BRILLIANT BATTING.

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

BRILLIANT BATTING.

MIDLANE'S GREAT SCORE. Cricket bleachers in Auckland and Wellington are having all the luck from representative matches this season. Christchurch followers of the grand old game havj had to put up with the miserable collapse of the OtagoCanterbury game, but Aucklanders have had the pleasure of seeing one of the most , sensational matches known in New Zealand cricket, and Wellingtouians have been treated to brilliant, record-breaking batting. Although it is now a few days old, the "Dominion's" description of the way in which that stylish batsman, F. A. Midlane, played havoc with some .local cricket records is well worth reading. Thus does it run:— "One-of the finest batting performances accomplished in New Zealand representative cricket was registered on the Basin Reserve on Friday and Saturday by Wellington igaiust Otago. Wellington's first innings finished on ; Saturday afternoon with the total at 498, although at one sta«e on the previous day four wickets were* down for 78. The recovery set in, of course, when Midlane and Bray took hold of the bowling and entered upon a partnership which .yielded .185. Wellington is certainly a line batting, side, and it is worth' noticing that the huge total was compiled with-scarcely any assistance from Hiddleston and Burton, two of the best bats in the team. "The feature of the match has been Midlane's wonderful innings of 222 net out. He played perfect cricket, and batted with the greatest confidence from the first ball of the contest. He treated J. N. Crawford with the same assurance as he treated every other bowler in the Otago team, and he did not give anything which could be called a chance till he was 219 on. Then he tapped something which the wicketkeeper might have reached —if his arm had been a few feet longer. RECORD-BREAKING PERFORM- ' ANCE.

'' Midlane went in at the beginning of the innings, and defied the bowling for five solid hours, despite the misty rain on the first day and the baking sun on the second. En route to his great ac<bietvenie«t -he _ene.quiit.ered: previous records, and left them broken by the way. His first feat was the century, which he reached on Friday afternoon. That put .him ..in the van of Wellington representative century-makers, for he liad then''.provided thi'ee.of our thirteen centuries. When he collared the 150 mark he had beaten his own best score in representative cricket. Still he pounded the bowling, and liis 166 fcaw him lower W. Redgrave's record score of 165 for Wellington representative cricket. When he pushed on into the 'eighties,' the question was: Will he get the double century. His figures erept' : tip till he■'' , -req&ired--ottly-"-: ; sleVS!i( runs to make the 200. Here he dwelt a while. Crawford was bowling well, and runs were hard to get. Paterson was getting the big share of the trundling. :■ The-.: crowd-grew lanxious. At length a single came, and then a beautiful drive to the boundary. Two more —but eventually these came. APPROACHING THE CLIMAX.

"There was something ahead to be overhauled yet.-In his hey-day Ken Tucker had happened along to the Basin once for a cup fixture, and had made 221 not out. Thi ; s stood as the. Wellington record,' though a few weeks ago C. G. Wilson had equalled it in a Wednesday Cup match. Midlane set out to eclipse the big number, and, as he drew near, it began to strike people that even if the East champion was equal to the : task, there was another element to be considered —only Paterson and Southall remained to continue.the innings with him. Paterson was batting well, but might-go at any moment. Midlane was at the door of the record when Paterson succumbed, and Southall went in to face Crawford. Southall survived long enough for Midlane to reach the 222 he needed to achieve the distinction of having made the largest score in Wellington cricket, but was bowled immediately afterwards, and Midlane carried his bat. The applause and the congratulations Midlane received from the clamouring crowd as lie made his way to the pavilion was warm enough to extend as a welcome to the Allies on their return from BerSOME ■ TALL FIGURES. "Midlane's other centuries in representative cricket were made against Auckland (102), and against Otago (149). -It seems a little strange that Otago should suffer at his hands twice, and on the earlier occasion (about ten years ago) Richardson made 11.3 in the same match. This season, in cup and representative cricket, Midlane has made 734 runs. His club average is 211.5, his representative average 155.5. and his general average 183.5." CRAWFORD'S FINE INNINGS.

Crawford's big ' score in Otago's second innings, aW :: the way in which Wellington lost thei'match", are thus, described in Tuesday's "Dominion": — "The Otago representative cricket team sprang a surprise on the Wellington cricket world yesterday afternoon by easily staving off defeat when the hope of a recovery seemed forlorn. Wellington's first innings closed on Saturday for 498, and as Otago replied with only 1-59 the visitors followed on. At drawing time on Saturday they had lost three wickets 1 for 41 runs. Their case looked so bad that some members of the Wellington Association prevailed upon the captain to .resume at 2 p.m. yesterday, instead.of at 11 a.m. ,lt was an unfortunate error of judgment, and it cost Wellington the match. Wellington not only had insufficient time in which to dig the visitors out, but the big deficit was removed from the slate —the match was dr'awn'. Otago played a fine innings, and their seven wickets yielded the big total of 428 runs. The feature of the day's play was the fine innings of .1. N. Crawford, the English and Australian crack. He batted for two and a-half hours, and carried his bat for 178 runs. JI is: hitting was free and powerful, and his timing perfect. His was a great effort, and it saved the situation for Otago. The Crawford-Eck-hold partnership put ,on .165 runs. ESCAPING THE '.CHANCE'S. "Crawford's big' innings, fine as it was, was not a chancek'ss display. Jle

should have been stumped several times, a catch sent up by him was dropped in the country, and the bowlers beat him on several occasions. Brice had extremely hard luck in not clean-bowl - ihg him more than once; one ball from Brice actually hit the wickets, but did not.remove the bails. Hiddleston was the bowler for whom Crawford exhibited the greatest respect. Hiddleston's break completely beat the batsman on several occasions, but every time the break was so pronounced that it went a little wide of the wicket. However, no one wishes . to. detract from the worth of Crawford's performance; he deserved the applause which greeted him on his return to the pavilion.

"An important factor in the result was the absence of Briee (the Wellington skipper) during the greater portion of the afternoon. Had the bowlers and the field been handled as well as Briee handled them on the two previous days there might have been a different tale to tell.''