WITH BAT AND BALL

Taranaki Daily News, 29 November 1934, Page 10

WITH BAT AND BALL

ANALYSING MATCHES KAPONGA’S BID IN THE SOUTH. BIRCH'S VALUE TO OLD BOYS. (By "King Willow.”) Match-winning ’Keeping. If Davison, New Plymouth wicketkeeper, felt keen disappointment upon losing his wicket, run out, when within a few runs of his century shortly after the resumption of play on the second day of the School-New Plymouth match, he must have felt compensated when with School at the batting crease, his brilliant taking of the ball flying from the bats of the Idft-handerS Donnelly and Broughton, placed ’ his side very definitely in a winning position. The catch which sent Donnelly back, his first delivery facing Crapper, was a particularly fine effort. Nasmith and DavisOn, in resuming their sterling knocks of the first day’s play, scored freely, and it was in an effort to “sneak” one that brought about Davison’s downfall, Donnelly at mid-off fielding a drive brilliantly with his return, leaving Ulenberg little to do. Davison’s later dismissal of Donnelly must have been “sweet revenge.” Nasmith upon attaining his century hit with abandon and Donnelly’s first good length legbreak beat him completely. Lowenthal, in six scoring shots, broke through the field on three occasions with powerful full shots and his tally of 15 not out was compiled in six minutes. The Australian has been revealing at the practice nets form that suggests he is shaking off the effects of his four years’ spell from active participation in cricket, and he should shortly be making good scores. Later in the day he took a turn with the ball and in four overs claimed two victims at a cost of two runs. The balls that beat Urry and Whittington might easily have accounted for firstclass batsmen. School Stalwarts Topple.

When the Crapper-Davison combination brought about the downfall of Donnelly and Broughton, School sustained a serious setback. Ninkie, who has displaced GrOombridge as opening bowler because of the tricks he plays with the new ball, drove home the initial advantage gained when he completely beat Waters with a swinger, and with three of the formidable School quartette dispose of it appeared a collapse was imminent. T. Larkin, whose broken wrist and strict application to study have not permitted him to attain top form yet, held the fort until Nasmith broke right across the face of the wicket to touch the bat and give Crapper a catch in Slips. It was left to Johns and Faris to cheek the inroads into the School batting list, and the performances of both were splendid in the face of falling wickets, a meagre tally and bowling at its peak. Johns gave a solid display and with gaining confidence will yet make a name in School cricket. But it is to Faris, almost a newcomer to senior cricket, that the honours must go. His confidence was almost that of a veteran player, his bat played straight up and straight down in defence and several of his shots won applause. His was a gallant knock and was appreciated by players and spectators alike. Birch’s Performance. J. Birch has saved the New Plymouth Old Boys’ team from disaster this season. He has made good scores when runs were wanted. On the form shown by the rest of the team it will be a sad day when Birch fails to produce his usual quota. Christensen’s innings of 22, mainly with slashing off drives, was particularly valuable, as the bpwlers were getting the upper hand when he went in. - Lash’s Declaration. - There was criticism of Lash’s action in declaring Old Boys’ innings closed so late. Although he could not hope to dismiss Western Park in an hour, his action was justified by. the performance of that team in its. second innings. Had Lash declared earlier, 33 runs fewer added while Christensen was at the crease, would have been left for Park to make. With the 23 runs deficit on the first innings Park'would have needed 143. With the extra time given, at the rate of scoring in its second innings Western Park would probably have realised the total. Attractive Batting.

E. Spedding displayed a type of batting that appeals to the public. He at once started- to score off all the bowlers. Whether playing back or forward he hit hard and always was prepared to run a short single. Could the brisk batting of Western Park be reproduced every Saturday cricket matches would have more than handfuls of spectators. Bowlers Less Dangerous.

G. Ewart, like Kirwin, is a bowler who nd longer, keeps the batsmen quiet or tricks them.' Like Kirwin he occasionally sends down a winner but for the most part the bowling of both is but ordinary. J. Spedding while bowling inconsistently gains the wickets. Although he sends doWn many loose deliveries a deeply set field keeps the runs down. Should batsmen be content to tap him for singles close in they would be taking less risk and would get more runs than by attempting sixes and failing. On Saturday he had four for 11 until Christensen hit 16 off five balls. Kaponga’s Chance.

Kaponga’s second successive big score last week suggests that it is going to be a hard nut to crack in the fight for the

championship. Stan. Betts century and Dormer’s bowling on Saturday were highlights. Betts showed all his strokes in a fine innings and he timed the ball like a champion. Another good performance of the match was Little’s 92 for Hawera. The pasting he gave the bowlers could only suggest that the Other batsmen feared the bowling more than they need have. Old Boys’ Bowling.

Old Boys’ performance against Patea was not startling and the match against Kaponga on Saturday is going to be the trial. Where Old Boys have the advantage, of course, is the possession of a formidable bowling string. Any one of the stock bowlers, on his day, is liable to do all sorts of things. Against Kaponga, it will be a match of good bowlers against good batsmen. Providing the Barkers and Duke, who seem about the only Old Boys batsmen in form, get going, the advantage may lie with Old Boys. Bill Barker’s innings against Patea was a splendid effort. Pat Ca’s Play.

Patea so far has not won a match. Inexperience is the main fault. Congratulations are due to Power Board, which had its first and well deserved win. The team is young and keen and solid practice by the members has brought th; deserved success. Geary, a stylish batsman, and Buist were chiefly responsible for Saturday’s win.

South Taranaki Senior B. Old Boys B had its first win on Saturday and it is to be congratulated. The team plays a light-hearted game. Except for the pitch, which is bad enough to upset anyone, and the meeting with fast bowling, School’s collapse against Opunake was inexplicable. Manilla's Escape.

Manaia by now is so far in the lead that it is difficult to see any side giving serious trouble. Nevertheless three of the matches have been won by narrow margins and Manaia may easily suffer a reverse. The recovery of the team against Old Collegians was a gem of cricket. C. Whalen’s • innings was a masterpiece of daring and action. When his team-mates had matched their by no means slight ability against the bowlers and had failed, he played every, stroke with confidence and farmed the bowling. School Men Score Brightly. In scoring 83 for Stratford High School against Hawera B at Stratford F. Betts realised another substantial total to add to the good performances he has already made this season. He has been batting well consistently and his stand against Stevens, who took eight for 59, made his display all the more creditable. He was eventually bowded by Kibblewhite. Second best and a fine effort was, J. Anderson’s 63. Both were cautious in their treatment of the bowling but they neglected nothing that could be smacked to the boundary. Stevens’ bowling gave him the top place for Taranaki on Saturday, and though others showed a better average per wicket his figure of 7.37 tuns per wicket when he took wickets right through the innings is commendable. Two Prominent Bowlers. Consistent performers with the ball in the northern Senior B games are Autridge and Parkin. The former has done well in every match and on Saturday put the finishing touches to an impressive knock for 32 by taking six wickets for six runs and later three for seven. Parkin, a left-hand medium paced spin bowler, shows great promise and his six wickets for 27 runs against Western Park A was no mean effort. He is also a handy man with the bat. Junior Competition. R. Edgecombe of the New Plymouth junior team is the most reliable bat in the competition. His score is always around the fifties and several times he has not been beaten. It is apparent by its performances that the Western Park junior team requires a good deal of practice. The fielding is of a very poor standard. Kiwi is to be congratulated on its first Win, and it is pleasing to note how the team has improved. A. Smith the team’s all-rounder has proved himself a fine captain. Marsden School’s fast bowler has proved that he is still in form. His seven wickets for 26 runs against Waitara was a fine performance. Waitara is at the top of the competition and has not yet been defeated. The strength lies in Gilmore’s batting and Jupp’s bowling. The surprise on Saturday was the defeat of a strong Old Boys’ team by New Plymouth. Old . Boys’ strength seems to lie in the first four batsmen, the tail being very weak. UMPIRES’ ASSOCIATION NOTES. L.B.W. RULE APPLICATION. As many cricketers, particularly in the North Taranaki junior and senior B grades, are still under a misapprehension regarding the application of the l.b.w. rule, the following points may be of interest. One frequently hears of an umpire’s decision being queried because a bowler is bowling round the wicket, or that so-and-so cannot obtain an l.b.W. decision because he bowls a “break ball.” The rule reads as follows: A batsman may be out l.b.w. “if with part of his person he stops the ball, which in the opinion of the umpire at the bowler’s wicket shall have been pitched in a Straight line from it to the striker’s wicket and would have hit it.”

A batsman may be out l.b.w. although the bowler is bowling round the wicket, if the case comes within this law. There are three considerations which an umpire must bear in mind: (1) Did it pitch in a straight line between wicket and wicket?; (2) was it part of the batsman’s person other than the hand which intercepted the ball?; (3) would the ball have hit the wicket?

If these questions are answered in the affirmative the batsman would be out. It is immaterial whether the ball breaks or not. It is sometimes only possible for a bowler bowling round the wicket to obtain an l.b.w. decision with a breaking ball. Then again many batsmen are frequently trapped by what is known as an “in-swinger,” or, in other words, a swerving ball. Such a ball would appear to the batsman to be outside the stumps, and in playing in front of his wickets, the swerve or in-swing pitches the ball in a direct line between wicket and wicket. Consequently if in the umpires’ opinion the ball would have hit the wicket, the batsman is out l.b.w. There are bowlers who can exploit such a ball under certain conditions, thus trapping an unwary batsman. FIELDING IN THE SLIPS. CONSTANTINE’S EXPERIENCE. No branch of fielding Is more important than that in the slips, and ‘ no part of the game is more neglected. It is in the slip that a good batsman on a good wicket is most likely to give chances, and yet adequate study and preparation are almost absolutely ignored. When people see splendid slip catches taken they search their vocabulary for adjectives in an endeavour to describe them, as if such catches were the peculiar gift of a chosen few, and ordinary cricketers must only watch and marvel. They are mistaken. L. N. Constantine has a few words to say on this important aspect of the game. He writes: For myself I can say that I have made

myself twice the slip fieldsman I was by practice, by taking care and concentration.

Previous to the year 1927 I fielded at cover, but just then I' decided to be a fast bowler, and as I could not do that and field at cover-point at the same time, the slips would be my place. I did not want to cease being a good cover-point, to become an ordinary slip fieldsman. So I settled down to work and study the art. In a comparatively short space of time I was taking slip catches which previously I would have considered impossible. I was lissom and had a good eye. My early training with my father made me follow the flight of the ball, and I could take it with either hand. Good as that foundation undoubtedly was, I worked pretty hard, aad any one who wishes to master one of the finest departments of the art of cricket can work along the lines I suggest here. HOW I TRAIN. To be a fast bowler one must be very fit, and for training I did a mile or two every morning for about a month prior to the commencement of our season, tunning and walking alternately as fast as I could. But when I decided to field in the slips I talked io a few people, read a book or two, and made up my mind, that skipping must be included in my training. There is no better exercise. It helps the legs and knees, and gives such added quickness to the leapoff that I no longer wondered why boxers use that process so extensively. There is also the question of balance, which is almost equally important; to make the best use of your reach and so distributing your weight that you fall neither before nor while you are making the catch, but after. Apart from catching and throwing the ball to any one who would throw the ball to me, I lived for hours on the slip machine at The Oval.

I did not go on the machine merely for the purpose of catching the ball, but always paid attention, particular attention to over-balancing, why I reached a ball and could not hold it, and the positions of my feet. The question of timing is very important, and I have discovered that getting the hands behind the flight' of the ball as soon as possible is of material assistance and reduces to a very small scope the margin of error. METHODS OF PRACTICE.

As you practise you find things out for yourself, but there are one or two points which I would like to make. First, that in slip-fielding more often than not one hand is better than two. Overhead, for instance, and when you are jumping sideways. Even in the case where there is no need to jump it is suicidal to try to use two hands. There is the question of arranging your body to get the hands in proper position, and

if both hands are used the reach is so shortened that it becomes almost impossible to get to the ball and hold it. Quickness and reach are about the most important things, po not worry about the actual holding of the ball. Constant practice will give you that. Concentrate on getting there, ' using every inch of your reach, and yet preserving your balance. There are many who could hold the ball, but could never* get there, and there arc a few unfortunate ones who could neither get there nor hold the ball. Practise and practise hard. Do not expect to begin to-day and make a great slip-field to-morrow. If every time you miss you stop and think, if when convenient you look at an imaginary ball and throw yourself two or three yards to catch it, then- you will manage in time, because these things that you practise consciously you will find yourself putting into play unconsciously. It is worth trying, believe me.