AUSTRALIA WINS COMFORTABLY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 105, 16 February 1950, Page 2

AUSTRALIA WINS COMFORTABLY

TOUR BEGUN AGAINST HUTT VALLEY (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 15. The Australian cricketers opened their New Zealand tour with a comfortable win, in a one-clay match against liutt Valley, scoring 283 for seven wickets, in reply to IS'l for eight wickets declared. The 19-year-old New South Wales opening batsman, J. Burke, headed the day’s performances with a delightful century, but was dropped behind the wickets before he reached double figures, The match finished in a riot of scoring. After Australia had passed Hutt Valley’s total in 130 minutes, another 100 runs were rushed up in 35 minutes, with the test wicketkeeper, D. Tallon, prominent. Some powerful driving and pretty leg shots by the New Zealand representative, J. Reid, the spin bowling of the Oft 3in Victorian, J. Iverson, Tallon’s flawless wicketkeeping, and the superb fielding of the_ Australians were relished by the crowd. The ease with which the Australians

scored emphasised their alert and correct footwork. Most were very strong on the on. To-day’s play indicated that the Australian attack falls far short of that of previous sides. The wicket rolled out surprisingly easy after the heavy week-end rain, and the faster bowlers, L. Johnson, C. Puckett and P. Ridings, were unable to get results from it. Much may rest on the 20-year-old New South Wales player, A. Davidson, who did not play to-day, to lift the fast attack into good class. The 1948 test bowler, D. Ring, got a little spin, but Iverson fulfilled all advance reports. He took three wickets for 31 runs off 15 overs. He sent down only one loose hall, a short one, which was promptly hooked for six. Iverson moved the ball more than any other bowler, and generally kept a teasing length. The batsmen found difficulty in steering him througli the gaps. The Australian fielding had few blemishes, but the usually reliable Johnson dropped a catch in the outfield and Iverson failed to anticipate a hard pull by Reid off Ring when the batsman was nine. The finest catch of the day was made by J. Coulston (Hutt Valley), who raced 10 yards along the boundary. The ball struck his outstretched right hand, bounced j out, and was then held. 1