CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1593, 9 November 1912, Page 12

CRICKET.

%.:■:'.! r.:-:\- : ■-;.»;::'.:•,/-,■;- ;' r :.- : 'S ; '.;:''';.. - EBxiHE BREAKER.]^,!;.

• iNew Form of 'Cricket, ' ■ ;/V ; \ ; ', - v •' ■' }'-' A humorous •' contributor 'can evidently ...'fees a gleam of brightness under.the. hard- .' lest circumstances. His pleasant ; "say bo', ■ v 4s aa follows:—,''':';.-: .. : " : '- ; U : 'y:Y' : i '' , If the weather-, 'does' not., change.:front ''. Portly a new. order-.oicricket'Will have '•■.', to be instituted in Wellington; : The balls ■ vTised will have'to'-possess, the. quality of .floating when hit into a"'lake:in'the but-. '. , field; the: garb; of :the players "will neces- '.■' earily Have .to .bo changed • froni vwhite Jflannel to' oil-skins.' of "American out,. and ..' . (tho sou'-wester.iwill take 'the-place of .'the '.' Bobby little :,'6kuU-caps;aft'cc'.ted by; Some .■■ players.'' '-x : \ ■(.■■:,:' '•''.':'";'••'■■'■•■•■': ,{„'•■.■■ V (.With sodden- grounds : the .boundaries '■■■ ywill be closed iin considerably,- and the .;' : Btump-hbie's..wilJ;liave;.to be cemented,to ■ : .. prevent the wickets from taking-root. '•■ V : V Outfielders'.will': be allowed,;to use urn- . .brellas except wh'eriplaced in n'line with ■'-.'•'';" the bowler's eyeVarid,the umpires will be- ::■ :■ enclosed- ih.-ia: :tont-,:--Though :this; may; conceal, their View of ..the game,- it is cal- '. .'culated :th'at., ; their' '.judgments., .-will;;; be, ..':. every'bit as.valuable as ( 'at present.- -; t I: The "wicket-keepers-.may'wear sea-boots ■'■■■ with'' cork'-solei,; but- waders ;are .to. be , .'{warn. by:batsmen,only. -•'',',-..: . ~ '-;.'•- . '.Anyone throwing away-his'wicket must '.'■■:-. '-be made'-'to dive-in-and'swim for it, but -the bales must,; not be. used, to scoop' the water from Basin, v'-;/. -.- ■-'•■ ' : : -Should there,, by any-'chance, he any V, indication of fine weather, the game may . -.be postponed, subject to the consent ■ of ■;.:;■ : Mr. Glen,,,'.; : ; yyiYYYf/r',:'..^:-:. /-'Bisection of the Basin. 1 : "y - ;] V . ...... Cricketers, will no\doubt be disposed to' Rive "three cheers and a tiger" at the'.de- .' feat of Councillor Barber's.motion,to ruin '.:■:. "the Basin (from: a sports'point of .view), :■'■■:■■ by pushing the cars 'through that ,'tinie- '"•;,:. honoured ground.'. '-.'.,"..-■ '■.-■,':■'■ ; '. > ~ : ;■ The surprising thing about the discussion in the City Council was- that -Dr. ; Cameron should have-formed one of, the ,:.;; three councillors who supported: a pro- ,'..-' posal which practically meant wrecking .■; ; ;cricket and amateur athletics'in Welling-' -.';. ton. After reading Dr. Cameronfs remarks ... : on the medical :aspect;,bf:golf, -recently,, ono could,, hardly help, feeling surprised"that he was,, apparently, not more alert- '.'■:■ ;to the medical; aspect.-of- : the' strenuous .: pursuit which is followed by. "tho flannelled, fools, at the wickets."" ; ! '','.'-' ' • :.< Of course, the three councillors who adV ' vacated-.the bisection.of the-Basin were : ' ; . actuated by-the best, of motives. 'Their ; ' aim was economy .' to',the. city, but the'. ■ amount of the^economy'would be less,than '■'■ ':■ y6Bso:per annum,.:and,'.against.that micro-' '.ißcopioisaving/j.the.'first cost of ' altering '. the car:roiite'-wOuld:have to be'charged. : i However, a cricket column.is not: the ' place:." wherein :;' to '•■■;'■: discuss",;municipal: ..'-.' fianance, and the chief object which "The' ■'.'■ Breaker":'had - in', penning' this note, was to congratulate the N.ZXA.A. on' acting. 'bo- promptly on the recommendation of , the Welu'ngton Centre, and entering a ;'.;-, strong note of protest.' Thomatter is now. :, : ibeihg sent oh to tho powerful Sports Pro.'■'■ tection 'Association, - ; '■'. . ( v.-' '; i :Whi6h is.all very good business, for:the '.:.■■■ attacks on sport, and, on the .Basin, .will ,':'. probably recur.. .'.:.',. vj. (The Central Membership. .. ' ,'.'-,''-.. Three years "igo l Central'had two "sen-" .".:"'. ior teams, one junior, a. third-grade team, and men to spare. Next year they had to >out out one of their senior teams; This year, they have only a senior and a. junior ...-, "team, and are apparently, not too well-off . 'for men.-• The falling-off;,,qf; [members is • Attributed, to the- increase of. house teams, ;and suchlike.-'• >v ' :,■"•;''',' r::■• North Club News. f - ~"'■','.• Phillips, who has.not played this "sea-. ; "jßon- yet, .will ."probably Joe playing for ; ■ ;,' .North to-day. 'He did 'well fast-year, as •.'■•.. //ft bat, and as a smart fielder.. ..'•: •'■..' :'-■• Berendsen, .the -: > wicket-keeper, .has ■v «prained'hia wrist aMrwill-not be flaying to-day. ". ..'...:'.., ' ..'■' Bray,-the North batsman,'whose play :'■:■':. attracted a good deal of. attention on -Saturdayj.is'a crickete'r/i-He ■ played senior, cricket' under .the auspices •of the. Churches Association in'that city. /. .: _C6mment was made .'on.' the fact that ; I'Gfillie" Wilson began streakily on Saturjday. 'Well, he'frequently does,, •. but' the •"'.':chances which,he gives-never to go aear any ordinary-station in the field. 'Among.nis arsenal of sWoke3.he has some :•■'■ tusiness-looking drives,/.especially on, the -■ / ,off-side,.... -..' .-v.'-- !..:■:.. '.■.'.'-•." :•' A .little disappointment was .'expressed - .- on; Saturday that ,Southall Was :'■ not, seen ';•, :in.\action,for North:: The,:-exTTaranaki '"'. 'man was away to Christchurch for'atrip, •' . but arrived back during the course of the present -week, . " ! . yy. -■'"'■' ■-:.-'■:; liayihg on the Wood. ; • ■ . ..'-,:'.-North.batsmoh had-a field day at TH<e\- ...- (burne Park on Saturday last when 'they: , ' / '"pasted" the ibowling'.of Bast' B to the 1 tune of-245 runs for six wickets. The East 'batsmen, .who. went, to the .-.wickets, first, : failed .to-compile a century" and their ■'• .bowlers failed on their side of ;the busi- - ..-; iiess also.;- ".; .;: ■■.•■:. The North batting was bright for the first hour, but it became monotonous after; . thai'and tho minutes passedvery wearily oh the occasions when the ball was lost. (There ought to be a football rule.brought , into force for matches played at Kelburne ■Park so that every time the -baU'is-'lost ';. pver the.boundary-a new one will be in ■'. jeserve. . '"" - (South Loses Patrick—Temporarily, : . South will bo losing Patrick for four or Ifive weeks, a player, whoso absence they ": can ill afford! He is a good bat, a very usefill bowler, and a bright field; and, as . a South player says, when Patrick' is' in :". the game there,is always some life,in it. His absence from the team is' the result ' -of his having to go to Waipukurau for a '■:. few weeks. ": South's Good Showing. The South Club ought to be well satis- ':■■':' fied with the Tesult of their first match this season. They were defeated, buteven - with the worst of tho.luck theycameout xif the contest very: creditably indeed. The - match was commenced on October 21, and on.that afternoon East went to the wick- .; ets. 'They were disposed of for 166 runs, but South then went, to the crease in a • failing light, and lost four wickets for 5 ), Tuns. Saturday they completed the innings, which yielded 0n1y.52 runs. Bast declared their 6econ<l innings closed when they had knocked up 67,. which number . ' of runs cost them six wickets. : Jiapid Scoring. . .South then went to the crease, with 152 runs to get in an hour and a quarter. {They got'lll for-the loss of .three wickets. i' Had Gibbes "declared"; when the **'crowd"—it is well to quote the word ot iWellington cricket matches— urged him to do.so, East would probably have lost the game. He bung on for 20 minutes after he began to receive this advice, and that . helped to save the situation. : - 'The East A Attack' Unsuited by the Wicket. Only aright-hand medium off-break bowler would have been suited by the state of the turf, and East have not got one. As it was, the East bowling was so ineffective that it could hardly have kept the runs down if the. South batsmen had hod any chance'.-Laws and'Burton'were "pasting" the bowlers towards the end, but they were not taking air risks to get runs, as they realised that time was overtaking them, and that a win'for them was out of the question. , ■■-• East A's fielding on Saturday was extremely poor. . Half a dozen catches were missed in the hour and a quarter during which South were at the crease for their second innings. . Saturday's Surprise, : Hutt and Central match, which resulted in a win for the former by 10 runs on the first innings, was surprising con- ' jidering the position of tho two teams at the- conclusion of- last season. As ft 1 matter of fact,there is' little doubt that' .:"'"■ had Hutt played a more sporting game, they would have won on the two innings. When Central declared their second innings closed Hutt only had 102 runs to make for an outright win. Their first

I two men in the second innings (Staples and Paton) > got. runs for them all right, but at the same time, played withi overmuch carel . When time was called tney had 86 runs for four wickets-that is, they only required 16 runs to win outright. No doubt they had the conviction that, if they started hitting out m earnest, Central: might have got them all out for 'less than the 102 required. ' Wellington South Club Notes. A Wellington South man supplies eomo interesting notes. He'states-.— .'■'-..! Fate, instead of beinjr good to us, is trying to knock our all-too-few members out, Patrick sustained a kneo cut-through falling over the bank at the College ground. Laws has had a thumb split, and Fenton both fingers split. However, after tho good "go" against East, we are not at all "downhearted. .Veteran George Schmoll has'got some,good untried men to handle and he is ]ust the one to bring them out. are still on tho look-out for players. - ' '• Wo noticed with regret the some of our. representative. in the East-team, questioning .the decisions of a very capable umpire. If this thing continues a dearth of umpires will result.. A word in time may save a lot of future trouble, ■ '.'■ . ■'' ';' , [One often wonders *hy the plucky South Club should be. locked up so long in a struggle against membership, "hat are of the 'young men" at the south end thinking about? There are plenty of cricketers there, and they should come out.—"The Breaker."] . A-Little Humour. The Railway Cricket.Club (says the re-port-of-the Wellington branch in the New Zealand Eailway Officers Advocate ) ' promises to be a pronounced success; as j all' members are fusing-every spare moment • practising at the aots and some of our budding Trumpers have already given a decided impetus to the glazier's trade, of the city. Mr. Thompson, the energetic secretary, is: losing v :flesh rapidly owing to his exertions, and Mr, Duff is endeavouring to. patent a scheme for extracting "voluntary" subscriptions in-aid of the olub,:hence his worried look, though Mr. Box's magnificent practice scores of 1 poi. out and no wickets for 90 runs have no doubt contributed to it. The Match at Petone Oval. - , ; Petoiie's'. decisive victory over College last week was not so much due to the suburban eleven's batting, bojVlingi or fielding as it was to the injudicious handling of bowlers on the students' side. .': In'the first instance'Saunders'was. put on at the commencement of each day's play (against the wind) without a break thrdughdtit. The "result was plenty of runs and no wickets. Saunders bowled well—very well—but what, chance'had he? Dempsoy - should, give the Australian a chance.' ■■.'. - .'':. : ■'.'/ "■, . -Dickson was an expensive, bowler, and might have been . replaced by Caddick inuc'h earlier. The latter shattered. wickets in' good- style, arid bagged -two for no runs, at the end of Petone's first innings.- •■' ■'■'■'■■■'''■" ■ ■„ :, ■"."', ■ -.So far as batting'goes College have no stars, but Birch, Dickson, ( Howe, and Saunders are perhaps deserving of mention. ■' . ...' .':''-. ■ Birch played soundly for 31, and never gave a chance,: until he rashly hopped out to a slow,one, and was at once stumped .by Southgate. Dickson played fault■lessly,|for 28, and carried his bat. It was a great pity that he could not have gone on longer, as he'looked fixed for a ;week. Howei was a little flukey.' He was missed orice in the slips, but, in the course of his innings, he was called upon to stop some good length .balls v Saunders s innings was'bright and. crisp. He did}npt bother much with singles, but banged to ,the 'boundary frequently. ■ None: of the others reached double. figures, and their various 6tays at the wickets Were uninteresting.. 'All round the fielding of College was good, : especially in the outfield. There is, however, ample room: for improvement, some of the men still needing to learn, the art of bending the back. Petone were two men short—M Kenzie and Bennett. The latter, who was notout 'on .opening day, was determined to batlast Saturday before he went to drill,' but he only lasted: one over, and made no'runs.; M'Kenzie .(who_ was also at drill) lxas missed for bowling. , Barber, the .other not-out man. only put on half a dozen to his already fine score; arid then made an; absurd' stroke and,was\ caught. ''-.-.■■ '.' ..-.:■■ .; Hardham .and Tregear, who, last year were not noted for any : great scores, added fifty between them, by excellent cricket. They opened their shoulders, and hit with' telling effect;'.. ' ',' : Nunn was the king of tho bowlers, with his slow leg-breaks, The temptation to hit the elow stuff out of the ground was too great.for College, and in nearly every case the timbers fell.' -Nunn has a peculiar delivery, 'and to the onlooker seems not to be looking at the,-wicket, but the amount' of work which he gets on at times is wonderful. His average was five wickets for 21 runs. "Eanji" Finlayson was put on against and with the wind: all the innings with , the exception of' two overs,' and he kept runs down, bowling a good length consistently, and bagged four for 37. -.; . ■'■■ '..'.' Brice and Barber did no good with the ball. The former is still feeling the effects of his illness, arid although he had a spell against the wind, it .was easily seen that he was tiring. .'.■■'-. Fielding is Petone s worst point, and needs a lot of rectifying if.they wish to "do things" this season. Some of them missed the simplest of catches, and, had College been alert,-many more runs would have been added; ■.''-.- Reinforcements for Petone. In Petone's next game A. Cate and the Eev. Father M'Menamin, parish priest at Petone-a player of .some renown, and captain of the Hutt eleven some time ago —will play. They probably will replace Southgate and Kolley. Believer in the Old Brigade. Mr. James .Fogarty is one of. the landmarks of the Sydney Cricket Ground. He has been the clear-sighted sentry of the pavilion entrance practically since the days when Mr. James Perry was secretary of the ground, and that is a year or two— not far short of 30. He has seen Governor succeed Governor as patron of cricket, great batsmen and bowlers come and go, and young, members become hoary with years. ,-'■ ■ : ~„ , , ■ Talking of old times with a 'Saturday ■Referee and Arrow" representative the other day he said: "I think that the standard of present-day cricket does not compare favourably with that of some of the by-gone years. . "As regards bowling, at first sight it might appear that our modern bowlers are at least' the equals of old-timers. I don't think they are. Men like Ted Evans, Spofforth, Boyle, Palmer, Giffen, Turner, and Ferris were giants indeed. Of course, wickets are a bit better than they used to be. But, broadly speaking, the old-time bowlers were the best. Their length was better; they were very heady; they could smn the ball; they were enthusiastic, studious cricketers, arid botn bowlers. And thev could bowl 'the yorker.' _ ■ "As to our batsmen, hero again the old brigade were immensely superior to those of tho present, from my point of view. Of course, I may be prejudiced in favour of the big men of my youngor .days. They say we cling to the heroes of our youth. "Gone are the hard-hitting batsmen of old," he added, warming to'his.subject. "Where can wo find at the present time suoh hard-hitting batsmen as Charles | Bannermnn, Bonnor, M'Donnell, Massie, Lyons, Billy-Howell, and Co.? It was a treat to see those men bat. How they used to bang the ball about! and how the crowds used to roar themselves hoarse at the spectacle."