416 FOR FOUR

Taranaki Daily News, 31 July 1931, Page 7

416 FOR FOUR

ENGLAND’S BIG SCORE

INNINGS DECLARED CLOSED RAIN DELAYS NEW ZEALAND THREE CENTURIES MADE VIVIAN DISMISSES TWO By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Rec. 1.30 a.m. London, July 30. England in the first innings in the test against New Zealand declared this morning with the score 416 for four wickets. Rain delayed th- commencement of the New Zealand innings. After Bakewell’s dismissal yesterday Silt- 1 cliffe and Duleepsinhji established a profit- ! able second wicket partnership. With the advent of Duleepsinhji Allcott Weir. The left-hander again nearly brought about the cheap dismissal of the Indian, who edged the ball luckily through tl a slips. . - Merritt bowled two overs before lunch. In the first he badly beat Sutcliffe. During the interval light rain commenced to fall, delaying the resumption for 75 . minutes. With' his score at 28 Duleepsinhji attempted to force Allcott to the. on. He cocked the ball to Merritt at mid-on, but the fieldsman failed to . make sufficient ground to take-the catch. However, Duleepsinhji soon overcame his period of indecision and played delightful shots off all bowlers, his late-cutting, driving and hooking being especially fine.. The second century appeared immediately after tea, Sutcliffe shortly afterwards reaching his century in 210 t minutes. With well-placed shots to the leg side Duleepsinhji also passed the century in 130 minutes. He then commenced to hit out, and in trying to drive Allcott he skied the ball to Weir at cover, the fieldsman taking a well-judged running catch. The latter part of Duleepsinhji’s innings was exceptionally good. He showed brilliant footwork and timing, combined with beautiful execution of all shots. He made ample amends for his uncertain start. He hit 13 fours.

The score then stood at 262 for two wickets. Nine runs later Sutcliffe was also dismissed in attempting to force the pace. He jumped out to Vivian,.who had bowled with great steadiness, missed, and was smartly stumped. Sutcliffe’s innings contained several minor blemishes. . Still he gave a fine display of batsmanship. His off shots were made with rare crispness and precision. He also scored well with leg glides and powerful hook shots. He hit 10 fours. Hammond and Ames batted steadily and in the last 40 minutes added 41. The New Zealand bowlers had an unenviable task on a slow wicket. The ball rarely rose above stump height and turned very slowly. Cromb bowled excellently for the first hour in the morning, but ; his length and direction later suffered sbghtlyHe bowled 29 overs. The greatest credit is due to the lefthanders, Allcott, who bowled 35 overs, and Vivian, who bowled 28. Both kept the batsmen defending for a considerable ■ period. Merritt was used sparingly, and although expensive, frequently appeared to be dangerous. '• . ' . The New Zealand fielding maintained its high standard throughout the day. Merritt won frequent applause with his saving. James has never kept wickets better and let through only one bye. The scores are:— ENGLAND. First Innings. Sutcliffe, st. James,.b Vivian .... 117 Bakewell, run out ; 40 Duleensinhji, c Weir, b Allcott ... 109 Hammond, not out -.190 Ames, c James, b Vivian .........x 41 Jardine, not out • •••: 7 Extras ....« 3 Total (for four wickets dec.) 416 Bowling: Cromb took no wickets for 97 runs; Allcott, one for 108; Vivian, two for 96; Weir, none for 36; Merritt, none for 75; Blunt, none for 2. NEW ZEALAND. • I • First Innings. Mills, not out •• ™ Weir, not out i Extras ••• •’ • • ■ Total (for no wickets) .... 31 PRINCE VISITS THE GROUND. IMPERIAL CRICKET PARLEY. London, July 29, Rain after lunch in the Test coincided with the visit of the Prince of Wales. The Prince remained for nearly an hour, but play had not resumed when he left. He shook hands with the players and told Lowry: “The last, tiffie I was at the Oval was during the Australian Test and I brought rain then too.’’

An Imperial cricket conference was held this afternoon to discuss Test match qualification. Messrs Donnelly and Sims represented New Zealand. It was hoped that arrangements would be made for Lowry and Jardine to broadcast to New Zealand to-morrow evening. ' Mr. Arthur Gilligan’s broadcast account of to-day’s Test play was delivered to a specially installed, microphone in Mr. Donnelly’s bedroom in the Great Central Hotel, which Sir Thomas Wilford requested the post office to provide. There was evidence of widespread public interest in the match and every seat at the Oval was sold out for the Test match.