Canterbury Lose By 19, But Oh! What A Fight!

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18958, 2 January 1930, Page 5

Canterbury Lose By 19, But Oh! What A Fight!

BRILLIANT FIGHTING INNINGS BY TALBOT AND LESTER AT WELLINGTON

U npWENTY-EIGHT RUNS were wanted and there JL -was one wicket to fall. The crowd counted run for run and cheered strokes as they were made. Then a breathless hush came over the ground. Merritt was facing Lambert again and he appeared so confident that there was a real possibility that the runs would come off his bat. A lady in the stand left the ground saying the excitement was too much lor her. Merritt got seven of the runs wanted and. in attempting to hit Lambert out of the ground, put his leg in front of a straight one. The game was over and Canterbury had lost by 19 runs. Canterbury’s magnificent effort to score 407 runs against Wellington on a worn wicket has won for the side wholehearted congratulation. They put up a great fight and the match ended in as thrilling a manner as has ever occurred in a shield contest.

(Special to the “ Star.”) WELLINGTON, December 31. Another fine day, but a fairly stiff northerly blowing. There are only a handful of people on the ground. The New Zealand team is generally approved of, but there is a feeling that there is not enough bowling talent and that more slips are needed. Trouble sets in early for Canterbury, Badcock bowling Page a quarter of an hour after play starts. “ Curly ” has not done himself justice in this game. James is taking the ball beautifully on the leg side. Outfield very fast. Talbot Starts To Hit. Talbot gets McGirr nicely to the fence at fine leg. Roberts 60, Talbot 10, 130 tip. Henderson on instead of McGirr. Talbot drives Badcock hard and it goes through McGirr, Lowry and Avery to the fence. Roberts 70. Lambert on. Tosses three well up, and then a short one. Roberts pulls it but not hard enough and Avery catches him on the leg boundary. Harris starts well and then lifts another short one high to the grand stand fence where Dempster takes a good catch. Lester next. Like A Champion. Talbot batting like a champion and scoring all round the wicket. A fine clean hit off Lambert goes clean over the ropes at the south end. Hope on and Lowry’s giving him a good run. 200 for 5. Talbot GO, Lester 20. Badcock on again.

Talbot square cuts Badcock to the fence but Dempster gets there and it is only two. Talbot 70. [ Dust blowing off the wicket. Hope is bowling a lot of no balls, but only one call. Talbot is still going well. Lambert on again and Talbot draws him over the ropes. 80 to Talbot. 250 up. McGirr on again instead of Hope. Talbot off-drives him to the fence. 90 to Talbot. Lester 30. Fieldsmen Aleii. Close to his century, Talbot drives McGirr hard, but Hope stops it at midoff. 4 lost. Then he gets one away to the on but Dempster chases it and overtakes it at the fence. 3 only. 270 up. Talbot gets McGirr round to the square leg fence and reaches his 100. A fine innings. He is the man of the hour. Next over he hits Lambert for 6 and 4 but then he lets go at a full toss and Badcock takes a fine catch. 6 for 290. Canterbury are dying game. Powell Goes In and Out. Lunch, and afterwards Powell goes in and out, caught off a full toss. Four wickets to Lambert—two off long hoppers and two off full pitchers. Merritt next. He gets two fours to leg, and Badcock. on in place of Lambert, puts an extra man round there. Merritt gets another one through, and another man goes across. Merritt hits wildly round at the next three balls, but does not connect with any of them. Lester 40. Three hundred and twenty up.

Hope on again. Lester 50. Three hundred and thirty up. Henderson on instead of Badcock. The first one, very fast, kicks up off Merritt’s bat. Hope dives, but just can’t get there. Three fours off the over. Three hundred and forty up. Can it be done, Lester hits a beautiful four to leg and another to the off. Sixty to him and 350 up. Another four and then he plavs across one from Lambert and is bowled. 363—8—64. Actum est de Balbo. which, being interpreted. is, it’s all up a tree with Canterbury. “ Dying Hard.” * Still dying hard, though. Merritt turns Henderson to square leg for four, and Canterbury are 367, the highest total of the match. Burns is facing Lambert. I fear the slows will be too much for “ Chooker.” (Name subject to correction.) He’s survived the over. Merritt cuts Henderson for a two, the last a close call, then gets a two jto leg and a four through the covers. Three hundred and seventy up. Merritt 40. Burns gets Henderson to leg an easy two, but Merritt does not like the second run, which would bring Burns to face the bowling again. However, they run it, and next ball Burns is caught behind. Simmonds plays out the over. Three hundred and eighty up. Merritt 50. A two and a single, and Simmonds , faces Lambert. He nearly plays the second one on. Over. A single to Merritt brings Simmonds opposite Henderson. He sees the over out. Two to Merritt, well run, off Lambert, and then he steps in front to pull one, misses, and is Ibw. Canterbury lose by 19 runs, but what a fight! This should do Canterbury cricket a world of good. Cheerio! —JRTHE SCORES. WELLINGTON. First innings (for nine wickets, declared) 366 Second innings 250 CANTERBURY. First innings 209 Second Innings. Cromb, b M'Girr 8 Allen, c James b Henderson 17 Roberts, c Airey b Lambert 70 Page, b Badcock 19 Talbot, c Badcock b Lambert .. 113 Harris, c Dempster b Lambert .. 5 Lester, b Lambert 4 6-1 Powell, c Hope b Lambert 7 Merritt, lbw b Lambert 57 Burns, c James, b Henderson .... 3 Simmonds, not out 1 Extras 24 Total 388 Bowling analysis.—M’Girr, one wicket for 54 runs; Badcock, one for 66; Henderson, two for 80; Lowry, none for 18; Hope, none for 44; Lambert, six for 102. CANTERBURY B. V. GREYMOUTH. Playing against a Greymouth team, yesterday, the Canterbury B cricketers had a very strong mora] victory, though the rain, which interrupted piny at a quarter to four, made the actual result a draw. The wicket at Hagley Park was in good order, but after the heavy downpour water lay on the wicket to such an extent that play was declared off. Scores:— CANTERBURY B. First Innings. 11. Davis, c Re veil b Knapp 59 W. C. Dailey, retired 61 -M. F. Pengelly, b Re veil 17 C. S. Gibbs, b Jvnapp 13 M. K. Boon, c Barlow b Revell .... 36 C. Falloon, std Gillon b Restieux .. 20 A. Davis, retired 31 R. J. S. Bean, c Smyth b Restieux 2 4 E. T. Mulcock, b Knapp I A. Cobden, not out 29 H. Graham, b Revell 4 Extras 33 Total 321 Bowling analysis—S. Smith, 10 overs, 1 maiden. 39 runs; G. Revell. 14.1 overs, 4 maidens, 59 runs, 3 wickets; C. Dewar, 5 overs, 1 maiden, 45 runs; Restieux, 11 overs, 55 runs, 2 wickets; Knapp, IS overs, 1 maiden, 72 runs. 3 wickets; Smyth, 2 overs, 18 tuns. GREYMOUTH. First Innings. M. Barlow, c Boon b H. Davis ...., © W. Spender, e Boon b Bean 7 F. Smyth, b Bean 0 G. Knapp, c Bean b Davis 0 H. S. Nightingale, b Gibbs 15 P. Gillon, b Davis 3 J. Mathews, b Davis 0 C. Dewar, c and b Bean 0 S. Smyth, not out is G. Revell, not out . 7 Extras 6 Total for eight wickets .... 56