CRICKET.

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17134, 22 June 1927, Page 2

CRICKET.

Northumberland* (By "Cover Point.") Northumberland, against whom the New Zealandcrs commence the second of their county matches to-day, were last year something like Humpty Dumpty. After sitting high up on the wall for three seasons, they had a great fall, losing five matches and finishing 19th in the table. This result was most surprising in view of the fact that they had gone through the seasons 1923-4-5 with the loss of only three matches, two of them in challenge games. In 1923 they played eight matches, winning six and losing one outright and one on the first innings, and finished equal for third place with Dorset, with a percentage of 77.50. In 1924 they again played eight matches, winning ilxc outright and two on the first innings, and losing one on the first innings. This put them at the head of the table, but in the challenge match with Berkshire they were defeated by 52 runs. The Maximum Scored. In 1925 they did better still in the competition itself. Of their eight matches they won seven outright and drew the eighth, giving them 100 per cent. Once again, however, they failed to withstand a challenge, Buckinghamshire defeating them by 157 runs. Why the Downfall? As a general rule it is an advantage to be able to keep a side together, but it has apparently worked the other way. with Northumberland. Only 20 men appeared for the county in the three successful years, and the consequence was that last year, when the players upon whom reliance had been placed in past seasons showed signs of decline there was no one qualified to take their places. The committee had to";experiment with new and untried men, who, naturally, were not up to county standard, although some of them gave promise of hope for the future. Some of the Players. Of the 160 wickets which their opponents lost in 1925 Hetherton took 91 for 9.25 apiece and Milne, his fellow professional, 51 at an average cost of 17.86. Hetherton bowled 394 overs and Milne 415, Towler 39, Davies 20, and Fairservice, the former Kent man, 12; so it-will be readily seen how much the team depended on the first-named pair. Last year Hetherton bowled 372 overs (119 of them maidens), but took only 39 wickets, and they'' cost 20.64 each. Milne bowled 349 overs, securing 31 wickets for 24.25 each. He too was steady enough, bowling 108 maidens. Fairservice, who only bowled 93 overs, headed the bowling averages with 18 wickets at an average of 11.72, and the fourth bowler, B. H. Surry, took nine wickets in 32 overs for 124. In 1925 Stranger-Leathes (the Rugby full-back), Bruce, Whitfield, Lindesay, Mackay, and Towler all had batting averages of over 20, but last year Mackay, who made 401 runs and averaged 26.73, and Broadbelt, who made 325 runs at an average of 23.21, were the only ones to average more than 20. Stranger-Leathes, who made 135 against Durham, was next with an aggregate of 187 and an average of 18.70.