CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 960, 29 October 1910, Page 12

CRICKET.

Pt The Breakeb.]

Rev.lE. o.;"Blamires, Cricketer,

. -Youngest ,of a family of five sons, all ministers 1 ; and;all .cricketers, the Kev. E.,.0. Had ires, strayed into, tlio Basin Keserve last jiveek and mot somo bowling—by no ■moans 1 bad,bowling—in pretty iand mas-' tefly. :style. People who know good .cricket when they see it havo been talking about it, for Hhe unusual attracts attention, and, ' ordinarily,' a clergyman

r; is. : supposed to wrestle .with/other toes (■ than'the mere turns, and twists, and un:iv, expected jumps 0f,50z. of cork wrapped '(• in. red. pigskin. : It .will be remembered j/ that the ' eldest of the family- (H. L. !' Blamires) played for,. the ' Thomdon • - Cricket '.Club;.five years ago,, and how ; N represents -Waikato: "E.O. ■■■ represented; '■ Qtago and "North Canterbury, and while '; in Otago ho played for the leading club •; ■■■■—Carisbrook,'A. ;;In;.1908 he had a bat-,

'■ -ting /averago of 58, and in the following; I'-.'.'year one of 35. ' Thesi , averages, were •;/ achieved oil rather rough wickets. His ;■ highest individual score in that period i: -was .138 not out, against Albion. .Earlier ''■""doings'■"with'-/bat and ball occurred in ;. .Southland.li.On New' Year's Day, , 'M, f. Mr. Blaiuires and his eldest brother don-i':-.:ried the flannels/for Bluff, against Gore. ; Blamires fteres. bowled unchanged in "V both innings, and scored'lls runs, out of • ■..Gore's total; of 145/ so the. "white rig out" K <of ; the /cricketer, and- the. black broad- ; ..cloth of the minister evidently ".-■ both ■'; ■ equally suit' the family, for- outdoor 'wear. '('■■ But it is .something of. an open secret' //that the; affection of : Mr. BJamires .for. :'■-■ the black -.has rather .dimmed his ~enf',;"thusiasni for .tho white, and ho does'; not ;■ /now- look: at cricket with the eyes with '>'■:. which he •viewed .it : when : a: very ■' /-man'at Wesley: College, Melbourne. The l : ,fact is $iiat his heart is almost entirely • '.in -tho work '; of being .a minister,-and I'/when .in Dunedin hi)'; held ■' special "lierf ' rices .for.; cricketers. 'On one;, of those \;:, occasions/the 'Carisbrook C\-ah—a somt- ■':. -what exclusive.; body—showed / their ap- : r-.preciation -of. .their■ -brother /cricketer .by■ ■ '■;'.- furnishing; a quartet. party, for the mect- /'■ ingi . It is/stated that a' Sunday evening's | ■ /service' by ■ Mr. .Blamires,in which ho /'"opens out'/'on cricket ((is he sometimes //•does) is worth/' going; some 1 distance/: 'to //.hear.-';/ / ' ././;;...■' ;;.■"",";■/; '■.';■,;•- : ;..'•.

. : Wickets • irivthe,' Makitig. ■ \- ■•;' .■■'-.■'■_ X "X--: Saunders y has ■■ now': begun his 'chef, ''.fl'oe'uvro'.or the; ■ Basin—the representawicket" : It will take a lot pf work Vtey'finish,, and aieanwhile ; it in li.with/six';little/iron standards, 1 aid a bit .."of/cord'': to warn-the adventurous small vi'.ftoy.' that/there; is a/little,-part-of,.the over which he ;inay. not walk with '/hob-hailed ;bootsVat'present;' This■ little: ;l patch •'is being top-dreised. .and tolled. ::.Itvwill ; ultimately• assume the .■"billiard-; j, table" pattern,',arid .when ; it is-completed v.'ySaunders-intends to outward 'from' i-.it, levelling;the -multitudinous' hummocks ;.'; as -he goes.. it will '.of course take .time. :

/^Saturday: A Revival. ■.-•-■..; ■',■'.'■ :.-;■■ '■',"'■.•;• On v: Saturday. 'a., dull :■' and ..lowering , v sky/-imparted, - .to '/ the /Basin . Reserve .■•: a; somewhat.cheerless.aspect—but the.flan-; '; /BclledperSODslat .the wickets were appar//eritly Jittlii, depressed ,by .the; frown of the ;..;weather,; 'and vby their, joint /' endeavours ■'■'managed ii' pat up'ja' tolerably lively ex- .: hibitioh : di ! . cricket. 1 ;' There : were.', excep-/ ; tions to the, rule. ■/Central ;.8,--.playing //against East A/went altogether to pieces, • but ;in.the remaining games there'were "■traces of/a distinct' revival. ;■; Batsmen - at. ./least appeared; to better.advantage than .they;have done' in previous games this '.'Bea'son; Stainton, !playing for. Victoria ■'College,' put: up 'as pretty' : an exhibtion ../of.-batting .'.as one'-, could wish' to' -look' /.' upori,y and Monaghan'and' Saunders were •'■': little his .inferiors.';;.• The.performance, of. /'the ■'■ Australian; excited .both admiration; :■;; arid, surprise among some'of -the specta.:'v'!fers,";'biit probably./ neither'.'-feeling, was _■. justified. ■';'■ Saunders ; was riot at. the . top ./of his'form;, and: may,be. expected ;tb do /J better r'yet; with 'the -bat'against local ;bowlersv To judge by. his- opening, display, ?: tho/Rev.; E. 0. BMmires will -bo a de- /. : xided /accession of strength Ho' Central■, A. "/iHe played in/masts'rly style'on Saturday, Viand: punished-anything' set against ,h'im in the/way of bowling with apparent ease; - ■... When /.'stumps we're ( drawn .he seemed :-S;capable;,of continuirig indefiriitely.

;)•:Attitudes, r ;.:v '-■■■■/.:+ . •'■''■ -"> V: ' ,•";;,■ The. sdulptpr"of; robust tastes, in "search :,;■■ of subjects "might .'do"worse than seek ;[ .them..on. thb cricket;field when play';is /.'.'..-moving:, briskly;'.-"On such occasions atti- ' tudes are to the eye, in evijry .imaginable, variety. •" Thoy, range from iex/,'/.tremo .immobility _to .'strange contortions ;,.' momentarily, assumed in some! wild m 0.,: ~: ;ment; of exertion.. The. statuesque pose : ..of the, batsmen as; haying turned in sur- ■ ■■-. prise to.examine a demolished wicket,.he ■beDds. a lowering.gaze .oh' it for. a mo 7 familiar ! ; to all who have watched V.'a game' of/cricket. It is;the bowler or ,/■ ,the fieldsman, as arule(usually,the/latter) ; who presents fugitive images of suspended ;.. and more or less contorted .animation. .-.: iThisfinvoluntary..':- attitudinising .is,' >of . V course,, always observable more or,, less, /'but frequently, tho fortune of the .day :-• .gives .prominence, to some peculiar- phase. : lon, Saturday, the. /fieldsmen were; easily /-.the most.promising models..Time and <*' again,'they ■ were left in - remarkable atti- .'' /.tudes," :• The. spectacles of' a -fieldsman ex--..^.tended:horizontally and with staring eyes : : land-.'stretching/hands.'.strainirig after, a .ball/that has gone before is as good a sub-' - ject iii its way as the "Dying Gladiator." "'.',, A ; '- striking pose, was that of. another .: who /caught a -'ball,' as he lay on ; the .ground .with curved .back in the attitude /-.of .a- Swedish diver. Grace and. restful .. contentment, in an unconventional attihero personified. Of quite an- / other.order was the spectacle l presented by a fieldsman spread-eagled in the air with ' in a mad reach for a

ball that had: swept past overhead. There --'Tvas.-lfar more life in the pose than in thatr'famous statue'. "Ajax defying the lightning." .Why' should it not. he simi-. larly.perpetuated A Thing lo Avoid. ' _ The .enthusiastic dash of a fieldsman .intent/in pursuit of a, fleeing .ball '-is a .thing to avoid with circumspection. . This - was brought' forcibly'home to a small' boy on Saturday last. A fieldsman chasing to\ tho boundary found a boy in. possession of the desired sphere when he arrived at his objective. For a moment thero was chaos. When it dissolved the . ball was flying swiftly back to the' pitch, with its erstwhile pursuer following in'its wake. The ! small bpy; reclined on the ground with an expression on his face of petrified . astonishment, - clearly visible ,at a distance of a hundred and fifty yards. He resembled exactly, the astonished, sur-„ vivor of ■ an. earthquake disaster. , A fine example of the heedless batsman came to light on Saturday. " He. stood carelessly in his crease and continued so ~to stand .while'his companion at', the wickets was. racing towards him at full speed. It was only when the ball passed between his feet that the heedless one woke up and snrinted like a deer for ; the opposite wicket: He saved the situation by tho skin of his teeth. Hutt v. South. Wellington South's display with the bat against Hutt was very feeble. Tho wicket was very easy, and all in favour of the batsmen, but,' with tho exception of Barton and Walters, tho efforts of the rest of the team woro tame. Burton , played ; a fine defensive innings, and kept the" ball down. This player should go ■ near representative honours this season. Walters made twenty, but ho was 1 very -patchy, and should havo been taken in tho slips early in his innings. Grace shaped about the best of tre others. Of the Hutt bowlers, Brice bowled all day, and kept the batsmen quiet. His four for 31 could havo been improved on with the assistance of tho field.. E. Judd and A. Pringle were the most suc- • . oessful of the other bowlers tried. . Tho Hutt fielding was very slack, and sadly : wants improving. Thero is no occasion for tho fieldsmen to havo a nap while -the game is in progress,, and some of the worst offenders aro - the younger players—players who should always be on the alert. The wicket was very sodden, and tlie bowlers had great difficulty, -in ™ttin" a foothold. Hutt should win this match, as they only require 108 runs.