The Game of Cricket.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVIII, Issue 20, 13 November 1912, Page 9

The Game of Cricket.

low Scores and Veterans. ¥IIE weather has been a prominent feature of the early erieket down son was opened on November 2, South, and in Dunedin the seaon heavy wiekets. The batsmen were out of form on account of being prevented by rain from getting practice. Result, not one senior team reached the century in its first effort. In the Grange v. Opoho match the limit was reached. Grange made only 25, Syd. Callaway getting seven wickets for 9 runs, whereon Alex Downes wiped out the insult by taking eight wickets for 7 runs, and Opoho reached only 24 in their first effort! i Yes, the same old Callaway and Downes of the chipped-pitch age of New Zealand erieket. “Too old at forty"’ doisn't apply to big erieket in the low latitudes, where cricketers come early and stay late. For instance, there are scheduled in the seniors for the present Dunedin season Jim Baker, Syd. Callaway, Alex Downes, Jerry Austen, Frank Williams, and Siedeberg. Of later date are Condliffe, Eckhold, Dick Torrance, L. Watson, Hopkins, Rutherford, McFarlane, and Chadwick, but still these are names associted with past performances in the minds of followers of the game. Colts in Christchurch.

On Saturday, ten days back, the New Zealand Cup race stopped the usual grade matches, whereon the colts Of the game cavorted over the field to give a Canterbury eleven a run. The Colts’ Fifteen knocked up 208, while the men of repute lost four wickets for 117. Evidently the Boys’ High School is a great asset to Christchurch cricket. Last year we had the College eleven up here in an endeavour to arrest the Heathcote-Williams Shield from the Auckland Grammar ■School, and ineluded in the visitors were Hickmott, J. Goss, W. P. Guiney, and C. E. Gniney. Now Hickmott has precociously passed the coltish stage and made a, mark in inter-provincial erieket. He played for the Eleven against the Colts, and got, with hi.? slows, eight wicket? for 62 runs. J. Goss top-seored for the Colts with 5!) (not out), and played breezy cricket, picking the balls he could reach with discretion, and hitting them hard. While the Guiney brothers played nice erieket. The Colt?, too, were up against such bowling, in addition to Hickmott’.? wiles, as that of Carlton, •Sandman, D. Reese, and Lusk. The Plunket Shield.

Rules respecting the Plunket Shield and inter-provineial matches have been amended as follow.?:- —Matches are to bo mutually arranged between the competing associations on the understanding that Auckland and Otago meet at least once every two years, ami that Canterbury and Wellington sho.uld play annual matches with each of the other main centres, excluding Hawke’s Bay, with which matches should be mutually arranged at convenient periods by all other first grade associations. Failing mutual arrangement as to the duration of a match, it is to be played to a finish. The hours of play should be mutually arranged before the commencement of each match, but, failing such arrangement, the houra shall be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with an adjournment not exceeding one hour for lunch. No one is to be eligible to play in a match unless (a) he was born within the boundaries of the association district for which it is proposed that he should play; or (b) a resident within such district for a period of not less than six months immediately preceding the match.

this six months’ qualification mean.? Practically the exclusion of the professional coach, and it is interesting to note, the only mandatory clause in the alteration. The other interesting point in ehange, from an Auckland view, is that visits this season from Wellington and nuterbury teams seem assured.

Whiff, from Wellington. C. G. Wilson, who landed in Wellington from Dunedin at the end of last Reason, has been appointed sole selector or the Wellington association. Wilson ■as convictions concerning cricket, also ie courage to voice them, and if it's enmsiasm that the cricket down there 'i 'ii ’i '' le y’ ve the right man. He still plays the game, for North Welling-

ton, and a week back knocked up 35 forcefully. On November 2 Hutt (109) beat Central, last year's champions, by 10 runs on the first innings. ‘North (245 for 6) beat East B (83) ; Petone (207, and 33 for 1) beat College (144 and 123), and East A (186) beat South (82). Bray, a new arrival, made 69 for the North team. Blacklock, Wynyard, T. Hales, F. Laws, Grimmett, Midlane, Gibbes, Fenton, Blamires, and Kinvig are playing again this season in Wellington. The Home of the Shield—Club Championships. The second round leaves the clubs standing as follows for the Auckland district championship:—Parnell 5 points, Eden 4 points, North Shore 1 point, Ponsonby zero, Grafton minus 4, University minus 6. Early Centuries. The centurions of the Senior season to date are:—Wright and Somervell (Parnell and Cummings (Eden). Wright was first there, getting his 128 (not out) against Grafton on Saturday week, and giving only one chance, in the longfield, at 75, in an innings that was characterised by hard driving. His club mate, Somervell, surpassed this performance on Saturday by knocking up the century in 55 minutes, without giving a chance, and then going on to 138. It was an innings of delightfully well-timed driving and leg-hitting. Cummings took his time about his lot, taking it in two sections, part the Saturday before last, and finishing the following week. He gave several chances, but his erieket in between was sound and solid. His two innings of 81 and 114 place him at the top of the batting averages to date. Leading Batsmen. The leading batting averages to date are: —Cummings 97.5, Wright 86.5, Sale 67, Collins 64, Kavanagh 61, Somervell 51.6, Ellis 49. The leading eleven are: —•

Saturday's Results. Parnell, last year’s champions, triumphed over Grafton. Parnell, assisted by 128 from Wright, had knocked up 221 the previous week, while Grafton had lost five for 41. The latter carried their total to 173, thanks chiefly to an excellent 40 by E. Horspool, who was mainly responsible for converting Olliff’s half-way average of three wickets for 10 runs into a final result of six for 65. Stephens got one for 7, and Anthony two for 49, while Kerr had 46 runs knocked off him and didn’t get a wicket. The 75 minutes left for playing were enlivened by Somervell’s exhibition of quick-time century-getting. He reached the hundred in 55 minutes, hitting splendidly all round the wicket, ami made 138 what time Grenier was making 23, and Anthony 19. being eventually stumped. Parnell’s 193 (for three wic-kets),-in 75 minutes, is pretty considerable scoring. The damage to the bowling was impartial. Oil" Horspool, who got the three wickets, 39 runs were knocked, Maekrell 30, Harvie 32, Willis 39, Sauvorin 29, and Pratt 12. At Eden Park, Eden made 221 in response to Ponsonby’s first effort of 140, and the rest of the daylight was occupied by Ponsonby in staving off any chance of a three-point loss. They made 87 for three wickets, Kavanagh helping along his average with a not out innings of 28. Eden started with 89 on for three wickets, and lost Ike Mills and BrookeSmith before reaching the 140 mark, but Gordon joined with Cummings, and played a confident and useful innings of 24, which made the win safe. The star attraction of the game was Cummings’ 114. It was not a bright ami sparkling

esbibition, the batsman being careful rather than free, but his driving was excellent throughout, and the chances he gave (two at 50 and one at 80), were such that nobody particularly blamed the fieldsman who dropped them. At North Shore, University experienced their second three-point defeat of the season. The previous week Shore had responded to 'Varsity’s 94, with 159. This time ’Varsity proved more stubborn, putting on 134 (Caradus 29, Jacobsen 20, Muigan 18), and leaving the home team only forty-odd minutes to get the 70 runs required for a threepoint win. G. Daere (32), Howden (19), and Sale (11), hustled the score along at a rattling rate, however, while “extras” came in with a round dozen, and the trick was done in 20 minutes, which, for 74 runs, is a breathless scoring speed for local senior erieket.

5 So a a £ S® 6 © © to r 5 Cummings .... . 195 2 114 — 97.5 Wright 173 3 128* i 8(5.5 {-Salo . 145 •j 83 .— • > Collins . 64 3 61* 9 64 Kavanagh . 122 3* 61 1 61 Somervell . 155 13S —— 51.6 Ellis . 49 o 28* 1 49 Brooke-Snrith . <50 9 48 30 Howden 56 3 23 1 oq ■Sauvorin ■> 34 07 rr F. A. Taylor ... 80 4 33 1 26.6