THE CRICKET MATCH.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4869, 7 February 1894, Page 3

THE CRICKET MATCH.

Wellington Opinion. [Special to thb " Stab.".! WELLINGTON, Feb. 7. The Times this morning has the follow ing sub-leader on Canterbury s victor, over the New South Wales cricketers:"Canterbury has achieved a dietmctioi unique in the annals of intercoloma cricket by inflicting a one-innings defea on an Australian team. AH the conditioni were what they ought to have been to both sideß. Bain had fallen the da; before the match, but on the day Jtselt 1 was a clear field and no favour. The con sequence was that the best men wor easily. Their batting was a surprisi to the Australians, and proved t revelation to the greater part ol New Zealand as well. No century was every before scored against an An* tralian toam. In the other department! of the game the local men were not up tc their batting form, but the margin gained by batting waa too great to permit the faults, which were not great, to tell. Canterbury having once more taken the first position in New Zealand cricket, it ie no longer possible to cavil at the selection of the New Zealand team. The victory ia great enough to enable Canterbury to say, in case of a defeat, that if the team had been all Canterbury men there would have been only victory. Mr Ollivier has done his work very well. He has taken the best men in each centre, and if a larger number happens to be of Canterbury, we must admit that the premier cricket province in New Zealand is not at all unfairly represented. We hope our local men will avoid grumbling —a very undignified and poor attitude is that of the grumblers in the presence of a national effort—and do everything to make the big match a record in the history of cricket. From henceforth we regard the team a3 composed of New Zealanders, and as a New Zealand team—a team in which local prejudice has no part whatever." The Post aays: —" Cbristchurch cricketers have achieved a noble victory over the New South Wales team. The admirable form shown in the interprovincial match with Auckland has been more than maintained in the yet severer contest with New South Wales. Canterbury has once more vindicated its right to be regarded as the New Zealand home of cricket. Our heartiest congratulations are due to the southern players and the clubs they represent. That they have a right to fill five places out of the eleven in the intercolonial representative team cannot, we think, be doubted; and Mr Ollivier has picked a very strong team indeed to do battle for this colony. Wellington is a? fully represented in that team as it hag any right to expect to be."