BEST AUSTRALIAN LEFTHANDED BOWLER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19815, 5 December 1919, Page 2

BEST AUSTRALIAN LEFTHANDED BOWLER.

FKTmiS ENTITLED TO HONOm Early in May the London “ Times ** ' 0 11 Out” in the Sydney Bcteree '') published an article under the heading. “( rirket BcmillisceueGs. ,l jo uhicli Australians figure prominent. I’-'. Several eriekol. (on temporaries of, i 'V, J' r ' mi ; ' ,; ive suggested that it slionkl ho pointed ont in the “ Referee” that, the opinion of the writer relative li. the. class of bonier Jack Ferris was not shared by Australians. It is felt Uint the abililv of a truly great howlpp has- been unreasonably- depreciated, I And who will dim ''Tee with the Aus» tralinn view I* The writer of the reminiscences said:— i r r , a^K ' r i-’iribus how few great lm-hnndecl ImVvlors Australia has pro(lmed. Since. IS7B England has had Mtuley I’ente. Barlow. Briggs. Peel. Hirst, Rhodes, Blythe ami E. ft. Foster, while Australia can point onlv to J. J. I'orris. J. A’. Saunders, W. J, IVbitty and . (J. Macartney. Ferris du. womJcrhiliy well here in' 1888 and -•‘TO) two wet seasons, but subsequenty he completely lost jiis form, and die general opinion seems to bo that hj • is not. to ho numbered among the leallv. groat, lie bad a curious action, tor ho took an enormously long run, cud ball-way on his journey to th« wiCKcte be brought both hands together t< his face, almost indeed as if he were I‘irams his hands to the crowd. Ferris afterwards qualified for Gloucester!* slnro, but he had then lost his bowling, •hcsigh he developed into so Useful At batsman oi tile steady order that ha for G'emlnuen v. Players at Lord’s in IS9I. 1 *92 nn ,i 1393. Ferris : died et lever while serving in the Boe*

'viw. I "Sftnrilers win difficult, bowler otf ’'.sticky wirkt'i. Imt hi- length was nob fiiWfmj reliable, and he never quite rentjMtd exnei'talions. TVohahlv Macs, nrfcmy ranks a* the best left-handed hovrlar Australia has ever had. Macart* ncy’a length m as accurate, as that oF Attevreli s, ami. like Blythe, ho knows how to howl io dilVercni types oF bats* m«p. Jl.e is not «<■ slow as he looks, »U(1 ho can make vlie ball come across fjhlnkly With his arm. " ?R ftny account of Australian loft* minded bowlers too names must not b* left out. those of T. Kendall and l 1 rank Allan. ,\. G. Steel, in the ‘Badminton Cricket.’ tells ns that ho DiftyiHfl Kencl all's bowling in 1882 .in ; T*°lWi*raia, and that ‘ he was about, a?) 1 i ootlM wish to .meet.' Allan. 1 thO bowlap i n j f&o century.’ as he was called in i Ans<imjs,i . ti;i. a aiemher of the fifst | AnstrUUnn leant that visited this conn* I try, wuv lainmis eleven that, on Maw ■ 9?. ItJf?'.. delea led a powerful M,CMjL I ?id® Lord shy nine wickets in Jli single da v. and e-vahli-brd (ho fame of Australian , erivket t..r pH time. Allan, j mot. with con-iderable -necess at- the I ike lour. Inif subsequently hid j heSP-h cave -,mh , At his best bo was j e Vftry tiim bowler., lor he could make the ball (-Hvl in tl.e air towards the I ami ihen i- reals back after it | H* ground. it ifl in unrvivride that nnvone who KSWW whin class of hewler J. J. r.V eonhl " rile lhal grand litt-ld llnarllp Macartney “ rank- ps the host vcft-hanm d hn« !.>.• Australia has ever nad, ’ On ali classes nl wickets I hero cannot be am qm.--imn that Kerris was ] the !tr.v,mt all t iu' left-handed i A,l! ' U:!;i ’ ' i, w l, h.i!'crl from 18,30 I to IfllO, and per I~i os at any period, j OTi hln first l.ngL-b tour, in 188 A. h© | ■‘.emired 2:;‘u wml-.-t.- at 11 runs apiece, j tonauftri'-ng that rear. Wiwlen. refer* I nng to v. hat Innr-r and Kerris hud ) done, "an!; “hj mac he quc-lfoiled if | two fill'!■ \»y:, hi- iptaved on the I M:r.n' sloe. Ai iini -; cijiiivMcal about | Iliat. An glvalc. ■ cvyiimmf could b» j p:im lf> II n? I'AO I I - liy :m | man. for Knglainl has men some j inighty combination-. Am! no two I ik)i\Ums iii due :r;i:v, ivi.ifM’ f j li ictlfi. with tiic Anstralmns. Kerns j jook exactly hie sane number of wie* ; kets ns I iirlmr. vm. I.i. and the cost, I was again very moderate. Mottling I f'owii m Kngmml, he n!--vd with Glon--1 cestershi!m am! in i*t’;j inured. Mouth i Africa v. ith the l-.m.di-ii eleven. tor j nliich he can! mad | uirfiots at an ) average of o. pi, (learne lining j next with at Kerris praetifjilly mm ‘ms l:iiu Kftfin- aftoi* s-ctr-Bing m Km;land, lint is them any* 1 thing womierinl in that: He was only j just 1 wetiiy-niic, and po.--es;sed nothing pliysica! advantages of C. 'ft In I tinier v, hen he was howled inn.toll alter iiiaten through ih*' verv severo campaigns in ISMSaud 18P(I, and again through the Maniili Alricatt campaign. There might have hem some excuse iui I’. S. M Hntineil. the IM'*B captain* bowling Turner and Kerris as he did, seeing that, higli-cliiss howling talent did not abound greatly among the rest o* the players, though more use shotilcf have been math' id what, there wnst But in 18H0 \\. L. Murdoch was sure* ly wanting in .jmlcnient not, to havq niiule greater use ol the two colts in his party. 11. TTnmlde and I’. C. Charlton, hotli higli-chis.s. fiirainy howlers, who. it used i>roperly, must have ma* tonally eased the severe strain on tlio two cracks. 1* orris lost his bowling vitality early tliroiiidi being overworked while still verv young.' But that cannot minimise the exalted position ho wort ami will hold lor all time as oiul o; the greatest howlers cricket has proclueed. Australia lias never since had a lolt-hand howler to enmo near him. and, on all wickets, it is hard to he* lieve that she wilt ever produce a hots lor one, lor Kerris was infinitely bettof (I an the average first-class lell-handet on Australian or other hard, true win* kets. Bobbie Fee! mid K.. 11. foster are the only I'mglisbmen who visited Australia in the past twenty-five years who Were, on sit el i wickets in iho same class as Ferris—-Feel, measured hy iijf methods, skill and results, and Foster by his results. On Australian form George Hirst and "Wilfred Bhodes, Johnny Briggs and Colin Blythe were not equal to the Kerris we know out here. i I mentioned this matter to Char lea Turner a, few days ago, and he Kill'd j ‘ Jack Ferris was not only the greatest left-hand bowler Australia has had in the last thirty-three years, but he was greater than any 'left-bander before that time.” Among the left-handers S E. Gregory has seen, and he goes hack to the early eighties, he classes) hern's an easy first among Australians.