OTAGO NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1239, 15 January 1914, Page 24

OTAGO NOTES.

(By Telegraph—Dunedin Correspondent) DUNEDIN, Tuesday. The representative cricket match between Otago and Wellington was concluded at Dunedin yesterday, and resulted in a win for Wellington by 85 runs. Wellington was represented by a comparatively young team. With three veterans in C. G. Wilson, the ex-Melbourne player, Saunders, the ex-Victorian, and Tucker, an ex-New Zealand representative, Otago had the best team available. There was little between the sides on the play, but a run of misfortune to the best of Otago’s batsmen made the difference between victory and defeat. The feature of Wellington’s first innings was the solid exhibition of batting by the young Victoria College colt, who put together 80 by sound cricket without a chance. This performance was eclipsed by Alloo, the Otago colt, who in the first innings of the local team compiled 101. Alloo was at the wickets three hours for his century, and the only bad stroke was the one which cost him his wicket.

Wellington is not a great side, and I look to Auckland to defeat the province easily. Hiddlestone, an aggressive batsman with a good repertoire of strokes, Joplin, the colt, and Hay, on their form against Otago, are the best of an ordinary eleven. The bowling is simple enough. Saunders, left-hand medium, McGirr, fast medium, Hiddlestone, slow break bbwler, and Grimmett constitute the attack. Auckland has nothing to fear when it meets Wellington.

C. Hopkins, the ex-Otago and Sydney batsman, writing from Sydney after the New Zealand-New South Wales match to a Dunedin cricketer, discloses some interesting features, and incidentally pays a hitherto unpaid tribute to the Aucklander, Snedden. Hopkins says New Zealand should have done better, but “the pace of the wicket was their chief means of downfall, although I think they stayed in their creases too much, for all the bowling, especially that of Mailey, which is, as you no doubt know, slow. Googly Kelleway bowled grandly, but as the wicket-keeper was five yards or so from the stumps the bfetsmen could have gone out and stood a few feet from the crease without danger and also destroyed the bowlers’length. The score board looked terrible with three successive ‘ ducks ’ and the total a ‘duck,’ but relief came when Snedden and Shndman saved their side from total disaster. The latter played a fine innings, was lucky once or twice, but he took chances and in the end was successful. Practically nothing is made of Snedden’s innings, but ft was undoubtedly he who played the best game for his side, for he went in first with Hernus and staved there until just before the luncheon adjournment. He is a good batsman, very solid, and played slome good off and leg strokes, and should do well in the remaining matches. Poor Tuckwell played a fast one from Kelleway on to his wicket in the first innings, b\it in the second he played back to a slow ‘wrong ’un’ from Maley with the usual result.

“I have seen nearly all the cricketers. I know C. G. Macartney amongst them. He is the picture of health. He takes things easy now; goes in for batting, of which he is a pastmaster; does not field at cover, and does not bowl. In the inter-State cricket I shall not attempt to describe his batting to you. He simply does just what he likes with the bowling, and rattles up 50 or 100 in no time. The joke in Sydney and elsewhere now it that C.G.M. has failed, for he only made 50 odd recently. “Victor Trumper has gone off a. great deal in both batting and fielding, but he is still the idol of the

crowd, and were a vote taken as to who was the best batsman at his zenith, Trumper or Macartney, I’m certain the papers would show a good margin in favour of the former. Macartney leaves his crease a lot more, has more effort in his strokes, and is not so graceful as V.T. in his best days. Still, of course, he’s grand all the same. I must tell you that J. N. Crawford is an example to all cricketers in the field. He’s full of energy, fielding, bowling, and batting, and if he goes to New Zealand in the Australian team he should do all your cricketers a lot of good, as he no doubt does to them here. All being well, I shall be playing for Redfern v. Petersham next Saturday, but so far have not had any practice. The grounds are very dry and as fast as possible.”