N.Z. CRICKETERS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19149, 4 November 1927, Page 16

N.Z. CRICKETERS.

ENJOYMENT OF THEIR GAMES. THE CHARM OF THE TEAM. (77.1-Y. ','■?- own '•OS?E;FPS"I'EST.i i/'XDOX. September 21. 'Ti ■<■ Times" reviews the cricket seaioii of 1027. and has fome very pleas;,nr remarks about the New Zealand U* in. •What disappointments there may liave teen in inter-county matches hare r.<-en more than made up for by tho vi.-:t. of the Now Zealand team (says ti;o vriKTj. If ever a side did deserve to be granted unstinted thanks for the pleasure whr.-h they liave given during a iour in this country that team is the present New Zealand team. Wherever th'V have gone 1 hey have been welcomed as a stout-hearted, modest, and r.bl-3 hand or player.,. Extremely lucky in having T. ('. Ix>wry as a captain, they liave avoided all those stupid little irictions which are incidental to ho uiativ tour-, and on the field they Jja e. consistently given of their best. ••Strong and versatile in their batting, they liave felt the lack of good v-nd' bowlers, but their spin bowlers liave worked their hearts out to make up for this shortcoming T. C. Lowry himself, C. 6. Dempster, C. C. Dacre, who would have had. no doubt, a wonderful season but for the wet wickets, !{. C. Blunt, and M. L. Page, havenil made runs in the manner which pien«ps a normal crowd, and the allround form of \Y. E. Merritt has made hira a universally popular young

pi .ivor. "But tlu) cliurm of the team lies in the f.i't that the entire company m> p.'iU'in'y on joy playing cricket, of which, professedly, they came over to k-arn the finer points, and that early rnrcesses never in the least altered their attitude."

A Wonderful Time. During the progress of the match at Canterbury, Mr D. Hay remarked to a Press representative: "We have had a wonderful time. We have played agsiinst the best sides in England, and ] must say that from a playing point of view wo have not done badly. The English crowds have been splendid wherever we have played. Our reception has been exceptionally cordial. The boys have had a real good time. Considering that only one of our players, Tom Lowry, the skipper, has ever played on an English wicket before, I think that they settled down to the conditions very well indeed. "Some people are inclined to consider our bowling weak, but the fact that on only one occasion has the -iul) been exceeded by our opponents speaks for itself. This is our first tour in this country, but I hope it will not be our last. The success of the tour will give ihe game a fine fillip in New Zealand. '

The players all agreed with their manager, as to the success of the tour. It has been really fine,'' said T. C. Lowry, the old Cambridge Blue whose leadership of the team has 'evoked much admiration in this country. "We have all enjoyed ourselves immensely."

Success of the Tour. The '''Yorkshire Post" comments:— J)«pite the wretched weather, the .New Zealanders' tour was a great success. Rain interfered with a good rnnny of their matches, hut the tourists displayed form which suggested that the game had mad© great strides in their country. Their batting was consistently good, their bowling, if not fctrong of a good average quality, and their fielding as keen as any seen in this country for a long time. • Above a'l.. the l;ght-heartedness with which their batsmen invariably attacked tho bowling, and the spirit with which fney entered into their matches set a Tine example.