CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 781, 2 April 1910, Page 14

CRICKET.

[Br The Bebakeb.]

The services of Mr. J. H. Board,"the Gloucestershire professional, have been so. appreciated by the Hawke's Bay Cricket Association that it has reengaged him as coach for next season. It is expected that Board, who has just left for England, will return to Napier about the middle of October next. Durban cricketers are said to be keen on obtaining Hobbs for a, season as the union's professional. If. the batsmen there could only imitate his style, what a "future there would bel Of course, Hobbs will have to submit" the offer to Surrey and to Mrs. Hobbs. Durban, although stuck away in .the corner ot South Africa, was able to make a pront out of the M.O.C. tour of about a thousand pounds.■-.■ '■ '■' ■' \, _ ; . Playing in the Metropolitan 1 Baptist Cricket Association (matting competition) on Saturday, 'March 12, Newmarket met'Collins Street (Melbourne). The latter batted first, and on a splendid, wicket-.were disposed of for 1 run. Only eight men batted. D. Jacobson got six wickets for no runs (including the hat trick),. andL. Williamson one for 1. Only thirty-two balls wore bowled during the inningß. * Chatting .after the . second "test, Reese, captain of-the New Zealand XI, said that the chief want, so far as New Zealand "was concerned,, was a fast bowler ■of the Cotter, Scott, or Facey type, and he expressed his surprise that a country that produced such fuip athletes in all other departments of sport should so far have failed to produce a really fast bowler. He is further of opinion that what is needed to improve our. cricket generally ia more first-class matches against the best: teams. Oui dhief defects in batting, .as compared with the stars of the other side, are a want of aggressiveness towards the loose balls,; the ignorance of proper use of the feet; and the lack of knowledge of running between the wickets, and of hitting the ball just sufficiently hard to secure a.run when it is going direct to the fieldsman. 'Repeatedly the Aus-, tialia.n batsmen ■ would play the ball direct to the fieldsman, but they were careful not to hit it hard, and they started for their run almost. imechanicallylj while any loose ball was hit very hard and more : often.' than not found the fence.. The chief.defect in our fielding, according to; Reese, is the faulty returning to the wickets. . _ The strange incidents of the cricket field aro many,', but .it is doubtful whether a similar contretemps to that which occurred oh the Adelaide Oval on -a recent Saturday,has.ever been witnessed. Moyle, in' his' innings for Adelaide against North/Adelaide,, hit a, hall and ran, but a smart piece of fielding by Claxton returned the ball to the bowler while Moyle was midway between the wicket. "He's out," called the crowd, and evidently Moyle thought, so;'to, for he stood watching while Reedman, holding the ball in one hand, pulled up, a ;stumpVwithathe.toJiher>.A'ReeQmanvformally' appealed to the umpire, and to everybody's surprise the reply was "Not but." ■ Probably Moyle ;.was as -much astonished ; iuT. everybody. : e'lse,: 'was still standing.half-way' between the ■two wickets, and the stumps •, were down. Some of. the crowd began to hooj;, and the spectators in the stands entered into some lively arguments. as the batsman walked back to his crease to resume Hs innings. The reason of MoyVs extraordinary "let off" was niade known later. Reedman, before the ball reached, him from. Claxton, had accidentally, knocked off the bails, so the wicket was'broken, and the umpire held that the appeal could not be successful."". • '■''" "■'. ' ■'': . EAST 'A-AVERAGES. The averages for the East A team during the past season were :— '; Battingi ~ ■ ■ .p -a . m' 9 S'-1 • • S 9 J3 e -a 2 o. * US' I g> ;■:;:: rl-fr wl ,S ■• ■§■ Midlane ...... 12 4 140 508 63.50 Tucker 8 1 91 277 39.57 Mahoney .... 11 0 67 355 32.27 .Hutchings ... 9 1 57 184 23.00 Gibbes ..:...„. 8 1 52 153 21.85 Dickson 1 0 21 21 21.00 Hales, N.~. 6 3 19 54 18.00 Berner 2 0 31 ,35 17.50 M'Gffl 8' 1 22 112 16.00 Little ! 7 2 19 76 15.20 Wills .;...™; S\ 0 19 59; 11.80 Bowles ........; 8 1 21 74- 10.57 Hales, E. O. 6. :1 "32 ,''5210.40 Hickoy .....:,.. 4 r : ;\lI-V2fr..' 9.33 C011ett'......'...■ 2 1 '6 \6'. 6.00 Goldfinch 1 0 6 6 6.00 Lomax 5 0 5 10 ■ 2.00 ' '.-'. Bowling. J I■» "J f H*|S §'' "° a ■■■ : .&& 'a - « ,;£ ■'■■$ Hickoy ...... 603 16 281 32 8.78 Quinn . 57 3, 19 2 9.50 Gibbos 1087 21 486 40 12.15 Hales, E. 0. 930 36 337 21 16.04 Grimmett... 60 ■ 1 45 2 22.50 Hales,. N.... 48 1 27 1 27.00 Bernor 54 1 33 1 33.00 Hutchings 222 4 118 3 39.33 H'Gill 96 1 46 1 46.00 Tucker :..... 276 9 107 2 53.50

Mr, E. E. Bean, chairman of the executive of the Victorian. Cricket Association, has declared himself against the proposal that first-class matches in Australia Should be limited to three days. All such matches, he considers, 'ehould be played out. ' A correspondent of the "Sydney Morning Herald," writing under the heading of "Dying Cricket," offers a suggestion for the improvement of the game as recently played in Australia v Hβ says: —First, I strongly doubt whether an extension, of time would enliven the game at all, or even shorten it appreciably; for. it is the stone-wall-ing and playing merely to keep up your wicket that'is ruining the game and disgusting onlookers. I therefore beg to propose that two new rules should forthwith be added to the existing rules, i.e., (1) "Every maiden over shall take one run from the batsman playing it, or, if he'has made none, from his side; (2) every run must be run out— no boundary-hite to count four,, as al present." I consider this bouridary four to bo most unfair to the bowler, and also to the fieldsmen; many of them (tho hits) would not result in more than .two runs with,smart fielding. And why should the bowler wear himself out whilst the batsman stands still? ,1 venture to think that if,this suggestion wore carried out a very appreciable brightening up and shortening of, the game would ensue. ■'