CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 784, 6 April 1910, Page 5

CRICKET.

WELLINGTON' ASSOCIATION. ■ .STATE OF THE:BASIN RESERVE. Members of the Management Committee of the Wellington Cricket Association met last night...-.-. Mr. Luckie gave,notice of intention to move at the next meeting that, a' committee beset up to consider .;the best means'.of augmenting the funds of the association, and report upon the advisableness' of securing a coach- for next ; season. '•.-•■

W. A. Parton, manager of the team which visited' Napier, submitted a report on the tour. He mentioned that it woulbl be desirable in future for visits to tho Hawke's Bay centre to be made earlier in the year.' It was resolved that Mr. Parton be thanked 'for his at-tention-to his duties; also' that the Hawke's Bay Association be thanked for the hospitality which it had accorded the-,team.- ' A further resolution was passed to ■ the. effect that the matter of sending future teams earlier in the season bo referred to the incoming committee, with a recommendation'', that the request ,be complied to as far as is - The Ground Committee reported upon the condition of the Basin Reserve as at the close of the present season, and the necessary work required to be done. The, suggestions of. the groundsman wore as follow-.—"Practice wickets: All too high at the back; turf good. If they were patched with that and Miramar turf used at the back, the soil got from under would top-dress the wickets. No. 1 wants extending east. No. 2 requires about a week's work. No. 4 wants about three days' work." It was decided that the groundsman's suggestions with regard to match wickets 1, 2, and 4 should not bo given effect to. The suggestion with regard, to the practice wickets was a good one, and it recommended it-to the favourable consideration of the Management Committee. The unevenness of the ground generally was one of the worst features, of the Basin Reserve, but it seemed hopeless ' to try and remedy this, as the association was not in the position to expend the very largo amount it would require to make an even,'surface, and unless the ground was closed altogether for the winter months would bo money thrown away. In any case, past experience proves that the ground was continually sinking, : and • bringing tho ground to an even surface, even under the most favourable conditions, would only bo a temporary affair. It was resolved that. the report be given effect to. "■ WEDNESDAY ASSOCIATION. The final game of the season, Oriental v.'Artillery, will be continued to-day on the Basin Reserve. The winning team will be declared tho senior champion for,tho season. ' ■ HANDLING OF THE AUSTRALIANS. The Australians in New Zealand fulfilled expectations of crickete'rs on tin's side of tho Tasmari by beating New Zealand in botii matches (says . the Sydney "Referee"). Though tho general form of the team has been lacking in brilliancy, still when put to it as a team ' they, have shown' tho colonial knack of rising to the occasion. How far tho tour has helped tho young bowlers to develop is for the futuro to disclose. . Looking through the mist of 1200 miles or. more, tho bowlers do not

appear to have been handled by W."\V. Armstrong with an idea of . developing international players' for'.Australia. There may be justifying reasons why A. •C. Facey and,C. Kelleway have been so consistently ignored as bowlers. That the Tasmanian'has at last been given a' good trial in an important match, and that ho has responded with a splendid performance, must bo gratifying not only to Tasmanians, but to all who like to see and'hear of the younger' men rising to the occasion and disclosing the necessary mottle. If C. Kclleway's opportunities at the bowler's crease have been few, he has done admirably with the bat, being perhaps the most consistent, though not tho most prolific, run-getter in the party. LORD HARRIS ON "THE NEW . STYLE." 'Writing in "Wisden," "Lord Harris says:—"Let mo make quite clear what I, at any rate, am railing against.' It is not. getting in front of'the wicket when the ball requires that action; but in getting in front of the wicket unnecessarily, to the detriment of the batsman's freedom of action, and not infrequently whatever the ball may beoff, straight, leg,' short, or pitched up; in fact, being predisposed .to get in front, and all batsmen know how dominant is predisposition. And it h not merely the unnecessary getting iu front of the wicket, but' it is the getting in-front and facing the bowler which is playing havoc with some of our young batsmen whose eyes are evidently all right. For I put it .to. the greatest admirers of this modern style, and I put , it with confidence that the answer must be 'No.' Can you possibly cut or drive as well when .you are facing the bowler as when you have the left shoulder up?".-Lord Harris concludes:—"The new style is an exaggeration and distortion of an attitude occasionally adopted by the best batsmen of recent years; it leads to 1 a cross bat, and less than,the full face; it is insiduously dangerously attractive when used successfully; but it is in the opinion of us who protest,' reducing materially the capacity of some of our brilliant younger ( . cricketers to play successfully all sorts of bowling on- all. sorts of wickets, and we hope that our'agitation I against it will have such effect on'the cricket tutors of - the present day that! they will rigorously discourage it." '