INTERVIEW WITH N.Z. SKIPPER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 778, 30 March 1910, Page 8

INTERVIEW WITH N.Z. SKIPPER.

VALUE OP AUSTRALIANS' VISIT. HOW TO IMPROVE OUR CRICKET.

Speaking to? a Dominion reporter'yesterday, D. Reese captain l 'of-' 1 the New. Zealand Eleven, said that tho. contest had been very ; enjoyable. As regards batting, the - team was, in 'his opinion, as powerful as . any combination which had ever represented ;-the Dominion. Any of the first seven or eight batsmen were good enough to be pnt in for .first wicket. That New..-Zealand .was weak in bowling- could not be denied. In that respect ho held that- the Australians had struck New Zealand in a "lean" year. The team did not possess, for ' instance,,- Frankish, -Callaway, Downas, Fisher, or Upham'. A few years ago (it would'be remembered) bowling was the most superior depart•ment in New Zealand cricket. Asked if' there were : any promising bowlers about, Reese said that in each ,of the four centres ttare • was' very likely talent, but the quality- was, ..not yet good enough for. a New Zealand Eleven. What he could not (Understand was that so few fast bowlers ' had ' been produced in New Zealand. Notyfithstanding the fine physique of the . New Zealanders, no trundler faster , than Upham had been developed. Aid yet Upham. cojtfld not be considered fast compared,, for instance, with Facey, .who in turn was appreciably slower than, say, Cotter. ■■ Ot course it'did not follow that an "express I ''bowler had to. have'wonderful physique, for there were' j examples of diminutive players among the fastest trundlers. Of rising bats:men there were quite a number in the Dominion —an unusual proportion at Auckland. - . ■

■ ftaese. went on to say : that it was al" "fudge" foT anybody to say that cric-' ket on the whole had not. improved of late years in New Zealand. ;He could not remember the time, when': batting was of such a high standard . in ; the Dominion. • T^.iw. could be accounted for to a: great extent by the presence' in) several tovmss of coaches, who - were above the average as bowlers.' What was wanted if good bowlers were to be produced was more attention to the wickets. Upon the subject of grounds he expressed lie opinion that the Basin Reserve was not now as, good as it used to be. It certainly. conld not oompare, for the purpose of cricket, with the leading grounds in the other oen-tres. With reference-to/the visit of the Australian team, Reese declared. ..that it, had undoubtedly been of' great service to New Zealand cricket. One important ' thing which had' been impressed on' players in . general was the need for practising running between the wickets. If there was one department more than another in New Zealand cricket in which improvment was. badly wanted it was in that regard. Reese went on to say that visits of overseas teams to the Dominion'were not nearly frequent enough. A few years might elapse before another Australian team came here, and, by that time k>me of the places of somo of the leading players mig,ht be filled by younger men who would have the same amount to learn as the players of today.' Under such circumstances finished players could not be turned out. If possible, a visit from, an Australian team ought to be arranged every couple of seasons. In' conclusion, the New Zealand skipper remarked that in his opinion the time had surely arrived when another tour of the Australian States should be carried out... If New.Zealand players could look forward to periodical trips to Australia it would be a. great, incentive to the younger ones in particular to strive to "■ reach as near oorfectiaa as MSfdble.