CRICKET

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17607, 24 October 1931, Page 8

CRICKET

NEW ZEALANDERS’ TOUR AN ENGLISH REVIEW VISIT BRIMFUL OF SPORT Our popular New Zealand visitors have concluded . their programme oi tirsf-class matches, ' writes" Old Ebbr i'u'the London , Observer; ' They have played 32 matches and suffered three

defeats-7-two 'fewer ’ than their predecessors in 1927.’ They had a.” glorious wind up with two brilliant recoveries in bacfc'-to-tjie-feill fights; pud in the festivals at Folkestone and '' Sear-1 borough. Yet it would be" trying the | New Zealanders ‘much 11 "too ' ‘highly'"To ; 'compare their abilities' in Die ihabs with those of ail‘average"Australian'-oi 1 even, a South African''team. They "Would be tho first to disclaim '’pretension ' to ’ any Such exalted standard. Thfeyr came here With 'Tho intention of 1 gaining experience, 'also 'of ’'proving that 'the seed sown in tlie'land of'the silver, fernby Biitish touring sides is producing hart Vests of promising and ' progressive quality. They have genuine reason for j believing that they have given »a good account of themselves as friendly j antagonists of all the county sides aV-j rayed against them while in tlie.' per-j sonal .and real sense .they have proved; as popular as ally; team that the home I country has ever entertained from' the ! overseas Dominions. \They\hayo mafie bests of friends, all of, whom part with them with regret, and .with the sincere hope that iii the due course of time there visit will be ‘repeated. ’ ’,'•!* j The eiglit 'merqbers of the team wjid had, previously gone through a tour in England have, with one exception, met with •the "success expected'of them. The exception is C.’P. W., Allcott, who 1 scored 646 fens jvlien .he was hero ,ih 1927, but. now has had to be content with a third, of this: total, though his tally of;wicket? ;js About the; same. Allcott lifts been the,' financial-- Secre-, ti.ry of the party, and pOs&ibly one will' not' be fdr wrong iir assuming that his duties did not • permit; him'; to play regularly; at any rate, only Av M. Matheson has tukeit piirt: in fefer matches: The financial side of. tho, todr must have also have had its inconveniences, for in such a deplorably wdt season “gate's” llaVe inevitably 'fallen much below expectations.'’ It is ‘kfiown, however, that provision ‘for ;ii balancing o f the budgqt was' made 1 'bfejfofe'/’the team'set sail from New Zealahd." The jL’cst match at Ldi'd’s gaVij a ‘siibstanlikl addition to'the ‘tourists’ exchequer, but tlie tiipplementar'y Tests had ‘to'' be Reckoned '.'among' fee. season’s financial disappointments. '" J ? ” 1

‘ Four of . the kix members' of the 1927 sifie"' who gained aggregates .of ,a thousand runs' have repeated ' the achievement. They are o.'. S. Dempster, It. C. Blunt, I'. G, Lowry, ‘ duel J. E. Mills. Ono of the six was C. C. Dacrb, but lie has kept up his • reputation by scoring' 1304 1 ruils for Gloucestershire; the other, M."L.' Page, is 350 ’below his previous figures. In' the last Week of fche tour"both H. G.''Vivian' , ahd , ' ! G. L. Weir reached the Magic ‘'thousand, .'a term that is riot exactly’ an exaggeration as applied to Vivian. He is barely out-of his ’teens, and there’ wits-borne hesitation In including 'him’ Tn fthfi“sido in" tlie earlier' "matches,fefit When fee cliance' ‘came he 'seiied it, actually ’ as well as ‘ metaphorically', 1 with both hands. He 'proved himself to lie something like a Clem feill' in' .the ’makihg hs a left-hand bat, and as a, slow i ''sbdVv)br, with knowledge’ of spin, he finishes second in fee, bowlers’ listc-as feotdls gofewith'64 wickets. It was written in ■few Zealand when the teani was sedebtid that 'fee .boy Vivian .was .being’"sent qiit 1 tq .‘‘gain"experqendtfi _ He" haij gained it, t and profited by; it in, full measure. \Ve 'shall probfel'y eventually''hear 'of lum ‘ as thq leading alLrounder'' in the Dominion, ' . ’ ’1 :;f'" : -" As ‘a; batting side the How Zealanders have proved less capable qf forcing victories’than of escaping ’ defeat... In a word, they have been a hat’d , side to beat. Their powers of recovery against odds .[Were repeatedly demonstrated, and not more signally s& , than iff "the Test match at Ijord’?. Seven batsmen have contributed' ope or more centuries; Hemps,ter, .who played a rousing last innings at Scarborough, and Blunt each olayed an innings ‘ of' over 200. The atter’s 225 unfinished, against the Gentlemen of England during the. Eastrx.urhq has gone oh., t<3 r _.the WqAks ‘as the i-eemfe individual' score in New' Zealfed cricket. “There "liaVd been mafiy examples bf free ‘ and', confident batting; hot; orily‘ 'by the“tWo batsmen ius<? 1 named,“ ‘but by ‘ T.‘ C.'’ LowVy! B0. Talbot, and.’ M.’.'.T. Page, and though G. L. Well at times W,as inclined To sit ■•atlVei' 1 .heavy; on'the splice he 1 showed rbfelty to' 'play tlie forcing 'game when lCEded.;' Pelhaps ‘the "best’ summing-up if tlie team' in'd, ’ sfen’se is feat whilp'soniething good cbuTd ' be •died upbii 1 . td come from fee. hats s of No: 1 to No.' 6; the rest werb stfidious, but' fairly 1 Workmanlike,"’ aiid' sliould benefit from the experience which'.the trip gave them.; % *’ , j, ' 5 It cannot' bo “said' th’aV ’ tlie team’s

bowling lias come up to expectations. Tlie soft pickets on .which they’“have .‘requently had to play 'have 1 ‘ not' teen tr their liking; at least one fhust’ assume so from the results. Blunt, in 1927,' look 78" wibkets and was‘honored with his portrait;, in “Wisdeh’s”' and, rt,company with V’: WT'O." .lupp, Avas described -as ‘the best all-ronhd> aiiiatour'of tho year. Now Jiis batfeig has been well maintained, but 30"odd ‘Ts a poor bowling accompanime'ntl'' ‘ W. E. Vlerritb has been the real Bader of the attack, as'he \Viis four years ago.' And vet lie has not rea’ched "the'"MO?‘’Total credited to' liini' in That'‘season. L. |B. Cromb Inis had several useful 1 furis ‘of success,' but' it must "be 'said of fee bowling as a whole that it lacked distinction. A real fast bowler would have

strengthened tho attack considerably. A M. MafeeSpn ‘ was Ti 6t 1 without' jiiiee, but .lie seltlbni struck onlookers sifebeiiig a .dangerous' bowler'. K., Cl’ James 'kept up his reputation as fine of the' leading wicketkeepers of the day, and the general fielding" of the' sicle.' showed A very distinct -advance' upon' that of 1927. ■ ,!ovc a *