THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 42, 18 February 1905, Page 7

THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS.

j|t£TCH AGAINST WELLINGTON. ■'* (By a'elegwpli.—Own Correspondent.) •. ;rj3S&S>. WELLINGTON, Friday. TTnr an .off"d a y the attendance a t the nnpnin" of t!lc Australian-Wellington . Satch°to-day was Burprisingly good. Amon" the interested spectators were ■' «£ Premier, Mrs Seddon, Sir Joseph ilnd Vndy Ward, Colonel Pitt, and the Hon. Air Mills- The wicket rolled out true irid fast, though the visitors found it lacking the nippinees of their own wickets. Cobcroft. the Wellington skipper, ■won the toss, and went in to bat with Hickson. Taking the Wellington bat- : tine all through it was fairly sound, but though several of the batsmen made a promising start and shaped confidently, nothing sensational eventuated. The honours on the Wellington side fell to Cobcroft and Redgrave, who loomed up lar"clv in the run-getting, and their cx- ' hibliicns were a feature of the afternoon's proceedings. Cobcroft really held his side together by his gritty innings. He never -once looked like getting out, and there was a howl of disappointment from the spectators when an unfortunate Tmsealtrnlntion of a third run brought ■~his career to a close. Altogether Cobow'ft -was batting v<s minutes .lor his runs, and'ouring'tliat time only one pos- ■ siWe-eh.ince tould be- urged against him. For soundness against bowling of the TdaiibTk"""orf r the . Australians it was', the best seen on the local ground for a con 1 siderable timi. His timing and placing were excellent, and his late cutting artistic. He brought off a few superb le<* hits. Redgrave started streakily, but eventually gained confidence and gave a forceful display, his "oh" driving being particularly crisp and vigorous. Blacklock, who is a strong candidate for colonial honours, batted nicely for his runs, and promised a decent- score until Armstrorig sent him pavilion-wards with a superb catch in the j?Hps. Mahoney "went alonsr serenely till Cotter beat him with v beauty. Hickson was at the wickets for over 50 minutes for his runs, and Barton, who is still in, made several fine strokes, and quickly ran into double figures. With the exception.joi Noble,, who required a lot of negotiating, none of the Australian bowlers were" particularly deadly. Armstrong was singled out for scant courtesy by the batsmen. The clean and accurate ground fielding of the visitors raised repeated cheering, boundary after boundary being stopped by their sureneea and alertness. Their catching was also perfect, Armstrong. ■Noble, Cotter, and Trumper bringing off fine catches. Hopkins distinguished himself by making a eensational one-handed catch' on the ropes off Cobcroft's bat, but the bowler, Armstrong, had been noballed, and the batsman "was given ano- : tßerfeas¥""6f life. The scaring with few exceptions on the slow side," but the runs-placed to Wellington's credit for the afternoon's play were probably as many as tlleir most ardent supporters Anticipated. On this afternoon's showing the bowling talent of the Australians -"-appears to lack versatility. ■ Following are the scores:— . ~v WELLINGTON.^First -losings. Cobcroft, run out 40 Hiekson, b N0Tj1e ......... .".—-." 13 Cotter t b Noble .",' 0 MahDney,*b .>.--'.' IT.\ I' ..'.'.> 12 Blacldock, o AYmstfong, T> CottefT. 18 Tucker, c Cotter, . bJVIeLeod 7 Redgrave-,-c Gehrs;b Jfpble; ,-rrr,:,. 30 Hawthorne, c- Gregory, b Noble 3" and b Noble 7 Weybourne. c Gehrs, b N0b1e.T.... 0 Waters, ,st Kelly, b Noble, 12 Jirice, not out f ., 6. not out :. 10 Extras 10 Total for 11 wickets „ „.. 177 By Telegraph—i*ress Association.) The Australian cricketers weire entertained at the Town Hall to-night. Mr Seddon, Sir J. Ward, and the Mayor were among those present. Speeches of welcome were .made, and good wishes extended to the visitors. Mr Clem Hill, in replying to a toast, said the great secret of success in erieket was in having coaches to teach young players.