CRICKET

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 16, 14 April 1947, Page 6

CRICKET

HISTORIC MATCH PLAYED 56 YEARS AGO In view of the increasing interest in cricket in the district and the recent visit of the M.C.C. team to NewZealand this report of the first cricket match played in the district will prove of interest to readers. The match was played on January 17, 1891, 56 years ago, when Opotiki defeated Matata by 22 runs. The full report as set down in the newspaper of that day is as follows: On Friday afternoon the cricket team from Matata rode into town and created quite a stir at the Opotiki Hotel, where they put up. Mill. G. Walmsley, their captain, and Mr Wyatt, being old Opotiki residents, received a warm welcome. Mr Joe Warbrick, late captain of the Maori football team which visited England, was also one of the visitors and was well received. The visiting team had a short practice on Saturday morning, and the onlookers were of opinion that the Opotiki team would require to look carefully after their laurels.

At 10.30 the rival teams were on the ground. Tents were erected for the scorers and for refreshments, which were provided by Mr E. L. Smith, Masonic Hotel. Mr C. M. Buckwbrth, of Whakatane, umpired for the visitors, and Mr H. H. Holmden for the local men, while Messrs. Downey and Isaacs kept the scores. The match was played on the old cricket ground where a fresh pitch had been prepared, and quite a large number of spectators were on the ground and took a deep interest in the piay. The weather was all that could be desired—a bright, bracing day with a cool, refreshing sea breeze. It was arranged to draw stumps at 6 p.m. and after a few preliminaries play commenced sharp at eleven. Mr J. Reid, captain of the Opotiki team, won the toss and elected to bat.

We give below the scores, where it will be observed that among the highest for the Opotiki team were Messrs. McCarthy., Rawson, Matchitt, Dawson and Bates, while for the Matata the bowling of Messrs. F. and H. Burt was very destructive. In the Matata team the highest scorers were Messrs. H. Oldham, J. Warbrick, Simon and Wyatt. The bowlers were Messrs. G. Reid, F. Bates and Chappell. In the second innings Mr J. Reid made double figures and Mr E. Rawson put eight together. Messrs. F. and H. Burt still continued bowling. For Matata F. Burt and Walmsley were the highest, the bowling being done by G. Reid and Flowerday. The fielding of both teams was good. Armstrong made two clever catches but it was the bowling that won the day. The match was eventually won by Opotiki, after an exciting game, by 22 runs.

Opotiki (Ist Innings) H. G. Armstrong, c Warbrick b H. Burt 8 J. H. Reid b F. Burt 0 C. Matchitt, b H. Burt 8 A. Rawson, c F. Burt b H. Burt 8 S. F. Bates, b F. Burt 9 G. Reid, b H. Burt 1 A. B. Chappell, b H. Burt 0 J. McCarthy, c Wyatt b F. Burt 8 E. Rawson, b H. Burt 4 V. W. Flowerday, b F. Burt 0 H. Elliott, not out 3 Extras 7 Total 40 Matata (Ist Innings) H. Burt, b G. Reid 4 E. Oldham, c Ellott b Bates 6 H. G. Walmsley, b G. Reid 0 F. Burt, c*McCarthy b Bates .... 2 J. Warbrick, c Armstrong b Reid 14 J. Brown, b Bates 0 Simon, b G. Reid 6 T. Wyatt, b G .Reid 8 J. Savage, st J. Reid b Chappell 0 Alexander, c Bates b Reid 0 Te Hau, not out 0 Extras 0 Total 56 Opotiki (2nd Innings) G. Reid, b F. Burt 1 Chappell, b H. Burt 0 R. Rawson, Ibw b F. Burt ' 6 Matchitt, b F. Burt 6 Armstrong, b'H. Burt 0 J. Reid, run out 13 Flowerday, c Oldham b H. Burt 0 McCarthy, b H. Burt 0 E. Rawson, b H. Eurt 8 Bates, c Simon b F. Burt 0 Elliott, not out 0 Extras 6 Total 40 Matata (2n3 Innings) Te Hau, b Flowerday 5 H. Burt, c Armstrong b G. Reid 1 Oldham, c Armstrong b G. Reid 5 Walmsley, b Reid 7 F. Burt, c Elliott b Reid 6 Warbrick, b C. Reid 1

• Brown, st J. Reid b J. Reid 0 Simon, b Flowerday 3 Wyatt, b G. Reid 2 Savage, not out 0 Alexander, c and b Flowerday .... 0 Extras 4 Total 34