SATURDAY'S PLAY WAS INTERESTING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19269, 5 January 1931, Page 7

SATURDAY'S PLAY WAS INTERESTING.

CANTERBURY PLACED IN FAVOURABLE POSITION

Fortune turned in favour of Canterbury in the match on Saturday. The third day’s play was intensely dramatic. Canterbury carried their second innings score from 236 for five wickets to the big total of 519, and when stumps were drawn Wellington had lost three good wickets for only 51 runs.

It was Page’s day. He made a splendid century, equalling Roberts’s top score of 116, and at the end of the day had taken the wickets of M’Leod and Dempster for only five runs. But all the credit cannot be allotted to the Canterbury skipper. Cromb made 35 Lester 49, Merritt 38, and Dorreen 28 not out, and when Wellington went in the home team, conscious of a lead of 382 and a day to go, was on its toes and gave of its best in bowling and fielding.

Wellington were unfortunate that Blundell, a steady and reliable stock bowler, who can take wickets with the best, sprained his thumb while fielding on Friday and could not take the field. That meant that Lowry did not have his full range of trundlers, and the burden rested very heavily upon Massey» Crook and J. Newman. M’Girr was tried for the first time in this Plunket Shield series, and took two of the best wickets at low cost. M’Leod, the slow bowler, was expensive, his one wicket entailing 103 runs. It was notable that the Wellington attack and fielding did not slacken throughout the long, hot day. Massey, Crook and Newman had a tremendous amount of work to do, and stuck to it throughout. It was not till the eighth wicket had fallen that the edge was worn off the bowling. Page and Cromb carried on the innings, and they settled down to score quietly. Both men played safe cricket. Cromb looked quite set when he went to a catch in the slips that was extremely doubtful, the ball appearing to hit the ground as soon as it left the bat. In this match Cromb batted finely. Lester did not appear very safe, but he kept the bowling out and made runs with some pretty strokes. His 49 came just when it was needed, and he went out in an effort to speed up the scoring. Page made his first Plunket Shield century m characteristic fashion. He was fighting for the runs all the time against accurate bowling, and his innings was practically chanceless. His placing was excellent and his defence sound. He certainly has the gift of rising to an occasion. Merritt gave a sound display, though he took a few risks. His hitting was powerful and well timed. Dorreen, with an injured hand, batted pluckily and well. He never looked like going out, and was 2S when the last wicket fell. The confidence in Canterbury’s batting strength, heightened by the fourth innings score against Auckland, was again confirmed on Saturday. The big total included “ ducks ” by two of the best men on the side, but that did not prevent the others from rising to the occasion. Also, it could not be said that the side merely flogged tired bowling. Even with Blundell out, the attack was first-class all the time. Wellington met disaster in their -second innings. Talbot took a magnificent catch off Cromb’s bowling to dismiss Lowry, one of the most dependable batsmen in the Dominion, then the guile of Page sent two other good men, Dempster and M’Leod, back to the pavilion. The Canterbury captain bowled from six feet behind the wicket to Dempster, who aimed his cut through the slips too soon, and tipped the ball to the wicketkeeper.

BOWLING RECORD. Smith, the Auckland slow bowler, holds the record in Plunket Shield bowling with 121 wickets. He is followed closely by Reg Read with 113. It was unfortunate for the Canterbury man that he sprained an ankle on the eye of the match with Wellington, as he would have had every chance of breaking Smith’s record.