REP. CRICKET MATCH

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 48, 1 March 1946, Page 6

REP. CRICKET MATCH

HAWKE CUP GAME 1 WIN FOR WAIKATO REMARKABLE BAY RECOVERY ' After an excellent match in which fluctuating fortunes held interest right up to the final stages, Waikato .defeated .Bay of Plenty in the Hawke Cup elimination representative cricket match played at the Kuirau Reserve, Rotorua, last weekend by five wickets. The game occupied three days, large crowds being in attendance on the Saturday and Sunday particularly. The weather was fine on Saturday, but conditions were not so pleasant on the following two days which were overcast.

Feature of the match, was the recovery executed by. the Bay team on Sunday. After appearing to be in a hopeless position, and with every indication of Waikato securing an innings victory before the end of the second day, Bay of Plenty made a splendid recovery, and at one stage had quite a fair chance of winning. Batting first on a perfect wicket, Waikato compiled 264, to which the Bay replied with only 55. The Bay the second knock, shaped much better, and taking a line from their •captain, L. R. Spring, went on to score 200 for four wickets when time was called.

For Rotorua, D. Moynihan shaped particularly well, and he was unfortunate in being dismissed lbw with his score at 66. It was an attractive innings and he showed a wide range of shots. G. McKenzie was also unlucky in that a rising ball from W. McKenzie snicked the top of the bat, and S. Warren took a good catch in the slips. McKenzie played a nice innings for 22. S. Aitlcen 43, W. Higginson 28, and M. Clark 28, not out, also played well.

B. Badeley Bowls Well

The most successful of the Bay bowlers was B. Badeley who took three wickets for 49 runs. He kept a good length throughout.' A. Fisher and W. McKenzie also bowled well. The Bay fielding left a lot to be desired, while the throwing in to the wicket was also indifferent. On the whole, however, the attack against Waikato’s’ strong batting side was creditable.

L. Spring and J. Douglas took the field for the Bay of Plenty at 5.45 p.m. on Saturady, and in the remaining 15 minutes the side lost two wickets for six runs. That it was not just a temporary collapse was proved on Sunday morning, when the rot continued and at one stage the Bay had lost five wickets for only 11. M. Clark, medium pace, was doing most of the damage, his well-flighted balls having the batsmen all at sea. M. Wells and Mason provided the best partnership, adding 15 for the eighth wicket. The innings closed at 55. Wells created the best impression and was unbeaten at the close of the innings with 13 to his credit. He timed his shots well, and selected the right ones to hit.

Bay Team’s Recovery Following on,. the Bay players were faced with the bleak prospect of having to score 209 runs to avoid an innings defeat. At stumps they had nearly attained their objective, having scored 200 for the loss' of only four wickets, every player scoring double figures. Play resumed on Monday morning with B. Badeley 42, and A. Fisher 22, the not-out batsmen.

Fisher had the misfortune to injure his foot shortly after resumption and had only added two to his score when he was dismissed by a nice catch by Clark. Badeley continued to bat freely and only needed eight runs for his century when he was given out lbw off Everest. The remaining Bay batsmen shaped poorly, and the side was all out for 270—a fine effort.

No fewer than eight Waikato bowlers were tried, the most successful being J. Everest with 3 for 30, off 27 overs. He bowled 10 maidens, exceptionally good bowling. A feature of the innings was the grand innings played by the captain, Spring. Opening with Wells, he played patiently, but on occasions, very forcefully. His 69 against a strong and varied attack, was a highly praiseworthy performance

and it was greeted with applause upon his return to the pavilion.

Waikato’s Winning Innings With Waikato requiring only 62 for an outright win, even the most ardent Bay supporters did not think that more than two or three batsmen would be required to get the necessary runs. But W. McKenzie, bowling in good style, threatened to change the whole complexion of the game. Of the Waikato batsmen, D. Moynihan alone shaped confidently and he had several lives. Waikato lost five wickets ‘in gaining the necessary runs. McKenzie’s performance in taking all five wickets for only 27 runs, was an exceptionally fine one. He clean-bowled Everest, McKenzie and Moynihan with perfect length balls. Following are the scores in detail:—

Waikato first innings: G. McKenzie c Warren b McKenzie 22; T. Lyon lbw b Badeley 19; J. Everest b Fisher 2; D. Moynihan lbw b Fisher 66; R. Clough c Still b Badeley 11; S. Aitken c and b Douglas 43; M. Clark not out 28; W. Higginson b W. McKenzie 28; E. Avery b Badeley 17; E. Petrie b Wells 0; A. Davies b Wells 0. Extras 28. Total 264.

Bowling: A. Fisher 2 for 41; W. McKenzie 2 for 59; Warren none for 17; A. Wells 2 for 50; B. Badeley 3 for 49; Spring none for 3; J. Douglas 1 for 21.

Bay of Plenty, first innings: L. Spring c Clough b Lyon 6; J. Douglas b Clark 0; W. Crawford c and b Clark 1; B. Badeley c and b Lyon 1; W. McKenzie run out 0; M. Wells not out 13; A. Fisher b Clark 9; B. Smith c Aitken b Clark 1; S. Warren b Clark 5; R. Mason b Higginson 11; S. G. Still b Higginson 2. Extras 6. Total 55.

Bowling: Lyon 2 for 20; Clark 5 for 19;Davies none for 3; Higginson 2 for 9.

Bay of Plenty, second innings: L. Spring c Avery b McKenzie 69; Wells c Aitken c Clough 10; W. McKenzie lbw b G. McKenzie 18; W. Crawford c Everest b Clough 25; B. Badeley lbw b Everest 92; A. Fisher c Clark b Lyon 24; S. Warren c Aitken b Lyon 2; R. Mason c Aitken b Everest 6; J. Douglas b Everest 2; B. Smith b Clough 4; S. G. Still not out 0. Extras 18. Total 270.

Bowling: Higginson none for 17; Davies none for 17; Clough 3 for 46; Aitken none for 40 Everest 3 for 30; Clark none for 51; McKenzie 2 for 32; Lyon 2 for 21. Waikato, second innings: McKenzie b W. McKenzie 7; Lyon c Crawford b McKenzie 5; Everest b McKenzie 5; Moynihan b McKenzie 27; Clough c Crawford b McKenzie 2; Aitken not out 4; Clark not out 7. Extras 5. Total 62.

Bowling: McKenzie 5 for 27; Badeley none for 6; Spring none for 25.

Umpires were Messrs. A. Catt and W. Tiller.