CRICKET

Taranaki Daily News, 4 November 1926, Page 4

CRICKET

PLAY tN NORTH TaRANAKI OPENING PLAY REVIEWED. PROSPECTS FOR THE SEASON, (“By The Man on The Terraee.”) Prospects for this season’s cricket are, as it seems to The Man, very bright indeed. In fact it is difficult to recall over the last few years, a season which has opened so well. From the point of view of the North Taranaki division it must be a pleasure to notice the increase in the number of playing teams. The game’s the thing in cricket more than in any other game and with six senior teams, a wise advance on the four teams hitherto competing, and no fewer than twelve junior teams, who but the dreariest pessimist can claim that the game is enfeebled and out of breath? In spite of what some may eay on the question of finance, on gate takings and numerically small attendances, the game is living and flourishing still. There are improvements to be made without a doubt and it is with a view to making suggestions and offering adv, • and—perchance—a little criticism, that the Man again takes his stand upon the Terrance and views the players below. The admission of the Waitara Urenui combination into the senior group, together with the division of last years srong Old Boys team, has made for a better senior competition. There has been in the past a lack of variety in senior cricket but the two new teams 'have introduced new blood to the competition and new blood, it must be confessed, was needed. Some of the older players have lost ifcat sureness of eye which marked them in their prime and to whom but to the younger men, must we look for the representative teams of the next few years? The opening matches, it is true, did not reveal much talent among the newly-promoted juniors. With the exception of B- Lash, of Old Boys A, who scored 36 not out and 34 against Western Park, the new senior members did not distinguish themselves. It is to be remembered on their behalf that they are encountering truer wickets and sounder bowling than they have met before. None will be more pleased than the writer tq see them overcome these difficulties.

Of the older players in the senior competition some appear to have lost form and others to have gained It early. Kingston and Nasmith of New Plymouth, Jones, Lawrey and Kissling for Western Park, Brown and Earl for Old Boys A, and C. Lash for Old Boys B have got into form early with the bat. Jheir efforts in coming games will be watched with interest by the selector. and youth. But from the point of view of batting, should be able to muster a very fair side, combining both the necessary ingredients of experience and youth." But from the point of view of bowling, the outlook is less encouraging. Apart for C. G. Clarke there is no bowler of note in the senior competition. Clarke has the necessary pace and the ability to turn the ball both ways- His beet ball is a fast off break of excellent length. The only successor to him seems to be Petty, the young High School player who captured six wickets for 12 runs against Old Boys B. Petty has the pace and the strength needed to make a good fast bowler and can send down a disconcerting off break. Quiekfall, for Western Park, bowled excellently in the first match aginst Old Boys A while Bottrill and Eggleton, for the latter team, maintained good length and direction for a time. Bowling, however. it is feared, will be a weakness in representative matchee. In that other important department of the game, fielding, there are grave weaknesses. School and Old Boys B have good fielding sides but Old Boys A, Western Park and New Plymouth cannot claim to save many runs in the field. It is deplorable but true that many a player makes runs with the bat and loses them in the field. Dropped catches, though heart-breaking, are unavoidable at times, and must be accepted with a cricketer’s philosophy, but for slackness in the field and inattention to the game, there can be no excuse. The first round of matches played on October 16 and 23 produced some good games, the best effort being made by School against Old Boys B. With three-quarters of an hour left to bat on the second day and a first innings lead, the Old Boye’ team might have been pardoned for imagining a safe couple of points to start them off in the championship. But they reckoned without the quality of unexpectedness that marks a school team’s cricket. Petty bowled superbly, relinquishing his fast ball for a medium paced ball turning in from the off. It was most effective and the Old Boys wickets went down before it. Even so, with time on their side, Old Boys could hardly have anticipated losing three wickets in the last over of the day but Petty (with the assistance of Medley, the sprinter) accomplished this and School were winners by 59 runs. The finish of the game reminded one of the dramatic finish in the School—Nelson College match two years ago. Old Boys A on the same dates might have made a two-point win safe by carrying on their second innings against Western Park but through weakness in bowling (and fielding) all but threw away the match. Time came to their aid with Park still 30 rune behind. New Plymouth had no difficulty in getting a three-point win over Urenui. The second round of games opened last Saturday when two senior games were played. Urenui did not make an impressive showing against Western Park but the game is still open with odds on Western Park retaining their lead. Of the Urenui side, Easton is a useful all-rounder and he was the only batsman to withstand Quickfall’s tricky deliveries. Seven of the Park batsmen reached double figures, Jones, who is always looking for runs, hitting up 28 in quick time and bringing his average to 42 for three completed innings. Quickfall preserved a fine length with a sharp off break. Old Boys’ B must be congratulated on their innings of 163 against New Plymouth, though, had Clarke confined himself to his fast stuff, there mjglit have been a different story to relate. As it was Monteath (35), Taylor (31) and Pope (29 not out) appreciated his change of style With two good New Plymouth

wickets down for 5 runs Old Boys have a royal chance of securing championship points. Owing to the High School sports meeting, the school—Old Boys A game was deferred and will commence to-day (Thursday). If the School bowlers can strike form Old Boys may be hard put to it to score runs. It is a ease of good batting against good bowling. The points scored in the North Taranaki competitions jo date are as follow: SENIOR GRADE Matches 3-pt 2-pt T’l Pl ’d.Wins.Wins.Loss.Pt.

In the above table Technical School and Band, although they have actually played only two matches, are credited with three, Technical’s default to Band counting as a loss to Technical and a three point win to Band. School B and Council B have yet to play their fixture postponed from last Staurday. WESTERN DIVISION. Matches 3-pt 2-pt T’l PFd.Wins.WinsLoss.pt.

SOUTH TARANAKI PLAY. OPENING OF THE SEASON. TEAMS’ FORM REVIEWED. (.By “Short Stop.”) Once again the curtain has been rung up on another cricket season in South Taranaki. The season of 1926-27 promises to be one of the most interesting for many years. First there is the prospect of a visit from a South Australian team and towards the end of the season a team to represent New Zealand on the English tour will be selected. The visit of the South Australian team should provide cricket of the highest class if the stars of that State make the trip, for the side is noted for'playing free, attractive cricket and should Rymill, Alexander and one or two other youngsters of promise come over, tire Taranaki public will have an opportunity of seeing some of the prospective Australian XI players in the next series of Tests in action. The senior competition in the Southern Division has been reduced to five teams, and an interesting season is anticipated. So far the general form is not up to concert pitch, probably owing to lack of practice, although some fine individual performances have been recorded. The recent spell of heavy rain has made the out-fields dead, and the ball needed punching hard to reach the boundaries. Excelsior have started badly with defeats on the first innings at the hands of Okaiawa and Midlands, although the margin was only one run. The bowling has plenty of variety, but in the Okaiawa match the batting failed badly. Okaiawa are an improving team and should have a good season. This club possesses the most reliable pair of opening batsmen in the competition in Penny and A. Betts. This pair are proving the Hobbs and Sutcliffe combination of this district- They have given their side a good start in both matches played to date. A good understanding with each other and smart running between wickets are the secrets of their success. Midlands have opened the season well by winning both matches, but the batting of this side is far from satisfactory, the bulk of the runs being made by two or three players. The bowling of this side should be strong enough to trouble their opponents. Manaia are a stronger side than they were last season, and on Saturday, October 23, had the honour of making what is believed to be a record stand of 79 for the ninth wicket by Brown and Kitt at the expense of Okaiawa. Bairstow and Crawford-Watson have both started the season in good foriff, but Hobday has failed to get started so far. This team has plenty of bowling talent available. Stratford, last year’s provincial champions, are a weaker side than last season. The loss of Lambert is evidently being severely felt. They had the worst of the game with Midlands and lost on the first innings. Priest, who played with Eltham last season, has joined Stratford, and so far has borne the brunt of their attack. Amongst players there appears to be a strong feeling that the present system of restricting matches to one afternoon should be discontinued, and the time extended to two afternoon. The writer understands that this mater will be considered by the executive of the division at the end of the first round. THE ENGLISH SEASON. REVIEW OF THE AUSTRALIANS’ VISIT. END OF CRICKET. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, Sept. 16. Cricket has come to an end, and in a few days the Australians will be returning home. The tourists have one more match in Scotland, but it is not a very

serious affair, and they will then pack their bags, and I think they will take back many happy memories of their visit, which has only been marred by the loss of the Ashes. But the final Test at the Oval was the only match they have lost, and, as has previously been stated, the tom - from a financial point of view has been a huge success. W. M. Woo'dfull, a player with a superb defence, has been the most successful batsman, being top scorer with a total of 1672, whiqji gives him an average of over 57 an innings. Three other players have exceeded four- figures, namely, Macartney, Bardsley, and Andrews, whilst Ryder is only fifty short of this total. On the whole the Australians have not obtained as many runs as they were expected to do, but if they have failed at all it has been in bowling. Significantly enough, the two slow men, Mailey and Grimmett, have been the most successful, being the only ones to take a hundred wickets. Gregory, of course, has been the big disappointment. Under conditions which should have suited him admirably he only dismissed thirty-six men, and the cost of each was thirtytwo runs, which, judged by the English standard, is very high. For instance, Rhodes, who is at the head of the English averages, took 115 wickets for under fifteen runs each. Though he was responsible for , the dismissal of only forty-nine men, Richardson has created a big impression. His tactics were not always good, but it is felt that he would, have been far more successful if he had Ibeen more experienced with the conditions and had fully exploited them.

TEST FOR THE NEW CHAMPIONS. THE FINAL MATCH. The final match of the season was that between the champions and the Rest of England, and in this Lancashire were paid the signal honour of being opposed by exactly the same side as beat the Australians in the final Test. It was a rather remarkable game, inasmuch as the England eleven, after gaining the first use of the pitch, were comparatively cheaply dismsised, their score being only 217. For once Hobbs and Sutcliffe failed, both being sent back with only nine run on the board. Indeed, save for a century by Hendren, the team would have collapsed. Then Lancashire made a most encouraging start in reply, obtaining over a hundred without losing a man. On the next day, however, the side completely collapsed, being all out for 177. From this point England took complete control. Hobbs and Sutcliffe took part in another long partnership, the Surrey man making 62 and his colleague 136. Then came Woolley to give a wonderful display of hitting. He reached the hundred in 110 minutes, and, continuing to hammer the bowling in hurricane style, was not out 172 when the innings was declared. Hendren was also not out with 77 to his credit. Lancashire went in a second time, as if they recognised that the position was hopeless, and, being bowled out for 134, were defeated by 374 runs. It was a disappointing finish, but it is too much to expect even a champion county to hold their own with the full strength of England. Even Yorkshire have always met with defeat under these conditions during the past four years in which they have held the championship. FINAL RECORDS. Though Hobbs after all failed to reach three thousand runs, his opportunity being limited owing to bad weather during the Scarborough Festival, he finished only fifty-one short of the total, and his aggregate, of 2,949 is the eleventh highest in the history of the game. At the top of the average his record of 77.60 for each of forty-one innings has only been exceeded on three occasions. In 1900 K. S. Ranjiteinhji scored 3,065 runs with an average of 87.57; in 1901 C. B. Fry obtained 3,147 runs with an average of 7’8.67; and in 1871 W. G. Grace made 2,739 runs with an average of 78.25. Appropriately enough, Hobbs’ Test match partner, Sutcliffe, finished second. The best season of the Yorks-hireman’s career was when he scored 2,528 runs with an average of 66.52. This is by far the best performance ever accomplished by a Yorkshire player. Tyldesley, Hendren, Mead, Makepeace, Hardinge, Woolley, Holmes, Brown and Dipper also passed the second thousand. In regard to the bowling it is something of a reflection on the young men in the game that Rhodes, a veteran of forty-nine, should have beaten them all. Rhodes also made over a thousand runs, this being the sixteenth time on which he has brought off the “double.” Other batsmen bowlers to do this included Kilner, Tate, the amateur, V. W. C. Jupp, Astill, and the Surrey captain, P. G. H. Fender. The most successful bowler or the only one who took over two hundred wickets was Parker, the Gloucestershire player, who was provisionally selected for three Test matches but was never played. The reason for thia, it was said, was that he had not the temperament for the big match. NEWS AND NOTES. George Hirst, the famous ex-York-shire and English cricketer, has a wonderful record with the Scarborough Club, where for several years he has been coach, and for which he has played in the Yorkshire Council after his duties terminated in mid-July at Eton- Each season he has headed the batting and bowling averages. This year he has been seven times not out, and has a batting average of 14'8 for’ three completed innings. Hirst has accepted the Scarborough committee’s invitation to him for next season, and in a letter to the secretary he writes:—“l shall be pleased to accept for 1927, with the usual conditions, that I am fit and able to tackle it once more.” A. E. R. Gilligan, the captain of the Sussex eleven, and one of England’s selectors for the last Teste with Australia, tells an excellent story of the cricket field. It was a one-day match, and after one team had been dismissed for 150 the opposition was in the unhappy position of having the last man in with tlie score-board showing 100 only. Miraculously, the last pair managed to keep, their wickets intact, and with one over to go the fast bowler came on. The batsman survived five balls, more by good luck than good management, and scored a single- His partner was one who would much rather run and fight another day—perhaps—when it came to fast bowlers and the like, and as the last ball came hurtling down he dropped his bat and held on to the bails with all his might The ball just grazed the off-stump and was fielded by the wicked-keeper. Turning for the pavilion, the batsman heaved a deep sigh and said to his partner, “Well, that’s a draw.”

New Plymouth 11 — — 3 High School I 1 — —• 3 Old Boys A 1 — I .— 2 Old Boys B 1 — — 1 — Urenui 1 __ _ 1 -— Western Park 1 — — 1 .— NORTHERN DIVISION. JUNIOR. GRADE • MIP. 3-pt 2-pt T’l Wins. Wins. Dn L’t Pt. Tech. School 3 2 — — 1 6 Waitara 3 1 1 — 1 5 Old Boys 3 1—1 1 4 Council B 2 1—1 —■ 4 Band 3 1 — — 2 3 School B 2 i 2 —

School A 2 2 — — 6 Oka to 3 1 !1 1 5 Council A 3 — 2 1 4 Western Park 2 1 — 1 3 l{ew Plymouth 3 1 2 2 Avenue Rd. 8 — - 3 — School A and Western Park have yet to play their fixture postponed from last Saturday. COUNTRY ASSOCIATION. Matches T’l Placed. Won. Dn. L. Pt. Tikorangi 3 3 — : — 6 Egmont Village 2 1 — 1 2 Tarurutangi 2 1 — 1 2 [Bell Block 3 1 — 2 2 Brixton 2 —- — 2 —