THRILL OF CRICKET

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1935, Page 4

THRILL OF CRICKET

A SLOW BOWLER’S WILES. ONE OVER, 30 RUNS, ONE WICKET. -4... Never was there better illustrated the ' unexpectedness and full-blooded action ■ combined with the subtle pitting of bowler’s brain against batsman’s eye that constitutes the charm of cricket than in five glorious minutes of play at the New Plymouth High School ground on Saturday. The chief actors in the little drama of action Were a slow bowler On the school Side and a hard-hitting batsmarj playing for Old, Boys. Temporarily the brawn of the batsman triumphed but the bowler won in the end. ' ’ _ J. Birch, whose self-confidence and strong muscles had taken his score to 54. had become set for Old Boys and seemed well on the way to a century. .Thebowlers were tired and there Was Only '■ one thing to do. Playing for School, in the throes of holiday dog-days, was Wilson, ex-stalwart of Victoria University College and Stratford senior, on holiday at New Plymouth. So Wilson took the ball himself at the School end and ■ set about removing the obstinate Birch,, through the medium of his silly-lOoking slow balls descending sweetly upon the batsman in a gentle parabola. Although the guileless-looking lob possessed. egch time a terrific break from the leg, Birch jumped out, swinging his bat at the first and despatched it, hurtling and low, over the fence, against the woooden wall of the drawing room for six.- The next whizzed in the same general direction along the carpet for four. The third sailed like a cannon ball over the low stone wall, from Which the other old boys scattered, and bounded up the steps of the preparatory room for six. The few spectators ~ felt dimly Sympathetic for the unperturbed bowler. But * they had seen nothing yet. Bitch put all his effort into the fourth ball of this memorable over. It soared high over the grey stone pile of the main school building for the best six ever seen at the ground, smashing the slates on the roof but a yard from the far wall. Excited watchers retrieved the ball from the gully whence it had bounded and gave it ! / to Wilson to try again. Birch was ruthless. He curved his bat round the suffering ball and drove it far ; out into the gully. The spectators were feeling sick with the sensation—2B from five successive deliveries, and Birch Was 82—three more balls, said someone, would give him a century. There was an intake of breath as Wilson tossed the sixth ball casually towards the batsman. ’ Revelling, Birch bote down on it and smote. Straight up in the air towards mid-on it went and two fieldsmen ran madly together. They were tod late and Lash faced the attack, such as it Seemed. The captain off-droye for a colourless single and once again Birch prepared for a big hit. Once again Wilson loped up to the wicket. Once again came the casual lob, on the leg stump and once again Birch moved his feet across to drive into that acute leg break. Alas! The ball came on perfectly straight. The blade of willow encountered nothing but air and a wicket lean- _ ed drunkenly. The bowler had won.