKLAND. Maroh 19. l -* n y • ■ sol ° selector) has chosen . .the following, to represent New Zealand in the second test,match against Australia, commencing in Wellington on Saturday next: — . . , Brice (W) Reese (C) Bennett (C) Sale (A) j Boxshall (C) Sandman (C) I Hadden (A) Siedeberg (0) ' Hemus (A) Sims (C) | Lusk (C) »