NO COUNTRY DAY CRICKET FIXTURE TO BE HELD THIS SEASON

Southland Times, Issue 23767, 15 March 1939, Page 11

NO COUNTRY DAY CRICKET FIXTURE TO BE HELD THIS SEASON

By

NOT OUT

Southland cricketers were again disappointed on Saturday when the country day fixture at Invercargill was abandoned, and as there are now only two playing Saturdays left for the senior competition it is unlikely that an effort will be made to hold a country day this season. After the wet weather towards the end of the week inauiries were made by the Southland Cricket Association on Friday and it was found that some of the sub-associations would not be able to send down more than one team each; one of the sub-associations was doubtful if it could muster a team at all. It was pointed out that many of the players would be engaged in harvesting. In the circumstances the association decided to abandon the fixture. , , ~. The association will consider holding a country day next season and it is possible that it will be held earlier m the year, at a time when the weather is usually more settled than it has been lately. The success of such a fixture depends very largely on its being held on the day arranged, as postponements inevitably result in a decrease in enthusiasm—especially if the players have already made a trip to town without having as much as started a game. It has been an exceptionally bad season for cricket as far as the weather is concerned, and even when Saturdays have been fine enough for games the players have shown a marked lack of mid-week practice. Bowlers have certainly met with more success than batsmen, and the Appleby Club once again leads in the senior competition. Appleby has shown a good all-round performance, but all the other clubs have struck bad patches. Perhaps had they offered a stiffer resistance to Appleby there might have been more interest in the competition as Appleby s victories were the result of the collapse of its opponents no less than of good play on its own part. Invercargill showed promise early m the season and it looked as if the introduction of new blood would put it on its feet again, but this promise was not fulfilled. , Marist has a good team on paper ana it is difficult to account for its failure to reach a high position on the ladder as there are some good all-rounders in the side. , , Old Boys has promoted several of its juniors to first grade and though their performances have not been up to senior grade standard this season the training they are receiving should stand them in good stead next year. Bluff, which consented to play first grade this season to obviate a bye in the competition, has at least played interesting cricket. The team has several good all-rounders and the batsmen have played a vigorous game when the opportunity offered; I. Barnett has been an outstanding success as a bowler. Union’s play has been patchy, but there are one or two first-class men in the side who have frequently meant all the difference between defeat and victory. The team has thoroughly established its right to the second place on the ladder. On Saturday the Southland coach (Mr W. R. Patrick) took the Southland women’s cricket team to Ohai where a match was played with the Ohai men’s team. The women were in good batting form, and though the firstwicket partnership collapsed at the start 73 runs were put on for the sec-ond-wicket combination, Mrs E. Blackie and Miss H. Maley, the latter making 83 before she was bowled by Mills. The women declared with nine wickets down for 183 runs but were not able to dismiss the men in the time left, Ohai making 152 for nine. McKay batted well for 53 not out and Luke made 33. Grindlay was the most successful of the Ohai bowlers, taking five wickets for 52 runs. For the women Mrs Blackie took two for 35 and Miss Thomas two for 41. CAPTAIN OF N.Z. TEAM D A. R. Moloney, who was captain of the New Zealand Test side against Sir Julien’Cahn’s team in Wellington on Monday began his cricket career with the Otago Boys’ High School Old Boys’ Club in Dunedin. Later he changed to Carisbrook, and in the 1931-32 season made his debut in provincial fixtures. His highest score was 55, against Wellington. At the same time, Moloney began to show some of the skill as a slow leg-break bowler that was to help New Zealand considerably later on. Against Auckland, for instance, he secured the wickets of three leading batsmen Weir, Whitelaw and Hay, for 42 runs.

A season or two later he made 74 and 44 against Canterbury. He played for the South Island against North in 1935, under I. B. Cromb, and scored 70 and 71. His knock in the second innings helped to gain victory for South by the substantial margin of six wickets. Moloney represented New Zealand in three Tests against E. R. T. Holmes’s M.C.C. team in 1935-36, and he has been a prominent Dominion representative ever since. While playing fol Wellington, after a transfer in 1936, he was unlucky to miss the century on two occasions. In 1937 he toured England with M. L. Page’s team and scored well over 1000 runs, and as well, took 57 wickets in first-class cricket. During the present season, Moloney has again been a member of the Otago provincial side. He is 29 years of age. DUNEDIN CLUB’S FINE RECORD For more than 75 years a cricket club in Dunedin has functioned continuously. It is the Albion Club, which claims to be the oldest south of the Line. This record certainly justifies the celebration which has been arranged for March 22, 23, and 26 next. Actually there are some old members of the club who claim its establishment in 1862. The records available, however, prove the club’s existence a year The anniversary immediately calls to mind the names of some of the cjubs old stalwarts who have contributed materially to the foundation of the game throughout the Dominion. Of the more recent players who have won New Zealand-wide fame, the first name recalled is Jim Shepherd, one of the most brilliant batsmen New Zealand has produced. This player ceased active membership of the club only two seasons ago, having been a stalwart for about 25 years. Mr Frank Williams, former New Zealand selector, was an old Albion star who gained distinction as a wicketkeeper in representative games. Other great names of the past are Jim Baker, who died this year, H. Siedeberg, Tommy McFarlane, Alex Downes (a member of the famous Fisher-Downes bowling combination), and the Rev. E. O. Blamires, who in 1931 led Otago to victory in the Plunket Shield engagements. „ , ~ , . j Of the members of the old brigade who are still actively interested in the Albion Club, there are Messrs L. J. Joel (president), F. Williams, H. Vorrath, W. G. Pickard, A. Rice, J. T. Paul, F. N. Binney, H. J. Duncan, J. Shepherd, Murray Thomson (a foundation member) and Dr A. Read. BRADMAN FAILS TO MAKE 1000 RUNS For the first time in 10 full seasons of first-class cricket in Australia, Don Bradman has failed to complete 1000 runs for the season. Bradman had only seven innings, and this fact had something to do with the phenomenon. Rain, and Victoria’s new off-spin bowler, Frank Thorn, combined to deprive Don Bradman of the opportunity of reaching 1000 runs in the match in Adelaide that was washed out recently- . . . ■ ( The fact is surprising, m view ot Bradman’s remarkable run of success in earlier matches, which consisted of the Melbourne Cricket Club’s centenary match and the inter-state fixtures. Up to the beginning of the match against Victoria in Adelaide, Bradman’s scores this season were: 118, 143, 225, 107, 186 and 135 not out. Thus, with only this match remaining, he required 86 runs to complete his thousand. Thorn had him caught when he made five in the first innings, and rain prevented any possibility of a second innings. Thus Bradman finished the season with the following figures: Seven innings, one not out, 919 runs, 153.16 average. Only once before had Bradman failed to reach 1000 runs in first-class cricket in an Australian season. That was in 1927-28, when he first played for New South Wales. He appeared in only five of the six Sheffield Shield matches, and his aggregate was 416. Bradman did not play in the 1934-5 season; but in all his other nine seasons he has topped 1000 runs. His highest total was 1690 runs—a record for an Australian first-class season—in 19289. Bradman has this satisfaction—his average of 153.16 this season is his best in Australia.