CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1025, 14 January 1911, Page 12

CRICKET.

' I -4 ,' [Bt The BußiKia.l SATURDAY BATTING AVERAGES. ■ - '- . fcn a ' Si 1 , ' - -- r-I P o fig |g -S S Bruce, Central ... 173. 71 6 3 57.G ' llidlane, East A',.. 319 128 7 1 53.1 Blacklock, North S-19 91 9 2 19.8 Naughton, .Cen!'A 21-1 105 7-2 :'42.8 Wills,- East B. .... IGS S3 5 1. 41.2 Tucker, East A... .207 61 7 1:, 34.5 Blnmircs, Cca. A 128' 63 5 1 32.0 C'Shea, East B„. ' M 23 5 5 3 2G.0 Crombie,. EaU B '20G 63 8 0 25.7 Brice, Hutt ...... 155 62 7 1 25.8 M'Gill, East A .:.' 77 30 -4 1 25.6 Mahonev, East A 127 5-1 8 3 25.4 Gourlay, Cen. B 73 it* '4 1 24.3 Monaghan, College 111 51 G O 24.0 ■ Buriis, Collego"..:'-161 7fl e 8 1 23.0 Grace, South 158 74* .8 1 22.5 Staples, Hutt ... 109 31 7 2 21.S Stephenson, Cen. B 149 - 4G S 1 . 21.2 Johnson, East B 83 38 5 -1 20.7 Hickey, East A... G2 31 4 -1. 20. G Bichardsou, North 100 70 -.5 0 20.0 ' Walters,.- South ..: 138 57* 8 1 19.7 ' Birch, Ontral B' .116 28 G O 10.3 Wynvard', 1 North 91 27 5 0 18.2 .: Gibbes, East/A .v. . 00 ■ 4G 5 0 18.0 De la Mare, Coll. 18 18 1 0 18.0 Wilkinson,'Cen. B IGO 43 9 0 17.7 Waters, North'... >.SS. .54° 7 2 17.6 laws, '. Central A 50 31 4 1 16.6 Wilson. South ...32 22 3 1 16.0 Williams, North .'l6 1G 1 0 16.0 ' Dickson,. South' . 110 42 8 -1 - 35.7 M'Kay, East 8... 92 39 6 0 15.3 Stainton, College' 107 '48 7 0 15.2 Burton, South ... 117 30 •8' 0 14.6 Caddick,' .College 56 18 6 2 14.0 Beechey, Central A 81. 42 G O 13.5 Saunders, College 81 32 6,0 13.5 Sheridan, 'North G7 21* G 1 .13.4 'Altesliy, Hutt. 93 : 41 7 0 ' 13.2 Porteous, Ceil. B GG 25 5 0 13.2 Hawthorne, Ceil. A 53' 23 3 5 1' .13.2 -Grimmett, East A 53- 19 5 1 13.2 Goldfinch, • Hast-B 104 . 47- 8 0 13.0 : Vhillips, North 7S , 3-5 8 2 13.0 ltoherts, Central A 52 28 5 1 13.0 Patterson. Cen. B 103 31 8 0 12.8 Wilson, Hutt ..... 88 M 7 0 12.5 Wilson, Central B 49 15" 7 3 12.2 . Hales, East B. ... 18 28 5. 1 12.0 Cliniio, Hutt ....... 23- 13 2 0.. 11.5 Finlavson,. North 80 39 7 s 0- 11.4 . Collett, East A... 57 16 G 1 11.4 Nonis, : South '... ."GO 23 6 0 11.0 Chapman, East B 22 20' 2 0 11.0 Sisson, Central B 86 31 8 0 10.7 Fanning, Collego 71 21 7 0 10.5 Hatchings,'East"A "31 20* G 3. 10.3 Dempsey, College... 71 24 8 1 10.1 "Not. out." In. addition to. the above, '; M'Mahon (Central B) has a not-out aggregato of 43.';: Blainires (Central A) has one "re- . tired" innings which has been counted as *out." ;, ■. BEST BOWLING. : £ a §j= £ 5 -S'& Gibbes, East A 28 .233 8.3 •Pringle,. Hutt ' 18 90 9.0 Guthrie, South- ...... 11 10G 9.6 Hales,. East B. 24 , 244 10.1 TJpham, North ....... 19 201 10.5 Finlavson, North ... 14 . 151 • 10.7 Bruce, Central ,A 14 IG3 12.0 Hickoy, East A' ...... 23 253 12.3 Mitchell. Central A 15 18S .12.4 Patrick, South 20 252, '112.8 ■Laws,:- Central 'A-... 16 210 13.1 .Jlonafflian, College... 21' 282 "13.4 Saunders,. College ... 17. 234 13.7 Mason;- Central A ... 14 199 14.2 Findlay, North ...... 1G 229 - 1-1.3 Hawthorne.' Cen. A. 11 158 1-1.3 E. : Judd, Hutt .....: 15 ■ 21G 14.4 G. F. Judd. Hutt ... 11 - . 161 .14.6 Grimmett, East 'A ... 13' 197 15.1 i Stepbeaison. Central B 10 211 ,21.1 Johnson, East B ... 10 ,'. 218 21.8 .Wilson, Central 8... 18 310 23.8 A Study in contrasts. < .- Growing interest in the summer game was 1 fuggested 'by tho size of tho crowd that'assembled, at-the Basin Reserve last' Saturday. The cricket of tho day was a study', in contrasts.. Failure of every shad'*, down to utter collapse was represmtcd in tho afternoon's activities, but on tho other hand relief was afforded by bright and clover work both in batting and in bowling, particularly itho former. Ta.'iLng it all rauud, the spectators' had no reason' to complain of tlio faro'served'upi The u'ps and downs of the day joined with perfect weather in affording them an afternoon. of pleasant entertiunment. It is regrettable' that anothos: of the breaks that havo been frequent of lato occurs to-day, and that tho fif\ih round games, with tho exception of the match between North and Htitt, at tho Hutt, cannot be completed -until Saturday next. '

.Their YL'cakar Brethren. > , Tho alleged contrast between East A and B 'was "an cxteaoitfanary exhibition, and the defeat of "ho junior eleven was pathetically. compete. Sara for the lone exception of Jolmson, its batting was simply a" mini's .quantity. Tho team, of course, played below its form, ajnd the quality of tiie bowling which it: had to face will not alono explain its litter failuro to wakes ■ headway. Even the 1 fact' that East B played a man short, and wero furfcaor weakened by tho transference of "Willfi and Brabin to the opposition intoi<?3t will not servo to make the matter clear. Probably tho team knew it was out for a beating, realised tho fact too soon, and was thereby disabled from fighting a good losing battle,' which, was tho. best it had reasonable ■ bopo of doing in any case. It speaks well for Johnson that he was able to put up a tolerably sturdy defence and knock up a score of runs in an atmosphere so impregnated with disaster. The result of tho afternoon's play justifies 110 definite inference save ■ that East'A'will conclude the round with an addition of threo championship , points to credit. Tftoy Nosd a Lot of playing. fipitc of its lop-sid«l character, tho game was by no means lacking in bright features. The fielding of East A had points of merit. Wills arid Midlano each took catelics in an effortless way that brought them well-earned plaudits. The East A bowlers wero little assisted by the wiekot. It kicked a little n't either end, but was othorwiso in the pink of condition. ITickey was turning fairly well. 110 baffled Crombio with a leg-break, find brought Pavitt to grief with a yorker, which in itself suggests that tho bowler introduced a judicious variation of style. Gibbcs swung freely into his work, and in the event was almost as deadly as his partner in bowling. The Batsmen Who Did. Tho partnership ■ of' Midlano and introduced tho most admired feature of the game. For a lengthy spell they held undisputed sway, and punished the toiling bowlers of their opponents remorselessly. Tucker, playing sometimes with a free bat swung away up, "around his neck," drove with precision and effect, and varied his work with clever cutting and glancing strokes. He gave not a single chance while compiling liis runs, but tho delivery from Hales that carried his wicket seemed to beat him all tho way. Midlano played with less effort than bis partner, though his strokes wero no less effective. ■ Taking his play on Saturday, it must' be considered strange that he has been timo and .again dismissed at slight cost, for on, this occasion he was. an embodiment of' steadi-

lioss combined with skill. Tempted as ho must havo been to "lot things go" at random (for his mastery of tho bawling was perfect While, it lasted), overy stroke was nevertheless graceful and precise. He had bad luck in stopping . short of the century, for easier catches than tho one he sent to Goldfinch were attempted and missed during the afternoon. A Ratiior Hofty Person. Hickey put up a batting exhibition that for spectacular interest would take a deal of beating. His bat seems to ..weigh .several tons, and ho smites .with torriiie'forco. For a player who bends his skill chiefly to another department of the game, this stylo of batting has a good deal to recommend it. It is not exactly defensive or remarkable for but it occasionally brings in a fair talo of runs, and is effective at times, even against highgrade, bowling, as was evidenced ill tho 'recent representative contest at Auckland. On Saturday Hickey was responsible for. ono of the liveliest episodes in .a' game not wanting in incident., The East • B bowlers, though powerless to duplieato the dashing acliievnient of the opposition, toiled manfully 'against odds... The brunt of the work was borne by Hales and 'Johnson, of whom tho latter bad the better average. To Johnson fell the honour of inducing Midlajie to. send up a catch, and Hales had a Hash of- success when he bowled Tucker With a ball that seemed to talk Hebrew and Latin and Greek to the .batsman.- . That Strang: Thing—"Form." . Luck seems to havo temporarily deserted Crombie, tho skipper of East B, who has several times been dismissed at slight cost, of late, and was bowled by Hickey for a cipher on Saturday. Yet his' quality, displayed in : tho earlier matches of' the season, was unmistakable. Crombie belongs to tho typo of batsmen who aro Ehaky in their opening play, but, once set, are both hard to dislodge and aggressive as well. His next effective performance with tho bat will bo welcomed by all and sundry, for in his successful moments ho plays with a dash and vim that unfailingly appeal to the spectator. Como to think of it, ."form" in cricket must bo ono of the strangest things on earth. It comc3 to men, and goes from men, and there is no telling tho reason why. Perhaps that is ono of the thiligs which gives cricket a charm which no other game possesses.- - •Fielding and An 0!t! Sport. East B's fielding deserves a word. In ah afternoon of tribulation, they had a lot of it to do, and nearly overy man acquitted himself well! Clean stopping and smart returns wore tho rule. Niveu, behind tho stumps, showed himself ever ready and alert. Extras, thanks to his eyo and skill, wero a negligible quantity. He. is a good old sport, who to have lost none of his dash, and it would bo by no means a- bad thing for tho game if he turned out oft-cner. Tho ■ old . wicket-keeper? were always interesting to watch, fpfthey had stylo as well as skill,, and -.the' quickness of hand of somo of theso old-timo "back-stops" was. marvellous. Tho present clay is a '"day'of severe utility—tho keepers have. ;lip.-''frill" | about their i work at • all, aii&BO theirjfdomes- escape notice a lot. College in Doap Water. . College will be lucky if they. avert a three-point defeat in their match with Wellington South. Their batting was weak, and they wor-o short of two men whom they could ill spare. In its opening phase' tho £ame was very slow, and Burns,, who top-scored for College, did little to liven it. up. ITis batting was stiff and constrained, and his chief merit, lay .in-eifectivo placing. Do la Mare and Ward, though they -mado fewer runs than Burns, played freer crickot, and, while they lasted, gavo nioro life to tho game. . The South bowlers, Patrick and Guthrie, seconded by Grace and Dickson,- smashed tho halting Collego defenco . with comparative ease. Grace and Company. With tho advent of South at the wickets carae over the game, and the bowling fraternity, after somo initial - success, found, themselves up against serious obstacles, and Grace, from-the outset, mastered the bowling in an easy-going, .way, and punished it at pleasure. Ho found an ablo coadjutor in a champion of orthodoxy; who maintained a sound defence, enlivened by an occasional smashing stroko when "opportunity served. Ho gavo a lot of trouble, and had mado 42 well-earned runs when ho was ultimately bowled by Griffiths. Grace was playing' with tho same, easy -nonchalance that marked his .opening display when stumps wcro drawn. . Now Hoard of Again. Beechey, of Central A, knocked up '42 on Saturday in a breezy stylo that recalled tlio days gone by. His scores previously this ■ season had been unimportant, ' and even now his averago stands at only 13.5. Yet there was a time, not so very long ago, when Beechey liad tho name of a reliable bat, and could bo reckoned upon usually to register a score decidedly abovo tho average. It is to bo hoped that .'his performance on Saturday may herald a return to his form of a little while ago. ■ Central A and Central B. , Among some very bad fielding iu the Central A-Central B match last Saturday, r* piece of work by Smith, of tlio A team, stood out prominently. This was a very smart return from point, which sent'Sisson back to the pavilion. 'Under ordinary circumstances, Sisson would havo had plenty of time to get back to his creasn after he observed tho ball going into tlio hands of a fieldsman, but Smith gave a lightning return, and 'Blamires at. tho wickets had' tho bails off in an instant. Tho number of: easy catches that wero dropped on either side would make monotonous reading if recorded.. In the slips there did not appear to bo a singlo man that had any ambition to take a catch unless tljo ball was hit right into his hands. ■ .

Although the Central B team only made 11G runs on Saturday, Stephenson, Sisson, and Porteous, each played a, good innings. Stephenson hit out at everything, hut after making 35 mis-hit a ball from Hawthorne, and was easily caught. Sisson was very unlucky to bo run out after making 21, as ho was shaping better than ho has previously done tTiis season, and had not given a chance. Ho played Mason witii more confidence than any of tho others, and was indeed the only batsman to hit that bowler for three, and he; did so three overs in succession. Porteous exhibited caution, and though ho took a long timo to compile his quarter of a century it was very useful to his side.

Of the A batsmen, Brucc was easily tlics most attractive to watch. He did not spare the bowling, and his partnership with Naugliton was just as good as tho first wicket stand of Bcechoy and Birch. Blamircs was unlucky to bo run out after receiving a "life" in the field, and vhere is very little doubt that had Birch been watching his partner the affair would never have occurred. Blamircs opened' well, too, and but for tho mishap the crowd would probably have Been • some vigorous hit-

ting. But Birch was too careful. Had ho been watching Sisson running between the wickets early in tho day his partner might still havo been not out. Of tho other batsmen, Naughton appeared to be "sot" when stumps were drawn, and if ho gets going as well again next Saturday ho should havo a big score.

Hawthorne was trundling in good and with proper assistance from the field ho would have been credited with a couplo more wickets. He was hit hard onco or twice,, but mostly the batsmen preferred not to take liberties with his deliveries. Mason only secured two wickets, but, as mentioned above, none of tho B team excepting Sisson appeared to be comfortablo in facing him, and his nine overs only realised 27 runs. Mid-Week Camas. Viewed, as a whole, Wednesday cricket showed a decided falling away this week, for which interrupted practice 11133; in part account. Defective organisation also liad something to answer for. The Tramway eleven was a mero ghost of its normal self, and when it took tho field consisted largely of substitutes. Wickets were in first-class order, and the weather was perfect. Post and Telegraph, playing against Oriental, we're greatly helped by their opponents' bad fielding. Fivo'or sis chances wcro mis:-:cd iii tho field, and a great many runs were scored by Post and Telegraph batsmen that could easily havo been prevented had the fieldsmen been alert and strung up to concert pitch. Capital Wodnesday Batting. ' AVaters and M'Gill opened for. Union against Vivian in freo and capable style. Neither gavo any chances to speak, of, and Waters managed to add another to tho growing list ,of centuries. Vivian opened badly. Dcmpsey, who commonly docs better, was dismissed for five, and two wickets fell for 24., Tho plight of Vivian is not yet altogether hopeless, ■but they will have to labour hard if .they want to avert a defeat. Incapable fielding was again an important factor in tho match between Rivals and Tramways. The latter, as stated abovo, took tho field with a team largely composed of substitutes. Tho work of the ■ Tramway bowlers was liot so bad as tho average figures would imply, but the deficiencies .of tho amateur field were marked, and the Rivals batsmen made hay while the sun shono. Davis, who top-scored for Rivals with '9, would assuredly havo had his reign at the wickets shortened had there been an efficient field in attendance. Matches Against Canterbury. On Monday and Tuesday, January 23 and 24, the Basin Reservo will bo tho theatre of a contest between tho local senior and junior Wednesday representa- I tives and tho representatives from Canterbury. . Tho local authorities havo arrangements well in hand. Among other things, they aro .bringing out a programme on which the names of both senior and junior representatives participating in the matches will bo printed.