CRICKET.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 792, 11 May 1905, Page 13

CRICKET.

Now that the cricket season has closed the statistics for the season have been made up. Too much importance is given nowadays to these figures for, although they go to show which players have been in form, it must not be overlooked that the man who plays for his club is infinitely to be preferred to the man who plays for his average. Parnell won the championship, and the two leading batsmen are F. R.. Mason and W. Philson, with an average of a trifle over 38 and 37 respectively per innings. C. Oliff proved to be easily the club's best bowler, and his 49 wickets at an average of 9.14 reads very attractively.

W. B. Smith and T. Elliott did the best work for Eden with 29 and 28 as their respective averages, while, although they do not head the averages the best bowlers have proved to be W. B. Smith (27 wickets at an average of 12.1) and H. B. Lusk (34 at 14).

F. Wilson stands out by himself among the Ponsonby batsmen with an average of 48, Francis being next on the list with 24. Among the bowlers It. Woods (31 wickets at an average of 14), J. Gauin (23 at 15) and P. White (26 at 18) bore the brunt of the attack.

L. G. Hemus easily tops the City batting averages with 42 per innings, MacCormick and Neill coming next with 25 and 23 each. Although only fifth on the list, the best bowling was done by BarrBrown, who got 28 wickets at an average of 14.03.

The Grafton batsmen were of more even merit, S. P. Jones coming out on top with 35 runs per innings, while D. Hill and J. A. Kallender are next with 29 and 28. Stemson (37 wickets at an average of 14) bore the brunt of the attack, but C. Hay tops the bowling average with 12 wickets for 9 runs apiece.

A. Haddon and J. Hussey were virtually the only successful batsmen playing for North Shore, and their averages come out at 24.6 and 24.5 respectively, very close going, but nobody else did anything. Hussey easily tops the bowling averages with 35 wickets for 13 apiece, F. McNeill coming next with 34 wickets for 20. The first match played by the Australians in England, which took place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of last week, ended in a very one-sided draw, for if it could have been playpd out the visitors would most certainly have won by a lot of runs. The Gentlemen of Englahd were represented by Grace, Warner, Beldam, Poidcvin, Fr.-, Maclaren, Jessop, Lawton, Odell, Robson, and Brearley, while Gehrs, Newland, and Howell stood‘out of the Australian team. Although a good batting side, the English team was deplorably weak in bowling, as but few amateurs in England are experts in this department, the attack being generally left to the professionals. Under the circumstances, it was not therefore surprising that the Australians made- runs very freely. In the first innings they put together 270, towards which Hilf contributed 87 and Noble 60. The Gentlemen replied with 156, Lawton with JC (not out) being the highest scorer. In their second venture; the Australians went at the bowling in great style. Noble especially distinguished himself making 162, while Hill got? 93, Darling 65, and Cotter 43, the innings closing for the fine total of 526. Being 640 runs behind, and with only an hour and a-half to bat, a draw was inevitable, and Darling made a palpable error of judgment in not closing his innings earlier. The Englishmen had made 129 for three wickets when time was called,. Maclaren having put together 18 and Fry 45, not out.