THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 287, 8 January 1915, Page 2

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

HOW IT TURNED IN AUCKLAND.

The sensational match in Auckland, in which Canterbury just staved off by one wicket Auckland's determined effort to regain possession of the Plunket Shield, will owe its place on one of the brightest pages of the history of cricket in New Zealand not merely to the closeness of the scoring and Canterbury's great fighting finish, but partly to the fact that most of the glory of great individual performances was garnered by men who secured their positions on the eleven by mere chance. It >was a game which demonstrated to a remarkable degree the unexpectedness which to the onlooker is one of the great charms of cricket. THE "FIRST CHOICES" FAIL. The match has been commented upon already in The Sun, and probably every cricket enthusiast in both Christchurch and Auckland has pored over the scores time and again and discussed the match until—'' Ten o 'clock, gentlemen!'' But it is worth while glancing over the scores again just to see how big a part was played-in-the match by men who got into the teams merely through a turn of Fortune's wheel.. In Auckland's first innings only :three' men' scored . 'double figures apiece. Dick Mason scored 81 of the 186 •runs-made off, the bat, and yet the present writer was told only a few weeks ago by a close observer of Auckland cricket that Mason would be lucky if he got i'tito the representative teamj since he returned to Auckland from Northern Wairba and joined Ponsonby he had not struck anything like his old form. The second highest score, 37, was made by Cecil Dacre, a boy of 15 years. And the only other man who got into double figures was Horspool, who was twelfth man for the Wellington match, and only just scraped into the. team to meet Canterbury. Fine batsman that he is when he gets going, Horspool is so apt to "lose his head" and hit at the wrong ball in a big game that selectors have come to look dubiously upon him. Yet Horspool was the only Auckland batsman who scored double figures in both innings. HICKMOTT AND THOMAS. Then take Canterbury's first -innings. Before the Canterbury .representative teajn was chosen last month, the' opinion was freely expressed that Hickmott had not done sufficient this, season |o justify his inclusion in the team. But Hickmott has proved to be, so far, the most consistent run-getter' in the team. . When .he >was caught and bowled by Cummings in the first innings at Auckland he had made 63 out of the 144 scored for eight wickets. Without his steady batting there wouhl have been but-a dreary tale to,tell. His scores of 63 and 56 made a fine double.

Undoubtedly the real hero of the-match was Arthur Thomas. His sensational bowling performance in Auckland's second ; innings is. apt... to: overshadow his batting performance. When . Thomas j went to the crejase in Canterbury's first ' innings, seven wickets were down for 124, and Hickmott was nearing the end "of his innings* Weak as the,.-Auckland bowling: is this year in; comparison ;with past seasons—and, apart from the; trundling of One man, Olli'ff, it has" not been really strong for several years—Canterbury, as a team, was failing against it. Thomas's splendid innings—splendid, indeed, in the -circumstances—of 41, with the valiant assistance of Bennett and Boxshall, gave, Canterbury an even chance on the first; innings/after'"the tide had begun to set against the holders of the shield. Remember that two men, Hickmott and Thomas, made exactiy, half of : Canterbury V. first innings score.. .Then crime Thomas's great boiling feat. -When Gummings went in,; with Auckland's score 114 for six wiekets, Thomas's bowling analysis was :=—23 overs, 10 maidens, 51 runs, six wickets—a splendid performance. Then his '' bag'' became seven for 51. His figures for the whole innings—4B overs, 20 maidens, 99 runs, eight wiekets—were truly remarkable and a record for Plnnket Shield matches. Yet Thomas was only twelfth man, and would not have been in the eleven but for an accident to McLachlan! How many associations could afford to clas's as twelfth man a bowler who, in half the season, has taken in club cricket 41 wickets at an average cost of 9.75 runs, and who can also make a good many runs on occasion ? Yet that is the Linwood skipper's bowling record'in .club cricket this season.

AUCKLAND'S ' FIGHTING CHANCE. But that does not honours won in this:game by men ,who had not played in a previous representative match this season. Neither Cummings' : nor Brooke-Smith was in the Auckland team which met Wellington, although BrookeSmith is amongst the most stylish, batsmen in the Dominion, and, .withal, is a man who frequently does well when his team is "up against it," and is a fine fieldsman. These two men gave Auckland a great fighting chance, for by excellent batting they put on 130 runs for the eighth wicket, raising the total from 119 for seven to 249 for eight. After BrookeSmith left, with his score at 65, Ciimmings added 27, taking his total from 46 to 73, and carrying Auckland's score to 286.

While Thomas's feats with both bat and ball formed the most important factor in Canterbury's- hard-won victory, the man who made victory certain was Sandman. Taking into consideration only his performances this season, and not the ability which he had displayed in past years, Sandman was lucky to get back into the team. His. batting in -', club cricket was reckless. -But this time, when a heavy load of responsibility fell upon his shoulders, he bore it well. He batted with great restraint at a time when restraint was most needed,, and he scored the winning hit. Although every Canterbury batsman did something towards the win, in the second of them did a good deal —it was Sandman's adaptation to the circumstances that kept the shield from Auckland., Who would like to say, after the Auck-land-Canterbury match of 1914-15, that cricket matches are safe things to gamble on? . . . - A.L.C.