CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1651, 18 January 1913, Page 12

CRICKET.

[By the.Breaker.]

; .iGo'vOrnment House and/Cricket. -. "; V. Cricket is in high favour,with the prot sent occupants of Government House. As mentioned last week tho Earl of Liver-■'■-;'c=--"pbol-vis a .keen, follower .of iho summer /.-tsport'andhis : aide-de-camps,; 'Captain :- : ■;■'■ cihawo arid Captain:Eastwood are equally •'■'; .Ussidnous in^its,pursuit. ■■■';■ ' '"•'„''. N Both learned tho, gamo at Eton.; Cap-. ";• tain Eastwood was'a member ofthe^ton -College second' eleven.-'/ He' is a good wic- ■"■': -ket-keeper,'but /for -on .-inopportune., nt'■tack': of' appendicitis,';:would have; played ' ■'■• •'■ in the Eton representative eleven. Later -/he, was a member of the Sandhurst eleven '-'which Is considered to ba as good as any . leading.school eleven.in England and ■''' probably'better;,: At one period .Captain ■•• / Eastwood playod for the Eton.Ramblers.; //Like his brother, aide, 1 Captain. Shawe- '/' •» played' for the Eton. second eleven, and,, '.'-he was the Sandhurst eleven. for two years.: He'is;a/member, of the.. .'. //' Free Foresters, the I.Zingari, tho M.C.C.,-. ■■"• ; the Eton Ramblers, and, the "Groeir Jack- /: /'■ets/'/a'clubrecruitedfrom tho' Sixtieth -ißillefl/who formed such a. splendid-unit . '-Vt.'in the' Riflo Brigade in tho historio days ■'■:- />/of /1899-1900 when 1 ft hard-won passage of ■// the Tugela was the: magnum opus.which ;/ : /layjbefore Buller's:army.'"/ •■/' Captain Sha we spent some years in In-. .: /'. ''••■flia '■" and .-.played a good: deal of. cricket ./ "while stationed 'at Simla. Ho -has recol-.' '"/lections of numerous games between the :•',: ['Green Jackets/' who canputforward a - very strong eleven, and the officers of tho, /- ; ;Ghurka Brigade. //-/.. ; ' '.'.;■ ; / :i 'It is worthy of note that companion-'. ' >'/' -6hip in cricket apparently, levels. all so- ./ i ciat distinctions.. ■; Officers' and men, in !' : i India andelsewhere, combine to'form re- -/ / /gimental. elevens. .Many soldiers of the A,? ''.Jiativo army are proficient',in;the ..sport';' : 'Cricket' onjoys all-round favour, in. Jn- : dia. Members of tho military; forces, po-. .'//"■ lice officers andJheir inen; arid civilians, ;,/.'..a11. engage in', the 'sport: more or, less, arid '/■■■'as a class have; cricketing reputations to:: ///'.defend or/improve.-::./.'/;■■ /./;-.■"' ■' '/ fTrptt and His Merrle. Men.-:: : ' /:. : / : '■ Messrsl .George. and. George are to en-, ; :. - .terrain, the South Melbourne cricketers at •:!' ',Godber's on/thei evening' of Wednesday, :/. January- 22./ We are all looking forward 1 to/the next match of the Melbournians '•■•'■ (';■) herej and perhaps. Mr.' Arthur George will ?■'„'. permit "The'-'Breaker",to add that not h v a fovr of lis are also, looking : fcrward: to :, /: / the reunion of enthusiasts wEioh his firm

have so kindly provided. There ought to be bon camaraderie that evening—and what, in l|fo, is better? I Profit on tho gate—South Melbourne t. Canterbury—was considerable. Tho gross gate receipts were JSIBB 3s. Gd, and the margin of profit £W Gs. lid. Of that sum the Melbourne cricket team's share was .£65 lis. 3d., and the Canter- ' bury Cricket Association deceived £32 15s. Bd. It seems that the "weird Otago weather" altogether spoiled tho gate, m tlje little centre strung out round tho lop of Otago Harbour and which Scotchi men aro very fond of referring to ao " o Athens of tho South " It may be all that, ' but on tho other hand/it is the leiyj place of which Mark Twain said, during his "New Zealand tour; "Climate, . rl Did you say climate', I guess you've no climate at all—oply a durned collection of samples 1" ' f~ l - » Off the Basin Again 1 ! ,once more the Cricket Association, ' punch is tho only sports body that spends , Tiioney in helping the Cfty Council to ' keep up tho Basin Eeser\e, has beeli hus,tled oil it—this time to make room for ' v the W.A.A C. sports In beginning this note, which is .not altogether a pleasant one, one hastens to add that there is no ill-will. One can onlv wish those snlcndid i enthusiasts of the jolly good mcoling. At tho somo time u-> l writo (friday it looks like tain What if it does really ram to-day? Will the cricketers bo hustled off again to woko IVay for another sports meeting? Undoubtedly they would ',' This is all \cry humorous. That tho poor«'crifcketer should bo banged about from pillar to post is capital amusement for the undiscernnig, but tho undisccrn- • ing (including quite a lot of the City Council) are nereby asfied to pause,'and take a good long think" the next paragraph. . Thoy soem to act on "voting strength" in these matters. Do they know that there are more than 2000 young men play,;ing cricket in Wellington, and orary members and others interested are counted id the total is greater than Bugby, Soccer, League football, and athletics added together ll This is an extremely low- calculation too If tho use ' of the reseives must be denied to one or ■ other occasionally, possibly it may not bo out of ploco to hint that, in such emergencies, ''the greatest good for the greatest number" ,6hould undoubtedly- be tho guiding principles AOn. the whole, one was glad to notice that Mr. Martin Luclcie gavo out a "bit "of. Jiis 'jriind" on>the mattei this week, t It was high time that the council and ptherr should understand that, if tho lion's tail is twisted too much—and tho lion in this case is the cricketers—he may, *>ventuall), get up and bite

;y ;f 6fwardl"ihß:.Wedn«daysl'' ;■ ■/{: ■■''■ ;■- ■■ 'i,t;Pl€flsant;''Weather..'and.' -some .'capital .;',-.ibrickefi* marlced/last "Wednesday's mid-: ;. ',• ~,Treek%matches,"'and one cannot help not'■■■,;i'ng';:now steadily.this pushful'organißaV'tipnjis/marchirig.-, .The numbers' of "play-. ',[■' /era" engaged'.'we'increasing,,; and. tho in- : '.:terest;in ,their .Kames. is always growing; •'..>."•.• : ::.,Qtie' of'the; stents last' Wednesday was ; /[.watching. Oriental. battling against the .' ■ ':016ck.'./.-AU'-who eaw 'it concede..that it ';■'-.• >«9> not piily/a; suc«ssful .battle, but' o -'~[: v ;:'f*«y.'i.fine; one/to ■'.boot. .Of courso, : thf !// was prominent 'in tho '•; : L :,'fray;'';>Ho'is' a" splendid (and under-rated) .etamp/of-'all-roundman—batsman,'bOwler, • : ':-;;.ond-f1eW.. , ,v.:-':;;;!j.:.'. ■ .1-. •.■.-■. ':. ',^,- ::"';, ' ; -One noticed, too, that Mr. C. : E. ; Smith ; >:, '(manager of the - Allianc* Insurance Co.) :;•: '/■■has "uirnexl out", again, and. is playing .■ ■■;for, Rivals;-"'lt is several years since Mr, ;;■ Smith handled .either bat or ball, .for like .(.;•■ .. jhos't pthor'.bhsinessmeii, the calls on. his ';■'•' /''Ware heavy/. But, without .'uny pra'cv j it]Cß'ai'a)l,-.ho'm'ailfl rinis and bagged wic-:v\-vkets,-His slow, and somewhat-weird, left- . hand deliveries' look easy to' hit; and ; so " they., arc-till yott come to hit (hem. The •:.•-• fact-really is-.that Mr/ Smith is a thor- ■•""■• 5.V 6 " -exppiiont. of that wonderful thing- : ':.; ■ length, '.'.aiitl when a - Iwwlcr: can pitch ■■■, :,them!practically: where ho likes/the posi/tipn/fpr..the .batsman is ■' not altogether /geasant,; .Airthis to say that. "Round- .,•.-■ /.flie-tqrner-Smith," as he was> once called, Jas.sent; many.a ferocious hitter back to ...-.-: the'shed in his time, and one hopes that his arm has not yet lost, its ancient cun- :■'■ X» in £.'' Apart ,from play altogether one ■would like: to see llr. Smith called to the .management of. either Saturday cricket or : AVednesday cricket.or both; 'He is tern:perate c and genial in manner, ;but very .. 'far-seeing.and quick to discern the ulti- ■.;■ gate effect of .any new lino in policy. to experience in cricket.control, both in ■"- Canterbury and Otago, and also in con- :: Jiection :with .publio movements outside of or.ickot altogether, has been an citen- .' ■. Bivo-hne. >;-. ',',: .. .. - . .■ ,' ../ Last' year's 'champions (Union) are ~again 'leading,:;' The. position of the .■ ■ teams'is' as i follows:-Cnion, 10 points; i Oriental, 8. points; Artillery, 0 points; .Y.M.0.A.,i1; points; /Rivals, 2 points;' ■/ Vivian, nil././ .'-, /',. ,',:'• The Union Cliib" has put tip some good ; '-•. performances so,far.' In each game they .. ; lmve. had.oiily : one innings/and, 'on two ",-. , occasions, havo made"; a .4-point win, but, ..'in their ihst match'against Artillery they ■ iVon-on tho first innings/' counting 2 ..'points. In-.the batting,:, some'of the members have good averages,, their names ' , : .'being:; Warne,,Bl.4B; M'Qill, 80.29; Har-'..Tis,-17.18; Driver, 45;' Heriius, 4!i; Haines, ''■.'■• : .'-.:/ia.M.V..''-;'': ! OrientniZ-who hold second place, started badly in-(fioir first match ag.'iiiist Ar- ■■':.. /;tlller,v. 'After" tlicir first innings they. '.'. y looked to have n '.'chance,, but J on Uipscc- .'■ ; ./oii(l day. tlioy'.went all to pieces; Their ' wjn.iif tlic second .-match (against 1 Viyinn) :/ . .'iv:'N'ilm'..lo:'thefirii' baiting of Alpe, fl2. r ".-'i''W;-v , ']) : -'.\n Ihe third imitcir (npainst : ' ' V M''v\ indicated above, a ~.'VV:>!i: ' «lM|-r:.ii'p.:';"At. tlu>" liiiish Of the ■:. inuinxs, and with just

bver> 50 minutes, to' go, and requiring 95 runs for a 4-point win, Gourlay and Patoh opened; . Gourlay, from the jump off, forced the pace, hitting everything that was in .'anyway loose, while,Paton, fin' the early stage, was'not taking nny chances. , Tho/first wicket fell for 81, Gourlay's.' score'.-• then standing at 48. The second and .third wicket fell'without further score, Alps- then 'joining'his : captain, and, 24 runs wanted. Alpe sec red 6 with two byes, Gourlay sooring 18, and bringing the total up to 105, thus giving Oriontalv a 4-point win. Gourlay carried his bat with, a score of 66 not out, and a few minutes to-spare. It was a ■splendid innings—one of the best seen on tmy Basin.' ; ;

Some scores in batting this season:— Gourlay, 71, .26, 66; Patton, 89, 20, 33; Alpe, 62, 54. :./-/./:. " '•■'_-. Artillery, who stand third on the list, won their firsts game against Oriental, scoring i points in their second match against Rivals. • They had the bad luck td lose a four-point win. Wanting three runs, and six wickets to fall, they were beaten by *: the clock.; In their third match—against' Union—they had ,a bad time. They Were all out in' Iheir first, innings for 110, only three of them reaching/double figures, viz., Wilson 36, Major Hume 26, and Paton 13. ' In their second innings'they, did bettor,' getting 137 for nine : wickets. Union.lost a chance of a, four-point win through their really bad fielding The following are 'the figures appearing after some of their nan es :— Wilson, 28, 43, 33, .32; Taylor, 43, 51 not out; Major Hume, 27, 26; M'lntyre, 27, 20iHull. 57 j Dr. Gilmer, 86. ; Y.M.C.A., with fourth place,} scored their four points (a lucky win) in their first'match against Rivals. : In their second match they were easily beaten by Union. In their : third match against Oriental they put up a good fight; Following are ■ soma of the ma de:— ■' Rev.E; 0. Blamires, 20 not out, 26, 58,' 89' not out; Tyrrell, 22,'37,-20, 27; Attnea've,"46, 22. ."'-■:. Rivals, in fifth place, are playing with hard luck. They just missed a win. in their first match, while in, their second match they just saved a four point. defeat by Artillery. In their match against Vivian the clock stopped a. four-point win. Some of the best scores:—Burke, 27,18, 49, 20, *8; George, 17, 22, 37,-23, 23; Kinvie, 34, 63; Davis, 42,- M'Kenzie, 23, -43"; Niven, 22; Smith, 21 -not out., ;_ Dealing with Vivian—the last on the list-so far; they havej.not got U win to their credit; but they' always come up to the mark. Some, of their members, have some very'- fair /scores to,. their credit, viz.: : Cording, 49; .Dempsey, 28.42; Mills, 20 "not outjßeale, 20, 18; Caterer,; 26, 26;. Schlaadt,'2S.3l. <J,. /' ','/■'-. -, > In: the games last ; Wednesday some of •tho clubs were very slack in the field, notably union/ while Rivals allowed a few chances, to go by. Oriental men also missed a couple of .•.'.-.,.',< ■'■';'■ A Soljd Central Supporter,,' /--,■-. "Very' few ' cricketers' know - Mr. W.-S. Hood,. but as "Billy" Hood he is about tho best-known 1 man interested, in cricket in .Wellington. .Last.Saturday he .was presented by a vice-president of the Cen-; tral Club with a framed,photograph of the first eleven of-last.year in'recognition of the serviccs : ho'had rendered to tho club.; / •';'■■''.:•>'•''•.-.'.'■ .-.-'/■•:'",'•'' .-. .-' :. .'"■' ..Seldom haa a:presentation, been mora richly deserved,-'for ; - there are : 'few 'clubs who . are fortunate enough, to have such, willing-, arid -unselfish-'worker's, as ' Mr. Hood.-' '~'■-■. ■",' /,': •'>';'.' .;■:■ -' ,: " •-.,,","'. '.; ; Long the'district scheme, .rairie .into/being I 'here/;.he..,was" r ono ! of strongest. advocates,:' and • then, Rafter it was adopted, he : was,ono''of 'the chief organisers .'of 'tho Central Club) Ho has never wavered in his'allegiance, and now he spends his- every Saturday afternoon taking the '.scores -of;the first eleven—always, a, most -interested' .spectator. '■ The actual playing-.of'tlio,,'game he gave .up nearly'. 20, years .-ago.'';.:.:.' iThbturo of the Outside 'Associations,.'; •.-,; ./.jMore.'.complaint_is : -.being, made...by the Cricket"Association" "about "the 'defection" of, so-many'young.players;from the teams, 'playing under tho district; scheme/ Fortunately:,tlie youths are) not giving up tho game,;but',they'arc joining teams, in ono or other,of:the outside, associations, •' ' ,;,This year there'arc' softie.SO less .clSyers:taking |the- field {every? Saturday .'under '.the...jurisdiction- of. the 'Cricket': Associa-: tion than there -weft last': year.'... : ' • -The ;rfiason?;—They./geti their ~ cricket, .cheaper,'.lower;subscriptions,'' no/ground fees, no levies. , And.now/thero'iiro some very fail*: players in the outside, plubs,, so that'the'lads: who-join them, get very fair;'cricket. '■'-, The-./'Cricket' 'Association ought, to do'sojriething.. :\/.'.' :.--//"'. >•;-./' Notes on the f''North'Mon;'!Y : .Officersiof the North Club' have boon in hopes of, having D, C. Collins in their ranks by now',' but it'ii stated-that this Iook«l-for catch, ricked ''has hick -dprins tho, voyage 'from London,, and has been ordered, to, givo the' gftmo . ai.spell. ,'■ ■It is stated'that/the "North :Club is havingsome difficulty-, in keeping its- two junior teams going. ,At tho outset the club had. just sufficient men to make up the two teams and: whilst the enthusiasm of the ; men held out things -went along smoothly. With the :soason fairly advanced, however,, the enthusiasm of some of the men has waned and they have dropped out, hence the difficulty-in putting in/tho two teams. , :/, ■;.;..-"■' A Good City Match Spoilt.' ' Keen interest' would have attached to the match between the North and South Clubs" had it boon continued this afternoon, but by tho time it" is to he completed- (some Saturdays hcrico) - this interest . will prnl",blv be'let.' •lad the match, gone .on this'afternoon there wero'possil/ili.u-s mat North "Would have suffered defeat on the first innings. Tho-team is still ;)3G runs behind, and were Crombie and Wilkinson to.go suddenly tho'remaining batsmen do not look as if they would givo much troubla to th« South bowlers.- The batsmen in question are Berendson, Casey, Luckie, nnd Southall—not a vory formidable'quartet. • It is a pity that the sports meeting today should have interfered with/ what looked like being one of the best matches of the season. .. ' ,;; . •'> '..."• ,' Central In a Good Position. • Central seem to bo in a very good position in their match with East A, which was commenced on tho Basin last Saturday. Central had the luck in winning the toss, and they made a good deal of their opportunity. In the carly-slage of their innings it- looked as though Central were going to. knock up an unusually big soore. As things turned out, they woro stopped at 242, which, however, should bo satisfactory to thorn. For just on half their total score the side has to thank two men—Beechoy ',(08) and C. Hickson (55). Beechcy has'.mado several good 6corcs this season; and ; Saturday's stand was ono of his most useful. He found tho Bast A howling much to his taste, and helped to make the gamo bright by assisting Hickson to smack tho trundling all over the field. Gibbcs's judgment in keeping himself on to bowl for to long criticised, and it cannot but bo noticed that when a change was mode the Central batsmen wero 6oon disposed of. Hickoy particularly proved effective. So far, East A have dono rather Badly, having lost three wicketsjor 50 runs. The Petone-Hutt Match. ',

Cate and Finlayson were the heroes of the.Petcne-Hutt game, nt Hutt last weekend. The latter, who has not;done anything big wjth the bat this season, compiled GO, with as good cricket as one could desire to see in any New Zealand senior grade. Even at 06, • tho hefty VRanji" got himself out by lathing at stuff off the wicket. In bowling, Finlayson acquitted himself .with credit, securing four for 31. ' Cate, who (through tho absence of Dalglcish) captained his eleven, was in something like his old form, and his halt-cen-tury included many boundaries. Like I'inlayson, Petone's nippy "keeper," got out foolishly, by stepping out to a wide from Dock, and .sending a catch to point. Apparently, nothing would have prevented Onto from getting' n century had he let that wide alone. Both batsman had the bowling well captured.' V | -Meehan, a promoted junior. Is a very [ steady hat, and a good man to scad in to

open.- He takes no risks, and plays himself in judiciously. His 22 consisted mostly of singles.Hardham, whose batting-fonn has greatly improved this season, also did well. Trogear, who got eleven not out, is a knrd hitter, and an excellent field. Brice had bad luck with both bat and ball;. When his'scora was 5 hcplayed the ball on, and starting his express bowling for tho first time this year, three catches were dropped. Tho Rev. Father M'Menamin donned the pads for his first game, but when hewas just feeling comfortable, got stumped by Staples.. ' Hardham, who was given an over-or two, seems to bo a.good change bowler, and should be tried oftener. ■~■■• • Tho I'etone fielding was perfect, and has vastly improved. . Rodgers, Hurt's slow-break bowler, could do no good, and, try as he weuld, could get no work on..' .The best bowler on this side was Bock, who was not put on ti!( near the end of Petone's innings. There is nothing ideadly in him, but a batsman, it seems,, can hardly help skying them. Isherwood, who did a lot of bowling, came off very well. ,■ ; '. 'Empsori, the Yorkshire man, ehapea well with-the bat, and appeared to be quite at home between' the sticks. He has rather a nice style, and'is a hard hitter. Aldersley and Hodgers were the only other batsmen to do any good. Hutt's fielding was wretched, and as a contrast to their opponents, Petone very often got 5, where Hutt only .got 3, for the same hit. When the teams meet again the remainder of Hutt (which includes Staples, Isherwood, and Judd) have yet to bat. -So it. will be seen that the game' is not won yet. .. ''■