The Star. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1913. THE PLUNKET SHIELD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10683, 1 February 1913, Page 6

The Star. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1913. THE PLUNKET SHIELD.

■ The brilliant success of the Cantcr- . bnrv representatives hi the nu^ c * ''' n gainst Auekhnd, which concluded ' vesteulav with the capture of the blue : ibbon or dominion cricket marks- another epoch in ■ the history of the popular English i 'game in this province, and cricketers " will Tejoico to think that Oanterb'uiy ~ lias once nr.iiu clearly demonstrate', that she can well hold hpr own in the .-dominion. For years we have heau a' prosit deal concerning the alleged ' -decadence of Canterbury cricket., nncl 7 Ywere one to pay any heed to the lamen- > tations of the pessimists he might be '' forced to the conclusion that; the ptorince's cricket glories vanished v.-.th ■ Nile disinpearanco from the <fcho giants of the seventies, eighth? land early nineties, who did so much (to place the province in .a foremost place. Strangely enough, although tho number of phvors multiplied many ; f: fold during intervening • years, tho gdmc made little progress, in- ■ ' 'asnmch as it did not produce ~.-!nuvny players of outstanding proL minenco. and on numerous occasions ' team? which appeared strong on paper . foiled to come up to expectations, inexplicably failing, to do themselves " justice against teams unquestionably . -.their inferiors. Many failures whore , .victory had beon anticipated provided rfcho pessimists with an admirable text, ■"'of which, with their usual alacrity, , they took tho fullest advantage. How- ' „ ©rev, ' the cricketer himself —and no "Vtruo' cricketer could possibly bo n "pessimist—never lost heart, and although frequently beaten lie always > came' lip smiling. The cricketer has been derisively called the "flannelled ' • fool" by a celebrated Anglo-Indian ' ' writer and-egoist,'but ho takes his play seriously, and although he is not i./ ashamed to ha beaten he makes every effort to win. And now Canterbury ' has shown very conclusively that as a , cricketing provinco she is not a back ' 4 number, but can. hold, her own and perhaps a little more, against any com- ' bin at ion of the dominion. Coming on top of the recent victory over the re- '' doubtable South Melbourne Club, the win against Auckland has given Cail-'--terbury indisputable grounds for laying ' ' claim to the title of tho champion - - cricketing province in New Zealand. iTho Plunlcet Shield, which will now find a home in Christohurcli, was originatdly held by this province, but- in a notable match played at Hagley Park, when Relf, fcho English professional, ;fhvas ,a big factor in Auckland's sucr ' "ccss, the coveted trophy went to tile . . northern province. Since then challenge matches have been lost in Auck- - land by Otago, "Wellington, Canterbury land Hawke's Bay, ancl it was not till 'l9ll that Canterbury sent up another , toam which successfully wrested the - Shield after a memorable game. The return of the victors and their enthusiastic public reception in His Majesty's , Theatre have not yet been forgotten, (While in possession of the trophy, Can- . terbury successfully defended it against

; tiny onslaughts of Otago and Welling- , ton, and it was left to her old formidv. able rivals from the north once more to ' -deprive this province of the blue ribbon of New Zealand cricket in that long >fco ho remembered contest at Lancaster Park last year. This season Wellington was soundly beaten by the holders. Ever since the Shield went north, Can- ■ •'-terbury players have'sighed for ,an- - 'other opportunity of meeting their conquerors, and in the face of great difficulties the present team was des-! - patched. It is more than satisfactory ! to sco the enterprise of the Canterbury Cricket Association so thoroughly suc•.".cessful. In the match under review "■ it was confidently anticipated that the challengers would put up a great fight. ■ ~ Trott has told us that the Canterbury batting and fielding were the best he • had seen in New Zealand, and with ■■ the great variety of bowling talent contained in the team a fine contest was The feature of the match . has been the success in the batting tie- . ■' partrnent.of the young players Hayes , , and Sandman, and later, in the second innings, of Lusk. According to reports the St Albans cricketer gavo one of , ; the most brilliant displays, of batting ever seen in Auckland, while to Hayes it is impossible to give too much praise, for he undoubtedly saved the situation towards the close of the first t day's play and paved the way for Can- ' ~ terbury's meritorious victory. Strangely enough, it was these two same players •' who contributed mostly' to Canterbury's • recent victory in Dunedin against , Otago, Canterbury is indeed lucky to • possess two such young and brilliant performers, to say nothing of the other promising colts of the team, whose cricket is yet all before them. i Christchurch will ,not be found lacking in enthusiasm fn welcoming home tho ' victors.