HEADING TOWARDS THE PLUNKET SHIELD

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 290, 8 December 1939, Page 11

HEADING TOWARDS THE PLUNKET SHIELD

BLUE RIBAND OF N.Z. CRICKET TOWN AND COUNTRY MATCH A GUIDE TO WELLINGTON SELECTOR LIST OF HOLDERS OF THE TROPHY

The Town v. Country cricket match ' played at Wellington, has not onlj ’ stimulated interest in cricket so far as the Wellington province is concerned 1 but it has awakened speculation as tc 1 the Plunket Shield series between the major provincial sides of the Dominion. > The Plunket Shield is to cricket in > New Zealand what the Ranfurly ' Shield is in New Zealand Rugby. It is played annually between the provinces of Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury ' and Otago. Earlier in the season ‘ there was a fear that, because of the ’ war, the Plunket Shield matches might not proceed as usual. That fear was keenest in Dunedin. In the north it was taken for granted that the : games would go on, but the sugges- ■ tion was heard in the south that it ; might be wiser to conserve funds by cancelling the matches, and also that all of the games might be played in Wellington. The latter idea represented an undesirable example of centralisation which could not be justifled even in the year of the centennial and the Exhibition. A desire to conserve funds at a time when things other than sport have claims upon the generosity of the public in the financial sense is at least understandable, but cricketers generally will probably take the view that, so long as the teams remain truly representative and the games command public interest and support they should be continued. Aucklama’s Matelies. Auckland, the present holder of the Plunket Shield, will play its first match of the series against Wellington at the Basin Reserve, commencing on December 25, and being continued on December 26, 2 7 and 28. Matches will be played at Eden Park against Otago and Canterbury, the dates being as follows: —Otago: December 30, January 1,2 and 3. Canterbury: January 5,6, 8 and 9. All j <inket Shield matches are limited to four days’ play irrespective of weather conditions. The system of scoring is as follows: —Outright win. 8 points; outright loss, 0; win on first innings, 4; loss on first innings, 2; tie on match, 4 each; no result after six hours’ play, 4 each. In the event of a tie between two or more teams the shield is awarded : averages. Since the shield was presented by Lord Plunket in 1906 Auckland has won the trophy on 12 occasions. Canterbury nine times, Wellington eight, and Otago twice. Details are as fol-

V'ivian and Scott Have Returned. Earlier in the year it was thought that Auckland, without H. G. Vivian and V. Scott, would be considerablyweakened for Plunket Shield matches. Scott, who was a member of the New Zealand Rugby League team, returned some weeks ago. He has not recorded any phenomenal scores, but he has been batting consistently well, and looks certain for the Shield side again. And now Vivian is back, too. Forced to terminate his agreement with Sir Julien Cahn owing to the war, he arrived in Auckland a fortnight ago. Vivian was, to a greater extent than any other Auckland representative, responsible for the province's success in the last Plunket Shield series. He topped the bowling averages with 211 wickets at a cost of 350 runs. He batted solidly, too. Wellington Tomi v. Country. For the selected players in the Wellington Town v. Country match, it is, of course, a try-out, and there is no need for any player who has been passed over to regard himself a be-' ing out of the running for Plunket Shield honours. It will not be until the Saturday prior to the first Plunket Shield mtach that Mr. W. J. R. Christopherson (newly-appointed Wellington selector) makes up his mind j about Wellington’s Sbield team. In ; the meantime there wfii be opportuni-1 ties, other than those presented by the , Town-Country match, for players to I improve their claims. I

i, Donnelly’s Form Improves. y s A pleasing feature of Canterbury 1 club cricket this season has been the o return to some kind of form, botl tI . with bat and ball, of M. P. Donnelly _ former Taranaki, Wellington and Neu Zealand representative. Playing foi n West Christchurch against Lancaster ■j Park he scored an excellent 61 and s captured five wickets for seven runs s apiece. y Donnelly’s efforts in Shield cricket q last season were poor, though curi- □ ously enough' he was one of the outs standing men in club games. Whether r 1 he will go into the Canterbury team 11 this year is a matter of conjecture. 2 If he maintains his latest form he _' might, but if he doesn’t, then the set lector may feel impelled to overlook him. t 1 Uttley Leaves Otago. t K. F. M. Uttley, Otago, has taken } up a medical appointment at Grey- ■ mouth. The Otago University Club j will sadly miss a player who has so i often carried the side on his shoulders, > and for Otago the loss will be almost

equally serious. His present intentions are to play on the West Coast if his duties still allow him sufficient leisure. His appearance would be very welcome in a district where other well-known Otago players such as L. Casey and A. W. Al 100 have taken a prominent part in the game, says the. Otago Daily Times. Country Week in Otago. Although no new champions emerged from the Otago Cricket Association's Country Week, the fixture has again been proved worth while, but it is hardly likely that the association will be satisfied until the event takes the form of a tournament that will be really representative of country cricket. There are difficulties that prevent the assembling of all of the best country players in Dunedin at one time, but if these could be overcome, possibly b v arranging other dates, it might yet be possible to hold a tournament in which truly representative sides from Southland, North Otago, Central Otago and .South Otago would compete, says the Otago Daily Times. A North Otago side is essential to the complete success of the event, and the presence of some of the best Maniototo players would also have been welcome last week. The fixture remains a pleasant holiday event, but, if it is to contribute all that it should to the development of Otago cricket, and if the competition among the teams is to be more even the full co-operation of country districts will be required. J. R. Lamason’s Bowling. Five wickets for 14 runs off eleven overs represented J. R. Lamason's bowling average at one stage for Wellington College Old Boys against Hutt. E. G. McLeod and R. Buchan spoilt it somewhat later in the innings, but nevertheless the majority of the recognised Hutt batsmen could make no progress whatever against his deliveries. There was an element of luck in his success, though. Gwilliam, when batting comfortably, was bowled off his pads, and Capstick dragged a ball in from the off on to his wickets. But the ball that bowled R. Stehr was a beauty. It just flicked the bails and there was a certain amount of natural hesitation on the part of the batsman before he walked out. Some I of the spectators were under the impression that the bails came off when accidentally touched by R. H. Lamason’s (the wicket-keeper’s) glove. But Lamason was standing a yard or two behind the wickets.

Allcott Still Getting Wickets. Former New Zealand left-arm bowler Cyril Allcott is, despite his age. still getting among the wickets in Otago club cricket. His seven ickets for 35 for Kaikorai against Grange was quite the best of the bowling efforts, on averages; anyway, registered in the four main centres last Saturday. Allcott’s representative i days are. of course, over, but if figures alone counted he would go close to the Otago Shield side this year. |

1907Canterbury Auckland 1908-09 . .. Auckland 1909-10 . Auckland 1910-11 ........... Canterbury 1911-12 Auckland 1912-13 . Canterbury 1913-14 . Canterbury 1914-15 Canterbury 1916-18 No matches played 1918-19 Wellington & Canterbury 1919-20 Auckland 1920-21 Wellington 1921-22 . Auckland 1922-23 . Canterbury 1923-24 . Wellington 1924-25 . Otago 1925-26 Wellington 1926-27 Auckland 1927-28 . Wellington 1928-29 . Auckland 1929-30 . Wellington 1930-31 , Canterbury 1931-32 . Wellington 1932-33 . Otago 1933-34 . .... Auckland 1934-35 . Canterbury 1935-36 . . . Wellington 1936-37 . Auckland 1937-38 . Auckland 1938-39 . Auckland