CRICKET.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XV, Issue 882, 31 January 1907, Page 13

CRICKET.

THE M.C.C. ELEVEN V. AUCKLAND. THE VISITORS WIN A CLOSE GAME BY TWO WICKETS. The return match between the M.C.C. E.even and Auckland was commenced on Saturday in fine weather, the wicket being in good order. Haddon, who captained the local side, won the toss, and of course sent his men in to bat. For the next four hours some of the dreariest cricket ever known on the Domain fol.owed. To it a funeral would have been exhilaration itself, and many were the der.sive coinments of the spectzuors. The latter were few in number, but would have been much fewer still if they could have foreseen the ciass of cricket they were to be treated to. With a batsman’s wicket and moderate bowling, the Aucklanders should have run up a good score. Instead of going at the bowling the batsmen preferred to make a certainty as far as possible of osing he match by what is generally known as “pottering.” Anything feebler than the display of most of the men would be indeed difficult to imagine, and some shaped as though the handling of a bat was a novelty. Fortunately there were one or two exceptions. Hemus, the most stylish batsman on the side, p ayed a bright innings of 29, while Haddon played a sow but useful game for 35, and Mascn a'so laid on the wood in good s yle, making 28. Only 128 runs were made during the day. The visitors replied with 214, Douglas, Simpson, Hayward and Fox doing most of the scoring, wh’ch was at a much faster rate than on the previous day. Auckland shaped so much better in the second innings ihat they must have soon realised the game thev should have played at the commencement. MacCormick gave one of his best displays, most of his strokes being well t med. Brooke-Smith also hit in quite his old-sty’e, while. Sale p’ayed a particularly useful innings, but the others did not give these much assistance. The Englishmen were thus given 155 to get to w'n, and at one time it seemed certain they would fail, as four wickets were down for 19. A fine stand by Douglas and Branston saved the position at a very critical time, and Auckland were defeated hy two wickets. The scores were as folows :— AUCKLAND. —Firs: Innings. L. G. Hemus, b Douglas 29 J. Hussey, b Douglas 5 E. V. Sale, b Douglas 3 A. Haddon, b Branston 35 F. R. Mason, b Branston 28 W. Brooke-Sm’th, st Fox b Branston 9 D. Hay, st Fox, b Simpson-Hayward 3 E. MacCormick, b May C. Olliff, b May o A. M. Howden, b Simpson-Hayward o W. Robinson, not out o Extras 9 Total 12 7

ENGLAND. —First Innings. R. H. Fox, b Olliff 3° N. C. Tufnell, b Howden o A." A. Torrens, c Robinson, b Hussey 15 W. B. Burns, b Olliff 13 C. C. Page, b Howden 22 J. W. H. T. Douglas, not out 46 G. T. Branston, ibw, b Howden o G. H. Simpson-Hayward, b Hussey.•• 47 W. J. H. Curwen, c Robinson, b Brooke-Smith 11 C. E. de Trafford, c MacCormick, b Brooke-Smith 2 P. R. May, b Brooke-Smith 13 Extras 15 Tota' 214 BOWLING ANALYSIS.

AUCKLAND.—Second Innings. L. G. Hemus, c Fox, b Douglas 2 C. E. MacCormick, b Curwen 77 E. V. Sale, hit wicket, b SimpsonHayward 40 D. Hay, lbw, b Douglas 12 A. Haddon, b Douglas o F. R. Mason, b Douglas 7 J. M. Hussey, c Fox, b Douglas 2 C. O Tiff, b Douglas 6 W. B. Smith, not out 70 A. M. Howden, c Fox, b Curwen ... 1 "W. Robinson, c and b Simpson-Hay-ward o Extras 24 Total 241

BOWLING ANALYSIS

ENGLAND. —Second Innings. C. E. de Trafford, b Howden 8 J. W. H. T. Douglas, not out 64 W. B. Burns, c Sale, b Howden 2 C. C. Page, b Hussey 1 W. J. H. Curwen, c Robinson, b Hussey 6 G. H. Simpson-Hayward, b Hussey... 14 G. T. Branston, c Hemus, b BrookeSmith 30 R. W. Fox, b Howden 4 N. C. Tuffnell, b Howden 3 P. R. May, not out 1 Extras 14 Tota' for eight wickets 156 BOWLING ANALYSIS. - "

Messrs. Kumnick and Ey, of South Australia, are patenting an invention for an adjustable wicket, for which many advantages are claimed. It is set in steel, and can he placed on hard or'soft ground. The mechanism includes a spring under each stump, and to players on outside grounds the placing of stumps in position withoutspoiling the handle of the bat in driving them in, this will come as a great boon. * * * * The fifth series of the senior cricket matches commenced at Wellington on Saturday in fine weather. Old Boys, batting against Newtown, made 316 (Tucker 104, Beechey 66, Collins 61), am I Newtown lost three wickets Cor 15. The Gas Company team met Wellington and put up 174 (Waugh 37, McKay 29). Wellington made 65 for four wickets (O’Sullivan, not out, 29, Richardson, not out, 23). Phoenix won by default from Midland. * * * * The seventh round of the competition cricket matches of the Canterbury Cricket Association was commenced at Christchurch on Saturday. Sydenham scored 208 (J. H. Bennett

61) against West Christchurch, who responded with 57 for no wickets (D. Reese, 44, not out). Linwood scored 367 (A. E. Ridley 95, H. Ellis 64) against Riccarton, who lost nine wickets for 31 runs. St. Albans put together 264 (B. C. Wood 70) against East Christchurch, who replied with 96 for three wickets The following is the English team’s record to date: — Played eight matches, won four, lost one, drawn three. Against Auckland: A draw. England, 172 and 241; Auckland, 195 and five wickets for 131. Against Wanganui: Won by an innings and 134 runs. England, 453; Wanganui, 124. and 95. Against Wellington: A draw. England, 204 and; .259; Wellington, 211 and five wickets for 148. Against Canterbury: Lost. England, 200 and 156; Canterbury, 241 and three wickets for 120. Against Otago: Won by 232 runs. England, 224 and 278; Otago, 176 and 94. Against West Coast: Won by five wickets. England, 252 and five wickets for 81; West Coast, 132 and 200. Against Nelson and Marlborough: A draw. England, 149 and three wickets for 29; Nelson and Marlborough, 98 and 121. Against Manawatu: Won by an innings and 35 runs. England, 253; Manawatu, 95 and 123. * * * * The New South Wales Cricket Association has decided to arrange a match between New South Wales and the Rest of Australia (including Rest of New South Wales) as a benefit to S. E. Gregory. “ It is just 16 years since Gregory made his debut on the Sydney Cricket Ground as a first-class cricketer,, and has during that time built up a reputation as batsman and fieldsman that is world-wide. In the great international contests for that mythical urn of “ ashes,” Gregory has played more innings than any othei’ Australian, viz., 73, and has scored 1744 runs, at an average of 26.02 runs per innings. His highest score in those matches is 201, and who of those thousands who witnessed Gregory’s magnificent effort on the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1894 will ever forget it ? In purely Australian firstclass cricket against Victoria a nd South Australia, extending from 1890 to 1905, Gregory has played 84 in-

nings, six not out, for 2898 runs; average, 37.15. During those 16 years he only failed to score in three innings. Apart from his batting, Gregory was, and still is, the greatest cover-point in the world. * * * * Of Alfred Shaw, whose death was recently announced, Dr. Grace says: — On a good wicket, when batting against him, I did not find it difficult to play the ball, .but I had to watch him carefully, and wait patiently before I comd score. Some days he was irresistible, and there can be little doubt that for the M.C.C. and his county (Notts) few howlers have done such good service. He had wonderful stamina, in some seasons bowling as many as 8000 to 10,000 balls; and he was a very fine fieldsman as well. He was on the bowling staff of the M.C.C. in 1865, 1866, and 1867, and again from 1870 until he eave up first-class play; and he captured 10 wickets in an innings for that club against the North in 1874.” His best bowling year when he took 177 wickets W 1525 runs, an average of 8.109. Shaw came to Australia on five occasions. He was-.a member of Lillywhite’s team in 187677; brought out a team himself in 1881-82, 1884-85, and in 1886-87, and was a member of Lord Sheffield’s team, 1891-92. His bowling average on his first wicket was, in 11 a-side matches, 12.8 for 16 wickets and 200 runs. Deceased was also a member of E. Willsher’s team (1868) and R. Daft’s team (1879), which toured America and Canada.

BOWLING ANALYSIS. O. M. R. W. May 12.6 5 23 Douglas 22 6 47 3 Simpson-Hayward 11 1 16 3 Branston 13 4 3 2 3

O. M. R. W. D. Hay 12 2 39 0 A. Howden . 21 4 37 3 J. Hussey . 18 6 3i 2 C. Olliff T 4 2 56 2 F. R. Mason ■ 3 0 6 0 Haddon • 3 0 9 0 Smith ■ 25 0 18 3 Hussey bowled five Mason, one each. no balls, Olliff and

O. M. R. W May 9 I 2 7 0 Dougla 2 4 3 73 6 Hayward 2 3 4 5 1 2 Branston 13 3 4 2 0 Curwen 12 7 16 2 Page 2 0 8 0

O. M. R. W Howden .... 19 3 47 4 Hussev ... 17 3 55 3 Olliff ••• 5 2 19 0 Brooke-Sm th .... 2 12 1 Haddon 0 9 0