THE GREAT CRICKET MATCH.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1697, 4 February 1862, Page 5

THE GREAT CRICKET MATCH.

• - The special reporter of the Sydney Morning Herald' prefaces a full report of 1 the late match with the following souurl and appropriate observations, which m;iy be read with great advantage by all young colonial clubs : — To institute any comparison between the play of the English and Colouial cricketers is out of the question. The latter were immeasurably overmatched at all points. Mistakes were doubtless made by the English players to shew they were men, not gods ; but no unprejudiced judge of the game could look at the best performance of any one of the Victorians, Butterworth alone as long-stop excepted, and put it anything like on a par with that of any one of their antagonists. It is now easy to be seen that the colomaT players have everything to learn. They have in them, it must be conceded, all the elements that are required out of which to make a team fit to contend on equal grounds with an All England Eleven; but it is not enough to have quick eyes — they must play with straight bats— they must learn to time their hits accurately — they must be able to hit all round. It is not enough that they bowl straight into the wicket — that nine balls out of every twenty-two should be so good that such men as Caffyu, E. Stephenson, Iddison, Laurence and Mudie were fain to content themselves with simply defending their wickets. They must use their heads as well as their \irras ; they must learn how to discover their adversaries' weak points ; they must study how to make the ball twist, and work, and break back. Above ally they must learn to field. No doubt, Marshall keeps wicket well. He has earned a colonial reputation, and well merits it; but he has something to learn before he can hope to attain the excellence displayed by H. H. Stepbenson. Marshall can take'a ball over the wicket, or to the off, and none better, but he cannot take a leg ball ; he is not ambidexter ; he cannot use both hands alike; until he can do this, .let no man boast of his wicketkeeping. What has the left band done that it should not be used equally with the right? Stephenson does so. Lockyer does so. Why should not we ? The Victorian fielding was often good — sometimes very good. Wardill in particular distinguished himself. Andofßutterworth it may be safely said that there was little difference between his long-stopping and that of Mortlock, who has the reputation of being second to none in England. But the best of the Victorian was bungling compared with that of the English. Neither must he who would rank as a first-rate cricketer be content with excellence in any particular pnrt of the game anil mediocrity in the rest. H, H. Stephenson is "a splendid bat" — one of the best bowlers in England — and is " equal to the second-best wicket keeper in England." Caffyn is "one of the liest bowlers, batters, and fielders in England." Sewell " bowls and bats exceedingly well, and is a good n?an all round.'' Eight out the eleven who have visited our shores are entirely to be depended upon as batsmen, fielders, and bowlers. Can the Victorians say as much ? They certainly cannot ; and until they can, they must not hope to take their stand among first-rate players. Before they can do so they must do what a the least good among their antagonists have done, namely, reduce cricket to a science. Nothing but prao' tice will accomplish this — practice under competent masters ; not such practice as tbe Vic-

torian cricketer is wont to take, when, evening after evening, a wicket is stuck up with a net behind it to stop balls which are not hit. A net is a very good thing in its way, where only two or three players are in the field, as it saves time in going after a ball. But, when there are euough to field, it is painful to every good cricketer to see all the men crowding to bowl or bat, and not a man offering to take long-stop, or keep wicket, or field out, so that, when called upon, they are found wanting. I am afraid that nets, instead of being a great institution, are really only incentives to idleness. That the bowling of the Victorians was good, the fact that, of 220 overs bowled, 91 were maidens, speaks conclusively. It even contrasts favourably with that of the All-England, who had 61 maidens out of 151 overs— the former, be it remembered against professors ; the latter against, for the most part, young beginners, or players confessedly out of practice. But to get wickets such as these the colonies must "put the screw on."

E. Stephenson told me "He looked upon Con way as the best bowler," but he does not bowl with his head. Pie hardly varies his pace. Stewart did this in a remarkable degree for so young a bowler. One thing more.- The Victorians, if they desire to become great cricketers, or indeed great in anythiug, must shun as they would a pestilence the pernicious and degrading vice of drinking to excess, the bane of all physical and manly, as it is of all moral and intellectual progress. Who in his senses can imagine for one moment that he can go to Cremorne and be brought home drunk at three or four in the morning— and eight hours after be fit to play at cricket. The thing carries absurdity in its face. Cricketers should never get drunk, either before, during, or after a niateh. They should be temperate— not one among the AH England Eleven but is so, every temptation to excess notwithstanding; and if the colonial players are to emulate them in their cricket— they must first learn to imitate them in their steadiness.

With eighteen men in the field opposed to eleven much might have been done had practice together made them as perfect as they ought to have been. But they had no practice, none at all. Instead of finding them daily occupying the posts they were to fill in the match, and doing their utmost everywhere, on the very few occasions on which they did practice together, they were, with very few exceptions, listless and inanimate, smoking pipes and cigars, and evidently without any heart in what they were doing. Had the best horse in the colony been so trained, however good his qualifications, he would tave been easily distanced by a far inferior animal, on whom the best attention had been bestowed, and the Victorians, by their apathy and indifference, showed either presumption, ignorance, idleness* or impecuniosity. The contrast between them and the English was very marked. No sooner did they commence practice than they kept it up day after day for six or eight hours, woiking like so many cart horses. In neglecting to practice together, the Victorians threw away their solitary chance. Of the English play it must be conceded it was matchless, in these colonies at all events. Mistakes were certainly occasionally made, but no doubt a good deal was owing to the men having been two months at sea, and not having had time to get themselves into condition, Theit play must be seen and understood to be appreciated. Their promptitude, unity of action^ jguiet .watchfulness, neatness, precision and activity wer.ejßeautiful : theyseemed like thje different '.J>asts -of "%,Vreat machine, eactf performing' hiCseparate^duties thoroughly, but all subservient to the one great end.

The All-England admit to a man that they were io till things agreeably surprised. In the voyage, which has been robbed of its terrors ; in their reception, of which they had no previous conception ; in the weather which has not been so hot as many English summer days ; in the city of Melbourne, which they did not dream was half the Mze, or bad half the fine buildings in it ; and lastly, in the cricket field ; the company, which was out and the largest before whom they had ever played ; and the play to which they were opposed. They freely allow that the Victorians are by no means contemptible opponents, Two o'r three of them said, " The Victorians can send an eleven to the Canadas and United States, that would give twenty-two of either a jolly good licking." Something of this I set. down to compliment. But this I will say, had Wills and Hammersley taken the place of Morres and Rennie ; had iucessant practice combined with rational abstinence, brought the colonials into perfect condition, and had twenty-two men been allowed instead of eighteen, I believe the game would not have been so one-sided. That under any circumstances, the Victorians could have won, Ido not for a moment think ; but Ido think that. they would not have been beaten, and so beaten, in one innings. There would have been better cricket on both sides, for the English would have risen with the occassion. 'Hitherto they have had nothing to call forth their powers. The metropolitan players have been very " bumptious;" they have been wont to think they were " half horse, half alligator, with a cross of buffalo, and could whip their weight of wild cats." But they can't whip the English. A lesson has been read to them that may have a good and lasting effect. If they have been taught humility; if they have been taught not to undervalue fielding; if, in short, they have been taught that they are only beginners, and must work their way up to excellence in the only steps by which excellence is to be obtained — steady, persevering, unflagging practicethat lesson will not have been read to them in vain.

MATCH BETWEEN VICTOKTA AND N. S, WALES. The innings of the New South Wales Eleven was brought to a close at 3*30 on Saturday, by the wicket of Kin loch (who had succeeded Sadler) being taken by Oonway. He and Bryant after luncheon haviug resumed the bowling, a few maiden overs were given, and Kinloch had not scored a single before be retired, makiug the total score of the innings 109. Both innings 215: The Victorians, in their second innings, seut in Butterworth and Wardill, the bowling of Kinloch and Moove, the former starting with a maiden over. Butterworth made a double off Moore, Wardill a single and then a flue cut for four. The small figure required for a victory was thus made, the Victoriaus being winners of the match ten wickets to spare. ALL-ENGLAND V. BEECHWOIITH. All-England, first innings „. 264 Ovens Twenty-two, first innings 20 Second innings , 53 Griffith (solus) subsequently played a match against Eleven of the Orens cricketers. He put all out for one run, and made five himself.