WILL CANTERBURY HAVE A PLAYER-COACH NEXT SEASON?

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18049, 8 January 1927, Page 10

WILL CANTERBURY HAVE A PLAYER-COACH NEXT SEASON?

LACK OF PRACTICE IS ALL THAT IS WRONG WITH OUR CRICKET. WHO WILL CAPTAIN THE NEW ZEALAND SIDE AT HOME? (Written for the “ Star ” by L.G.) IS IT A SIGNIFICANT FACT that the two provinces who possess professional player-coaches are to meet in the final of the Plunket Shield series while the other two provinces who do not have coaches are to play off for the wooden spoon? Canterbury’s recent defeats at the hands of Auckland and Wellington have raised the question as to what is wrong with our cricket. The answer is simple enough, and it is that Canterbury's cricketers will not practice, and until they do they cannot hope to win the Plunket Shield. There is not the slightest doubt about the ability of the Canterbury' men, so does the remedy lie in the importation of an English professional to infuse more , enthusiasm into the players?

Seeing that Mr Sliacklock has resigned his position of coach to the Canterbury Cricket Association, the way is open for that body to get busy and acquire an English playing professional for the province. This appears to be the remedy if Canterbury is to regain the high place it has almost invariably occupied in the history of the game in New Zealand. One has only to recall how cricket absolutely flourished here when E. Humphreys, the Kent professional, was in charge in Christchurch to feel perfectly satisfied that the players in general would take a great deal j more interest in the game if another such man were imported. In analysing the two Plunket Shield contests which have been decided here, what does one find? Canterbury’s bowling very good indeed, batting with but few exceptions, all to pieces, and fielding and catching poor. In fact, the catching in the Wellington . match was very bad. In both games, however, Canterbury had all the worst of the luck. Against Auckland the team failed in the first innings cn a tricky wicket, Oliver, Page and Patrick being the exceptions. Auckland were then disposed of for 220, which was quite a good effort on the part of our bowlers. Canterbury's second innings was marked by splendid exhibitions by Page, Boon and Read. Auckland required 166 to win, and were a bit lucky to get them. Half the side were out for 72 runs, and it looked any odds on Canterbury winning so well were Read and Cunningham bowling. Then light rain set in and made the ball almost impossible to hold and control. The result was that Auckland j never lost another wicket. The luck of the toss did not come j Patrick's way in the Wellington game, and so the visitors obtained first use ; of a perfect wicket. Hiddleston was dropped somewhere about 60 and he went on to make 114. It was a very costly mistake; but even then Canterbury had six of their opponents out for 226. At this stage light rain set in and the conditions were worse for the bowlers than if it were properly wet. 'The result was that the batsmen became masters of the situation, and everybody who was there will long remember how Badcock smacked the bowling about in unmerciful fashion. It , was exasperating luck for Canterbury to have a double experience of this nature. Canterbury’s innings was little better than a procession. Page and Patrick being the only two to play the bowling. That Wellington scored 30S in their second effort was entirely due to Canterbury’s shocking fielding. No fewer than ten chances were declined. Worker. the top scorer, having five or six innings instead of one. Supposing, for argument’s sake, Ponsford or Woodfull was dropped half a dozen times, why. there wouldn't be a scoring book big enough to hold the runs of either. Canterbury’s second innings was a much better sample of what the side are really capable of doing. Was it because Woods and Crawford put on 50 for the first wicket, and .so gave the side the best start they had had in their four innings? The chances are it was. It goes to show -what a severe loss the province sustained in the transfer of Worker and Blunt to other parts. They were a great pair of opening batsmen. There can be no getting away from the fact that some of the Canterbury men who were likely to get a trip Home with the New Zealand team have played themselves out of a place in these two Shield games. On the other hand, Page must surely have played himself into the team. It will be a just reward for consistent practice and keenness. Canterbury had great hopes of getting some of the colts into .the New Zealand team a few weeks ago, but the position is now vastly different. The way most of the Canterbury batsmen had to scratch round

at the start was obvious proof that the>- were out of practice. Hiddleston got busy right away in both his innings, scoring a four off the first ball he re- i reived. Why? Simply because he was j in form and full of confidence. The Thursday before the Wellington j game started there was a representative practice at Lancaster Park, and Mr Dan Reese was present to bowl at and to give the players a little coaching. So great was the enthusiasm of the Canterbury players that only four of them turned up Read, Page, Gregory and Talbot. Talbot was twelfth man, and of the other three. Read and Page both performed splendidly. Read has not bowled so well for years, and it was all due to keenness and practice. In Canterbury’s first innings Patrick played. a delightful knock for 32 before he was run out. For some years past now Patrick has on most occasions had to bat when the side have been up against it. and his batting has been iestricted and careful as a consequence. This no doubt has been the reason for many of the public gaining the impression that he is a back number. That innings against Wellington should dispel the impression that the Canterbury skipper is past his best, and if he will only go out and attack the bowling as he invariably used to do, he will make a lot of runs and give the others confidence. What’s more, he has a greater variety of strokes than any other batsman in Canterbury. Boon’s batting was one of the surprises of the Shield games, and here again is a splendid example of keenness. “Mick" is just a bit unlucky that Lowry and James are available for the Home tour. Sandman came to light with one of his old-time knocks in the second innings against Wellington, but, unfortunately for him, it was as a bowler that he should have made good. New Zealad is badly off for slow bowlers at the present time. Crawford and Gregory were the disappointments of the batting side, and it looks as though the former has played himself out ot a place in the New Zealand team. Cox was another who was disappointing. With him and Crawford it may be a question of being too anxious to show their best, in view of the trip, and they have not been able to clo themselves justice. As already mentioned. Canterbury’s bowlingewas quite good, and would have been even better with anything

like decent support from the field. One thing is certain, and that is that the players will have to do something better than have a ten minutes’ strike at the nets. Fielding practice is essential tor the success of any team, but i how often do we see it nowadays? 1 Then again some of the players go over to practice one night a week, others manage to get there on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Very little practice is indulged in on Wednesdays, and 1 none at all on Mondays and Fridays. Under these circumstances, how can the players expect to become proficient? In pre-war da vs the representatives used to practice every night in the week, and Canterbury always had the reputation of being a great fielding side. She is slowly but surely slipping from grace in this respect. Canterbury have one more game to play lor the Plunket Shield, and in this they meet Otago at Dunedin in the first week in February. What is running through the minds of the selectors the writer does not know, but one thing must commend itself to them, and that is to try out some new blood. Canterbury have no hope of winning the shield, and so the selectors never had a better opportunity of giving fresh players a chance. There are some men who have failed in either or both of the matches played, so why not give them a spell? It will not . do them any harm, and at the same time it will afford a chance of seeing what new talent is available. The success of Page should encourage the selectors to look for other I country players, and D. Nixon is a man well worthy of a game against Otago. lie cannot do worse with the ! bat than some of those who played | against Auckland and Wellington, and ! so if he were to fail Canterbury would not be the weaker for his inclusion. But apart from his batting, he is quite a good bowler. In the Town v. Country match he did well with both bat

and ball. There are quite a few colts knocking at the door of the representative team, so why not try them out against Otago? The public will be pleased to see a new side tried out under Patrick's generalship, and with the retention of those players who made good in the two games played. It is not a fair thing to the public to ask them to pay to see men who obviously are not in form. A POSSIBLE NEW ZEALAND TEAM. Messrs W. S. Brice, W. R. Patrick and F. Williams will select the New Zealand team in Auckland after the final of the Plunket Shield there between Wellington and Auckland. This match will commence on January 21, so that the players will not now have long to wait. It will give them plenty of time to get their bags packed for the tour. The result of this game may have some bearing on the selection of the. North Island plavcrs for the trip, but»as for the South Island, it looks as though thcv'mav be chosen now. The selectors no doubt will go for the younger players with just a sufficient backbone of the older hands. There can be no getting a wav from the fact that some of the Canterbury and Otago men who had excellent prospects have played themselves out of the team in the course of the Shield matches which have just been decided. Dickinson, the Otago fast bowler, has taken but one wicket for 200 runs in the matches against Wellington and Auckland, and this must tell against his chances. As things are at present it looks as though Otago will not get more than one man- Blunt- into the New Zealand side, though Knight and Alloo have good chances. Crayvford and Sandman have also made it hard for themselves. A few weeks ago it looked as though both had excellent prospects. Sandman bowled pretty well against Auckland, but he did not do much good against Wellington. Of course slow bowlers arc a necessity, and it may be that if the selectors are hard put to it in this respect, they will fall back on Sandman. In both the Auckland and Wellington teams there is some very promising material, and some of the young players of cither side are going to* be disappointed, as there is room for oi;lv fourteen players all told. In the opinion of the writer the first thing to do is to choose an experienced and able captain who will carry the full confidence of the players. We have four good captains in New Zealand, namely, N. C. Sneddon (Auckland), W. S. Brice (Wellington), W. R. Patrick (Canterbury) and the Rev E. O. Blamires (Otago). Snedden and Patrick are not available, and so i’t looks as though the man for the job is Brice, that is providing he is available. Brice has been playing now for many years, and is still a capable exponent with both ball and bat. In past trips to Australia he has not been available, and I am writing now without knowing whether he is able to make the trip Home. He is one of the Selection Committee! and assuming he is available he looks the right man for the position of captain. Moreover, his inclusion would assist in solution of the slow bowler difficulty. He can mix them well, and is a wilv customer with the ball.

Following the selection of a captain two wicketkeepers are a necessity. Lowry and James appear to fit the bill. Rowntree is without doubt the best keeper in the Dominion, but I should give preference to the younger men Now for opening batsmen, and who better than Blunt, Worker and Hiddleston? Blunt and Hiddleston are certainties for the team. Worker batted very poorly against Canterbury, but with him it must have been a case of playing for his place in the New Zealand side. lie can do a lot better than that, and in fact did so in the two games in which he took part in Wellington before coming down here. Next we come to men who will form the additional batting strength of the team, and there are any number of them. Alcott. Dacre. Cooper, Gillespie and Mills (Auckland), Oliver, Page, Talbot and Crawford (Canterbury), Kortlang, Lambert, Dempster and Hollings (Wellington), and Knight, Alloo and Cherry (Otago). Cunningham looks a certainty as first bowler, -and for another fast man it

seems as though M'Girr has outplayed Dickinson for this position. As a lefthander there is Alcott. while M'Bcath, Henderson and Bernau may all come under the notice of the selectors. For slow bowlers there arc Blunt, Brice, ; Cooper and Sandman. The question j is, Who are the best of the bunch? * Were I asked to make a choice of the New Zealand team at the present juncture I should write the names of the following;— W. S. Brice (captain). j. S. Hiddleston. H. M. M'Girr. K. James. R. de R. Worker. T. C. Lowry. C. Dacre. . C. Alcott. I. W. Cooper. C. Oliver. W. Cunningham. M. L. Page. R. O. Talbot. \ R. C. Blunt. In this team there is a capable and I experienced leader, a solid batting com- j bination, a good fielding side and very I fair bowling talent. There are eight j all-rounders who can both bat and bowl, j I have included Talbot, as T regard him as one of the best all-rounders in New j Zealand, and one who would improve j as the tour progressed. It is hard to ] understand how he came to be left out i ol‘ the Canterbury team. One thing is certain, and that is that ] , the New Zealand Cricket Council must ! exercise caution in choosing a leader j of the team. This position is equally ] as important as that of manager, and ! it is absolutely essential that the side ■ must be a happy family on and off the . field. With the exception of three or four of the above-mentioned players, they are all under thirty years of age, ! ! and quite a fair proportion under , j twenty-five. years. Everyone, of j course, holds different opinions, but ; i this team appeals to the writer as being - { a -well-balanced side.