NEW ZEALANDERS EASILY DEFEAT GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 190, 12 August 1931, Page 1

NEW ZEALANDERS EASILY DEFEAT GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

Matheson, Cromb and Vivian Make Wickets Fall Cheaply.

Special to the Press Association. (Received August 12, 9.45 a.m.)

BRISTOL, August 11. The New Zealand, cricketers gained an easy victory over Gloucestershire by an innings and 25 runs. With the exception of Neale, Gloucestershire’s earlier batsmen were easily dismissed The match was continued in overcast weather. Lowry declared, leaving Gloucester with 135 runs to make to avert an innings defeat. The New Zealand bowlers immediately gained the upper hand. A beautiful ball bowled by Matheson took Seabrook’s wicket in the first over, and Sinßeld was caught in the slips, off Cromb, in the next over. Two wickets had fallen without a run being scored.

Neale and Stephens offered a stubborn resistance until the latter was well bowled by Allcott. Ford was dismissed by Matheson immediately after lunch with the score 89 rims for six wickets. Blunt and Vivian quickly disposed of the tail, the last three wickets falling without the addition of a run. The New Zealand bowlers held the advantage. Matheson bowled particularly well, swinging away late. He deserved more success. Cromb was also very steady. He bowled sixteen overs, including six maidens. This victory, immediately preceding the test, is highly gratifying to the team. Following are the scores: — GLOUCESTERSH IRE. First Innings. F. J. Seabrook, b Allcott 27 R. A. Sinfield, b Page 15 H. Smith, b Allcott 1 W. L. Neale, lbw b Vivian 7 C. J. Barnett, c Blunt b Page 20 P. H. Ste?he«s. c Weir b Vivian . . 2 T. Rogers, st James b Page 0 C. Parker, st James b Vivian 0 R. G. Ford, not out 37 E. T. Benson, lbw b Matheson .... 10 T. W. Goddard, c Page b Matheson . 0 Extras 4 Total 123 Bowling analysis.—Matheson, two for 12; Cromb, none for 11; Blunt, none for 9; Page, tiiree for 36; Allcott, two for 24: Lowry, none for 1; Vivian, three for 2G. Second Innings.’ F. J. Seabrook, b Matheson 0 R. A. Sinfield, c Blunt b Cromb .... 0 W. L. Neale lbw b Cromb 24 C. J. Barnett, lbw b Matheson .... 3 P. H. Stephens, b Allcott 12 R. G. Ford, lbw b Matheson ...... 24 C. Parker, c Vivian b Blunt ’. . . 10 H. Smith, c Cromb b Vivian 25 T. Rogers, c Cromb b Vivian 2 T. W. Goddard, b Blunt 0 E. T. Benson, not out 0 Extras 9 Total 109 Bowling analysis.—Matheson, three for 31; Cromb, two for 15; Vivian, two for 25; Allcott, one for 14; Blunt, two for 12; Page, none for 4. NEW ZEALAND. First Innings. C. S. Dempster, c Benson b Parker 54 J. E. Mills, b Rogers 1 H. G. Vivian, c Barnett b Parker . 41 G. L. Weir, b Goddard 2 M. L. Page, c and b Goddard 2 R. C. Blunt, not out 44 T. C. Lowry, lbw b Parker 96 A. M. Matheson, lbw b Parker .... 0 K. C. James, b Parker 1 I. B. Cromb, c Neale b Parker 8 Extras 8 Total for nine wickets .... 257 Bowling analysis.—Rogers, one for 18; Sinfield, none for 53; Goddard, two for 77; Parker, six for 101. ANOTHER GOOD WIN. New Zealanders in Top Form Again. 5 (Written for the “ Star.”) On the eve of the final test the New Zealanders seem to be in fine fettle. Their record for August comprises a nine-wicket win against Glamorgan, a draw with Warwickshire and a victory by an iqnings and 25 runs against Gloucestershire. The Gloucester match was a triumph for the New Zealand bowlers, Matheson, Cromb, Vivian and Blunt sharing in the success of the attack against the county in the second innings With a number of matches still to be played, the New Zealanders have already set the seal of success on their tour. So far they have had seven wins and two losses, a performance that is considerably better than that of the 1527 team, which finished its tour with seven wins and five losses. The Coining Test. The most important fixture of the remainder of the itinerary is the final test, which will be commenced at Manchester on F:iday It will be one day longer than its predecessors, which allowed three days lor play. The omis sion of Tate and Bakewell from Eng land’s eleven may provoke comment, but it probably only means that the Old Country is trying out her most promising players with a view to the Australian tour next year. Bakewell, in

the second test, made 40 before he was run out. Tate took three wicketg for 22 in New Zealand’s second innings. Newcomers in the side are Larwood ancj Paynter, otherwise the team is the same that which defeated New Zealand by an innings in the second test. It is apparent that the English selectors are not going to take New Zealand cheaply in view of the easy win at the Oval. The third test team is very close to the strongest bowling side that England can produce. Larwood’s appearance shows that the worth of the New Zealand batsmen is fully realised by the English judges. They have in mind the fact that Dempster has given a drubbing to many of the other test bowlers, and it is with a view to getting the brilliant opening batsmen out of the way that the selectors have made the English attack as strong as possible. Allen’s Record. After his wonderful performance in getting five New Zealand wickets for 14 runs in the second test, Allen was a certainty for the third test and a repetition of his form in that game would gain him selection for the Australian tour. Peebles and Verity are also being given another chance of showing what they can do. Jardine is again captain of England. He has at his command practically the full batting strength of England. Sutcliffe, Duleepsinhji and Hammond, the heroes of the Old Country’s great knock in the second test, will be playing again. Jardine himself is a batsman of the first flight. Paynter, w’ho is making his first appearance in an English test eleven, is a Lancashire batsman. He is a steady player and, although no particularly high scores came off his bat last season, he was always good for 30 runs in county games. Iddon, who is twelfth man, scored a number of dashing centuries for Lancashire county last seaBig Score Wanted. A big score, irrespective of win or loss, in the third test would definitely establish the reputation of the New Zealanders in first-class cricket. To this end a fast wicket would materially assist the batsmen. Dempster seems to have suffered nothing from his long spell from the crease. Mills, Page, Weir and Cromb have been off colour a little latterly, but the spell before the test may give them a chance to recapture their best form. Vivian, Lowry and Blunt appear to be in the right shape for run-making and it is pleasing to see such good bats at the top of their form for the test. Vivian has performed so well with bat and ball that he justly deserves his reputation of the best allrounder of the side. I