CRICKET

Southland Times, Issue 21657, 19 March 1932, Page 14

CRICKET

(By

“Slips.")

The semi-final series of matches in the senior competition was commenced on Saturday under ideal weather conditions. At the Showgrounds I.C.C met Marist and Bluff Union, while, at the High School grounds Appleby and School tried conclusions. Most interest centred in the .second meeting of I.C.C. and Marist. In the first. round I.C.C. secured a straight out win over their younger opponents and it was anticipated a keen contest would be witnessed when these teams again met. At the close of the day’s play the positions of the competing teams were as follows:—l.C.C. 141, Marist 77 for three; Bluff 30, Union 200; High School 260 for eight wickets. In the Marist—l.C.C. match, Southern won the toss and elected to bat, but none of the I.C.C. batsmen- appeared comfortable against the Marist bowling and the side was all disposed of for the comparatively small total of ill. With the exception of Tapley and Togo, and perhaps Pollock, the batting was not enterprising, the several bowlers being treated with the utmost respect. Marist staged a very strong attack, the bowlers varying their deliveries and maintaining a good length, McMillan, Nisbet and Broad sharing the honours with three wickets each. When stumps were drawn Marist had lost three good wickets for 77, but with seven wickets in hand should be capable of overhauling the I.C.C. total. Hallamore (29.) batted attractively and seemed set for a good score when Gilbertson got one past him. The not out pair, Riddell (4) and Broad (28) were playing confidently. Union should have no difficulty in securing an eight-point win over Bluff. The latter had first strike and were all out for 30 runs, no fewer than six batsmen failing to score. Carter and West (10 each) were the only ones to reach double figures. Sinclair and Woodward, bowling unchanged, did the damage, the former securing seven for 17 and the latter two for 10. Union replied with 206, Anderson (66), Poole (38) and Hamilton (31) being the chief contributors. In contrast to their batting, Bluff’s bowling was uniformly good and with the exception of the above-named the remaining batsmen were dismissed cheaply, , 1). Parry. Mclvor and Carter being the most successful. At High School grounds, School, batting first, kept Appleby all day in the field and compiled the good total of 260 for eight wickets. With four wickets lost cheaply School appeared to be in a bad position, but Scandrett's excellent stand (132 not out) completely changed the aspect of the game. This young player has been batting consistently for School and his century at a critical stage was most opportune. Great credit is also due to his clubmates, Lee, Mackie, Mackrell and Reid, whose determined defence enabled him to attain the honour. Several Appleby bowlers were tried but Johnson and McGowan were the only ones successful. Both these bowlers impressed the writer and should have secured much better figures had they received any assistance from the field, but chance after chance wont begging and the fielding generally, to say the least, was a long way short of what is expected from senior players. During the progress of the Marist —I.C.C. match on Saturday last, a Marist batsman had his bat badly split while playing a stroke and as another bat was not available on the instant, J. A. Doig, who was bowling at the time, immediately sent to his locker for his private bat and loaned it to the player. The generosity and sportsmanship of I.C.C’s. veteran player was not lost on those privileged to witness the incident. It was one of those graceful acts that make the game worth while. With 26(1 on the board High School should have little difficulty in gaining at least a five point win over Appleby unless McGowan, who has a penchant for big scores against School, gets someone to’stay with him and repeats Scandrett’s performance. Fielding is fast becoming a lost art, and with the exception of High School, and in a lesser degree Marist the fielding of the senior teams this season has not been up to senior standard, and the sooner clubs realize this the better. It is not encouraging to a bowler who has been using his talents and muscle in an endeavour to have a batsman dismissed when the fruits of his labour and strategy are nullified by careless or incompetent fieldsmen. Reliable fieldsmen are proportionately as essential to a team's success as good batsmen and bowlers, and there is no reason why, with consistent and proper practice, any ordinary set of players should not develop into first rate fieldsmen. Congratulations to Scandrett (High School) on attaining his century. This youth has been shaping well all the season and his success is a reward for practice and keenness His knock was not chanceless, but considering the quality of the bowling, particularly Johnson’s, his performance was very meritorious. Pollok (1.C.C.) has been batting consistently all the season. He has a line free style and plays off shots beautifully, but is not partial to anything on the leg. He is I.C.C’s. most reliable batsman and a good field, and with attention to proper leg strokes at practice should have a successful future. Sievwright (1.C.C.) is another of the younger batsmen who shows promise. He plays most strokes correctly, has a good knowledge of footwork and is not afraid to meet the ball. Next season he should develop into a first class bat. Now that the cricket season is drawing to a close, it is to be hoped that the S.C.A. executive will seriously consider the feasability of providing additional concrete wickets for next season. Third grade teams have been using turf wickets on the outer area at the Showgrounds, but it might be much better in the interests of future cricket if all grades under senior were confined to good concrete pitches. If the City Council was approached it should be possible to arrange for sufficient playing areas suitable for the laying of three or four additional wickets.

During the week-end the writer heard some very complimentary remarks passed by visitors from the north regarding the general appearance and appointments at the Showgrounds. They were particularly impressed with the wonderful sole of grass on the playing area. I feel sure all cricketers join with the writer in offering congratulations to Mr A. J. Hamilton on his appointment as secretary to the Southland Rugby Union. Mr Hamilton is one of our oldest and most popular cricketers and has dona more than his share in placing Southland cricket on the map. While secretary of the S.C.A. he rendered excellent service and the Rugby Union has made a very wise choice. We wish him many years of health and success in his new undertaking. It has been brought to the notice of the writer that there is an occasional defection in the umpires appointed for junior games and in some cases the Umpires’ Association has not been advised when those appointed are unable to officiate. To save

confusion and as a matter of courtesy to those responsible for the appointments, any umpire unable to fulfil his engagement on a Saturday should notify the secretary of the Umpires’ Association. JUNIOR NOTES Conditions were ideal for the continuation of junior games on Saturday, and although the winners of the various competitions do not take any picking, the standard of cricket was quite good, and some surprise results were achieved. Old Boys look like suffering their second reverse of the season at the hands of Appleby. Mitchell and Hawke opened the batting for Old Boys, the former being dismissed with the score at one. The batting never settled down and, at stumps, they had lost five wickets for a total of 37 runs. The Appleby men took full advantage of the weakness of the Old Boys’ attack, and they succeeded in compiling 149 runs, of which Watson secured 49. Hawke who usually keeps wickets for Old Boys was on this occasion the most successful bowler and secured the surprisingly good average of six wickets for 41) runs.

The adage, “Nothing succeeds like success,” is being borne out in the Union v. Invercargill match. On the previous Saturday the Union men had secured a five point victory over Appleby. “The will to win.” was extenuated on Saturday and the youthful contestors of the A section certainly look like winning yet another match. Taking first strike, Invercargill totalled 109 runs in this game of varying fortunes. A mediocre beginning was accentuated by a succession of round scores and had not the last four batsmen rallied and secured good toals the I.C.C. innings would have been a hopeless failure. For Union Haberfield scored four by laborious stonewalling and then took. the count from one of Agnew’s tricky deliver-

It was left to Watson and Mattingly to save the day, and in one of the finest knocks of the season these two batsmen hit out in refreshing style, the partnership resulting in over 100 runs being plac-

ed to the credit of the Union side, when runs were most needed. .At “stumps” the score had reached 155 for the loss of five wickets, the result placing Union in a commanding position for the second day’s play. The chief destroying agents for the Union team were Tayles (three wickets for 18 runs), Belsham (four for 45) and Mattingly (one for 23). The B section provided its usual category of thrills, although there were no surprise results. I.C.C. experienced little difficulty in beating Old Boys. In their first innings I.C.C. secured 133 runs, the most enterprising batsmen being I). Martin 41, Barnhill 26, Harris 21, Lee 10 and Weir 10. For Old Boys the most prolific rungetters were D. Carswell IS, Canning 15, Smith 15, and 11. Carswell 13. In a keenly contested game Railway defeated Tisbury by 27 runs on the first innings. Taking first strike the Railway men compiled 8S runs, Taylor 16 and Shand 17 not out being the most aggressive. In a short but. merry innings Tisbury were credited with 53 runs. Corkin 16 being the only batsman to relieve the tedium of single figured scores. As usual the Railway bowlers (Ramage and Williams) dominated the situation, the former securing the splendid average of three wickets for five runs while the latter was credited with six for 26. In the third grade section the draw for Saturday was disappointing, Borstal, Waikiwi and Marist securing the maximum competition points in games that gave little to enthuse over. In their encounter with Old Boys, Borstal decided to let their opponents bat first. “Bat” inadequately describes the processional innings, and Old Boys were driven pavilion-wards with the grand total of 14 runs showing on the board. Borstal made light of Old Boys attack and netted 216 runs before sending Old Boys to try their skill on a second occasion. Their second knock was much brighter than the first, and 43 runs were secured, B. Grace taking the, lion’s share with a total of 23. For Borstal the best individual batsmen secured 50, 47, and 34 respectively. With the ball three of the Institute men secured five wickets for seven runs. Appleby suffered at the hands of Waikiwi, the margin being 31 runs. For the winners Broad 53 and Fulton 13 were the best batsmen while for Appleby the main contributors were Jack Calvert 24 and Shirley 15. Marist defeated Collegiate by 45 runs in a very drab game, in which the bowling of the Marist side was the predominating factor. Dawson (four wickets for seven runs), Fordo (three for seven) and Shepherd (two for five) were the chief destroying agents.