CRICKET.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18833, 23 March 1931, Page 13

CRICKET.

SOUTH CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION. SATURDAY’S COMPETITION GAMES. Grade matches under the jurisdiction of the South Canterbury Cricket Association were played on Saturday afternoon. Conditions were not good for play, for although the weather was fine the cloudy nature of the sky made the light bad, and towards “stumps” batsmen had difficulty in seeing the ball. Timaru, who were without the services of Mcßeath, met Star at Eraser Park, put on 137 before being disposed of. Taking strike, Star did not fare too well until half the side had been disposed of. Holden then got going, and with Smith, increased the score materially. When stumps were drawn, Star had lQst nine wickets for 95, or 42 short of the number of runs required to equal Timaru’s total. Celtic played High School on the Rectorv ground, and batting first, made 197 before declaring, with only nine wickets down. , High School had lost four wickets for 68 when play closed. Although Geraldine was to have met Old Boys at Fraser Park, an arrangement was come to between the clubs for Old Boys to visit Geraldine, where this fixture was played. CELTIC V. HIGH SCHOOL. The position of this match at the end of the day’s play was interesting, and it depends upon the remainder of the School team who have yet to bat. With anything like a fair average stand, they should be able to get within measurable distance of Celtic’s total. The outstanding feature of the match was the innings played by the opening batsmen for Celtic, S. and R. Mason. Between them they compiled 106 runs by means of sparkling cricket. Of this total R. Mason who was the first to go, made 39, while S. Mason had reached 67 before being dismissed. Both were caught by McDougall off Matthews. Kane, Harding and Russell went cheaply, and then Murrow gave the fieldsmen some leather-chasing, making 18 in quick time. Stevens and Cuthbertson with 19 and 17 (not out), respectively, were the only other two to make a stand, the last wicket putting on 31 runs. School started badly, Manning having made one when he was caught by R. Mason off Harding. Usaher became associated with Ryan, after McDougall had been given out l.b.w. to Harding, and runs came more freely, the partnership being broken when Ussher was caught by Harding off Kane. He made 21 during the time he was at the wickets. Carlton joined Ryan, but was clean bowled by S. Mason after making six runs. Anderson opened his innings with a four, but time was called without any further addition, Ryan and Anderson being still in play when stumps were drawn. Appended are the details of the scores:— CELTIC First Innings. S. Mason, c McDougall, b Matthews 67 R. Mason, c McDougall, b Matthews 39 J. Kane, c Anderson, b Kirk .... 2 C. Harding, lbw, b Matthews .... 9 H. Russell, st. Anderson, b Matthews 3 E. Murrow, c Kirk, b Matthews .. 18 D. Roper, lbw, b McDougall 9 J. Seaman, b McDougall 1 Stevens, c Gabites, b Kirk 19 Cuthbertson, not out 17 Extras 13 Total for nine wickets 197 Bowling analysis—McDougall 2 for 79, Matthews 5 for 64, Manning 0 for 17, Kirk 2 for 22. HIGH SCHOOL. First Innings. Manning cR. Mason, b Harding .. 1 Ussher c Harding, b Kane 21 McDougall, lbw, b Harding 0 Ryan, not out 20 Carlton, bS. Mason .. .. 6 Anderson, not out 4 Extras 13 Total for four wickets 65 TIMARU V. STAR. This match, played at Fraser Park, attracted the attention of a good number of cricket enthusiasts. Winning the toss, Timaru went to the wickets, Cockroft and Burton opening. These batsmen were not long in opening their account, the first over yielding six by Cockroft off Smith. They ran smartly between the wickets. When Cockroft was 12 he was clean bowled by Smith. Moore joined Burton and the runs came quickly, the first named with three two’s, a four, and a single running into double figures. He was caught by Holden off Seaton when there were eleven runs opposite his name. Ritchie was stumped by Herdman off Seaton without making a run. Buchanan joined Burton, and these two made things merry for the fieldsmen. Buchannan reached 13 quickly, and then was bowled by Powell. Hudson at no time during his innings looked comfortable, and had just made seven when he played one on from Smith. Inglis snicked one to the boundary for four, and the next ball saw him caught by Seaton ofT Powell. Burton was next to go, caught by Bums off Powell. He had been batting just under the hour, and had scored 28, including five fours. Hamilton and Cave carried on, the last named making 15 by stylish cricket, when he was caught by Shilllto off Powell. Hamilton and Berry had not been long together, when the first-named was out l.b.w. to Powell. He contributed 21, including two sixes and a four. Montgomery, the last man, was bowled by Smith without making a run. Star began their innings badly, their opening batsmen Herdman and Seaton going cheaply, and the board showed a loss of two wickets for six runs. Bums shaped confidently but Shillito was not comfortable, and he lost his wicket to Cockroft after making three. Powell and Button went cheaply, and then Holden stemmed the “rot” and with Burns made runs. The latter had reached 20 when a good ball from Berry beat him. Smith was next man, and he made 15 in four hits, including one which he sent over the pavilion, and then he was caught by Moore off Hudson. Aitcheson and Armstrong each went for a “blob” and Stevenson and Holden played out time, stumps being drawn with Star having one wicket to fall and their total being 95. Appended are the scores:— TIMARU. First Innings. Cockroft, b Smith 12 Burton, c Bums, b Powell 28 Moore, c Holden, b Seaton 11 Ritchie, st. Herdman, b Seaton .... 0 Buchandn, b Powell 13 Hudson, b Smith 7 Inglis, c Seaton, b Powell 4 Hamilton, lbw, b Powell 21 Cave, c Shillito, b Powell 15 Berry, not out 0 Mongomery, b Smith 0 Extras 26 Total 137 Bowling analysis—Smith 3 for 28, Seaton 2 for 34, Bums 0 for 19, Powell 5 for 26, Armstrong 0 far 4.

STAR. First Innings. Herdman, c Inglis, b Berry 0 Seaton, c Berry, b Herdman 3 Bums, b Berry 20 Shillito, lbw, b Cockroft 3 Powell, b Berry 5 Button, b Berry 0 Holden, not out 38 Smith, c Moore, b Hudson 15 Aitcheson, c Moore, b Berry 0 Armstrong, b Hudson 8 Stevenson, not out 2 Extras 8 Total for nine wickets - - 95 GERALDINE V. OLD BOYS. Bright and improved fielding by Geraldine which enabled them to gain a lead of five runs over Old Boys in the first innings, was the main feature of the match which opened on the Geraldine Oval on Saturday afternoon. Geraldine opened the batting, knocking up 91, and Old Boys' last wicket fell on time when the board disclosed a total of 87. Both sides recorded some good catches. Geraldine batted first, and R. Sharpe opened to the bowling of Cunningham, with Cain as his partner. The partnership resulted in twelve only, Sharpe being caught behind the wickets by Unwin off Cunningham. Turner joined Cain, and the combination resulted in thirty-six more appearing on the board before Turner was caught by Unwin, who was giving an excellent exhibition behind the stumps. Muff snicked one to Hamilton off G. Davies, who was bowling “off” theory. Dixon opened his shoulders, and after hitting two fours, -was well caught by Marriott at 74. A. Sharpe also attacked the bowling, hitting two fours, before he went l.b.w. to Marriott. D. Callanan followed, and was just opening out when his wicket fell to Cunningham. The last four batsmen were tricked by Old Boys’ slow bowlers, and their contribution to their side was only eight runs. Davies who took three for 12, Cunningham three for seventeen, and Murchison two for ten, all had satisfactory averages.

Owing to the accurate fielding of the home side, Old Boys opened poorly, Murchison losing his wicket for three runs when the board displayed eleven. Ayres, his partner, was dismissed in Dixon’s same over, and at this stage the score stood at two for twelve. Hamilton was dismissed by a good catch by Harper at point, off Dixon, whose average at this stage was quite good. Before Old Boys’ total of twenty-one was enlarged, Unwin was out to a brilliant catch by F. Turner at silly mid-on, off Muff. While partnering Davies, who gave a steady display of batting, the wickets of Marriott, Wells and Cunningham fell sheaply to Muff, who was bowling with something of his old guile, Cunningham being caught by Bethune behind the wickets. The main interest now was whether Old Boys would reach Geraldine's total of 91, and the partnership between Mclnnes and Davies looked hopeful for a time. However, Davies, who made top score—went l.b.w. to Sharpe, and Sunley’ wicket fell on time whefi Old Boys needed five to give them a lead on the first innings. Muff, with five wickets for 24, Turner, with one for eight, and Dixon, with three for 19 registered the best averages. Mr “Extras” supplied Old Boys with a useful 20— nearly a quarter of the total runs for the side. Details of the scores are as follows:

GERALDINE. First Innings. R. Sharpe, c Unwin, b Cunningham 9 F. Cain, c Unwin, b Davies .. .. 20 F. Turner, c Unwin, b Davies .. 19 S. Muff, c Hamilton, b Davies .. 1 R. Dixon, c Marriott, b Cunningham 9 A. Sharpe, lbw, b Marriott .... 8 D. Callanan, b Cunningham .... 12 L. Harper, c and b Murchison .. 2 G. Webb, c Unwin, b Murchison .. 4 C. Williams, b Hamilton 2 I. Bethune, not out 0 Extras 5 Total B 1 Bowling analysis—Davies 3 for 12, Murchison 2 for 10, Hamilton 1 for 0, Cunningham 3 for 17, Marriott 1 for 28, Ayres 0 for 13, Mclnnes 0 for 6. OLD BOYS. First Innings. R. Murchison, b Dixon 3 Ayres, c Bethune, b Dixon .... 6 I. Hamilton, c Harper, b Dixon .. 7 G. Davies, lbw, b Sharpe 30 D. Unwin, c Turner, b Muff .... 0 J. Marriott, lbw, b Muff 2 Wells, b Muff ■ ■ • ■ 8 I. Cunningham, c Bethune, b Muff .. 4 Thompson, b Turner 4 Mclnnes, not out 10 R. Sunley, b Muff 1 Extras 20 Total 87 Bowling analysis—Muff, 5 for 24, Dixon 3 for 19, Turner 1 for 8, and R. Sharpe 1 for 16. LOWER GRADE CRICKET. Playing at School Park, Timaru and Waimataitai juniors, neither of which was at full strength, played a draw game, each side scoring 81 runs. Waimataitai were sent in to bat, the chief contributions coming from Williams (20), Cowles (23) and Talbot (not out 15). McAulifle (4 for 23), Saunders (2 for 20), and Barnard (2 for 1), were the most, successful bowlers. Timaru’s score was compiled principally by McAuliffe (22), McDougall (10), and A. Mangos (12). Bowling honours were secured by Williams and Roper, the former taking 4 for 25, and the latter 3 for 28. The game was very close, and it was due to Timaru’s tall batsmen who had over 20 to make, that the match was drawn. By 29 runs on the first innings Star deefated Old Boys in a third grade contest on School Park. Batting first, Star made 62 (Beckingham 31). A. Thomson took 8 wickets for 22 runs. Old Boys replied with 33, no batsman reaching double figures. Thomas took 5 for 20, and Williams 4 for 13. In their second strike Star compiled 78 (Halkett 10, Beckingham 16, Marsh 20). Thomson secured 5 for 34. SECOND GRADE. Pareora defeated Fairview at Pareora by 136 runs on the first innings. The scores were:—Pareora 169 for 5 wickets (declared), (Rodgers 59, Munra 42, Vincent 28 not out, P. Sinclair 11, L Thompson 10 not out). McNamara took three wickets for 48, Goodman one for 25, Styles one for 25. Fairview, 33 and 25 for 9 wickets (Rogers 25 not out). Rodgers took 10 wickets for 3 runs; Bennison 6 for 39; and Thompson 2 for 8. THIRD GRADE. Old Boys and Star met at School Park on Saturday, a low scoring game resulting in a win for the latter team on the first innings. Star took first strike, and owing chiefly to the good bowling of Thomson, who secured eight wickets for 22 runs, were all out for 62. Beckingham was the only batsman to reach double figures, scoring 31. Old Boys fared even worse, being dismissed for the small total of 33. Williams for 13, and Thomas 5 for 20 bowled well for Star Star in their second attempt had lost nine wickets for 77 when time was called (Marsh 20, Beckingham 16, Halkett 10). Thomson again bowled well, taking 5 for 35. Pateman took 2 for 11.

SYDNEY GRADE MATCHES. HUNT'S FINE BOWLING. United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright (Received March 22, 5.5 p.m.) SYDNEY, March 22. Rain early yesterday eliminated the tennis contests, and drying wickets in the afternoon played havoc with the batsmen. Bowling for Balmain, Hunt took all Paddington’s wickets for 55 in the first innings, and two for seven in the second innings. RICCARTON WIN CHAMPIONSHIP. By Telegraph—Press Association CHRISTCHURCH, March 21. Riccarton won the senior cricket championship to-day, beating Old Boys by 126 runs. Riccarton scored 328 in their first innings, and Old Boys 226. Riccarton went in again and were all out for 141, Merritt taking eight wickets for 72. Old Boys batted again and were all out for 114. Leading Averages. A. W. Roberts heads the batting averages for the season with 70.27; J. L. Kerr averaged 65.88. In bowling, Read took 64 wickets for 13.85 runs each; Thomas, 38 for 14.41; and Merrit. 82 for 14.57.