OXFORD BEAT CAMBRIDGE

Taranaki Daily News, 25 August 1931, Page 6

OXFORD BEAT CAMBRIDGE

CRICKET SPELL BROKEN AT LAST. i TWO RECORD BATTING'PEATS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, July 9. Oxford have at last broken the spell and' won the cricket match against Cambridge at'Lords. It was their first success einco' !- l 1 923.. It was also a very remarkable , win,- which came' suddenly and most unexpectedly 1 when everything' 'pointed' to a'draw. ■ ■ ■ ' '• ; The Cahtaba'batted first; and in m'h : k r irig 385 appeared to have played themselves into a safe position; in fact, towards the end of the innings the batsmen took every risk to force the pace and score quickly. But they were wrong ill their calculations. Oxford made a splendid response, and actually headed their, opponente’ total ‘by 68 with only - eight men out. Then they declared. It was a daring thing to do, especially as the wicket was still playing easily," though dusty. No doubt the idea was to get Cambridge in for the last half houi - of the day and, possibly, secure" two or three quick wickets. When they did not succeed in. this they seemed to have forfeited most of their advantage. ■hut on the. third morning the game took a dramatic turn. The Lords pitch is sometimes difficult for batsmen early in the morning, and, to their surprise, the Oxford spin bowlers found that they could turn the ball with a good deal of pace. .Still the Light Blues had 4'5 on the board with, all their wickets intact, Then, however, the team collapsed sensationally, being all out for 122. This left Oxford only 55 to win. and they gained, the runs readily fori the loss of two wickets. ; There was never a dull moment in ihe match, though it was only on the last day that there any excitement. It also produced two very exceptional feats. At the last moment A. Ratcliffe had to be. included in the Cambridge eleven, and, going in first wicket down, he 'batted brilliantly, setting up a new record for the match with a score of 201. The previous highest score was 172, and it had stood for 27 years. Extraordinarily enough, this new record only lasted 24 hours, for it was beaten by the Indian batsman, Nawab of Pataudi, who scored 23'8 not out for Oxford. The South African allrounder, H. G. Owen Smith, who made a Test match century against England last summer, also contributed largely to the success of the side, making 7'B and taking five- wickets. Everyone, I think, was glad that Ox-; ford won, and yet at the finish the' impression was that Cambridge were the better all-round team.: They certainly seemed to possess the'better bowlers, and they were smarter in the field. Still, every credit was due to the Dark Blues for the manner in which they seized their chance when the pitch, playcd into'their" haiids on the morning of; ■tht!'th;rd-"dft’s i ?' f .l -x ‘ ' '■ >; \ I- . .■■■ •(■ M h I.;;:-! ....