Cricket

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16569, 31 October 1921, Page 3

Cricket

SYDENHAM BEATEN. SENSATIONAL BATTING COLLAPSE. Very much improved wickets and warmer woather attracted more spectator a for the second day’s cricket than 11 ad turlied out for tbe first day's. ’Hie outfield was much faster both at. Sydenham and Hagley Park, which made the scoring higher, although the wicket was not more favourable to the batsmen, having much more life in it, despite Friday’s rain. The sensational collapse of Sydenham was tho big topic of the afternoon, but after all they encountered good bowling, 'illis fact could not be so strongly advanced in explanation of the collapse of Hast Christchurch against Riccarton. and it looks as if Hast may become the chopping block of the competition unless they can strike improved form with the bat and land a new howler or two. Liu wood showed St .Albans that they were aybattiug side not to ho despised, but it must bo confessed that St Albans made it easy lor them to play out time, as chances y ere dropped in all directions. Tho teams are follows : POSITION OF TEAMS. S'point 2-point Riorarton ... 1 it West, ('hristchiiTch . 1 2 Lin wood ... i 2 Sydenham ... St Alba Tip ... _ f> East Christchurch . ST ALBANS v. UN WOOD An example of how not to win matches was given by tho St Albans foam in their match against Linwood. By forcing tactics Sandman brought the final issue down to St Albans bowling! versus Linwood batting. St Albans had seventy minutes in which to got Linwood out for 151. This would have given them a three-point win. At the call of time Linwood had eight wickets in hand and 71 runs on the board. Their seventy minutes’ blitting, however, was a record of missed chances. Grant was missed twice- behind tlie wickets and twice in the field. Perrin was missed twice in the field end gave a stumping chance. These two added 02, aud it was their partnership that put St Albans out ot the running. Interest in the game became keen when Linwood were all out in their first innings with a lead of JI, and two hours twenty minutes to go. They started a forceful partnership between AYoads and Bruntoo, who added 65 in thirty-three minutes. Brunton broke if up. jumping out too soon after a change of bowling, although he was playing the St Albans game in going tor all he could get. It was after Thomas came in that AVoods scored most rapidly, and he reached bis halfcentury in forty minutes. He also succumbed to a change of bowling. He got a very hearty round of applause for bis chanceless 55. The hundred was posted after 55 minutes’ play, but wickets then began to fall. Margin with 21 made liis average for the season 71. Thomas scored many well placed singles, going much .more steadily than usual. Sandman got a lively 39 not out, hitting at everything, but lie was unlucky to lose Crawford, who was run out as the result of a very fast throw iu- St Albans were after runs, and naturally one expected them to give ; chance or two. The innings showed \Y oods in very good form, and if he can “ come back ” as a batsman he must be in the iirst flight. Brunton also went well, although one cannot at present, on his wicket-keeping, expect to see him in the running for interprovincial honours. Allard has started badly, without showing any great promise; but Thomas appears likely to uphold his reputation for sound cricket, especially as he is fast between tlie wickets. W itli Crawford, Sandman, -Martin and the rest. St Albans are undoubtedly a very strong batting side, and but for tbeir inability to adapt themselves to the dead wicket on the iirst day they would probably have turned the tables on Linwood easily, as the Easterners are certainly not a strong batting side. Sandman declared just before 4.45, which gave St Albans a rough chance of pulling the game out of tlie lire. Sandman was bowling a little below his usual form, but also with a good deal ot bad luck, aud four chances were dropped oft him. Grant and Rerrin played a "Rafferty” innings, Grant’s timing being bad all through. One© he lashed to leg at Sandman and scut his hat flying after the bulk Perrin had the more stylish strokes, and there ih every hope that lie will come back to his best form of a few years ago. It was pleasing to note that Thomas was howling a line length ball. His first three overs were maidens, and included one stumping chance. On the game, however, none, of the St Albans bowlers, good as they arc, registered good averages. A brilliant left-handed piece of fielding by Sandman was the brightest spot :n th© match. It stopped a beautiful carpet drive by Perrin that was going for a certain four. The throwing in was not good, taken all round, but North threw N. Jones’s wicket down with a good shot, aud if was a similar shot that dismissed Crawford, although the fieldsman concerned was not noted. 1 here was a good bit of wild throwing, and several overthrows were runTaylor kept wickets much better Than Brunton, who was distinctly off colour and unable to take tbe ball cleanly, although stopping prettv well. Extras were kept down very well by both men. Laylor’s figure of six in 153, beating Brunton’s four u» 71 WEST CHRISTCHURCH v. SY DENHAM. Sydenham stock slumped, rose, and slumped again in breathless fashion on Saturday. Given a match like that regularly throughout the season, cricket in Canterbury would soon get back to pre-war standard and tho crowds would begin to roll up round the fence. Better bowling bas seldom been seen in i;iiib matches. Haves, M’Lachlan, 31’Beth, Watson and M’Ewin were right at the top of their form and nut a single batsman was able to become 1 roperly set. Between them, in three hours fifteen minutes, twenty-one batsmen could raise only 123 runs, loss than six apiece. The wicket was true enough, but it had ‘‘file’ in it. A cross-wind also helped the spell-bind-ers and kept the runs down. Added to That was keen fielding—not more Ilian one catch dropped.

When Sydenham resumed with one down for 57, chasing West’s total of 105, first two overs proved that 31'Lachlan, and Hayes were out for destruction. Wickets crashed rapidly. The second fell at 67, the third at 68, the fourth at 68, the fifth at 68, the , sixth at 70, the seventh at 72- the eighth at 77, and the ninth at 85. Then there was a mild recovery. M’Beth, who had kept his end up for an hour, was joined by Gray, and the pair went ahead merrily. Tt was a welcome change to see- two successive shots pass the chalk-line. The end came at 3.55 when the partnership had added 35. Sydenham were only 45 runs behind, and they had a good chance of putting up a fighting finish. Time helped West out of a hole. They began their second innings at 4.8, and they were back in the pavilion at 5.40, dismissed for sixty runs. Blunt and Hayes got double figures. Only ono of the others passed five, wickets falling as follows :—1 for 2 ; 2 for 7 ; 3 for 13 ; 4 for 25; 5 for 27 ; G» for 33; 7 for 43 ; 8 for 49; 9 for 52 ; 10 for 60. CJfcan vork iu the outfield assisted M’Beth considerably. He had three sessions, one from the pavilion end, and in none of them did be look easy. There was of course, no prospect oi Sydenham raising 100 runs in twenty minutes, so Patrick declared the game over, and West won on the first innings. They were a* trifle lucky. Hayes was the most successful of tbe five West .Christchurch bowlers. He sent down eighteen overs, four of them maidens, and took five wickets for 18 runs. M Lachlan’s figures were: 20 overs. 5 maidens, 46 runs, 3 wickets. >1 Beth’s performance capped everything : Ist Innings. 14 overs, 4 maidens, 26 runs. 3 wickets. 2nd Innings. 12 overs, o maidens, 16 inns, 5 wickets. Watson’s analysis: —l3 overs. 3 maidens, 24 runs, 3 wickets: M’Fvin. 13 overs, 1 maiden, 13 rims, 2 wickets. As a, sequel to the match, it is probable that both IS est and Sydenham, the former particularly, will endeavour to put a stronger batting side into the field. EAST CHRISTCHURCH v. RICCARTON. Riccarton easily gained a. throe point win over East Christchurch, who were beaten by an inning* and 81 runs. To East’s first innings score of 46 Riccarton replied with 220, thus leaving East ho to make to save an innings defeat. However, East made only 93 in their second a itempt. "When stumps were drawn on the first day Riccarton had made 197 for the loss of eight wickets. Gumey and Fuller continued the innings on Saturday. and they made a .useful stand, which resulted in the score being carried to 220 when Guinev was stumped by Jones off Howell. Evans, the last man in, was bowled second hall without any addition to the score. East’s second innings was practically a procession until after the fall of*the eighth wicket, when the score stood at 40. Then Gregory and Harris became associated, and they carried the score io 93 when the latter got his leg in front ol a bail from 3lanning and was given out Ibw. Harris played carefully for his score of 16, and he gives promise of proving a useful bat to East this season. The innings did not last long after the dismissal of Harris. Gregory being stumped by Fuller off Rix. scored 41. He pjayed carefully, and took no risks, but got well on to the loose stuff. Gregory’s chief fauJtt is his slowness in running between wickets, and on Saturday he lost a good many runs for East through this. Gregory and . Harris ar e to be complimented on the manner in which they stopped the “rot” amongst the East players. The progress of this “rot” is shown by the fall of the wickets as follows :—One for 15, two for 18, three for 18, four for 23. five for 23. six for 23. seven for 34. eight for 40, nine for 93, ten for 93. The most successful bonier for Riccarton was Evans, who took seven wickets for 22 runs. Evans bowled nine overs, two of which were maidens. In one over, which was a maiden, he captured three wickets and just missed doing the “ hat trick.” liix took two wickets for 13 runs. Luttrell, Rowell aud -Manning were also given a turn at bowling. THE GOOD OLD DAYS. Speaking of old-time cricket in New Zealand, Ur L. Cohen, at the gathering in Wanganui, stated that Christchurch was responsible for the early introduction of cricket in New Zealand. and as a small boy ho well recollected some of the greatest English cricketers coming to play at Christchurch, including Arraitage. Hornby, A. Shaw and Lillywhite. Those were tlie days when the North Island had hardly been discovered. The people of the city of the plains took their cricket seriously in those days, and closed tho shops for three days. They also had a publican's booth on the grounds. 31 r Cohen jocularly remarked that if they could only get a similar concession ou Wangamn cricket grounds on Saturday afternoons it would tend to make tlie game very popular. JUNIOR NOTES. CONCLUSION OF FIRST ROUND. (By •• L3TRIRE.”) The weather was fine and the wickets in fair condition for the resumption of the. first round of the junior games. Linwood very luckily beat East in section A. Five more minutes would have settled the game. As it was, I.inwood started fifteen minutes Into and time was wasted toward the finish in rearranging the field. East, when stumps were drawn, wanted 7 runs and had 5 wickets id hand. College made- a hold bid for a- three points win and just failed by 11 runs. Talbot aud Trent put on 80 For the first wicket iu 35 minutes. The winners of the first round are: Section A: B.U.S 3 point b ; Riccarton. 3: Linwood, 2; Sydenham, 3. Section B: East, 3; Sydenham, 3; College, 2; Riccarton, 3. BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL v. WEST. School easily accounted for West, winning by an innings before four Ou tho resunrpjtion of play West had 40 on for 4 wickets (Patterson not out 23). Pago took I wo wickets in hia

first over. Burrows kept a fine length and West found it difficult to score off him. Jri all, lie bowled 13 overs and had a single knocked off each of seven overs. In the second innings Holland was tlie only player to run into double figures. Page bowled a medium paced ball, whicli nipped in off the pitch. He will trouble any junior batsman. “ Umpire ” is looking forward to the match between School and Riccarton which it is hoped will take place before School goes in quest of the Heath-cote-Wilhams Shield. RICCARTON v. ST ALBANS. Riccarton absolutely outclassed St Albans, whose second inmugs was si total collapse, only 21 runs being scored. Norrio shaped well and hit hard for 11. which included two boundary shots. Then ho put his leg in front- of a straight one. Barrett was absent. Riccarton possess some good players. Cox. a brilliant field and bat, is well known. Jamieson and Gurnsey are both fine bats and bowlers. "Watson, art ex-High School player, will be a useful left hand bowler for the team if he is given a chance. Riccarton, should get near to the top in this section. LINWOOD v. EAST. Die match between East and Linwood created considerable interest, especially towards the finish. East wanted sever, runs and had five wickets in hand, but the wrong men were put in first. "While they were taking eighty mini t*=s to score 121, College on the next ground had 89 up in thirty-five minutes. Alter being 58 runs ahead on the first innings, Linwood could only score 69 runs in their second strike. < epe.'nnr' bowled very well and in ten cvers took five wickets for 34 runs. The younger! players of the East Club arc piven every chance of showing their capabilities. Jack and Lye, two hard hitters, nerc top scorers with 20 runs apiece. Weston was painfully slow in scoring 13 runs. East opened with Bar wick aud Mayo. The former, although playing well, lost the game for his team by not opening out. He scored twelve singles while 3lnyo scored a breezy 15, including a six. He did not stav long, but lie certainly went for The howling and played nice shots. Mukloon. ITardie- nnd Harrow all played quiet cricket while precious minutes were going past. Copeland only scored one brace out of eleven scoring strokes while Bnrwiek al the other end had a succession of nine singles. .Bosley, the next man, had but one over, which was the last, and his score read 4,6, 2.2. If he could have got-another over East would no doubt hare scored a well deserved, win. There was far too much changing of fieldsmen and wasting time by Linwood which could easilv have been avoided. SYDENHA3I v. TECHNICAL. Sydenham -just managed to get home against Technical by 11 runs. Both teams had a bad innings, Sydenham scoring 59 in their first and Technical only 19 in their second and the last innings of the match. In their second strike Sydenham put on 120- Jim Martin, a well-known player, scored 26. He has some pretty shots to the off and is nearly as good as lii3 brother, Percy, with "leg stuff. He is a loft-hander. Mcrriman 29 and 3lardon IS each played a breezy innings. 3lardon put two over the pickets in succession, off Hobbs. Stuart was i-he most successful bowler for Technical, taking five wickets l'or 35 runs in 12 overe;. Technical, wanting 30 runs to win, had a bad spin at the hands of Martin and Oliiver. They could only put together 19 runs, the top score being lour. 3lartin took live for 30 and Olkver four for 9. SECTION B COLLEGE v. WEST. College only wanted another five ions to score a throe-pointer when “ Father Time ” intervened. West, after scoring 119, had three College wickets clown for 118. Talbot and Reeves did not finish their not out innings, owing To attending the sports, but Birch anu Godfrey took up the running and tho total went to 211 before tlie last wicket tell. Redpath got four wickets. West’s second innings started well, the first wicket Tailing tor 77, but after Redpath (59) had gone things tailed off aud the whole side were out for 190. Talbot had arrived back in the meantime and. took oue wicket in threeovers. Birch and Godfrey, two lefthanders, bowled well, and Sheen, who bowls a good length medium pace leg break, also took wickets. Wanting 98 runs Talbot and Trent went in at *5.35 p-m. and treated the spectators to a line display of driving and hitting. Talbot put the second ball from Redpath over the fence and did not stop alter that till he was out with live minutes to go. He had scored 50 in thirty minutes, including three sixers aud five boundaries. Trent played a neat 32 not out. SYDENHAM v. Y.M.C.A. ■Sydenham just beat Y.M.C.A. by two runs in a very even game. lit their first innings last week Sydenham compiled 76 and Y.31.C.A. 40. Continuing, Sydenham scored 9.1- To this 31’Cleliand contributed a very slowly scored 26, ot which no fewSY than 18 were singles. Forrester assisted him with a hotter variety of strokes for 25, including one six. The second, third and fourth wickets fell with six on the board, and eight wore down for 63. Y.M.C.A. required 127 runs to win and just failed by two runs. Snook led the way with a well played 40, in which- he showed a good variety of strokes. He was unbeaten when the Inst wicket f«ll Grose 19 and Kelly 22 also played nicely, and if the tail had shown any ability to score at all Y.M.C.A. could have won by seven v. icketsMcClelland bowled very well, and to light at the cud, taking six wickets for 19 run EAST v. KUABOI. East beat Kniapoi by 50 runs. Kaiapoi have two or three good colt?, notably Green, who made runs when they were most required. East in their first strike made 80

» and 148 in their second knockinga, who appears to be pretty good with, both -bat and ball, scored 41 Fitzgerald put together a neat 16, but the remainder did very little to adva nee the score Kaiapoi scored 55 in tlieir fust knock and 123 in their second. Berg 48 has some very neat shots and should make many runs this season. Green, one of the colts of the team, played vert well for fl. With good coaching thit youth should turn out a. top notch-a-. Hritchings for East and Tmstrum or tvampm were the most successful bowlers. -VOTES. In the junior A section. lan wood were fifteen minutes late in starting. East, who were ready to hat at the time for commencinp; plav. lost The game, only wanting seven runs to win at the call of time. This matter should he brought under the notice of the management committee, as there is a fine of one or two competition point* for failure to start punctually. The groundsman is making good progress with the grounds after the recent bad weather, but the wickets are capable of considerable improvement. The groundsman appears verv keen, and ‘ Empire " thanks n word”from an ex. pert like Air Shacklock would be bene, ficisl to all concerned.