CRICKET.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIII, Issue XII, 16 September 1899, Page 487

CRICKET.

THE AUSTRALIAN TOUR

MATCH V. SOUTH OF ENGLAND.

The colonials closed their tour in a satisfactory manner by decisively dean e’even representing the St> aß?. of England by 112 runs, after dt-Flaring their second innings closed with 7 wickets down. W’inning the toss, the Australians batted first, but they failed to make much of a stand before the bawling of Jessop and Bradley, and were all disposed of for the small total of 150 runs. The English team made a very fair start, having 4 wickets down for 127 runs at the conclusion of the first day’s play, but the remainder were quiekly disposed of by Howell and Jones, the innings closing for 183 runs. In their second innings the colonials started badly, the first four batsmen being quickly disposed of. Then Noble and Darling, and subsequently Darling and Laver, made fine stands, and finally, when the score had reached 352 for 7 wickets Darling “declared.” The chief credit of this total must be ascribed to Darling, who played a magnificent innings and obtained 167 runs. The Englishmen could only knock up 207 runs in their second innings, Jones being the stumbling block, capturing 7 of their wickets.

Darling wound up his trip in fitting manner by knocking up his largest score on the tour, and he has obtained a higher average and a larger aggregate than any other Australian has ever succeeded in doing in England. When it is taken into consideration that Darling played in every match (another record) and had the heavy responsibility attached to a captain's billet, his performance must be considered a really brilliant one, and his records will take a lot of beating. ® ® ® RESULTS OF THE TOUR.

Matches played, 35; won 16; lost 3; drawn 13; abandoned through rain, 3.

May B.—Crystal Palace, v. South of England, drawn.

May 11.—Leyton, v. Essex, lost by 126 runs.

May 15.—Kennington Oval, v. Surrey, won by an innings and 71 runs. May 18. —Eastbourne, v. Eleven of England, won by 171 runs. May 22.—Sheffield, v. Yorkshire, abandoned through rain. May 25.—Manchester, v, Lancashire, won by an innings and 84 runs. May 29. —Oxford, v. Oxford University, drawn.

June I.—Nottingham, England v. Australia, drawn. June s.—Lords, v. M.C.C. and Ground, won by eigbj; r wickets and two runs.

June B.—Cambridge, -v. Cambridge

University, wou by 10 wickets and 1 run.

June 12.—Bradford, v. Yorkshire, drawn.

June 15. —Lords, England v. Australia, wou by ten wickets. June 19.—Portsmouth, v. Oxford Past and Present, won by ten wickets. June 23.—Leicester, v. Leicestershire, won by 248 runs. June 26.—- Derby, v. Derbyshire, wou by an inning and 261 runs.* June 29.—Leeds, England v. Australia, drawn. July 3.—Nottingham, v. Notts, drawn. July 6.—Truro, v. an English Eleven, won by eight wickets. July 10.—Birmingham, v. Midland Counties, won by 44 runs. July 13.—Bristol, r. Gloucestershire, won by six wickets. July 17. —Manchester, v. England (fourth test), drawn. July 20.—London County Ground, Crystal Palace, v. Dr. Grace’s Eleven, drawn. July 24.—Kennington Oval, v. Surrey. lost by 101 runs. July 27. —Brighton, v. Sussex, drawn. July 31.—Lords, v. M.C.C. and Ground, won by nine wickets and 3 runs. August 3.—Southampton, v. Hampshire, drawn. August 7.—Birmingham, v. Warwickshire. won by nine wickets. August 10. —Canterbury, v. Kent, lost by two wickets. August 14. —Oval, v. All England (fifth test), drawn. August 17.—Cheltenham, v. Gloucestershire, drawn. August 21.—Lord’s, v. Middlesex, won by an innings and 230 runs. August 24.—Taunton, v. Somerset, drawn. August 28.—Liverpool, v. Lancashire, drawn. August 31.—Scarborough, v. Thornton’s Eleven, abandoned through rain. September 4.-—Hastings, v. South of England, won by 112 runs. ® ® ® COMMENTS ON THE TOUR. All cricket enthusiasts must feel greatly pleased at the result of the Australian tour, and the team has fully borne out the high opinion entertained of it when leaving for the Old Country. Perhaps the most marked feature of the trip has been the consistency of the team and its ability to play an uphill game. The number of matches lost (three) is fewer than that of any previous team, and, curiously enough, all the reverses were at the hands of counties, and in this respect the team’s record is quite different to the 1896 team, which did not lose a single county match.

London newspapers, reviewing the tour of the Australian cricketers, pronounce it an unqualified success, a veritable triumph. The main characteristic of the players was determination, consistency, and all round excellence. The London Daily Telegraph says no better team has visited England since 18S2 The London Sportsman declares it was not a fault of theirs if four of the games left drawn were not played to a finish. Sporting Life says it is a great distinction to have lost fewer matches than any previous colonial team. ® ® ® The batting averages of the Australian cricketers for the tour are as under; — Batting: Darling 41.29, Hill 39.95, Noble 37.39, Worrall 35.35, Trumper 34.57, Laver 30.67, Iredale 29.68, Trumble 27.51, Gregory 27.46, Kelly 23.27, Jones 17.80, McLeod 17-54, Howell 10.58, Johns 10.00. Bowling averages: Trumble 18.43, Howell 20.35, Jones 21.10, Noble 22.90, McLeod 22.96, Laver 26.91, Trumper 29.00, Worrall 104.00. It is noticeable that the batting averages of Darling. Hill, Noble, VTorrall Trumper are each higher than the previous best average gained by an Australian during an English tour, viz., 31.3, to the credit of S. E. Gregory in 1896. ® ® ® CRICKET MEETINGS. AUCKLAND UNITED CRICKET CLUB. The thirty-eighth annual meeting of the Auckland United Cricket Club was held on Friday evening at the Club Room, Mr C. S. H. McKinney in the chair. There was a good attendance of members. The annual report as read by the

Mcn-tary (Mr A. E. Duuniiigbam) eougratulated tin- club on its success during the season ls<j>vu. the first eleven having tied with i’aruell for the Senior Championship, thus establishing a record ot two consecutive wins and one ,!*’ ", rt< ; or '* “nd only to that of the Gordon C.C. between 18S8-91 of 3 consecutive wins. The first junior vear’ > L° < * i ' l ,han ,h ‘‘ second place in its grade. Ihebattmg and bowling ; , nd fielding, had been good throughonr the season The match against the Aorthtrn Uairoa rep. team was very even, but was robbed of if s interest tliroiig'li tM>in<r unfinished. Mr A. \f. I.abatt won the president’s (Mr A E Whitaker) prize for best batting average. The two young bowlers. M>"ssrs P. Hay and J. H. Watts, were congratulated upon their success. with averages of 15 wickets for 71 runs (4.74) and 13 wickets for 118 (9.0) respectively. The statement of accounts showed a small credit balance. Officers for the year wore elected as follows:—President, Mr A. E. Whitaker; vice-presidents, Messrs C. S. If. McKinney, 11. Rees George, R. J. Yates, J. Stewart. A. S. Bankart. Major Lusk, A. Cuff, S. A. Cuff. C. E. MacCormick, A. M. Myers, A. E. T. Devore, James Lyell, W. CrawfordBrown, 11. R. Cox, and A. Heathery hon. see., Mr A. E. Dunninghain; assistant hon. sec.. Mr L. Sanderson; hon. treasurer, Mr C. Hay; general committee. Messrs A. M. I.abatt, W. Stenison, D Hay. P Marshall, and F. Clayton; delegates to Association, Messrs W. Stemsou and C. Hay. Votes of thanks to the outgoing officials and to the chairman closed the meeting. During the season 1898-99 10 matches were played, of which the club won 8. ® ® ® PARNELL CRICKET CLUB. The annual meeting of the Parnell Cricket Club was held last week at the room of the Auckland Amateur Sports Club. Mr F. J. Ohlson presided. The annual report stated that the club had on the whole had a very successful season, the senior eleven having played 10 matches, and won 8, losing 2, leaving them even with United, the two teams, owing to their inability to play off, being bracketed. The second eleven had shown improvement, they having played 10 matches, winning 4, and losing 6. In the averages, I. Mills had once more come out on top in the batting, with an average of 38.42, with F. J. Ohlson second with 35.81. In the bowling, J. Brennan headed the average with 7.38, but only bowled 17 overs, while W. H. Lawson came second with an average of 8.06. In the junior team A. Brown carried off the batting honours with 17.35, with J. A'oung close up with 16.00, the latter also heading the bowling with 6.10. The statement of accounts showed a credit balance. Officers for the ensuing year were elected as under: — Patron, Mr Hugh Campbell; president, Mr B. J. Kemp (re-elected); vicepresidents. as last year, with the addition of Messrs Bowles and Quinlan; hon. secretary and treasurer, MrW. J. Denniston; general committee, Messrs Ohlson, Lawson, Mills, together with the captains of the first and second elevens and the secretary; senior selection coinmittee, Messrs J. Young, Lawson, and Ohlson; junior selection committee, Messrs Roberts, Gatland, and Brown; delegates to the Association, Messrs Ohlson and A'oung. The delegates were again instructed to bring- before the Association the question of over-crowding the ground on Saturdays. Mr F. J. Ohlson was appointed prat ice captain. Trophies were offered for the coining season by Messrs B. J. M. Kemp. I. Moses, P. Quinlan, and J. K. Wells. ® ® ® AUCKLAND CRICKET CLUB. The anual meeting of the Auckland Crieket Clubwas held last Thursday at the Amateur Sports’ Club Rooms. There was a good attendance of members, and -Mr E. C. Beale presided. The annual report, and balance-sheet were read and adopted. The report stated that the season had not been a successful one.but that the senior eleven had occupied a better position than in the preceding year. The statement of accounts showed that the finances of the club were in a healthy condition. Last year’s Vice-Presidents were re-elected, with the addition of Messrs L. Marshall. J. P. A. Philson, W. Aitken, J. C. Colbeck, and Dr. T. Hope Lewis. Messrs H. Neil, W. Thomson, D. Clayton, E. C. Beale. W. J. Nolan, and A. M. Beale were elected Committee, J. McCoy secretary, J. Stewart treasurer, and J. R. Lundon and J. Arneil auditors. It. was decided to enter one senior team, one

first junior, and two second junior teams if th« membership allowed. A number of new members were elected. PONSONBY® CRICKET CLUB. The annual meeting of the Ponsonby Cricket Club was held last week in All Saints’ schoolroom, Air T. T. -Masefield presiding. The attendance was most encouraging, fully fifty members and intending members lieing present. Annual Report.—The report stated that of the two teams entered by the Club for the A.C.A. trophies, the first eleven won every match in the First Junior Championship, and so won the caps. This was no doubt largely due to constant practice together, obviating the necessity for altering the personnel of the eleven to any extent. The second eleven were not so successful. The Club trophies were allocated as follows: — Air Parr’s trophy for batting, R. Sanders (avg. 31); the Club’s “Best all-round trophy,” C. V. Langsford; Mr A. Brookes’ trophy for fielding, E. Bobertson. The second eleven "all-round” trophy was won by C. Sanders. Financially the Club was in a good position, having a credit balance of £2 6/1. During the year considerable improvements had been effected at the practice-ground. Under the able supervision of Air G. Wallace, who was assisted by most of the members, the pitch had been much enlarged and improved. Thanks were tendered to those who had donated trophies and subscriptions, and to Canon Calder for the use of the schoolroom for meetings. New Members.—About twenty-three new members were elected. Election of Officers. —Officers were elected as under: — President, Mr T. T. Masefield; vice-presidents, Canon Calder and Alessrs C. J. Parr, .1 Kirker, G. W. S. Patterson, T. U. Wells, J. J. Payne, G. Gregory, W. J. Courtney, J. J- O’Brien, J. H. Upton, and E. Butler; captain, E. Robertson; vice-captain, G. Wallace; secretary, G. H. Plummer; treasurer, A. Service; committee, C. V. Langsford, F. Saunders, H. A. Kemp, and the captain, treasurer, and secretary; delegate to the. Cricket Association, C. V. Langsford; auditor, G. B. Osmond. General.—lt was decided to enter a team for the senior championship, and also to form a team for juvenile members at a reduced subscription. Air G. Wallace was elected a lifemember of the Club, and the trophies won last year were presented to the successful players by Air Parr. It was announced that Alessrs Parr and Lundon intended donating trophies for competition during the coming’ season. ® ® ® NORTH SHORE C.C. The annual meeting of the North Shore Cricket Club was held on Monday in the Borough Council Chambers, Air J. B. Gilfillan presided. The annual report and balance-sheet showed, the club to be in a very satisfactory position, having a credit balance of £52 4/7. In the senior grade 10 matches had been played, 4 won and 0 lost. A trophy presented by Air J. B. Gilfillan for highest average in the senior eleven for batting was won by F. Warren, with an average of 28.33. G. Mills headed the batting average with 50, but was not eligible to compete. Air Ford’s trophy, a bat for the best fielder, resulted in a dead-heat between Alessrs W. Wynyard and C. Denby, and both players will receive a bat. A trophy presented by the captain and officers of the s.s. Indramayo. for highest batting average in the" first juniors, was won by H. A. Blake. R. J. Bunby wins Air E. R. Jones’ trophy (cricketing shoes) for batting average, with 13.71. In bowling ,1. Gilmour headed the list in the seniors with an average of 10.86. In the first juniors, W. llennah was first with 5.83; in second junior, A team, 11. Holland finished on top with 7.30; and tsecond junior, B team, W. Clark, with J 1.86 runs per wicket. The report also •made reference to the death of the founder of the club, Air J. F. Logan. The following officers for the ensuing year were appointed:—President, Air J. C. Macky; vice-pesidents, Alessrs E. Ford, ,1. B. Gilfillan, E. R. Cardno, W. J. Napier, E. W. Burgess, Dr. Laing. 11. Chapman, G. Peacocke, J. Bollard, Captains Coyle and Mackenzie; secretary. Air G. H. Broughton; treasurer, Air J. W. Burgess; assistant ■treasurer, Air C. Denby; committee, Alessrs AV. Wynyard, R. Wynyard, A. B. Burgess, 11. Pitts, T. Ball; delegates to the Cricket Association, Alessrs W. Beck and W. Wynyard. The selection commit tee appointed consisted of G.

Alills, C. Denby, and the captain of the senior team, assisted by the captains of the junior teams. It was decided to enter four teams in the Association competitions. Saturday week was arranged as the opening day. On the motion of Air R. Wynyard it was decided: “That this club recommend that the Cricket Association be requested to form a Schools Association for the sake of bringing forward players to replace those on the verge of retiring through age.” During the evening the trophies won last season were presented to the winners. It was announced that trophies had been offered for the coming season as under: —Air J. B. Gilfillan, bat for senior batting average; Air E. Ford, bat for best fielding in senior; Air 11. G. Holland, trophy for bowling in junior team; Air G. H. Broughton, bat for bowling in junior team; Air J. B. Gilfillan, pair of batting gloves for best average in the juniors.