WEST STILL HEAD THE LIST.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20222, 5 February 1934, Page 11

WEST STILL HEAD THE LIST.

Eight-point Win Registered by Riccarton Against East.

CENTURIES TO O’BRIEN AND OLIVER.

T'HE CONCLUSION OF PLAY in the seventh series of senior cricket matches on Saturday saw West Christchurch still with a comfortable five-point lead in the competition, due to the snatching of a first innings win from Sydenham. Lancaster Park failed in their attempt to get an eight pointer from Old Boys, but Riccarlon succeeded in so doing against East Christehurch, while St Albans batted brightly to beat Old Collegians on the first innings, when Collegians had declared with seven down for 338. Two fine centuries were scored during the afternoon, O’Brien making 139 for St Albans and Oliver 102 for Sydenham. Hope, Rix, Read and Roberts registered excellent bowling performances.

HONOURS LIST. Batting. F. P. O’Brien (St A.) 139 C. J. Oliver (S.) 302 R. W. Coupland (E.) 69 A. T>. Park (E,) 50 M. L. Page (O.B.) 50 W. A. Hadlee (O.B.) 47 Ci. R. Gregory (W.) 45 F. Bellamy <S.) 45 T. F. Mullan (E.) 43 J. Barton (W.) 43 G. M. Condliffe (St A.) 42 H. R. M. Graham (St A.) 35 L. E. Riley (S ) 32 Bowling. ■R* J. Read (L.P.) —Six for 57 and three for «9. G. T. Rix (R.)—Six for 69. R- W. Hope (W.) —Six for 79. , A. W. Roberts (R.) —Three for 13 and three for 36. HOPE DEFEATS SYDENHAM. With Hope bowling well on a fairly fast wicket, the Sydenham batsman found the task of catching the 254 scored by W r est too much for them, and failed by the narrow margin •of 21. Wickets fell with a rash in the middle of the innings, and Oliver, who had complete control of Hope and all the other bowlers as well, could not find anyone to stop with fcirh while he knocked off the runs. In the finish he himself was run out, after a plucky effort to pull fhe game out of the fire. Oliver's 102 was an excellent performance.

After adding only 9 to his overnight score, Bellamy went Ibw to Hope, and then Butterfield shaped well till Hope levelled his wicket.

Riley handled the fast man easily and batted with perfect confidence, his only weak stroke being the one to which he fell, caught and bowled Hope, when 32. Riley has developed greatly as a. batsman, his representative experience standing him in good stead, and next season he should be among the biggest nm*getters. Oliver gave a practically faultless display. He is not off-driving as well as he used to, but apart frofn that he seems to have recaptured all his shots. He had a hard proposition on Saturday, with his partners leaving him with regularity, but nevertheless there were patches when he rattled on the runs in sparkling manner. He punches anything loose most severely. He would be as likely as anyone to make runs against the Australians. Hope showed yet again what he can do when the wicket suits him. He had good control of length, and developed great pace off the pitch, as well as varying pace and length in a manner to keep the batsmen guessing. Vincent took one wicket with a good ball and one with a bad one, at the cost of 86 runs. He is still erratic in length and liable to prove expensive. Patrick and Findlay bowled steadily.

READ BOWLS BRILLIANTLY. A remarkable bowling performance by R. J. Read was the most interesting feature of the game between Lancaster Park and Old Boys. Read’s feat of taking six wickets for 57 runs in the first innings, and three wickets for 79 runs in the second innings, helped to revive again the old argument as to whether he could still stand the strain of Plunket Shield cricket. It also showed that as a medium pace bowler he has very few rivals in Canterbury.

Altogether, Read bowled forty-five overs, including nine maidens, in sweltering beat. He maintained an immaculate length, and was swinging dangerously all the time. Only at the very last, when he had bowled merre than forty overs, did the Lancaster Park veteran show signs of tiredness. Even then, although his bowling lacked much of its original sting, he kept the same perfect length, and compelled the batsmen to watch every ball.

The fact that Read also kept one end going nearly all the afternoon caused several old cricketers to express the opinion that if spelled properly, be was able to stand up to the strain of a four-day match. It might not be fair to call upon him again, but there are many who would like to see one of the best bowlers Canterbury has ever produced back in representative cricket. His bowling can still teach young cricketers many valuable lessons.

Lancaster Park were not forced to make many bowling changes in dismissing Old Boys for 161 runs in their first innings. I. B. Cromb was bowling verv well, and after he had taken the first three wickets. Read completed the damage. The second innings saw Read bowling iust as effectively, and it is possible that if slow bowlers had not been used so much. Lancaster Park might have secured their eight-point win instead of Old Boys scoring 164 runs for the loss of eight wickets. D. Stout, a right-hand slow bowler, was employed with fair success, and took two wickets for 23 runs. There were other bonders in the Lancaster Park side who might have made the win a more decisive one.

With the bowlers definitely on top, the Old Boys batsmen had to strive hard for their runs. W. A. Hadlee scored 47 in solid fashion in the first innings, and saved it from collapse, while M. L. Page also contributed a useful 23. In the second innings, he came to light with 50, which again averted a collapse. IT. R. Escott, who was low down on the batting list on each occasion, scored 40 in the first innings and 36 in the second innings, making his runs in workmanlike fashion.

AN OUTRIGHT WIN. Riccarton improved their points in the cham.pion.ship table at? fhe result of an outright win against East Christchurch on the third wicket at I-lagley Park.; i Riccarton in their first inniangs declared with three wickets down for s4l. In reply East failed to avoid a follow-on, scoring 228 in their first innings and 132 in their second. Riccarton had fourteen minutes in which to find 20 runs for an eight-point win. Early in the afternoon it appeared as if Riccarton would have to be content at most with a win on the first innings, but East’s second knock resulted in a collapse. C, T. Rix was in good form with the ball. In the first innings he took four wickets for 78 runs, but bettered this to the tone of six for 69 in the second innings, an average of 14.7 for the game. A. W. Roberts, who found the wicket to his liking, took three wickets for 13 in East’s second innings and three for 36 in the first. Without doubt, the crowd enjoyed most, of all T. F. Multan’s knock of 43.. compiled in 21 minutes. He tackled anything likely that came along and played havoc with Rix’s average particularly. His scone included eight fours and one six, The most consistent batting performance came from R. W. Couplaud, who has had some other good scores to his record this season. He compiled 69 in steady and persistent fashion, •A. D. Park was second top scorer of the afternoon with a forceful SO. ST ALBANS DEFEAT** COLLEGIANS There were two outstanding features in the OJd Collegians v. St Albans; match. They were the bright innings of F. P. O’Brien, who made 189, and the fact that during the afternoon nine hefty sixes -were hit—G. Af. Condliffe two, F. P. O’Brien three and R. E. Alexander four. F. P. O’Brien made his first century of this season, although he got within five of the hundred mark against Old Boys early in the season. His effort on Saturday was a striking one and notable for its exhilarating qualities. He was good on strokes ail round the wicket, his most prolific scorer being a nice l square leg cut. This was particularly j in evidence when Lester and Graham bowled a kind of off theory. As an' illustration of his bright display, nine- 1 teen fours awd three sixes were included in his total of 139. G. M. Condliffe soon reached his stride and played the bowling in his usual perfect style. He punished Alexander’s slows severely, recording two sixes in succession and getting eighteen off the over. He was given out. Jackman taking a smart catch behind the stumps. M. Graham -came in when things looked black for St Albans, but he stuck manfully to his task and notched a bright 35 in good style. W. E. Cummings (30) and •C.. G. Crawford (24) were equal to the fast bowlers, scoring their runs froin carefully-played shots, o _* >owl * n £ honours were divided. S. G. Lester sent down 27 overs, keening a good length all the while. R. R. Gibson and R. E. Alexander also kept up a solid attack, with which the batsmen could not take any risks. C. K. Jackman, behind the stumps, W * S , right on his work, not only in catching three men out and stumping one, but also in his work generally. The Lower Grades. SEMJOR B. Beckenham, 61 and 235 (Carlyle 48 S. Besley 88, Kent 25. Davison 25), beat Clock j£" w £ r » and 134 (Cole 27, Savage 26, Sanderson 24), by 64 runs S. Besley and R. Griffiths bowled w«li for Beckenham. Spreydon. 110 and 143 for eight wickets (Kiddey 35. Senior 25, Freeman 16, Gross 4.0 not out, Holmes 13 not outDavison five for 35. Smith two for 8), beat Templeton, 108 and I*9 for sir wickets declared (Mortland 44, Green 39, Playle 22; Kiddey three for 35. Farrant two for 39), by 2 runs on the first innings. 215 ' A e *l Merivale, 71 and 145 (H. Blazey 32, R. Blazey 33). by an innings and 29 runs. M’Donnell four for 34, Murray tw.o for 18 and M’Kenary two for 25, bowled best for Marist. Junior A. Riccarton. 168 and 154 for six wickets (Allard 62, R. Timms 23, Raxworthy 21 not out), beat Harewood. 8® and 223 (.A. Shipley 57, W.Sisson 33. W. Sieeman 29. B. Watson 26, L. Watson 22), by four wickets. E. Timms bowled well for Riccarton: and D. Merrin two for 38. and W. Sisson two for 39, for Harewood. Avon, 317. heat Shirley, 281 (Boddington 93. Streeter 61 not out, T. Grenfell .i 3, Keats 28). by 36 runs on the first innings. F. Pitt four for 62. and J. c,ur for 58. bowled best for Junior a. Avon, 108 arid 69 for nine wickets declared, beat Shirley, 4 4 and 87, bv 4 6 runs. Junior c. Oddfellows, 219 (Capper 58), beat vt hi.loom be and Tombs. 94 and 84 by an innings and 41 runs. Kia Ora, 221 and 17 for one wicket, beat Beckenham, 77 and 154, by nine wickets. Third Grad* A. Argyll® Hoti.se. 14 7, beat Avon, 89 bv 3 8 runs on the first innings. Stewart’s Gully, 158 for eight wickets declared, beat Beckenham, 37 and 102 lor seven wickets, by 121 runs on the first innings. Ouruhia. 142 (L. Stead S 3. J. Steere 30, F. Steere 23). beat Mairehau. 97, by 45 runs on the first innings. Lyttelton. 105 (Wilson 49), beat Shirrun'c 55 anrl SB ‘ 53y an and H Third Grade X. Templeton. 133 and 35 for one wicket, beat Lyttelton. 75 and 71 bv nine wickets. Heath cote, 105. beat Ouruhia 92 by 13 runs on the first innings. Beckenham. 221, drew- with Avon, 150 for nine wickets. X.orthcote beat Stewart’s Gully bv default. Papanui. 280. heat Riccarton, 88, by 114 runs on the first innings.

POSITIONS OF *-pt. TEAMS. 6-pt. W. W. Lost. 7 f) 3. 4 2 Rfccarton 3 3 St Albans 0 4 ;{ Sydenham 03d Boys 3 4 19 0 2 5 lo |OId Collegian* 0 2 5 ItSast Christchurch 0 I 6 10