CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1019, 7 January 1911, Page 12

CRICKET.

[Br ,The Breaker.]

The Affair at Chl-istchurch. There was no modifying feature about the defeat that tho Wellington representatives encountered', at' 'Christchurch. a . week ago. ;At the same time tho "critics" who are over ready to improve an occa«ion of this kind by giving expression to - opinions of the vanquished would bo wiso. to remain silent. -; Even an face of this / .crushing defeat the team has earned a oertain amount of credit in its tour. Its .performanco at Auckland.was somewhat in the naturo of an achievement, possible ; , only to a team with material, of good . quality in its ranks. As to the Christchurch affair," any, team is liablo to striko. a disaster now and: then: Because,of the measure- of success they obtained at Auckland, tho Wellington representatives should feel encouraged, and tho Canterbury defeat should serve simply as a spur, to further effort.?:

A Pitch;that Played. • The wicket at Lancaster 1 Park was oho of the Viirst uponwhich a representative match, has ever been played. A Wellington man who strolled' over to view the L . wicket on the day before tho game started told his comrades they would be lucky to make 50 runs on it. On Friday dust was blowing off tho pitch, it was a massof bare patches, and in fact its condition . was deplorably bad. Bowling on such a wicket was a carnival, to "tho men at the crease. It sneaks volumes for tho I Canterbury batsmen that they were ablo to knock up tolerable scores in the' reigning Btato of affairs. Ail early delivery .by. . Saunders landed the ball about a foot outside the leg stniup. Thence it broke across, and was fielded by the second slip! On a wicket liko that almost anything, is possible. The condition-of tho wicket, of course, accentuates the failure of tho Wei-' '.lington bowlers. After Saunders had been compelled to retire their work practically ceased to bo a factor of any importance in the game. r .The Canterbury Attack. .There is no disputing tho success of the Canterbury trnndlers. It is sufficiently . indicated by tho stern logic of figures. It (is equally- undeniable, however, that they : were helped, and tliat to an enormous ex- , tent, by the condition of the. wicket". Bcnnott is described ljy those who stood up to liis bowling as "an off-break bowler of considerable power." This, as most old crickeiJers-know, is a fairly new definition for Bennett. ' Sandman, turns in . well from .. either side, though ho shows a preference for the leg-break... Ono Wellington player, nevertheless, ventured the opinion that if these two. bowlers were tried on such - wickets' as now exist at the . Basin Reserve • they would by . no means equal the record they put up at Lancaster Park. It would be interesting to put. the matter to the. test. Defeated Hopes. t . There.has hardly ever been a more disappointing interprovincial' game than this same contest between Canterbury and Wellington. Tho Canterbury team came' fresh from : victory against ■ Otngo. •Wellington had defeated, Canterbury a year earlier, and with the team strengthened by the inclusion of Saunders, appeared to have prospects. There was - every. reasoii to expect a" spirited con- • test and tho debacle that ensued de- • feated 'many hopeful, anticipations.- ' It was only to bo. expected "that , the Canterbury batsmep.,should, put up 'a - , good ;Bpfqr,mahce, b,u{" the, deadly bowling, o£ the-southerners," pins a still.' deadlier' wicket, came as a killing surprise. Coufpled with- an all-round failure by. the .'Wellington players if was' an essential • factor in tho combination of circum- ■ stances chat Wellington found'irresistible. : '

Position of tho Grade Teams. . Tho Saturday senior teams enter today on the fifth round of their championship competitions. .In the matter of ' points the teains-stood as follow,'at the conclusion-of. the fourth, round: —. , Point's. Wellington East A .......... 11 Victoria College G ■Wellington Central A 5 Wellington East B ; 5 . Wellington. North 4 -' Hutt. 3 Wellington Central B 2 I Wellington South 2 . Bast'A has obtained three 3-point wins. Central A; East B, and Hutt have each : jecured: one; 3-point win." A ' Games ■to .be played ■ to-day, - and ground?,. are detailed in another column. .Tho Rising Generation. Saunders-. declares himself ; well satis-fied--with .the way in which' the ;• colt's entrusted to his coaching are .shaping at practice. Tlicy turn/out well, and sometimes their enthusiasm leads them .to continue playing as late as a quarter past seven in tnc .evening.. Tho Victorian remarks that his colts evidently experience more difficulty in. getting away early from their employment now ■ and . then than'do cricketers in Australia. In the Commonwealth many employers encourago thoso who'work for them to acquire proficiency - in the summer gamo and ai'o ufft averse to .granting them an hour off occasionally by way of helping on tho good work. It is perhaps too much to oxpcct anything of. the kind here in--Wellington,-where cricket meets with a .colder, regard than, is accorded it across the Tasmau Sea. Practice Games.' In Australia a practice obtains.of organising occasional practice matches between colts 'ho are being coaohed and' teams of senior players. It would be a good idea to try something of the - kind here. - Games of the kind have an obvious double value. They enable the youngsters to acquire polish, and also facilitate the selection of colts for promotion. In any case, the' conditions • under' which most players practise -in Wellington are so <ery unsatisfactory that anything in the shape of regular, practice, games should be encouraged in every possible way. "A Perfect Picturc." The match wickct that has been prepared by Saunders on the middle of the Basin Reserve is as pretty a bit of turf as .one could wish to sec. Tho grass is fine in texture, and so close-grown that even where it.is close-cropped not a vestigo of bare earth is to be seen. It is cafc 'to venture that when this wickot is finally prepared for the more • important matches of the season it will he at least as good as anything of its kind that can be. 6hown in any part of New Zealand.- Gardeners interested in lawn-formation should ; liave a look at this clean bit of turf. It's a perfect picture, as was remarked by one who looked at it-yesterday. The match wickets at the Basin are pretty wfell at the top of their condition. Each one-of them has a' surface that is hard, clean, and true. The turf is springy, but firm. , There should be somo very fast bowling in -the games to-day. At anyrate, the fast bowlort will have their opportunity. It is a pity that the outfield does not correspond with tho condition ' of the wickets. It is full of irregularities that will take a long time to remove.

Mid-Week Representatives. A correspondent who went north with the Wednesday, cricketers reports that they have had a "real good time" at Auckland, although, as regards play, they (tho seniors) had poor luck, in having to plav on n heavy wicket after -a heavy niglit's rain. Wellington opened well by dismissing Auckland in their first inning? for G3, and obtaining in their own opening venture 116 runs. Auckland surprisingly reversed tho position in tho Mcond innings b.v scoring 324, whereas Wellington, playing under the .conditions aforesaid, notched only 171. One of the Aucklandeis, Eaton, who was ultimately might by. Harris, off M'Kenssie's bowling, played a'fine innings for 114. The Auckland Wednesday juniors emerged victorious from a contest with their Wellington brethren, who bagged 112 runs in rear in the aggregate totals.