CRICKET.

Waikato Times, Volume 113, Issue 18874, 18 February 1933, Page 17 (Supplement)

CRICKET.

CLUB MATCHES. THE ORITIOAL GAME. SLOW SCORING. ('By Long Stop.) . The last game of tho eeoond round of tho senior A competition Is now In progross, tho meeting of Hamilton Bast and Old Boya being a orltloal ono In tho fato of tho ohamplonshlp. Hamilton Hast have so far won all their matohes, ,and as Old Boys havo already ouffored ono defeat, another loss In tho present game will put them out of the running and praotloally assure East of tho ohamplonshlp. The gamo did not reach a stage which left either slda with any untoward advantage and muoh will depend on tho start Hamilton East make on tho concluding day. Hamilton did not have anything Hike an easy thing In their contest with Frankton United, but played them3olves Into a leading position. Tho wloketa were affected to a certain extent by the rain, but could not be said to favour either batsmen or bowlers. Aoourate Bowling. Old Boya oooupied the orease for most of the afternoon, but for praotloally the whole time were forced on the defensive and had to pick up runs as they could. Altken and Senior kept going for Just over an hour, during which 40 went on the scoresheet; there were few maidens played, but runs came chiefly in singles or twos. Good bowled Senior with a big off-break that came across a couple of feet. Hubbard played carefully, perhaps too much so, and would probably have been more effective had he put more into his strokes. Altken now began to find more balls to his liking and straight drove a couple of boundaries, lie had just got going properly in his stride when a smart low catch by Lee dismissed him. Somers plodded along oomfortably enough, but rather quietly, for eome time, while Sterling made full use of a oouple of full ones to leg. Gibbons did not feel too muoh at home, especially to Going, who was bowling particularly well at this stage, but kept his end up while Somers put on the runs. A smart catoh behind the wickets by R. Skeet off Going disposed of Gibbons and a repetition of the trlok next ball sent Wilson baok. Fortunately for Old 'Boys Somers was now going strong and while his partners only contributed twos and threes the total grew steadily, but after his departure with his score at 73 tho end soon came. The total of 190 was a fair one and will take quite a lot of getting on any but a batsman’s wicket. Going had a strenuous afternoon, sending down 24 overs, but he had more suocess than he lias usually had lately, capturing five wickets for 55. While he could not work up as muoh pace as ordinarily, be controlled an off-break well and never had more than seven scored off an over. Badeley bowled six maidens out of 15 overs, but oould not get In bis wiokottaker at all, his only vlotim being Fraser, who cooked a leg ball to silly mid-on. Hampton oould not repeat his previous week’s performances with the ball, but T. Skeet and Comer eaoh oolleoted a ohenp wicket in two overs. While Hampton was keeping wlokets he stopped a number of awkward leg ■balls, but all the same he let more byes go past than he should have. In 11 overs 'Cassidy and Hampton put on 31 for East without being separated, though only the best of luck saved Hampton from Barnett on more than one occasion. Clark bowled steadily with a bit of a swing, but lacked the nip off the pitch to make him dangerous.

Hitters to tho Fop®. The Frankton United Innings was a very varied affair that flamed for a few minutes, only to die almost right out the next, until fanned to life again by occasional breezy batting. Everest and Keheley gave them quite a good start for them with 20 for the ■first wicket, the former attacking the bowling without being at all rash, but looking for runs. Keheley shaped more freely than he has in the past, but did not get any power into Ills' strokes; If he finished his shots as he commences them he would get more runs. Ewan, as usual, kept the bowlers watohful and forced them to, vary their length, but was content to play safely for singles to start with. However, he soon became more aggressive and though he failed to connect properly with many of his shots he kept the score moving. Anderson opened his aooount with a pair of fours off Winger and always looks best when hitting his hardest. His more careful strokes appear much more risky than his drives and ho does not last long when trying to keep his wlckct up. With nine down for 68 It looked a dismal thing for Frankton, but another valiant effort by Dempsey cheered them. Five balls In succession from Llssette he hit for 2,4, 4,4, 6, but this could not last and after Steel had craoked a four and a single from Taylor, Dempsey was bowled. Llssette had a very mixed time bowling; his first eight overs yielded 24 runs, his ninth 2 runs and three wickets, just missing the hat-trick by one ball, while his 10th and last over gave 20 runs. Good Wlokets Cheap. It took Hamilton some time to get any grip on the game as far as batting was concerned, Winger being tho only one of their early batsmen to stay in. Campbell went in tho fourth over and Pomeroy lasted only two balls, Steele sending down a fast one that turned In to bowl him. It is to bn hoped that McKenzie is not losing his power to stick that singled him out as such a promising eolt; but it is a long time since, he made anything like a stand against good howling. I) is century against Rotorua should have given him hack conildeneo if that had been his failing, but he cannot get going vet. Lissetle also seems below form In club games and cannot bo relied on for a score when needed. He had only readied !3 when Steele, skittled him on Saturday. Hay shaped promising and looked like helping AVing'h- to overtake the score, hut in attempting to cut Ewan failed to get on top of the ball and sent it straight into

Everest's hands. He appears to be stronger on forward play and Is always more ready to go out and meet the ball than eomo across to it for back strokes. Taylor Just failed -to see his opponent’s score passed, but with six wickets down Winger and Innes carried the total on to 106 at stumps. Everest and Steel made a good bowling combination and had all the batsmen troubled, the latter being the more dangerous on the day. If he would only take his bowling more seriously and concentrate on his length he would be one of the finest bowlers In tho district. Some of the ■fielding was not of the best, a few good chances going begging. A very easy catch was mulled through Mills running some distance to knock the hall out of Munro’s hands as he stood •beneath It. With all their disappointments, however, the Frankton United team take it In the best of spirits and do not spoil their game and their opponents’ with useless chipping and complaints.

PREPARATION OF WICKETS

SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION. M. A. NOBLE’S VIEWS. Two wickets may be prepared in the same way, given the same amount of attention, and to all appearances bo exactly the same, but a bowler may get nip and fire from one, but go through easily, although with plenty of paoe, on the other. With the controversy still proceeding about the wiokets used in the eecond and third Tests and the discussion of the Brisbane wicket, the explanations and descriptions of various wiokets by the former Australian captain (Mr M. A. Noble) are Interesting says an Australian writer who interviewed him on the subject. “ Wickets are usually under constant preparation for .10 days to a fortnight before each big engagement,” he said recently, “ and the same methods are employed, but in each of the Australian capitals each wicket develops different qualities. This is caused by tho difference in soils used and the atmospheric conditions to which the wickets are subjected. ‘‘Melbourne has the fastest wiokets in Australia, but there was a time when the Adelaide wickets were faster that those at Melbourne and more suitable for fast bowlers, though to a lesser degree than the present Melbourne wickets are. “ This change was caus'ed by the ■introduction of a new class of soil at Adelaide, which had a slowing effect but to-day Adelaide boasts the m°st even wickets In Australia. “ Occasional Low One.” “ Formerly Sydney wickets were prepared from Bull! soil, but when the good deposits petered out, soil was taken from Newcastle. Wiokets there now last as long as, probably longer than, other Australian wiokets, but because of tho nature of the soil the pitoh Is inoliried to become dusty, although It does not craok to any extent and rarely beoomes fl9ry. The only peculiarity noticeable there with a fast bowler operating is that an occasional ball will keep low.” Mr Noble does not think thatVßrlsbane wiokets last as long as any other, beoause of the penetrating sun’s Influence on the moisture In the subsoil. Although Qlenroy soli (as used for Melbourne wiokets) bas been introduced at Brisbane, he thinks some ohemloal ohange may operate when It oomes In oontaot with the natural un-der-soll of Queensland. There are many “finer” definitions of wiokets, but Mr Noble explains the characteristics of the main olasses. Everyone knows a “ good ” wloket, but to the bowler It might be just a fast wloket or one from which he can extract nip.

“ Physloally the good wioket is extremely hard, almost like stone," he said, “ and often with a glazed surface brought about by intensive preparation with the roller. v On this olass of wioket, a bowler who delivers with a great deal of energy will develop even greater pace after the ball has hit the pitch, but he will be unable to make the ball turn much beoause there are no rough surfaces to which the ball will cling and take the spin imparted by the lingers when delivering, “ After three or four days such a wioket usually beoomtes frayed and dusty and often develops craoks. Then the longer It Is played on the more fiery it becomes. It brings Joy to the spln-bowlers, who are then able to take advantage of the roughness of the surface and spin the ball any way they desire. This break and the extra paco whloh the spin of the ball Imparts is called the " nip of the pitch." “Glue-pot” Danger. w When a wioket has been damaged by rain and later the sun oomes out the top gradually hardens, but leaves the sub-soil soft,” said Mr Noble. This is the commencement of a ‘ glue-pot ’ wicket , from whloh the ball may rise suddenly, make pace or break considerably. It Is a very dangerous wioket. “ j\s it drys even this stage passes and the nip and pace disappear until the wicket Is even-paced again. “ Marks made by the ball, however, will never thoroughly be obliterated and as tho wioket dries further, the side of the depressions break down and crumble and the wioket gradually becomes rough and fiery.

"Any pitch well watered, or subjected to steady rain fOr some says before the start of a matoh usually stays slow for a long time, £hd Is the batsman’s paradloe. It takes all tho fire out of the bowlers’ deliveries, and any break they get on the ball operates very slowly, and the ball Just lollops through. This condition Is generally known a 3 a plumb wicket. “ Some wickets that have been wet never become really good, nor really bad. It depends on the weather conditions. If there Is a strong drying sun of oourse it become treacherous, but under cloudy or moist conditions it may remain in the same state for days| and while bowlers can do a bit the results are too slow to be dangerous to the batsmen.”