CRICKET.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LX, Issue 143765, 13 April 1912, Page 8

CRICKET.

(By “Willow.”)

It was a great pity that the match between me- rtoioiigu Council and me Taranaki County Council was spout, by tlie weather. Tne match was, oi course, not a serious game of cricket, but several players snowed that they had not altogether lost the skill which had made them respected antagonists m the past. J. Brown, the chairman of the County Council, whp played his last maten against Hawera .over sixteen years ago, bowled very well indeed. Alter his hrst few overs he struck a good length, and lor some Ihnr or live overs was right on the spot. Naturally ho was unaole to keep this up to the end of the innings, but while he was bpwling at his best ne would have got wickets against better batsmen than he had to bowl against on Monday. J. T. Mannix snowed good form with the ba"t, hitting up 33 in good style, but he is a much more recent player, and it is a pity that he does not play the game still, for .with practice he has lots of runs left in him. He kept tho wickets, too, in good form. James Clarke did his share also very well, and has started up the borough bowling' in promising form. Had the match been played on a fine day with the grass short? those who went to see some fun at the expense of tho players would have also seen some interesting play. A score of 90 on the ground in the state it was in would have meant at least 150 under better conditions. A match between the Auckland and Wellington mid-week representatives was commenced on the Basin Reserve at Wellington on Monday. Batting first, Wellington made 313, Gourlay making 113 and Bailey 66. Auckland did fairly well in their first innings, scoring 159 (A. Poll 41 and C. Brown 3fi). Bailey bowled well for the home team in this innings, taking five for 58. Auckland went to pieces in the second innings, only making 43, Harris, who had taken one for 49 in the first innings, getting rid of six men for 24 in the second. Wellington won by an innings and 111 runs. S. E. Gregory, the captain of the Australian team, has appointed Warren Bardsley as the third selector of teams for the' English tour. The selection committee now consists of Gregory, Jennings, and Bardsley. Cricketers will be glad to hear that P. F. Warner will be playing again this year in England, his medical advisers having certified that ho will bo able to do so without his suffering any injurious effects. It had been at first supposed that he would never again be able to don the flannels, but happily this will not be the case. “Plum” Warner is one of the most po’pular cricketers of the day, and should he be able to reproduce anything like his old form, will probably captain the English team in the triangular tests this winter.

The following financial statement dealing with the recent visit of the English team .was presented, to the A r ic,torlan Cricket Association :—Gross receipts £BB4B 7s 6d, players’ expenses £774 4s 6d, ground charges £283 11s 6d. catering £341 Os 4d. 10 per cent, to trustees £BB4 15s, other expenses £l4B 14« lOd, Marylehone Cricket Club £3371 11s sd. Profit to the association, £3041 18s 9d. Mr. Crouch, the manager of the Australian team now on hoard the Otway, snvs that the ship’s carpenters are engaged in making a slip-catching machine for the. use of the players during the trip home. . P. F. AA’arner claims for himself a record during the past tour, in that h" travelled 30,000 miles for one innings. _ , , The Australians when at Colombo pi avc d a match with the Islanders, winning bv 11 runs on the first innings. Pick 'Arnst, the chsmnion sculler, played for them. The individual scores are. however, not available.