ONE DAY CRICKET

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19626, 21 October 1933, Page 16

ONE DAY CRICKET

ARGUMENT AGAINST IT “Enthusiast” (Woy Woy, New South Wales) writes to the Sydney “Referee” as follows:—“As I have recently seen in the Press a proposal to restrict the senior competition matches in Sydney to one day, I wish to pen a few lines in opposition. It would, I think, result generally in a few of the leading batsmen getting an innings and the rest looking on. And what would be the use of a junior leaving his club, where he is sure of a knock, to join a first-grade team on the off chance of getting an innings if he was lucky? The proposal would only accentuate the present weakness in the tail of our present representative team. Following the progress of the present tour of the Association team in the country, the one-day system seems to give a chance only to a few batsmen, and that a hurried-up knock at that. The English team here last season did riot hurry up, and our men found that their bowling and fielding had to be respected, and the English selectors did all they could to strengthen their tail by substituting Ames for Duckworth, though it was generally admitted Duckworth was the better wicketkeeper. Verity, also, was encouraged to strengthen the batting. I don’t think that the taste of our cricket public has gone back so much that we must substitute hurried-up

cricket for the more scientific game, though, of course, we like free batting, but with men like Bradman, McCabe, Kippax, Rowe, and others, I think our batting more lively than of any other State, and certainly more lively than the English batting. I think our N.SAV. critics too severe on our batsmen's rate of scoring. Look what Woodfull has done for the game and no one can reasonably deny that he has been a great Test match man. I certainly do not think our present N.S.W. batting nearly so reliable as in the days of Noble, Bardsley, Kelleway, Macartney, and others; and If we deny our tail men a chance to bat then it must follow that they will never improve. Certainly we must strengthen the batting of the tail end If we are to beat such a solid all-round team as the Englishmen proved last summer here, unless Don Bradman can reel off such gigantic scores as he did last tour of England.