CRICKET

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19454, 13 October 1937, Page 14

CRICKET

FORMER P.B. PLAYER I SUCCESS IN DUNEDIN The former Poverty Bay representative player, G. J. Robertson, has achieved some success in cricket circles in Dunedin since his transfer to that centre, and his record in club matches, especially on the bowling side, is held to have entitled him to representative honours last season. Robertson is liKely to force Ms way into representative company this year, if his form is sustained, and the addition of that exploit to his long list of cricket achievements would please his friends in Gisborne as much as it would please "Gus" himself. An all-round athlete of ability well above the average, Robertson always gave his chief enthusiasm and interest to the game of cricket. By many Poverty Bay residents, however, he is well remembered for his football talent, which gained him representative honours in the junior grade. But for a knee injury, he would have gone further ahead in that branch of sport, and it is considered that the same injury limited to some extent his development as a cricketer. His bowling methods were extremely energetic, and for a time he was unable to use his leg to the best advantage. In club matches, Robertson's persistence and his tendency to neglect chancy runs were frequently criticised, his style of batting being decidedly scratchy at times, and his scoring rate being slower than that of any other player in the Poverty Bay senior grades, over a long period. The same traits made him a valuable asset in the district representative team, on the other hand, and his stone-walling tactics broke the first fierce strength of many an opposing team's attack. Slow but decidedly sure, when on his game, he compiled a fine batting record in club and district matches, and to his bowling and batting performances he added a mature skill in the field. He was one of the mainstays of the Poverty Bay representative side in some of its best seasons, and his departure from the district came at a time when his talent could hardly be spared, the same season bringing the loss of three other players of good class, and leaving the district team decidedly weak.