CRICKET.

Southern Cross, Volume 22, Issue 46, 20 February 1915, Page 6

CRICKET.

—«. . (By "Short-stop,.") SOUTHLAND V. OTAGO. ANNUAL MATCH. The heavy rainstorm of Sunday saddened a perfect wicket, and it was onlv fairly dry by Tuesday evening. Then on came the watering-can at 6.30 a.m. Wednesday. The game was Willed to start at a quarter to two p.m. prompt, but it was not until 3.35 that the Southland skipper Handford headed his men to the wicket to attack the Otago batsmen. The fall of the coin had gone to the home team, and the visitors had been sent in to bat. The following were the teams .: — Otago : Crawford (Capt.), Siedeberg. Tuck well, A. W. Aloo, Galland, Malcolm, Nelson,' Bell, Westbrook, Eckhold, Bannerman. Southland • Handford (Capt.), Doig, Kavanagh, Kemnitz, J as. Gilbertson, Poole, Groves, Fogo, Cockroft, Battersby, Tapley. Three of the team originally selected—Driscoll, Bannerman and dames Hamilton—were unable to play. Tuckwell and Westbrook took strike ; Doig opened the bowling for the Maroons. Play was very slow, the batsmen being extremely cautious. Westbrook was two when he played forward to a faster one from Doig/ and .las. Gilbertson skilfully stumped him, the score reading 15 runs for one wicket. Doig's wicket had cost him three runs. Careful play and maiden overs followed hand i n the s;ips, with ohe scoreat 44 Doig secured the wicket of Tuckwell, the N.Z. representative. 'This batsman was graceful and telling in his shots, but \was never easy, lie made 28, Fogo taking him onehand io the slips, with th( scoreboard showing 44 runs for two wickets. Doig was doing well. Siedeberg, the hero of a hundred fights, came in, and, strange to say, played with extreme caution ; anything long was hooked, and everything overpitched was hashed notwithstanding. Aloo (16, including a .six) was caught by Cockroft at short-leg, Doig; thus adding the third scalp to his belt. His average was then three wickets for 22 runs. The board read three wickets for 57. Crawford, the English- Australian-Otago professional, entered the lists next, a hearty reception being given given Jhim by the spectators in stand and paddock. He commenced very carefully. Gaining confidence with knowledge of the wicket, he made some telling strokes, but his in-wicket play was too careful to be attractive. Siedeberg stayed with him until the score was 109, when he fell to Kavanagh for a total of 21, Groves taking a butcher's hat catch from a .break back of the googly bowler. Eckhold 1 entered the breach, and kept his stumps up with much effort, but selected his scoringball with some judgment. Crawford was caught on the call of time by Battersby on the south boundary off Fogo. Fifty-eight he put to his credit, the afternoon's work by the Otago batsman yielding 148 runs for 5 wickets. The Southland fielding was fairly good on The first day. Cockroftdrop--1 ped a hot one over his head at square leg, but saved the boundary, and failed to reach what looked an easy one at the northern long-on. Kemnitz did not hold a ball that the wind spun out of line just over his head. There was too mucin cap-falling-just-before-caftching to allow some of the fielders to give undivided attention to take and return. Groves bowled well against the wind, but was not lucky enough to capture a wicket. Fogo got Crawford, Kavanagh snared Siedeberg, and the veteran Doig strung Westbrook, Tuckwell, and Aloo. Doig was taken off with 3 wickets for 33 runs in 17 overs delivered. Otago's batting was fair in spots, the over-care on a drying wicket robbing their general attitude of attractiveness. And thus ended the first half day's play of the Otago-South-land annual game.