he English (pricket Team in New Zealand.

New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Volume VII, Issue 5, 1 February 1903, Page 339

he English (pricket Team in New Zealand.

A TRIUM-PHA/NT TOUK.

By F. W. COOMBES

f;OR some reason or other the good old game of cricket baa never obtained that hold on the affections of the people of New Zealand which football possesses. In the Eastern States of the Commonwealth crickyt is par excellence the national game, and the crowds which muster at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Melbourne C.C. Ground, or the Adelaide Oval on the occasion of a 1 big match are simply prodigious. It would almost appear that in our tight little island the game has taken, a retrograde step, and it was with a view of checking this that the Cricket Council invited Lord Hawke to bring a team to the colony. The idea was beyond question a good one, for it was very generally felt that much would be learned from the visit of a fairly strong eleven from the Old Country. The bugbear of expense was naturally the first thing to be overcome, but so much did the prospect of seeing some really good cricket appeal to the sport-loving folk of the colony, that but little difficulty was experienced in obtaining guarantees from the various centres, and from a financial point of view a success was speedily assured.

Lord Hawke was asked to select and bring out a team, and it must be readily admitted that a better choice for a leader could not well be found. As Captain of the Yorkshire County Eleven he had just emerged from one of the most

triumphant seasons on record, the great Yorkshire County having fairly carried all before it, defeating even the supposed invincible Australian Team which visited the Old Country last season. Lord Hawke set about the task of choosing a team with much care, those finally selected being P. F. Warner and B. T. Bosanq.net, of Middlesex ; C. J. Burnup, of Kent ; E. M. Dowson, of Surrey ; F. L. Fane, of Essex ; P. R. Johnson, of Somerset ; A. E. Leatham, of Gloucestershire ; T. L. Taylor, of Yorkshire ; J. S tanning, of Lancashire, and A D. Whatman, of Eton. Great difficulty was experienced in obtaining the services of sufficiently good amateur bowlers, and finally Lord Hawke was obliged to fall back on two professionals, these being E. J. Thompson, of Northamptonshire, and S. Hargreaves, of Warwickshire.

It was generally considered that this team, although in no sense to be called a representative English one, would be sufficiently powerful to cope with the Maoriland devotees of the British national game.

Very great disappointment was evinced when the news was cabled through that Lord Hawke would be unable to accompany the team on its tour to the Britain of the South. The Yorkshire captain had the misfortune to break his collarbone when out hunting a short time before the tour was to be commenced, and his mother also being very ill. he deemed it advisable, al-

to -A SI 8! 11 2 & •7 1 w 5 II w g • A| °? - 1 - s I, < h w

though much against his will, to remain behind.

In the absence of Lord Hawke the position of captain was given to P. F l . Warner, who was eminently fitted for the position. He gained experience as a leader at Rugby, of whose cricket eleven he was captain, and later on tilled the same position for Middlesex. Under the circumstances a better macn could not have been found.

The first match of the tour was against Auckland, and it was not unreasonably considered that the Northern city's representatives would make a bold showing, as the visitors had but just landed from their long trip across the Pacific. The eleven chosen to represent Auckland was a fairly good one, but, as is usually the case, the action of the sole selector came in for a good deal of adverse criti-

cism, as lie had preferred some of the old liands to men who were at the top of their form. The match took place on December 19th, 20th and 22nd, on the Auckland Domain. An excellent wicket had been prepared by the caretaker, so good, indeed, that Captain Warner took occasion at the mayoral reception to compare it very favourably with that at Lords or the Kennington Oval.

Unfortunately for the hopes of the local men the visiting- captain won the toss, and naturally decided to take advantage of the y.erbi<:t wicket provided, the Auckland men accordingly being obliged to take the field. The latter eleven consisted of R. Neill, E. MacCormick, Auckland ; D. Clayton, D. Hay, W. Stemson, Robinson, N. B. Lusk, United ; F. J. Ohlson, H. B. Lusk, Parnell ; F. Barclay and R. Mason, Gordon.

From the very outset the visitors started to force the pace, and runs were piled on very rapidly. The success of the visitors, however, appeared to be largely due to the fact that the local fielding was slovenly in the extreme, for the batting- of the Englishmen plainly

showed that they had not struck form. Catch after catch, some of them of the very easiest description, was dropped with the utmost regularity, so that when the innings eventually came to a close the very useful total of 321 was on the board. F. L. Fane was the biggest contributor to this, with 82, during which he showed good cricket, though it was marred by several chances. C. J. Burnup also impressed the onlookers with the soundness of his game, while his fielding later on was easily the best for the side. Johnson (43), Warner (34), Dowson (34), and Stanning (33) all showed good cricket, and altogether the batting was well worth watching.

A very different state of affairs prevailed when the Auckland men went cut to wield the willow, for a tamer display of batting, I must confess, it has never been my misfortune to witness. This was especially noticeable when Bosanquet went on to bowl. The 'Varsity man is a fast right-hand bowler, But after trying- some of this sort he varied proceedings by sending down very slow " whirleys." Anything more ludicrous than the batsmen's effort to play this " soft stuff " would be impossible to imagine, and Warner need not have troubled to post four men out deep in the country with a view of catches, for no Aucklander made the faintest attempt to play the game and hit out, but contented himself with a few feeble, pottering strokes before returning to the pavilion a sadder and wiser man. The side was all out for 120, but, bad as was this, the second innings easily eclipsed it, for when the board showed 72 the last wicketfell. In the first innings Mason (26) and Hay (20) did best, while at the second time of asking the only two to show that they had ever played the game before were Clayton '(20) and N. B. Lusk (15). The Englishmen, therefore, won tjie match by an innings and 129 runs, a result most disappointing to the

supporters of the local eleven. True it was that the visitors had all the best of the luck, for the major portion of their score was made on a perfect wicket, while the rain, which set in at the termination of the first day's play, did a great deal of harm to the

pitch. This fact being granted, the exceedingly moderate batting and absolutely wretched attempts at catching shown by Auckland admit of very little excuse. The English captain has since expressed himself as greatly disappointed with the play of the Auckland men, an opinion shared by all who witnessed the match.

After a trip to Rotorua, where the wonders of Geyser-land were much admired, the Englishmen journeyed South, where they had another very easy thing on in their match against North Taranaki. After disposing of the latter for 86 the visitors knocked up 320, and, with the exception of Warner, Dow-

son and Hargreaves, the scoring was very consistent, all the men getting twenty runs or over. Bosanquet and Taylor were top scorers, with 66 and 62 respectively, the former playing a particularly attractive innings, his hitting being quite a feature of the match. iSteeds, Perham, Gardner, Hassell and Clarke were the only Taranaki men to get double figures. The Englishmen won by an innings and 112 runs.

Wanganui was the next town visited, where a local fifteen tried conclusions with Warner's men, and considering that there were twelve of the latter playing, it was not quite so lopsided as many of the other games. Wangaimui led off, and made 120, to which the visitors responded with 140, or twenty to the good. The batting of the Englishmen was rather disappointing, as none of the best bats came off. Thompson hit out in fine style, making the top score of 40. The local fifteen fared badly in their second venture, Hargreaves bowling splendidly on a somewhat worn pitch, and getting 7 for 23. The innings realized 77, J. M. Marshall (19) having the most runs to his name. The game ended in favour of the Englishmen by eight wicke&s.

Eighteen of Mamawatu were the next to oppose the Old CountryEleven, who batted first and knocked up 307 for eight wickets, the principal scorers being F. L. Fane (76, not out), P. F. Warner (69), J. N. Williams (48), C. J. Burnup (23) and J. S tanning 35). The innings was then declared closed, and Manawatu going in could only put together 105 and 72. L. Skelley topscored in both innings with 31 and 24, playing with the utmost confidence. There was a rare batch of " ducks' eggs," no less than fifteen being found in the scorer's basket.

Hawke's Bay followed, and against the Napier men the Englishmen showed great form. The Bay led off and made 106, towards which Lusk was the biggest contributor. On going to the wickets the

Englishmen treated their opponents to a rare bout of leather-hunting. That very sound batsman, Burnup, put together 82, showing good cricket for his runs. Warner showed to more advantage than he had

hitting one six and eleven fours. Had these two been sufficiently supported, the innings would have realized a much larger number of runs than the 243 actually recorded.

The Britishers, who, as usual, commenced witli Warner and Burnup, scored very freely. At fortysix the former was clean bowled, but the diminutive Kentish crack and Fane made a long stand, the former getting 69 and the Essex amateur 70. Taylor made 35, and the professional, Thompson, remained not out with 48 against his name. When the innings came to a close the scoring board showed 289 runs. In their second venture Wellington fared badly, for, after making a more than useful start, the tail, a rather long one, simply collapsed before Thompson's bowling, and the side was out for 140. Mahoiny, who made 40, not out, did best, Gore (23), Hickson (20) and Richardson (19) being the other two figure scorers. This left the Englishmen but ninety-five runs to get. Warner and Burnup went out to do it, and piled up the runs at a -great

done in previous matches, making--40 in very attractive style. Bosanquet was, however, the bright particular star of the occasion, hitting with the utmost freedom all round the wicket. Runs came at a great rate from the Middlesex amateur's bat, it taking him just over an hour to make 115. Thompson (67) and Dowsion (41) were the chief contributors of the others, the innings eventually closing for the big total of 461. With a hopeless task set them, the Hawke's Bay eleven seemed to lose heart, the game resulting in the hollowest of victories for the Englishmen.

It was generally expected, after the very one-sided matches won by the eleven led by Captain Warner, that the Wellington men would be defeated, but the admirers of the latter confidently anticipated that their representatives would make a good fight for it. This hope seemed likely to be realized, for in the first innings some very bright batting was shown by several of the local men, C. Hickson and Tucker being in especially good form. The latter displayed much punishing ability,

rate, the required amount being put together in just over an hour. Burimp was in especially good batting form, his score including two

sixes and five fours. The match thus resulted in a hollow win for the visitors by ten wickets. The last match in the North Island was against Twenty-two of Wairarapa, this proving yet another " cake walk " foi the touring team. The Surrey amateur, E.

M. Dowson, was in great form, and gave a magnificent display of hardhitting, at one time getting thirteen off three " consecutive balls, while two overs following* realized sixteen and twenty-two, With seven wickets down Warner declared the innings closed, Dowson having contributed 218, not out. His score included six sixes, five fives and seven, teen fours, and only occupied one hour and forty minutes, which gives some idea of the phenomenal rate of scoring. Being in a minority of two hundred, Wairarapa faiied badly in their second venture, and were defeated by an innings and ninety-one runs.

With the conclusion of the North Island tour it will be as well, perhaps, to bring this article to a close. The visit of the Old Country Eleven has taught us one or two lessons. It would certainly seom that cricket in New Zealand, or the northern portion of it, at least, has, so far from advancing, apparently gone back. On several occasions has the English captain expressed himself as disappointed with the quality of the play, which he found considerably inferior to what had been expected. He strongly advocated obtaining the services of professional coaches,, and until this is done it would seem there is little likelihood of advance. The Southern centres are adopting this method of improvement, but in the North lack of funds and a somewhat apathetic executive are the chief factors which oppose progression. There is no reason whatsoever why New Zealand should not be able to put as powerful a team into the field at cricket as it can at football instead of being so woefully weak, as is the case at present.

The English Eleven has never been considered by critics a particularly powerful one, a great weakness in the bowling department being thought to be its worst feature. Curiously enough, judged by the matches played to date, this version of the case has proved absolutely incorrect, for the bowling of Thompson, Burnup, Bosanqu/3t and Hargreaves has carried all before it, while in many cases the batting has not come up to the expectations formed of it. Indeed, had not the average fielding by the North Islanders been simply execrable, the number of catches dropped being surely a record, the batting totals would in many oases have been very small.

It now remains to be seen whether the South Island and representative New Zealand Elevens can make a better showing, although this is almost certain to be the case, as it would be hard, indeed, to do anything worse.

1 am of opinion that with any sort of luck in the matter of weather the Englishmen's tour throughout Haoriland will be one of unbroken victories, and that their only possible chance of defeat will be if their opponents bat on a good wicket, and then get them in on a sticky one, a very unsatisfactory state of affairs for all con cerned.

Before leaving for England the visitors are to play matches against Melbourne and Sydney, and here they will find foemen worthy indeed of their steel. The latter city is particularly strong, for, of course, Sydney really means New South Wales, and the latter has not been beaten this season by any of the other states. If the wickets are good, I opine when Warner's men ■come to oppose Tmmper, Duff, Noble and Co., that any inherent

weakness in the bowling department will soon be made manifest, and, as an Auckland batsman put it, " They will get to know every blade of grass on the Sydney Cricket Ground " when fielding against the above redoubtable trio. Much has been said concerning the ability of Thompson as a star bowler, and so far he has thoroughly upheld his reputation. We shall be curious to see how he fares against really proved batsmen, and also shall be anxious to know how the Britishers shape against firstclass teams. The visit to Australia will decisively settle the question as to whether we in New Zealand are very weak indeed from a cricket point of view, or that we have been playing, as may possibly prove to be the case, against a much more powerful combination than was o'enerallv expected.