CRICKET

Taranaki Daily News, 10 November 1927, Page 4

CRICKET

NORTH TARANAKI PLAY —7IVAL GF INTEREST. xuxuT Saturdays matche . jßy "Not Out.”) A visit to Pukekura Park any evening tiiis past week has beeir’ > sueh as to bring delight to all true lovers of the game of cricket. Five nets have been in full swing and the members of each club have indulged in solid practice. Whereas in former years one might see some dozen or so ardent enthusiasts practising on anything but a perfect wicket, now the scene has changed, and cricketers are there in their dozens participating in practice which will surely produce good results. . , 'There are several obvious reasons tor this new condition of affairs. Firstly, there is the presence of the Yorkshire coach, B, B. Wilson, who at hie own net takes each club in turn and gives Instruction in all the arts of the game; •econdly the advent of daylight saving renders it possible for all players to have sufficient time for a satisfactory period of batting, and thirdly, the expedient practice wickets which have been put down. It is a testimony to the added interest in the game to see so jnany players in action, and to note quite a number of interested spectators gathered behind the nets each- evening. Cricket is the one game above all others in which to excel one must practise regularly and diligently, and this being so one hopes that the enthusiasm being shown at present will be maintained throughout the season. If such is the case then the game must go ahead by leaps and bounds. One notes with satisfaction that 13. B. Wilson does not devote all his time to batting. On Monday evening he devoted some time to instructing the young Old Boys’ bowler, L. Petty, with whom he was favourably impressed as the making of a fast bowler. The writer is one who has always held that this lad possesses great possibilities, for he has fine physique and is willing to learn. It would be a good idea for all captains to b.g before the notice of the coach the most promising boys in their clubs, and so give him a lead as to where his coaching efforts will be meet likely to bear fruit. Tuesday saw some twenty members of the Country Association busily engaged all day with B. B. Wilson at the nets on Pukekura Park. This association is to be complimented on the manner it has taken advantage of the presence of the coach in New Plymouth to have its young players scientifically coached in the game. It will not be Jong before the results of his teaching will be evident both in town and country. LAST SATURDAY S MATCHES. Last Saturday saw a considerable improvement in the standard'of play in the senior games in New Plymouth Chief interest centred in the meeting r»f New Plymouth and Borough on the recreation ground, for the coach, wa* making his first appearance in j'club jricket with us. Owing to the centre wicket hot being quite ready, the game was played on matting. Winning, the toss New Plymouth batted, and dspite the able bowling of B. B, Wilsors and a keen field, they occupied the crease for he whole afternoon. Congratulations must Be extended to N. Kinsella on making the first century of the seasoil. Going in first he gradually played, himKelf in, and when well set punishqß the loose bowling in no uncertain manner. Some of hie driving and hitting t’b leg wae of a splendid order. Be put plenty of power into all his scoring strokes, while his timing after he settled down was also first-rate. Nasmith was sroing nicely and showing improvement fin hie previous form when he played a ball on. McWhirter, who got 23,' showed that he is likely to be as valuable with the bat as with the ball. George Clarke scored 20 in hie characteristic style before being well caught. Sheppard batted solidly but was unfortunate in going l.b.w. again. B. B. Wilson wae the pick of the Borough bow lers. He kept a niee length, varied his pace and flight, and broke both ways. His bowling will be much more difficult to contend with when play’ commences on the turf wickets. His placing of the field was an object lesson. Hodges bowled steadily for a long period and Priar's pace will be useful when he learns to maintain better length and direction. The fielding was keen throughout the afternoon, but some catches were dropped that proved very expensive. MATCH AT WESTERN PARK. At Western Park, Old Boys’ A proved that their initial display against School wae all wrong, for against Western Park, last year’s champions, they had hone the worse of the argument. The game at present is in a very even state, but Old Boys’ cricket was superior in class to that of their opponents. Old Boys’ lost their first few wickets rather eheap ty, Brown paying the penalty of recklessness when trying to hit a good length ball from Quickfall out of the ground, and Bottri'l again going l.b.w. Ewart batted nicely until he was bowled off bis pads, and then Papps and B. Lash became associated and put a new complexion on the game. Papps utilised his favourite strokes, the square cut and off-drive, to the fullest extent, and made some very pretty shots through a strong off-field, lie appeared to be well set when he was inn out in an unfortunate manner. Lash played an invaluable innings, and though some of his strokes were uppish, others were admirably executed. Bewley’ and ■Saxton carried on nicely afterward®, the former driving to the off in good style, while Saxton wae more patient and held bie wicket up to the end. Quiekfall, with 4 for 33, was easily the beet of the Park bowlers. He maintained a good length and troubled nearly all the batsmen. Haughton obtained 3 for 33, but Mason and Brown were expensive. The fielding was good, Young’s deserving special mention. He eomeo in fast to meet the ball, and has k fine, low return to the top of the umpe. BOWLERS ON THE SPOT. Western Park's best batsmen found K.11,.1 at>4 Eggleton well on the spot, ».-.A . 4 k gel going. Young did net

shape a« well as in his first game. He seems to overdo the off-drive, and it was in trying to drive a good length ball from Bottrill that he pushed the ball up to mid-off and lost his wicket. Five good Wickets were down for some 40 rune when Jones came in. He immediately attacked the bowling and aided by Haughton who kept his wicket up in stolid fashion, they’ remained at the crease for the remainder of the day. Jones was somewhat fortunate in not being caught on several occasions, and had two very narrow escapes from being run out. but he played the right game under the circumstances. Western Park are 43 behind, with live wickets in hand, but much depends on Jones as to ability to get ’runs. There should be a very interesting finish next Saturday. Bottrill and Eggleton bowled very well until they tired. Ewart was also tried and bowled steadily without being dangerous. The fielding was only fair. SCHOOL V OLD BOYS. Probably., on account of the. games being played on rather damp turf wickets, scoring on the School ground has been low this season. Last Saturday ■School could score only 95, while Old Boys B, who are a very fair batting side could muster up only 65. The bowlers were very much in the ascendant. Petty with 4 for 17 was the most successful Oid Boys’ trundler. He bowled a good length at his fastest pace, and is gradually developing his form. Inch with 3 for 21 also did well. On the School side H. Fookes with hie medium pace left-hand deliveries had all the Old Boys’ batsmen on the defence. He broke either way, but hie most dangerous ball is the one that pitches on the leg stump, and breaks across to the off. He dismissed C. Lash with a beautiful ball of this kind. Allen, who is bowling fast this season also did well. In the batting department on the School side Beck's exhibition in obtaining 60 is the only one worthy of mention. He started slowly, but ae he became set he batted in most attractive fashion. He used the off-drive with good effect, and like most left-handers he punished balls outside the leg stump with unerring certainty. The batting of the remainder lacked initiative and at time® wae monotonously slow. Pat Palmer made a forceful 28 for Oid Boys, and Dinniss kept his end up for a useful 17. The finish of this game too should provide an interesting contest. Congratulations to Kingstone on his appointment as captain of The Rest of New Zealand in their game this weekend against the New Zealand touring team. It is a-big task he is undertaking, but iiia experience as captain of Taranaki in last season’s Hawke Cup matches will be of much service to him. Local cricketers who have played both with affii against him, know that he possesses a shrewd judgment on the field, and confidently expect him to handle hie side to the satisfaction of all. TEAMS FOR SATURDAY.

SECOND GRADE. Following is the Avenue Road team to play Borough Council at Avenue Road on, Saturday.—G. Beu, C. Harvey, L. Williams, W. Davies, C. Peters, G. Lawrence, G. Fetch, J. Austin, A. Bowie, T. Carrol, G. Pilcher. Emergencies, H. Rouse, A. Jordan. The following players have been selected to represent the two Inglewood teams in -the Thursday cricket competition: A team v. Eltham, at Eltham: Parfitt, Sutherland, Arthur, Mackinder, Jones, Darlow, Harris, Burke, Bartram. Gamlin, R. Spurdie and Lightfoot. B team v. Waitara, at Inglewood, at 2 p.m.: Powell, Coutts, Alien, Brown, Coles, Devereux. N. Spurdie, Yates, L. Spurdie, Andrews, Wilson and Luckin. SOUTH TARANAKI FLAY. \ — ± — COMMENTS ON THE PLAY. On Saturday the fourth of the series of competition games was played under fair weather conditions. The default of Patea was a great disappointment to Old Boys, who had assembled early and were looking forward to the tussle keenly. Patea also are to be sympathised with, as the threatening weather led them to make the mistake of anticipating events and deciding not to undertake the journey. Nevertheless, there must be a measure of censure meeted out to Patea for their action in so taking this decision upon themselves,, and also upon the southern executive for not having a clear-cut uriderstan’ing regarding procedure in times of doubtful weather. If all club secretaries were to get into touch with the southern division secretary, say about 12 o’clock, and report on the conditions in their own district, and at the same time ascertain what the prospects for play were in the other centres, a uniform and clear understanding could be arrived at.

■ Of the four games played, all were very one-sided, with the exception, perhaps, of that between School and Eltham, there being only 25 runs between them on the first innings. Eltham’s second effort, however, proved disastrous, only 42 runs being scored, School securing the necessary runs for a three point win for the loss of three wickets. Little top scored for Eltham, and played an agressive innings. It is a pity this player could not devote more time to the game as he is one of Taranaki’s best batsmen when in form. Of the others, Page, Ansford and

Walker showed promising form in the first innings, but with the exception of Henn and Gower, all failed dismally in the second. Pacey and Barker ' nee more bore the brunt of the School attack and a noticeable feature was that they took most of their wickets clean bowled, whereas, as a rule, they secure many wickets through the aid. of their splendid fielding combination. Barker and J.

Gower accounted for half of their side's total and played good, cricket.” Milroy, Sturrock and Morrison, also contributed fair quotas, while Petersen, by rigorous batting, was responsible for the bulk of the runs in the second innings. The Midlands-Kaponga mateh, although eventually much in Midland's favour, was keenly contested throughout, and many surprises were provided. A pecularity of the game was the failure of the opening batsmen on both sides to make runs and the tail end batsmen, particularly in the case of Midlands, coming to light with good scores. With four wickets do -n for ten runs Midland’s position looked the reverse of bright, but Giblin and Jennings set up a gmd stand, which example was well followed by the rest of the side. Busing also, contrary to his 1 .al impetuous methods, played eood and careful cricket, and although securing but seven runs, his innings was a valuable one. McCarthy

followed, with a well. earned 24 and showed that his time for retiring is far from due yet. Seager top-scored, and, in fact, was responsible for much of his team's success, ‘being prominent in all departments of the game. Kaponga’s first batsmen also failed. At one stage six wickets were down for only ten runs. But -for Abbott and Harrison in the first innings and Melvelle and Abbott in the second, the totals would have been sinall indeed. Dr. Hockin and Grace, on whom Kaponga depend for most of their runs, both failed to get going in either innings, their joint contribution for both innings totalling only ten runs. Both teams gave splendid exhibitions in the field and set an example that might well be heeded by many others. Kaponga. in particular shone in this department. Josephson’s catch which dismissed Nielson was a beauty. •

Excelsior had great difficulty in finding a team to journey to Stratford, as several of their regular players were unable to make the trip. Excelsior's bowling, weakened by the absence of McKenzie, could make no headway against C urt, and Richardson who, undefeated, accounted for 125 runs out of Stratford's total of 133. Excelsior fared badly in their first attempt, but their second strike was much worse realising only 17 runs. Wilson and Young accounted for Excelsior’s wickets between them, both securing great averages. Manaia fared no better at the hands of Okaiawa, a decided three point win being registered a; -.inst them. Manaia’s first effort saw 7 4 runs- registered, Whalen ’op-scoring with 16 and playing a splendid innings. Whalen opened the batting • d* only lost his wicket in attempting to force the pace when the last batsman came in. Clarke, A. Hi / es and Broomfield reached double figures by hard hitting, Clarke and Hughes each notching two sixers. The record innings commenced with A. Hughes making a short stand, and then H. Hughes and <-yde became associated in a long and patient effort to play out time. Gyde was eventually caught and H. Hughes was run out shortly before time, there being but five minutes to go to save the innings defeat. Okaiawa’s innings commenced with a good stand by Betts and Penny, who passed Manaia’s score before being separated. Atkins played good cricket until run out from a return from the boundary by Young, and then Pratt followed to have a short but merrj “go” for 42. Three sixes and four four’s in about two overs in a short life but very merry one. Clarke was the only Manaia bowler to meet with much success, and if he could control his length, his pace would secure him many wickets. Pratt and Penny secured great averages with the ball, Pratt especially, taking in all eightwickets for 17 runs.

A distressing feature of Saturday’s cricket was the number of batsmen run out. No less than 10 were accounted for in this manner in the four games played. It is evident that judgment in running between wickets is sadly lacking and players should pay more attention to this impo-tant point. The Wednesday cricketers are having a very enjoyable competition, and the Park last Wednesday bore an animated appearance with four teams on the field. Three or four Saturday players are also taking part in the Wednesday games, but the rest, to the number of about 40, are players whose holiday falls ii the mid-week. Star, by their three point win over Manaia, take the lead at the end of the first, round with five championship points to their credit. Rivals and Manaia both have four points, so the issue is very close. R. Johnson and Worrall ’ oth passed the half eentuary last week, and Allen, Johns, Lay, and Jennings also notched respeetible totals. In the Star-Manaia game the bal. was too good for the bat, the bowling averages being very flattering. Treweek, although the batting was not the strongest, bowls! well and in the two innings secured the good average of 13 wickets for 30 nr-'s. H. Hughes with 10 wickets for 29 runs also did w’ell, as did VZhalen with 8 wickets for 44. The fielding on the whole was fair, the gem of the day being two smart catches in slips by H. Hughes, who, the previous week, snapped up two/hot ones in like manner. Although the Wednesday teams are composed in a large part of young players there re undoubtedly a few who will have strong claims to inclusion when the team to represent the division is being selected.

WEDNESDAY PLAY. TWO THREE-POINT WINS. MANAIA DEFEAT PHOENIX. By nine wickets Manaia defeated Phoenix in a two-innings match and secured a three-point win at Hawera yesterday. The wicket played well, although soft after the morning’s rain. Hughes ’(52), Jones (23) and Edmonds (19) made most of Manaia’s runs, while W. Johnson and Johns were the best bowlers for Phoenix. The home team made 53 and 64 respectively. Reading (25) in the first and Johns (35) and Cairncross (14) in the second innings were the only batsmen to reach double figures. Hughes and Whalen bore the brunt of the attack for Manaia. The details are:— PHOENIX. First Innings. Vowless, c Jones b Hughes 3 Ryan, b Whalen 0 Cairncross, b Hughes ». 5 Johns, b Hughes 7 Tozer, c Kimberly l> Whalen 9 Reading, c Hughes b Whalen 25 W. T. Johnson, e and b Whalen .. I) Ward, not out 2 Hitchcock, b Whalen 0 Zadoni, b Whalen 0 Penfold, b Hughes 0 Extras 3 Total 53 Bowling analysis.—Whalen took six wickets for 24 runs; Hughes, four for 26. Second Innings. Ward, b Hughes I’ Penfold, b Whalen 1 Cairncross, b Hughes 14 Vowless, b Hughes 3 W. T. Johnson, b Hughes 7 Reading, b Vine “ Johns, b Hughes 34 Ryan, b Hughes ® Zadoni, b Hughes 1 Hitchcock, b Hughes 2 Tozer, not out ® Ext ras • • 2 Total 64 Bowling analysis.—Hughes took eight wickets for 21 runs; Whalen, one for 12; Gyde, none for 26; Vine, one for 3. MANAIA. First Innings. Edwards, b Ward -j. W

Whalen, l.b.w. b Johns ... 1 Hughes, b Johnson ... 5’2 Jones, b Reading 23 Cosgrove, c Cairncross b Johnson .. 0 Valier, b Johns .. ... 0 Vine, c Penfold b Johnson 0 Duncan, 0 Vowless b Johns 7 Lord, b Johns 4 Whalen junr., c Ryan b Ward .. T .-. 0 Kimberly, not out ... 0 Extras 6 Total 112 Bowling analysis.—Johns took four wickets for 29 runs; Ryan, none for 19; Vowless, none for 23: Ward, two for 20: Johnson, three for 10; Reading, one for 6. Second Innings. Whalen junr., not out 8 Kimberly, b Jones 9 Extra 1 Total for one wicket 18 Bowling analysis.—Johns took one wicket for 11 runs; Ryan, none for 4; Reading, none for 2. RIVALS DEFEAT STAR. After being two runs behind in the first innings, Rivals made a good recovery, eventually emerging victorious by 20 runs on the two innings, thereby gaining a three-point win over Star at Hawera yesterday. Rivals declared their second innings with 84 runs for four wickets, leaving Star to make 83. They could gain but 62, however. Jennings (3d, not out) top scored for the mateh, while Worrall and Cartel- bowled consistently. RIVALS. First Innings. T. Lay, b Jennings 5 F. Atkins, l.b.w. b McFadyen 0 Worrall, c Campi b Jennings ...... 13 VV. Pine, b McFadyen .., 13 S. Carter, c Stevens b McFayden... 10 Vinnicombe, not out 20 Stevens, 0 McFadyen b Jennings .. 3 Coleman, c Tuohy, b Jennings 0 Smith, b McFadyen 4 Extras ,2 Total 70 Bowling analysis.—McFadyen took four wickets for 28 runs; Jennings, four for 28; Carter, none for 14. Second Innings. Pine, b Jennings 13 Atkins, b Jennings 12 Worrall, b McFadyen 21 Vinnicombe, b Jennings 0 Stevens, not out 10 Extras 3 Total for four wickets 84 Bowling analysis.—McFadyen took one wicket for 47 runs; Jennings, three for 32. STAR. First Innings. Campi, c Vinnicombe b Lay 8 Jennings, b Worrall 11 W. H. Carter, c Carter b Lay 11 McFadyen, b Carter 14 Viller, b Worrall 0 Tuohy, b Worrall 2 Guise, b Worrall 9 Hearne, b Carter 0 Jordan, not out 10 Extra 1 Total 72 Bowling analysis.—Worrall took four wickets for 26 runs; Lay, two for 25; Carter, two for 3; Atkins, none’for 14. Second Innings. Jennings, not out 36 Jordan, b Worrall 0 McFadyen, b Worrall 2 W, Carter, l.b.w. b Carter - Campi, c Lea b Carter 0 Tuohy, c Atkins b Worrall 5 Guise, c Lea b Worrall H Hearne, e Segar b Worrall 0 Extras 4 Total O' 2 Bowling analysis.—Worrall. took five wickets for 24 runs; Carter, two for 35. DACRE MAY GO TO ENGLAND. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Auckland, Nov. 9. Daerq, states that he will probably ac-

cept the offer of an engagement by the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, in whijh ease he will probably leave New Zealand in February to fulfil it. NEW ZEALAND V, THE REST. Wellington, Last Night. Cunningham does not play for The Rest. He returns to Christchurch tonight. It is understood that Eastman (Otago) is also not available. An earlier message stated: Eastman plays for The Rest of New Zealand. Nixon (Canterbury) is not available, and Talbot (Canterbury) fills one vacancy. Wellington, Last Night. Airey, a young Wellington batsman, has been chosen as 12th man for both teams. Talbot replaces Nixon in The Rest side. Eastman is available on Friday, but not for the Christchurch match. SUTCLIFFE'S CAPTAINCY RHODES ADOPTS HURT ATTITUDE. By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. Received Nov. 9, 5.’5 pan. London, Nov. 8. 'T cannot help thinking that after playing so long I should have had .the first refusal of the captaincy,” said Rhodes feelingly. “I admire Sutcliffe, who is a splendid cricketer and a goo<l fellow, but it looks as if my services are not appreciated.”