CRICKET.

Patea Mail, Volume XLV, 21 February 1921, Page 3

CRICKET.

PATEA Y. WAVERLEY. The Waverley seniors journeyed to Patea on Saturday, and were defeated by the local club by no less than Ids runs, thanks mainly to the excellent batting of Cunningham ((>2) and Harding (4M). and the fine bowling of the latter player, who took 5 wickets for 31 runs, and Hamel, who took a similar number of wickets for 20. The game was keenly contested throughout, a feature of it being the splendid fielding - of the local men, Elder in particular bringing off a fine catch low down in the slips, whilst the rest of the players repeatedly saved runs by good work in the held. For the losers. Turner and Pepper hit out freely, the former being thelast man out, after making double figures, Pepper booing responsible for a similar number of runs. The following are the scores:— PATEA. Cunningham, c R. McMillan, b Boyd G2 Gibbs, b Boyd ?> Harding, c sub., b Turner . . . . Hamel, not out lo Steele, b Turner 3 Whir, b Boyd 0 Martin, c Beer, b Boyd 0 Ormsby, b Turner 1 Elder, not out 2o Hemingway, did not bat Matthews, did not bat Extras 30 'Total 100 WAVERLEY. Beer, c Elder, b Harding 0 Gawnc, c Cunningham, b Harding 0 Spinley, It Harding 0 Bradmore Ibw, b Hamel 4 Turner, b Hamel .10 P. McMillan, b Hamel Pepper, b Harding 10 Boyd, b Hamel 4 E. McMillan, c and b Harding .... 0 Mclvor, not out 0 Wide 1 Total . 02

A 11. Y. WAVERLEY 11

The Pa tea junior team journeyed to AVaverley on Saturday, returning home the losers by S runs. Fur the winners Bleathnuin (17) and Mitcalfe (15. not out) were the chief scorers, whilst for the losers Naismith made 32, Norton 8, and Sawers 5, the remainder accounting for 6 runs between them. Watty’s bowling was of a deadly nature, his average for the match being 9 wickets for 25 runs.

The Sheffield Shield averages in Australia show that in five innings (once not out) Armstrong had the great average of 132, with an aggregate of 52S and a best score of 245. Bardsley’s figures were also remarkable —six innings, highest score 235, total 64S — average 108. A not-out innings would have given him a better average than the Victorian captain. No other player is within 25 of the two leaders —Taylor with S 3 was the best —and the next V.ivtorian, Ryder, is 55 below Armstrong. Commenting on a book on “School Sports’’ by Gilbert Jessop and J. 11. Salmond, the London Times critic says —“The best chapter and the longest is on cricket, and is written by Mr. Jessop himself. He explains what can be done and how to do it. AVhen chasing the ball the fieldsman is advised to overtake it, drop the hand in front of it, and let the ball run into the hand. His analysis of the processes to be gone through in throwing is equally clear. One .sentence in the section about butting makes one long for the summer to square accounts with an old enemy: ‘The good length ball on the leg side can cither be hit square, forced forward with a straight Hat, or glanced to leg.’ To think one has been hit in the ribs by an impotent thing like that.’’ AA’riting in the London Referee of November 14, “Boris’’ says:—“ AA’hatcver fate lies in store for England in the test matches, it is morally certain that wo shall hold a big advantage where wicket-keeping is concerned. How curious it scorns that Australia has failed to produce a stumper during the last 20 years who can hold a candle to McCarthy Blackham. AA'ith the retirement of the A'ictorian wizard, the entail of Colonial wicket-keepers would appear to have been cut off, for it can hardly be said that Jarvis, Carter, Kelly, and Carkeek were tip-top exponents of the art.’’ As the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton said in the Badminton volume of cricket: “ When the amount of wicket-keeping that Blackham had to go through, and the number of wickets he got, are considered, our opinion is that the famous A* ic tori an was the finest wicket-keeper to bowling of all paces that the world has even seen.”