CRICKET

Otago Witness, Issue 3764, 4 May 1926, Page 64

CRICKET

THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM. OPENING MATCH OF TOUR. LONDON. April 20. Collins won the toss and decided.to bat. Play started at 11.26 on a heavy wicket and the towlers roquisitioned sawdust from the jump. Falcon opened with a maiden to Collins. Both batsmen played carefully. Bardsley scored the first run of the tour off Meyer. With the score at 28 Collins misjudged a leg drive and was caught at nid-off. April 29. There was an attendance of 6000 at the match between the Australians and the Minor Counties. Collins batted for an hour. He was distinctly unhappy, and was apparently out of practice. Bardsley,I*when 1 *when partnered by Woodfull, scored rapidly, The wicket was drying, and the howlers were getting a kick out of the ball. The batsmen were most respectful. Bardsley scored frequent, ly past point, but in the second over after tea he stepped out to drive, but missed the ball, which rebounded from his pads to the wicket-keeper. He had p'ayed soundly fur two hours—a chanceless innings. Woodfull tamely hit the ball to silly leg, and Colman, running in, splendidly held it. Ryder uad one narrow escape. Colman took a ball low down. Ryder started to walk off, but Colman signed to him to return, intimating that the tall had touched the ground first. Ryder then indulged in straight driving, and also cut excellently. Indiscriminately he sent Mayer and Fal con to the boundary ; the latter twice in succession. Grimmett opened with a couple of leg leg guides, followed by a very poor daisycutter from which he gained five. He was trapped by a slower ball, which he sent into mid off’s hands. Ryder largely muriopolised the play, giving an excellent all-roun exhibition. The bowling throughout was good and well mixed, and the fielding sound. The innings lasted 200 minutes. The feeling is freely expressed that it is early to form an opinion of the Australians Mistiming and mis judgment were too frequent. Ihe Counties opened well. Buchanan played Gregory calmly, and twice hit him to the boundary. He went out to a very unlnckv snick off a humping ball fang and Uolnrrn were confident, and gained thei runs mostly off Gregory, who was erratic. Ling aroused enthnsiasm bv driving Grim mett. ou of the ground, following with a leg boundary. Facing Macartney, the batsmen were content to keep their wickets intart. Both played sound, all round, chance less, innings. Rain commenced at 6-10 p.m.. and plav was abandoned five minutes later, the match being drawn. Scores:— AUSTRALIA. First fnnings. Codings, c Stewart, b FTptherton ... 13 Bardsley, c Franklin, b Falcon ... 42 Macartney, Ibw, b Hazelton 18 Taylor, Falcon, b Hazelton 4 Woodfull c Colman, h Falcon 19 Ponsford, b Falcon 12 Richardson, Ibw, b Falcon 0 Gregory, c Mever, b Falcon 5 Gregory, c Meyer, b Falcon 5 Ryder, not out <43 Oldfield, c Mever, h Falcon 0 Grimmett. c Edwards, b Falcon 15 Extras 8 Total 171 Bowling analysis:—Falcon, 7 wickets for 42 yins; Meyer, 0 fer 54; Hazelton, 2 for 33; Hetherton, 1 for 12; Edwards 0 for 30 MINOR COUNTIES. First Innings. Kerens, c Bardsley, b Gregory 0 Buchanan, c Oldfield, b Gregory ... 13 Colman, ibw, b Richardson 44 bmg, c Ryder, b Richardson 36 Falcon, not out 0 Crawley, not out 5 Extras 5 Total for four wickets 115 Bowling analysis: —Gregory 2 wickets for 24 runs: Macartney, 0 for 7; Grimmett, 0 f or 33; Richardson, 2 for £6; Collins, 0 for 14; Ryder, 0 for 6. OPINIONS OF THE CRITICS. LONDON, April 29 'The scores in the match will not be included m the averages for the tour. Kelleway, in tire Daily Express, emphasises that the match provided practice for the Australians and scarcely gives any guide to their future performances A feeling ot holiday spirit was abroad and everybody thoroughly enjoyed himself, not particularly troubling about high scoring. Many fine strokes would have reached the boundary on a drier ground The Aus tralians’s total of 171 runs was easily equal to 260 under better conditions. Falcon has obviously give the English selectors something to think about. Though Macartney frequent!\ troubled the batsmen, Grimmett was easily played on the slow wicket, ns was evidenced by the fact that three sixes were knocked off him. Colonel Philip Trevor, in the Daily Telegraph. says: “Falcon’s success after lunch was due to his good length and change of pace. With the exception of Ryder none of the Australians could deal with Falcon. The hatting was disappointing, even when the full-at allowance is made for the dead wicket. Macartney troubled the Counties’ bntsmen at first, and they treated him with great respect, ft would be unwise to draw confident deductions regarding the Australians. Neither their batting nor bowlling was more than moderate, but their fielding was first rate.’’ Mr P. F. Warner, in the Morning Post, states: “Bardslev and Ryder were the best of the Australians. The former was as sound and resourceful as ever. Ryder, after

an uncertain start, hit with power and cer tainty and he impressed me considerably Woudrul obviously p(s>sesses a strong de fence and can hit a doc c hail. Falcon cleverly accommodated his pace to the state of the wicket. He was in splendid physical condition and bowled with great determination. The wicket was too slow to suit Grimmett, but he can spin the ball and his deliveries mak? pace off the ground. I imagine that he would be a difficult bowler to drive as he does not give the ball much air. Richardson made the ball turn from the off hut there are many bowlers like him in Britain. I venture to think that the Australian bowling is not going to he formidable, though I may have to eat my words.’’ ihe correspondent of the Daily Chronicle says: “The opening batsmen, Collins. Bardsley, Macartney, and Taylor were sorely troubled in making their strokes because the ball came off the turf at so sloi- a pace. Nevertheless they lacked enterprise, particularly Bardsley. Tne whole innings was not characteristic because the batsman missed so many opportunities to score from balls on the leg side which used to be his forte. Rvder showed a great command of many strokes and a true spirit of adventure. Richardson had a greater variation of length, flight and spin than the other bowlers. THE LEICESTERSHIRE TEAM. LONDON. April 28 ihe following team will represent Leicestershire against the Australians on May I:—Major Fowke, Sharp. Tavlor, Geary, Astill, Skelding, Sidwell. Berry. Bale. Shipman, and another to be c*iosen on Saturday. THE HOLYPORT MATCH. LONDON, April 30. Some sportsmanlike comment bearing out the general opinion on the Holvport match was made by Falcon, who said": “Make no mistake. The Australians at Holyport were not the same Australians who will face the test teams. They will then be the same grim fighters that the Austra bans always are. It is absurd to judge their test play upon the Holyport wicket, w hich wns one of the worst possible. I am sure that none of the Australians ever played such conditions. It was just a pleasant match under old-fashioned country house conditions with a team of thoroughly good fellows and good sportsmen, who played the game with zest and keenness Our idea was to show the Australians that there is another kind of English cricket than that habitually seen in tr.e tests and the counties. Ninety per cent, of the matches in England are played round the corner, so to speak—on pleasant meadows and village greens without the gnm keenness displayed by first-das* cricketers. LEICESTER MATCH DELAYED. LONDON, Mar 1 lhere was no play in the Leicester match to day. An overnight drizzle developed into a heavy fall in the morning and continued uli noon, by winch lime the ground was sodden. After an inspection at 3.30 p.m., it was decided that the pitch was unfit for play.