CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1043, 4 February 1911, Page 12

CRICKET.

—Q '■ IBi The Breaker.] South African Fixtures. February 3, i, G, 7—v. Victoria, on M.C.C. ground. February 10, 11, 13, H—Fourth Test, M.C.C. ground. February 17, IS, 21—v. New South "Wales, at Sydney. . February 2d, 20, 27, 28—Fifth Test, Sydney. . Alarc.h -1, 6, '7—v. South Australia, at Adelaide. . The Magic of Two Bowlers, any wiss Plan's son .solve this? Fig-, u and ;averages, some .say, are only middling indicators ol' the man. Maybe- But, like -tht» bailiff who duns the they grow very realistic and con-, vincing with thsir repetition. IL.twG bowlers.continue upsetting 'batsmen week after. week, and their figures »«how that, the city elevens can .average no more than 80 aii innings against them, would it not be fair to conclude that these two bowlers are just what their records, indicate —a pair of real first-nighters? And, if : they are .real first-fiifhtcrs, how much I blame, should we measure out to the pcor batsmen whose wickets iiy before them? That, of-course-is the rub. "It am. a great question/' as- tlio darkie haid who .was'discovered robbing a hen roost, "an* dis am not de place to argue it." But drawing a bow at' p, venture, 'the writer is inclined to'set-'theso two down as really remarkable bowler?; and ho does it chiefly on the strength of their figures. "Who are they? Why, Hiekey'and Gibbes. ■ \

Ouigeneralled Batsmen. Still, whatever may have been tho quality of the attack and whatever .may be. said of the'general standard of play at .the Basin Reserve on Saturday, it is to bo admitted that batsmen, at any rate, made remarkably poor use of their opportunities. Weather and wickets were as nearly as possible perfect. Everything favoured them, but, in spite, of all, they .wers beaten.at every:turn. A few bright exoepiions only served to throw tho 'genoral''failure iiito prominence. Of 53 batsmen who completed an innings in the 63nior games only IS climbed into double figures and only ten g<it 20 runs or more. Considering the conditions uiider which these scores were made and the advanced which the season has reached, it'must bo cont'esr-ed that (notwithstanding the quality oi' tho attack) ■ a . rather poor standard, of batting is disclosed. The average batsman on Saturday .was a painstaking person who plodded and scratched, and generally gave tho scorc-r a calm restful, time, and thengot out. Might not a little more "wood" have changed things? Fielding iti mbst cases was weak; : the members of the South team, in particular, appearing to strike the bottom of their form in this department. Our crictsters may be expected to finish oif tho wxth round in livelier style than they opened it. If they do not they , will be mating remarkably, .poor use of excellent opportunities. What Hour of Starting? hard IS Dn b t°W fcSn' :Hlat sol »«tae sat dow'ii' nard pn _the feckless practice of. starting in?^,I C ? aln f? 10n Bn,n ® at mtenals after the appointed hour. 4. II ii°l ? nssoemtion provides that fines shall bo inflicted for'this offence, but it lias hitherto been a dead letter. Tho question now -arises whether til© 1 " rule i mi \ VI P "f the book'or enforceu. 1 here is no reputable middle course. East Jj's Welcome Recovery. tast ;B is a tram that has a pleasant habit rof doing unexpected things, and its power of recovery is good to watch 'sometimes. In the fifth romul it appeared to dissolve anyhow. Perhaps, as stated, the sting of tho attack on that occasion had something to do with it. Let it pass at that. Opening tho sixth'round Saturday, however, East B extended Wellington North in a way that must have filled the § adherents of that staid .* organisation with astonishment and disgust. Before they succeeded in effecting the desiurd removal North had tried everything they could produce in tho vay of bowling and it was all , needed.. •In the event tho 'burden of the work fell onPindlay, who maintained his pace in a rather creditable way. . None of the other North bowlers had what could be described as a good time, and often they seein'ed utterly at a loss. Lambert, Waters, and Phillips made no impression at all. Finla.vson had an off day, taking only one wicket in 24 overs, at a cost of 83 runs. Jlis delivery seemed hopelessly lacking in fire, although onco or twice, as Crombie was nearing the century, Finlayson shook bis defence a little. : Resurrection of Crombie. Crombie, who was responsible for a groat part of tho trouble that descended on North, recovered, his bast form in'avay that pleased everyone, with the exception, perhaps, of tho bowlers whose deliveries he dispatched to tho four corners "of the field. There a!ro players in. Wellington who bat in prettier stylo and with more versatility in tho matter- of strokes' than Crombie, but once set me cleanness and vigour of his hitting is admirable. On Saturday his jDcrformance was cast in simple and straightforward lines. It involved a lot of big hitting,' but. was seldom Lacking in a due element of care. He mostly watched tho ball all the way. The couple of chances that he gave were of the hottest kind, and would have taken a lot of holding. Johnson was playing a good second to Crombie when he .had tho misfortune to be run out and Wilson, Goldfinch, and. Halois each made scores that were good, judged by tho standards of the day. Sheridan, who stood behind the wickets for North, evidently did not feel at home, and the fact that extras during his •wardcusbip totalled 38 sufficiently indicates . the fact. There were other weaknesses to bo noted in the North fielding, but a word of praise is due to Phillips. . Stationed at. mid-off, he stopped in capital style everything that came hi.4 way, "and his returns were clean and swift.

! A certain feeling of discouragement ' perliap? accounts for the fact that North, in the.brief time remaining at their disposal when they had dismissed East B, ■\ lost two. wickets for tlio meagre total- oi' six. runs. . To) a balling team like; : Kortli, the position in which they find ■' 1 themselves is not desperate, but tluy' wilt have tn put ur> a sturdy ..effort to avert defeat. Hales opened tlio attack for East B with fine dash, lowering Lambert's wicket ill the first of three maiden overs, flint he bawled. South, and a New Bowler. The match between Centra) B and South was, in tlio main, a rather tame affair. Batting first, Central compiled runs slowly, greatly encouraged thereto, no doubt, by the poor fielding of their opponents. Whether tlio tali came from above or along the carpet, the South fieldsmen seemed to find it equally difficult to arrest. Sisson played a lucky innings tor. 33, and Patterson did Tatlicr"belter in a career cliicfly remarkable for vigorous batting.' The remaining scores were trilling. . . South went to tho wickets with excellent prospects, and are still likely to emerge victorious, but the walk-over that apparently awaited them was checked — from an unexpected quarter. Robertson a bowler lately promoted from third grade, trundled with remarkable effect, and dismissed such doughty champions as Grace, Burton, and Dickson, in quick succession, with tew runs to their credits Robertson did his work in an effortless way, but there was no mistaking the pointed quality of his attack, for the batsmen named, none of them weaklings, seemed to find hint utterly unplayable. Possibly an extended accmaintance with ■ the new bowler may reduce their diffi-

culty, but in any case ho should bo a welcome accession to the ranks of senior cricket. The Fourth, Test. , '"Tho'.T6vrth ! ' J /e.s't' \llnch opens in Melbourno on .'February 10, is invested with great interest for tho reason that neither sMe has, yet. gained tiio rubber, while in the event of the South Africans winning the question of supremacy will not be decided until the fifth .and final game in Sydney. Australia hat. an advantage iii having won two three played. Nevertheless the feeling is growing that some changes should bo made in the side that has played in alt three games, l'cr Australia. \i is suggested that Macartney. and Gehrs should be omitted, although/Georgo .Giffen, in .referring to .Macartney's failure/ .suggests that, no alterations should be made .in tho team. On N the other hand,, there are other strong candidates for' inclusion at tho tap of their form. The probabilities are tint the selectors may bj guided'by tho cricket sevh in the match between New South Wales nnd Victoria. The South Africans-are probably now in as gcod form as they will reach during the tour. Verier should get into tho •fourth test in tkoplaea of Hathorn, who Should never have supplanted him. Even if there Was'a necessity for leaving Vogler out, Pears© should have taken his place. Hathorn never had a chance of showing what he could do during tho tour because of. illness. He should never have been asked to make tho trip, for he was sick lieforc he started. Tho sequel is that with the < tour only half over Hathorn has been invalided home. Much fuss is being made in Melbourne over . what is known as "tho Hathorn incident" iii the'thlrd test in Adelaide, j Sherwell asked for a .substitute iii the i field for Hathorn. who was on the point ! or collapse during Australia's second innings. Hill refused on the grouud that Hathorn was ill when he went into the match, and had batted in both innings. In the second- test Ilill allowed Cornmaille to field for Zulch, but in that instance Zulch was taken ill after the match'had started, and was so indisposed that lie wds brought out of bed to bat in the second innings. Hill's action has aroused and condemnation in about equal parts in Melbourne, and the gentlemen who write .letters to .the editor aM very busy indeed. The.fact that Barith Africa was able to beat Australia in a long tussle extending over si's playing days without gaining any advantage from the weather has made them out better cricketers than they were previously rated. In a match, which was a record so far as tho aggregate was concerned, won fairly and squarely. This places them en an equality with their opponents. Before the match they Mere spoken of as not being quite in Australia's class. There will bo no more of that sort of talk in the future—"Daily Telegraph." Some very old Friends, Midlane and Tucker have been together at the wickets on many occasions this season, and they have generally caused the bowlers considerable , trouble before being separated. On Saturday last both men again showed good form against Victoria College, and for the second wicket they added 5U runs. . Other good partnerships by the same pair this season aro 56 for the first wicket, against "Wellington South; 59 ior tho first wicket, against llutt; and 131 for the sfceond wicket, against East B. Against Victoria College, Midlane batted .'vigorously,-and obtained his rtnte by strokes* all round'the wicket. Tucker played very steadily, • and his score of 20 included sixteen singles, a dozen of them in succession.

iJ. iUahoney, IJasl A skipper, eeelils to 'bo; dogged by ilW'ortunc-just: at ■ tho present time, and ,does not manage to rergiiiP, 2£' the vri<£&(s'long 1 .' 1 ' Dai'Saturday lio' did uoc make any addition to the suore, being run out 111. ah unlucky manlier. A'full toss came dow-n-'iiom Siilmoiid, -and- Jiahonty ■ ixt''■•'the 'last second reached up .for it,' and 'put-'it'safely away over tho heads - oi'- tho slips, "There certainly looked to'be. a run in-: it, and Mahonev ran iip the. pitch, but his partner, Tucker, "neither spake nor moved/' The East skipper made.an eli'ort to get back to the crease, but soijieono had thrown the ball in smartly, au/l the batsman, instead of making the incase his objective, headed for the pavilion, Previously,' Deinpsey, of the Vfctoria College team, had been run oifPHn something of a similar manner: "(tie hit tho ball past square-leg, and called to Fanning, but ■ the latter was to all appearances a fixture at the other, end, and Dempsey had to go back, lie would luivo got there, too, but for falling as he turned. It is always annoying to retire for a "duck" under such circumstances, but the-ill-fortune, lias'to be taken with Twice Stumped. A coincidence in connection with Jlonaghan's batting was that in each innings he was stumped by Barbin, off Gibljes. Nor were these the only occasions on which the sauie batsman stepped out to Gibbes, and was lieatcn, but not: stumped. Tho' Collegian vyts suffering from a temporary loss of form, and, though ho .played .Hickey with confidence in tho second innings, his batting was far from his. best, and his, bowling did not appear to .cause the , East. batsmen the slightest concern. Ward and Monaghan are not good-partners at the wickets. In tho first innings it was painful, to see tho absolute' lack of understanding ' between them. -Three times in as many minutes, ono or the other was within an aco of being run out, and then .C. Ilickcy mercifully stepped in to save such a catastrophe. by clean bowling Ward. 11l the second innings tho samo two batsmen were again associated, and before Hickey could get time to separate them Ward was run out for a "duck." Bowlers with Records. Now that Willis has been promoted to the East A team, his scores are not so large, lie opened well on Saturday, but had only compiled 15 when Saunders knocked over his stumps. It has to bo said in his favour' that while at tho wickets he made things merry. In like maimer llickej- is to be commended for his lively hitting while making 20. 0? the . bowling of Hickey and Gibbcs, nothing need bo said. In fact, if "Tho Breaker" remembers right, it lias already been said, "Look at the records."

Stain ton was to have played as usual for Victoria College last Saturday, but he was away at Wnodville, and did not got bade to the city on Friday night as expected. Salmond, who took Staintou's place, proved very useful with tile ball, and secured throe of the Bait A wickets. J[ is first half-dozen overs wore excellent, and yielded very tow rims. It was not until Jlickcv came in and liit him for 5 that Salmond's deliveries were treated with disrespect. A few minutes later, however, Sulniond sriuared tlio account by clean bottling Mickey. Saunders, according to some spectators and some batsmen, was sending down a lot of poor stuff last Saturday, and yet only one of his overs (the lirst) yielded as many as five runs. Of 18 overs, 4 were maidens (3 in succession), and 2 other overs only yielded a run apiece. Ho was in something like form last week, and obtained all his wickets excent. one without assistance from the field. "There may have been a little brain work in that pcur stuff he was fending down. At all events, 110 member of the East team took the liberty of hihing him out of the ground or on to the pavilion. Perhaps they will do so to-day, if they liavo to go to the wickets a second lime to win the match..

An interesting sidelight on cheap Oriental labour is afforded by returns of rho average advances ill wages during the ten years, 1900-il, in forty-seven principal occupations of Japanese workers. Although they are still far below European standard's, they have advanced at least 20 per cent, in all eases, and in some trades over 50 per cent. There is n specially noticeable increase in the wages of domestic.servants.

An interpellation, signed by all the Opposition parties in the Russian Duma, has been addressed to the Ministers of the Interior'and Justice, charging the Government, with revenging, itself on political . adversaries by flogging them in the prisons.