CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 21, 19 October 1907, Page 5

CRICKET.

~* ' ' (By 'Breaker.)''" ' "..' There was very little' of interest in .last Saturday's senior fixtures outside of the New-town-Phoenix, which resulted in a close finish. To-day's games, however, promise to be lively. The New South Wales teachers' cricket team, which is to'visit-New >Zealand, at the end of the year, is said to be a strong combination. The players are nearly all regular participants in the' game, and .several of them ire first-grade'men. -~.., Moore trundled very successfully for Phoenix on Saturday.. He sent down only three overs, but he secured a wicket in each—two as,a result of his own efforts entirely and the other with the assistance of wicket-keeper Crewes. The batsmen whom he bowled were the highest scorers oh the Newtown side. Only six runs —two in each over—were obtained at his expense. ; '' ■ .' ■' J. P. Blacklock batted well again last Saturday, knocking up 27 in good style. Birch also contributed a nicely played 30. The Old Boys' wickets in the second innings fell as follows:— 1 for 30, 2 for 52, 3 for 53, 4 for 56, 5 for G7, 6 for-86, 7, for. 101, and 8 for 101, 9 for 123. Senior, : the , new Petone bowler, came' out with a . satisfactory record last Saturday, securing 4 wickets' for 37 runs. Patrick also obtained four wickets. . ' G.E.\ Burton's total of 83 for Phoenix in the match against Newtown included 2 fours, 13 threes, 8 twos, and'2o singles. Batu Kadavu Levu, King of Fiji, grandson of King.Cakobau, who will captain the Fijian touring team, has a tiirf ground on his Island of .Bau, and is anxious that his.native players should have an opportunity of seeing. the. test matches with the Englishmen. Midland made a very poor showing against Wellington in the second innings. The wickets fell quicklv as follows:—1 for 2, 2 for 6, 3 for 13, 4 for 13, 5 for 38, G for 41, 7 for 41/8 for 44. Hales 4 wickets, and Luckie and Fisher, 2 each, did the damage. The tour through the North Island by the New South Wales Teachers' Cricket Club is apparently going to cost the New Zealand Schools Association very little. It is estimated that the whole of the trip will only run into £25. It is understood that Rolf, the Sussex professional, will come South with the Auckland team in'Deccmber, On the occasion of his retiring from the captaincy of the Surrey Club, Lord Dalmony (whe is the eldest son of Lord Rosebery) was presented with an illuminated 'testimonial. Foi three seasons his lordship led the team in the field, and during that time there was a splendid revival of Surrey cricket. At one time tlu club suffered severely from the constant variations of captaincy; but when Lord Dalmeny after some persuasion, consented to captain tlu team he infused a life and zest into.it'whitf. resulted in the Surrey Club finishing third ir the championship table, last year. His lord ship, however, now aspires to political fame He delivered his maiden speech in" the Housi of Commons at the beginning of last vear clearly showing that he combines the gift oi speech-making with his excellence in athletics His lordship is something of an Admirable Crichton. Al Eton he was captain of the foot ball team, was in the cricket eleven, and woi the racquets. • Tic is also a good shot, ridci well, and, like his father, has a passion for thi turf.

The M.C.C. team will commence Hie first match of their .Australian tour next Saturday, against West Australia. In matches between the M.d.C. team and Australian teams the follow-on rule will be .optional";to the side leading by 200 runs. In inter-State cricket it is compulsory. -In the match Gentlemen of the South v. Flayers of the South, on September 3, G. L. Jessop scored 101 in an hour and a half. Says the "Referee":—"We have probably seen the last of an umpire travelling from to place with a team, English or Colonial, lhe M.C.C. and the Australian Board of Control are united on this and other cricket questions of international moment." The question of whether senior matches should-be-.limited to two or three Saturdays loomed large at the annual meeting of the Cricket Association, and it would appear from the way the crowd dwindled awav last Saturday as soon as Wellington had an assured win over Midland that, the threc-Snturdav advocates had-some reason in their arguments that two Mays was not long enough. It certainly .appeared.that all interest in the game vanished alter Wellington had the game in hand. An other Saturday's play, with the Midlandcr?" reputation- ns strong fmisliors, would have made .a difference. Several local cricketers who should know the way things are going are looking forward to visits'from the Canterbury, -Otago, Auckland, and Wairarap'a representatives this season. 'A suggestion was made at last week's meeting of the Cricket Association that if the Wairarapa team visits Wellington this season th.: game should be played on the Athletic Park, in order to. test the wicket for representative cricket. •:-.■ , : : It.is understood that a new club—the St. I.Paul's—is about to enter for the fourth cl.ibs competition. ..The Wellington Cricket Association has 22 wickets for' players this season. > It. is understood that if any further wickets are required ;they can be obtained, although it will be impossible, to secure them in a central position. ■A good deal of dissatisfaction has been expressed by junior players at the fact that the Athletic Park was not in readiness for play last Saturday. An effort is being made to have the.wickets ready for to-day.' An interesting table giving details of Mr. Ernest F. Upham's bowling record has been compiled by.a-local enthusiast. "Oversea" refers to teams from Australia and England, but not the, Fijians, ntid includes the disastrous tour of the New Zealand team to Australia. . ; '.:'...:.', -..:-...' ... Balls. Mns.Runs. .Witts; Av. Senior Cham- , pionship' .!.. 19,332' 983 '6326 691 9.15 Inter-Midland .... . Sit 35 301 28 10.75 Inter-Provincial 7,33* 363 . 2693 186 14.17 Oversea'. .... 5,118 171 2187 95 23.02 - Total- ... 32,688 1519 11,507.1000 11.59 .''...'..'• ■ SUMMARY. • ■ Bowled. Caught. Lbw. Stumped. .~- -\ 585;:.'.-.-. 350 . 41 '18 - > Cricket ,is : . mainly a game of confidence and determination. Luck is; also an important : factor but successful results may often be attained ,• without luck. .„■ .On Saturday Hickson and Nash proved this, and'their efforts resulted in Wellington winning "the match- against Midland. This was a very' creditable performance,, seeing that six of the team scored only 5 runs between ithehi. Midland,'in the second iunings, made a~very poor- stand, and the side was well on the way-towards providing Wellington with a four-point win when time was called. . : ..Upham secured-.the. thousand wickets we have heard so much about, but his average ;on last/Saturday was not, by any means a good one.' Patrick, in. this match, should have bowled much more than ho did. • Hickson's was, without doubt, the finest innings of,the day, and it is probably his very best- performance. Without his assistance the',, score would havo been below the century. Hales was again on tho job with the ball. He has struck good form early in the season, as the wickets on. the two, Saturdays have been in favour of the run-getters. ' The .'OkUßoys-Pctohe fixture fizzled out, contrary ■' to i general expectations. Bad luck seemed to .follow the footsteps of the suburban team. ; Bribe,''who was' over-eager, was run out jiist. as he had-about settled down. Patrick, who,had made a century on the previous was looked to for - a 'score, but ho was apparently without any prospect of support from the other bats, and his effortwas disappointing. This , player should make a lot of runs' before the season is over. Green is a-good bat, and he gave a bright display while he was at the wickets. Cobcroft carried his score to 33, and was then "cleanbowled by -Tucker.''Tucker finished up with 6.,for■:-16, which is a really good performance;.' •" •;'.... Monaghan did not bag a wicket. Old Boys had lost'9.wickets for 130 nt 6 p.m:,- and they won; tho match by 71 runs on the first innings. The Petone team has a. considerable "tail," but the result might have been different'if they had taken advantage of winning'the'toss.' Senior finished' with 4 for 37 in' Old Boys' second innings. There were only three double-figure scores in tho Pctono innings, rand 'the highest of these was 33. •Two'players in the first round have secured a./'pair:of. spectacles"—ll. Jacobs (Old Boys)' and-;• Wilkinson (Midlands). i Phoenix secured a brilliant four-point win oyer ■ Newtown on No. 3. It looked at ono time as if Newtown would get a win in, but the batting of George Burton put the question'beyond doubt., lie gave a,fine display of driving, but .was a;bit weak on the slow bowling. His .innings, however, ,was invaluable, and: it was chanceless. The next highest score ivas 16,. made by Burton, junior, and Little, and' Hickey made 10 each. Newtown started its second innings in a minority of .39, but made a very poor showing. The side-was out for 57, and Phoenix, re-, quiring 18 runs to win, soon made them. This was'the'only win outright of the round, and the-'teams now stand:—Phoenix, 4 points; Wellington, 2; Old Boys, 2; Midland, 0; Petone,' 0;- Newtown, 0. 'Moore was put on at 'the right moment by ithe' Phoenix captain last Saturday, and he 'secured 3 wickets for. G. runs. He also took two' nice' catches in the field. i Teams playing on No. 3 wicket are severely hampered by ■ the "small boy" and his big friends. It .is'., difficult to place men in the field, and batsmen find it hnrd to, tell where fieldsmen are'. Tho principal trouble is, however!' that the youngsters take a delight in 'slapping;'and picking up, bqlls which arc hit ■in their direction. This is a matter which ■should- attract the attention of the umpires, because it would bo manifestly unfair for a batsman to be given run out if the ball .happened to be fielded and thrown to the fieldsman by an urchin. Some day, ono of these youngsters will be hurt, and the matter may then- be siftetd a little.