CRICKET

Southland Times, Issue 19389, 1 November 1924, Page 14 (Supplement)

CRICKET

(By

“Twelfth Man.”

Marist could make no headway against the bowling of Wilson and Shirley on Saturday, and Appleby won their first Saturday match by an innings. The one bright spot was a fine innings by Kavanagh, who scored 48 by good, all round-the-wicket play. Wilson, who gave promise last year of developing into a good bowler, secured a total of seven for 29 for the match, a very fine performance indeed. Shirley also took seven wickets at a cost of five runs per wicket. A team from the Union Club journeyed to Winton last Saturday afternoon. Winton made 115 in their first innings. Jenkins, who was top-scorer with 34, was batting very soundly until he had the misfortune to be run out. For a man over 60, it was a great performance. His runs were scored chiefly on the leg side, on which he is very strong and sure. Niven, an ex-primary schools representative frem Otago, also showed good form, and played some very nice off shots. Union replied with 141 for nine wickets. Shaw and Wish provided half the runs, both batting very well. As usual, O’Sullivan and Gill were the best of the bowlers, and both required watching on the tricky wicket.

Union played a district team at Lumsden on Labour Day, the game, thanks largely to the Lynch Bros, resulting in a win by a substantial margifi for the local eleven. The merit of their performance can be gauged from the fact that the visiting team included players like Driscoll, A. and J. Hamilton, Goodsir, and Kilby, all of whom have played for Southland, and good club men like Shaw, Lilley and Oughton. Dr Watson and Stan Lynch paved the way for the victory of the home side by getting the visitors out for 73 runs, and the Lynchs did the rest. J. Lynch, who carried his bat for 48, played a beautiful innings, scoring with well-timed shots all round the wicket. S. Lynch, who made 38, combined a barndoor defence with clean, hard scoring shots mostly in front of the wickets. The oldest brother, Tom Lynch, who is considered in the district to be the best bat of the three, did not manage to get going, being out with a dozen or so to his credit. It is pleasing to know that the brothers are in form, in view of representative engagements ahead. In everyday parlance, there was not much to write home about in Wednesday’s cricket. The high wind made conditions somewhat unpleasant, although the wickets were in apple pie order. The delay in shifting the Eastern boundary is still a matter for comment.

I.C.C. ran up the useful total of 173 against Marist. Foster, who showed good form the previous week, again got going nicely, and was just beaten for the honour of the highest score by Taylor, who played good cricket for his 45. runs, before he was trapped by a clever change of pace by Nisbet. Doc. Brown and Doig also added useful individual contributions to the score.

Nisbet, who maintained an end throughout the innings, bowled very w r ell from start to finish. The absence of a stock bowler at the other end made his task an additionally severe one, but he stuck it out in good style. Marist did not start too well, and had seven down for 78 when time was called. Driscoll played a very steady innings, which he will resume next week. McDermott, hit hard for his 28, and made some spanking shots into the country. Veteran J. A. Doig again maintained his best form with the ball, and had six for 34 when stumps were drawn. As has been stated previously, the UnionAppleby match was much the same in all respects as the previous one. Union’s total of 170 was in the main due to Pope and Brown, both of whom have been batting particularly well of late. Brown, who used to be a very cautious batsman, has now developed a penchant for hitting bounbaries, and he had nine fours included in his total of 43. Barnett also opened out more than he usually does, and made some very fine leg shots. Backed up by good fielding, Groves was able to exploit his fast, rising ball to the best advantage, and he secured good figures. Like Marist, Appleby did not make much of a start, and had lost six for 69 when time was called. Groves and Geddes made a promising stand, until the former was caught by Thomas off Shaw. Geddes was still stonewalling effectively when stumps were drawn.

Invercargill Wanderers, skippered by J. A. Doig, undertook one of their periodical trips into the country last week-end, the districts visited being Birchwood and Ohai. A match was played against Ohai on Labour Day, and produced come interesting cricket, in which Jim Gilbertson and Abercrombie showed good form with the bat. The local eleven are very keen, and the visit should do a great deal of good. The Wanderers say that the hospitality of the Edie family at Birchwood was something to be remembered. W. A. Oldfield the Australian wicketkeeper, who was operated on for appendicitis a few weeks ago, is reported to be making a good recovery, and it is anticipated that he will don the gloves again early in November. I am obliged to an unknown correspondent for the following comment on a Wednesday Junior game:—At Queen’s Park High School defeated Union juniors by 9 wickets and 96 runs. For High, Blue top scored with 59 runs, not out. He started badly, an easy catch given by him not being accepted. However, his score was a goed effort, and he looks a very promising player. He was ably seconded by Sherriffs who came next with 58 runs, and he also retired. His runs, as usual, were made by chanceless cricket. The only wicket was taken by Thomas at a cost of 39 runs.

Union replied with 44 runs, the only batsmen to reach double figures being Flynn and Lambeth, with 16 and 14 runs respectively. Blue was the most successful bowler, taking four wickets for 22 runs. The Union lads, with the exception of about four boys, did not look as if they have bben regularly attending practices, and, on the form shown by them yesterday, they will need to do so more assiduously in the future if they desire to be successful in their matches. Plum Warner, the famous old English captain, considers that F. E. Woolley occupies the place in cricket to-day that W.G. and Rangi did in the days of their greatness. A very high opinion indeed, and it will be interesting to see how it is borne out on the Australian tour.

After playing three games in Western Australia, the English team, which arrived in Australia last week, will move on to Adelaide, where it will commence its first serious match of the tour against South Australia on November 7. , Victoria will be met a week later.

In an article in the Sydney Mail, M. A. Noble, the old Austrdian captain, pens the following appreciation of J. Gregory, the famous express bowler: “Jack Gregory is probably the greatest personality among cricketers of Australia to-day. He is a grand type of athletic Australian, with a big reputation as fieldsman in the slips. There is no need to enlarge upon his great achievements with the ball and on occasions with the bat. He is quite unorthodox as a batsman, but at the same time he is very effective, and might at any time turn a losing position into a winning one. There has been a lot of discussion in the papers about the knee which he hurt last year. Gregory’s knee has been as much discussed as the price of wool. All I can say is that I am not going to worry about his knee. I was talking to him a few days ago, after he had played 12 overs in a schools match at North Sydney. He was only out that day to try his knee, and it was amusing to see the big newspaper headlines announcing ‘Gregory’s failure,’ referring to the fact that he took no wickets. He told me his knee gave him no trouble whatever. It is true that he slightly strained a muscle of his other leg, but that is a thing that often happens in cold weather at the beginning of the season. I saw him bowl on that day, and he seemed to be the same Jack Gregory who had the Englishmen thinking when they last visited us. Being tall and with great strength of arm, the ball rises high from the pitch and is more difficult to play than a ball which comes along only stump high. The batsman, instead of hitting the ball with the middle of the bat, is apt to edge and be caught behind the wickets or in the slips. Gregory will be playing from week to week for Manly, and in my opinion it will be in the interests of Australian cricket if he takes his bowling rather easily for the start so that his very best will be available when most wanted. Apart from his bowling Gregory is fit for any team for his batting and his fielding. There is too much tendency to think only of batting and bowling and to give too little thought to the importance of fielding. In Gregory we have a man who is of high standard in every department of the game. In the slips it is hard to estimate his value. One must think not only of the catches that he makes, but also of the fact that his presence in the slips prevents the batsmen attempting many scoring strokes that otherwise they would make.” One of the drollest humorists ever seen on the cricket field was Tom Emmett, Yorkshire’s fast bowler. One one occasion, when playing with W.G., he asked the latter how he had got on in a recent medical exam. “All right, Tom, thank you; .I’ve got my diploma,” was the answer. Emmett must have made a mental note of this, judging by the sequel. The outfield was very slippery after rain, and Emmett, in fielding a ball, fell rather heavily. The result was a big patch of mud on the seat of his new flannel trousers. “Have you hurt yourself, Tom?” asked the doctor. “No, sir,” replied Emmett, “but”—pointing to the patch—“l’ve got my diploma!” There are only four amateurs in the English cricket team—Gilligan (captain), Douglas, Chapman and Bryan. Jack Board, the old-time English cricketer, who died at sea the other day, coached in Hawke’s Bay for several seasons between 1909 and 1916, doing wonders with young players as well as knocking up high scores against other interprovincial sides (says Christchurch Star.) Writing of Board recalls a good yarn he used to tell of the Grand Old Man.” W.G. is supposed to have trained the Gloucester team like a village choir, and when he raised his voice in appeal the whole team joined in as one man. Jack, however, on one occasion at the beginning of his career, failed to join in the “Arzhatt” chorus, whereupon the Old Man went up to him and said, “Jack Board. Jack Board, I didn’t hear yotir voice that time.” The umpire’s was not a job to be relished when the Doctor was about, and it was distinctly unpleasant to decide whether or not he was l.b.w.

Who is England’s champion cricket umpire? The answers almost unanimously favour Frank Chester, keen, active and only 28. The war cost Chester his bowling hand and so lost Worcestershire, and very likely England, one of the most talented young players in the country ten years ago.

It is to be feared that more than one unfair trick has crept into cricket lately, at any rate if certain umpires are to be believed (says a London critic). Yet many people will learn with astonishment that one well-known bowler, and an amateur at that, openly admits that he picks at the seam of the ball, a practice which is definitely forbidden by the M.C.C. When remonstrated with he rejoined that others did it, and therefore he, too, would take advantage of the mean little trick, a defence about on a par with that of the professional who, on being brought to book recently, retorted that he was ‘’no worse than some of the others.” RULING WANTED.

The following case was submitted to “Not Out” of Sydney Referee for a ruling some little while back:—

The incidents here described actually happened in a match in which I was engaged on Saturday, September 20, in the St. George Cricket Association competition.

(1) A batsman, making a stroke, a chip flew off the shoulder of his bat and dislodged the bails. The ball did not make contact with the wicket.' Neither umpire officiating would give a definite decision. Was the batsman out or not?

(2) The wicketkeeper, standing well back took what he understood to be a catch, and before waiting for the umpire to give his decision, threw the ball away almost to the boundary. The umpire gave the batsman not out, and they then commenced to run, and ran two runs. The umpire gave no runs. Was this correct? As the match ended in a tie after four completed innings, it will be seen that the points have a great interest to both sides. In question (1) the striker was out “hit wicket.” There is a precendent in firstclass cricket. In playing a ball from J. T. Rawlin at Kennington Oval on May 5, 1894, in the match Surrey v Middlesex, a piece of D. L. A. Jephson’s bat went off and removed the bail. He was given out. “hit wicket.” In the second case it is a matter of fact for the umpire to determine when the ball was “finally settled” in the wicketkeeper’s hand. On the statement put forward, the ball was not dead, and the runs should have been credited to the batting side. But in matters of fact no two persons see things alike, and the umpire may state the case differently.