CRICKET.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVIII, Issue XII, 20 March 1897, Page 353

CRICKET.

This sport is pursued with greater vigour in Wellington than is the case in Auckland, but the quality of the players is not one whit superior. lu and out performances are more noticeable in the dusty capital, whilst the eccentricities of our men consist in lucid intervals of short-sightedness with the ball. On Saturday last, at Wellington, the Rivals and the Phcnnix Clubs concluded a match begun on the previous Saturday. The former scored 147 and 121 runs, and Phcenix put up 212 in their first innings, and lost two wickets for 57 in their second, thus winning the match by eight wickets. At Wellington on Saturday, 6th inst., Midland and Wellington concluded a championship match. After a hard tussle, and an exhibition of fairly good play, Midland won by 70 runs. Midland scored 98 and 122 runs, and Wellington 34 and 116 For the winnersUpham and Holdsworth bowled splendidly, the former getting

an average of 4 wickets for 15 runs, and the latter 5 for 16. Owing to the Auckland Domain teing occupied by the A. A.C. Club sports, the Cup cricket matches were postponed. In an inter-club match at Adelaide last month, ‘Jonah’ Jones, the ‘lightning’ bowler, knocked up 67 runs in 22 minutes. Thus ‘ Scoring Board ’ in the Canterbury Times :—‘ De Maus wins two bats from his admirers for his play in the recent match against Otago. One is given to him by Mr F. J. Brooker, and the other comes from that well-known cricketing enthusiast, Mr George Simmonds. On account of De Maus’ fine batting in the recent match against Otago, I have gone to the trouble to procure his average in representative games for Canterbury and New Zealand since his first appearance in big matches in the season of 1889 90, and submit the following figures : — Innings played, 40 times not out, 2; highest score in innings, 114; total runs, 1,174; average, 30'08. A Mr J. M. Gibson, of Sydney, has resigned his seat on the Australian Cricket Council ‘ because the refractory members of the late Australian Eleven had not been declared professionals.’ This action is spoken of by sensible writers in Australian papers as the height of comicality and paltryness, and I should say quite deservedly so. A match, Wairoa v. the United Eleven, was played at the Recreation Ground, Napier, on Friday last. The town team comprised the following : — H. B. Lusk, D. Canning, H. Martin, G. Marshall, G. White, T. Young, J. Downes, W. J. Hughes, T. W. Lewis, C. Johnston, and A. Balfour. The weather was fine and the attendance fair. The toss was won by Lusk, who made good use of the excellent wicket. The United made 246, to which total the principal contributors were :— Lusk, 84 ; Johnston, 62 ; T. W. Lewis, 25 ; Marshall, 19; and Young, 14. The Wairoa men were decidedly at a disadvantage, as their best bowler, Torr, had exhausted himself at the Wairoa and Scinde match on Thursday, and was not in good form. Wairoa knocked up 63 in their first innings, Cosgrove, with 11, being the highest scorer. The United Eleven won by 183 runs. Every satisfaction was given by Major Hopkins and Mr Ashton, who acted as umpires. The Wairoa team left for Waipukurau on Saturday. The Marlborough junior cup match, Renwick v. Koromiko, was played in Picton on Saturday, both teams playing with eight men only. Why they played the match at all is a mystery which lovers of good cricket would like to solve. The players, however, appeared to be perfectly satisfied with each other, and passed away the afternoon somehow, helping each other to field, etc. The Koromiko’s won by about 30 runs. Messrs Rutherford, Wilmott, and C. Fredericks acted as umpires during the afternoon.