ELLIS’S SELECTION BIG SURPRISE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17756, 28 January 1926, Page 7

ELLIS’S SELECTION BIG SURPRISE.

SURE TO CREATE MUCH TALK AND PROTEST.

The selection of J. Ellis, of Victoria, as second wicket-keeper, has come as a bombshell to New Zealanders, and it is certain to create a storm of protest and discussion in the Australian papers. He was not considered by any of the writers over there as having a chance, and in the hundreds of picks at the final eleven his name was not mentioned. Everybody thought the issue was between IT. S. Love, of Victoria, and A. Ratcliffe, of New South Wales. The selection of A. Richardson and W. M. Woodfull will be popular in mpst quarters, though the performances of A. Kippax, the brilliant New South Wales batsman, must have given the selectors food for a great deal of thought. He appears to have been unlucky in just missing. Referring to the prospects of the pair “The Arrow,” a Sydney sporting paper, contained the following—“ With the exception of W. H. Ponsford, who has scored phenomenally in firstclass cricket ever since he came to the front, Alan Kippax and W. M. Woodfull have done better in the Sheffield Shield and other first-class cricket than any of the great guns of International cricket. And yet the pair are at present among the excluded from the Australian team for England. In the Sheffield Shield Kippax has made over 1800 runs at an average of G 4, having scored at the rate of 72 against South Australia, and 57 against Victoria. Woodfull averages 66.56 against N.S.W. and 75 against South Australia.”

The Australian eleven now consists of the following players:—

11. L. COLLINS (New South Wales). W. BARDSLEY (New South Wales). C. G. MACARTNEY (New South Wales). W. H. PONSFORD (Victoria). T. RYDER (Victoria). T. J. ANDREWS (New South Wales). A. RICHARDSON (South Australia). W. M. WOODFULL (Victoria). T. ELLIS (Victoria). T. M. TAYLOR (New South Wales). W. A. OLDFIELD (New South Wales). C. V. GRIMMETT (South Australia). H. L. HENDRY (Victoria). A. MAT LEY (New South Wales). J. M. GREGORY (New South Wales). W. M. Woodfull. W. *M. Woodfull

is well known and well liked in New Zealand, where he made some fine scores last year as a. member of -Mayne’s Victorian team. He is a slow run-getter but a safe one.

“You’ve got to dig him out.” say his opponents. For consistency it would be hard to beat the records of Woodfull and Ponsford in their batting against New South Wales. Woodfull, prior to last month’s match, had batted ten times against the senior State, and his scores were 47 and 84 not out. 27 and 24. 23 and 117, 0 and 30, 81 and 120 not out. This gave him a total of 553 runs at an average of G 9. He made 53 on December 23. so that, in ten innings out of eleven, he has got more than 20. In first-class matches last season Woodfull made 494 runs, .average 61.75. J. Ellis. J. Ellis, whose selection as second wicketkeeper to Oldfield has come as a great surprise, was a member of the Victorian team which toured New Zealand last season, and he did very well indeed over here with the bat, whilst his wicketkeeping was commented upon most favourably. Nobody dreamt for a moment, however, that

I he would have secured preference over Love or Ratcliffe. Love played for the Rest-of Australia against the Australian eleven in the trial match held in Sydney last month, and the following was subsequently penned by “ Not Out,” the well-known writer in the “ Referee ”: “ The match showed that H. S. Love is one of the two men to keep wickets, that he is a better allrounder than J. Ellis, and probably not inferior to' him as a wicketkeeper. A. Ratcliffe would probably be as line a bat on English wickets as Love, forhe is a left-hander anrl not afraid to punch the ball.” Ellis had to have a spell during the season as in the Vic-toria-South Australia match at Adelaide in November he broke a bone in one of his thumbs. A. Richardson. A. Richardson played in four tests for Australia last year and his average was 31, highest score 98. total 248.

As a bowler he took 8 for 248. He also made a fine 200 riot out for South Australia v. England. In the trial match recently he took four wickets for 90 but made only 29 runs in 2 innings. Last season lie gathered 77c runs in first class cricket. “ Arthur Richardson has earned liis place time and again, and there will he a big

South Australia if he is passed over ” (said an Adelaide critic last month). “ Like Grimmett, he has been very consistent, both with the bat and the ball, and his fielding is far from being bad—a fact that he proved in the Test matches last season. He is a man who can get the runs quickly, and that is the tvpe of batsman wanted in matches 'where there is a time limit, while his is the type of bowling that is certain to- succeed on English wickets.”