SOUTH TARANAKI CRICKET

Taranaki Daily News, 11 March 1932, Page 4

SOUTH TARANAKI CRICKET

STRATFORD’S STRONG POSITION. ■ SERIES NEARING COMPLETION. Only one more set of club cricket fixtures -will be played in South Taranaki this year, but the final result is by no means clear. Stratford A appearto have a mortgage on divisional honours, and unless the unexpected happens will again play in the provincial final. The present position of the teams is:—

Following are the fixtures for tomorrow: Stratford A v. Okaiawa, at Stratford; Old Boys B v. Old Boys A, at Hawera; Patea v. Hawera, at Hawera; Opunake v. High School, at Hawera; Kaponga v. Stratford B. at Kaponga. Okaiawa are quite capable of beating Stratford A, but have been far from impressive this season, probably through lack of practice. Stratford on the other hand have a solid team, including' a first-class all-round cricketer in Dormer; With Hall, Lay, Sandford, Gatton, Wilson and M. Donnelly also in form, last year’s divisional winners will be able to field a strong team. Penny, Edeil and Co. may, however, rise to the occasion, in which case a play-off ■ between Stratford A and Old Boys B will be necessary. This would be a happy state of affairs as each team .has beaten the other this season, Old Boys B having the misfortune to draw with other teams. In the event of a play-off Stratford would still be favoured. LAST WEEK’S FLAY REVIEWED. There were two big features of last Saturday’s play. One was the remarkable unbroken second wicket partnership of the Barker brothers and the. other was the collapse of Patea. It was anticipated that Patea, playing at-home, would fully extend Stratford A. The bowling machine failed to function, however, Jones being the only bowler who could do anything, while even he found his wickets expensive. Hall made another good score, while Sandford, who has not been among the runs this Beason, got into his stride for once to compile a half-century. When Patea went in Wilson got to work for his best bag of wickets this season. The Stratford slow bowler uses his head and he had all but Joues and Peterson scratching. Just how many runs the two Barkers would have made against Okaiawa had time permitted it is difficult to say. Their 215 may not be a record second wicket partnership for Taranaki, but it must have been a unique stand for two brothers. These two have made many runs this year, H. Barker having done best with 799 at an average of over 70. His total of five centuries is also a remarkable feat. His brother has made 49-1 runs, including two centuries, at an' average of just over 40. That the Okaiawa attack looked weak was due to the exceptional form of the brothers, plus a mistake

1 or two in the field, a. department, by the way, in which Old Boys B have fallen off since the beginning of the season. Okaiawa's poor total can be largely attributed to Sturrock’s bowling. At times he was breaking back a foot and always needed watching. 11. Barker, at a slower pace than usual, maintained a better length. Reference to the game would be incomplete without mention of Sagar’s remarkable catch in slips. The ball travelled off Hughes’ bat like a shot out of a gun no higher than an inch off the

ground. It was so low that even Sagar was not sure if it was a catch. Whether or no it was a catch.it was brilliant fielding as the shot was one 'of those that iTsually finish against the fence. Old Boys A made no race of it with High School. The School bowling with the exception of Sargeson’s was weak, while the ex-students gave their best batting of the season. Morrissey was in happy mood while Moloney and Jordan played their usual neat game. Guise had his “eye in” and batted well. Hawera, as was anticipated, beat Stratford B fairly easily.

Stratford A P. W. D. 1 L. Ps. 14 12 . 1 25 Old Boys B ...... 14 10 3 1 23 Kaponga 14 7 . 4 3 18 Patea ... 15 8 o 5 IS Old Boys A .■ 14 6 2 6 14 Okaiawa 14 D 2 7 12 Hawera . : A. . 15 • 6 0 0 12 High School ... ...... 15. 1 9 11 Stratford B 15 . 4 . 1 10 !) Opunake 14 . 1 0 . 13 2