CRICKET IN HAMILTON.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17964, 8 March 1930, Page 8 (Supplement)

CRICKET IN HAMILTON.

THE SEASON’S BEST. EXCITING GAMES ON SATURDAY. DAY OUT FOR THE BAT.

(By Long Stop.) Saturday proved to be the most interesting day for cricketers experienced this season. Close results with big scores were the order in the Senior grade, while in the other grades large scores were common, too, though the issues were not so close. Hamilton East secured the major points over Hamilton, and this practically clinches their hold on the championship, despite the fact that another complete round remains to he played. Franlcton’s defeat of Old Boys leaves the latter at the bottom of the table, but they still have ample opportunity to avenge the loss and overtake their rivals before the end of the competition. The Senior B competition has been protracted, the first round still requiring two days for completion. Those teams who were drawn ag-alnst clubs that withdrew after the second match at the commencement of the season have one match to complete their round, three teams who have finished having byes. No decision has yet been made as to how this competition is to be finalised, but there will not be time for a full round to be played.

Hamilton Retrlevo Themselves. Winger had given Hamilton a good i start in their second knock against j Hamilton East, and had almost wiped | off their deficit of 50 on the first ini nings, the only wicket to have been i lost being that of Pomeroy, How- | ever, he failed to make a fresh start last week, Badeley bowling him ' almost at once. Taylor and Llssette | collared the bowling for a time, the | latter playing defensively for the most j part, until he jumped out to Cassidy, : missed, and was smartly stumped by |-McGrath: Campbell had won the 'game for his team in the last meeting of Ihese clubs, and again set aboutknocking Ihe howlers off their length. Badeley and I. Johnston both proved J fairly expensive—a new experience for the former in club games, and the I score rose steadily. Taylor played as ' good an.innings as he has done this year, putting on 58 before being !

’ caught in the slips off R. Johnston. Hemus soon had the measure of the bowling, and gave a delightful display of batting. Campbell, too, was busy, scoring all round the wicket and always on the lookout for runs. His desire to miss nothing in this respect, however, led to his undoing, for in backing up for a run when he thought the ball had passed the fieldsmen, he failed to see Badeley behind intercept the ball, and the return caught him out of his crease. Still, with the game in its then position, runs were the all important object, and as it became evident that the closure would have to be applied, the loss of his wicket was of little moment. Jack, a promoted junior, shaped fairly proi misingly, but was badly beaten by a j ball from Hampton. Shakeshafi joined Ilemus, and ihe pair look Ihe total to 22i, when the innings was declared closed, Ilemus having compiled 49 not out. East Rejoice. . Hamilton E. have a team this season on which they can rely to keep their end up for any reasonable time, so that they had few fears of being disposed of in the time left for play. Had the wicket been at all difficult or dangerous, the position might have been very different, but as it was, they , could afford to take risks and force the pace. Indeed, that is their forte, and they arc never so dangerous as when they are after runs. Opening with their usual pair, Cassidy and Timms, runs did not come as fast as, the occasion required, but these bats- 1 men at least showed that 'Hamilton had lit Ilc chance of. gelling the side out. When Hampton and Sheet- became associated runs came much more freely, and both batsmen laid on the wood and rallied up the score at great pace. Hampton was in fine form, finding little to trouble him in Mic howling, and much to his liking. With only jr>; of 1 lie 173 required, still to lie put on, Skect was run out, and Badeley lost no lime in knocking off the runs. As this total was put on in less than an hour and threequarters, Hamilton can hardly be blamed for declaring when they did; in-any case, it meant only a couple of points difference, which are unlikely to affect the result now, while had they been successful, they would have been within striking distance of the leaders for the final clash.

Good for Frankton

. With 80 runs still required to over- j take Old Boys’ score of 268, and only 1 , three wickets in hand, matters did not; look particularly promising for Frank- j ion. St. George and Cobbe had been associated in a good partnership at j the end of the first day, and they pro- | ccedcd to dig themselves in. Both j batsmen played careful cricket, taking j few risks, but hitting anything off the i wicket. Runs came slowly in about

even time, the slow bowling of Ilorspool proving the difficult to score from. St. George occasionally had a smack at the howling, and w : as successful in keeping his uppish strokes clear of the field. As the goal drew nearer and nearer, the excitement of those on . the hank increased, and when, with the score at 263, Cobbe was bowled by Rolfe, and three runs later Hawke got St. George with a hall that Kept low, the result of the game being in the balance with the last wicket. The first ball Jacobs | received just missed ids off hail, and then he drove Hawke just of of reach between the howler and mid-on, two runs resulting, to make the scores level. Ward notched a single off Horspopl, and Jacobs lifted the same i howler lo Alien in the outfield, and • brought the innings to an end, with | Frankton one run up. Rapid Work. Old Boys batted again for an hour and a quarter, putting on the good score of 154. in that time. Hawke was Mig chief contributor, with 85, made with a great variety of strokes, but : mainly in front of the wicket. The , Frankton attack was greatly weakenI ed through the absence of E. Everest | and Steele, Ewan proving the best of | those available. With seven wickets | down, Old Boys declared, leaving j Frankton an hour to play out time. Lee and W. Everest remained in for some time, putting on 18 and 20 respectively, and then Cobbe once more kept the bowlers out sufficiently long to make the game safe. When time ' came Frankton had lost five wickets for 71, and as they were two men short their margin of saflcy was not 100 great. High School’s First Win. 'i’lie game between High School and Railway presented as close a repetition of the Hamilton East-llamilton match as it would he possible to imagine, so I far as the course of the game was concerned 1 . The School team gained a lead of 70 on the first innings, but the Railway batsmen made amends for their previous poor showing when they batted last week, and carried the total to the respectable amount of 241 for eight wickets. This left High School 170 runs to make in about one and a half hours, and 'with all the batsmen going for the runs, and being successful in their attempts, the required amount was knocked up for the loss of only four wickets. Frankton Outclassed. Ngaruawahia placed themselves in a fairly sound position for a win by running up 134 in their second' innings, as they then had a lead of 227. Mundy made ihe best showing on the second day, notching just over, the half-century, hut several of the others helped materially, notably Robinson and Payne. Frankton never looked

like making the score, although Griffiths, St. George and Burrows made short attacks on the bowling, and kept the field busy. All the chief scorers of the side, however, failed, and the total was only 66 at the fall of the last wicket. I

New Zealand Professional and lOpen Golf til lc holder, of Napier, who, with an aggregate of 285, for four rou,nds at, Shirley, Christchurch, this week won by 12 strokes over his closest opponent.