KITTEN ON WICKET

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 104, 15 February 1950, Page 6

KITTEN ON WICKET

Interlude At Domain Oval Something new in the' way of cricket interruptions was provided at the Domain Oval yesterday afternoon, when Canterbury were playing Ashburton. Cause of the trouble, in this instance, was a half-grown kitten. She came from the trees and early sauntered around in the vicinity of where a backstop would have been stationed in the days before wicketkeepers had attained their present proficiency. Fortunately for her, there were no byes at this stage, and, tiling of the isolation, she wandered round to point, whose trousers she investigated, apparently with a view to trying out the sharpness of her claws. Point; howe.ver, had to field a square cut, so puss lost interest. All the activity at the striker’s end of the pitch then attracted her and she strolled over to sniff at M. Wall’s bat. Linseed oil did not appeal very much, apparently, for she retreated a foot or two and watched interestedly as the bat was brandished ut her. Full of confidence she next wandered to the popping crease, but the batsman, not relishing the idea of being bowled by a breakback from a feline vertibrae, took a firm grasp of puss and deposited her at fine leg. In spite of vigorous bat waving and gesticulation by square leg, puss retreated only 20 or so, and then sat down to clean her - paws. Cullen swept a ball round to leg a minute later, and _ the subsequent flurry of activity disturbed puss, for she departed hurriedly .to deep long-on. Two balls later, a pull in that direction proved too mudh for the intruder, and, when last seen, she was disappearing into the pine trees.