THE WORLD OF SPORT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1663, 1 February 1913, Page 12

THE WORLD OF SPORT.

CRICKET. • ":i 1/ ~ttV— —'v - v _ v. [BY ran Baeakee.] J A Word'to'all HiUers. In tho-kindly, though critical', artioles on New Zealand cricket by G. H.-S. Trott, , which begin in Thß .Dominion to-day, it • will bo noticed that, in treating the question of hitters, tho Victorian has struck ihenail very squarcJy.on the head in rogard .to ono player, at least. This is D. Sandman,' of Canterbury, ■ , > . ;Mr. Trdtfs articles were, penned before > the . Plnnkct Shield ■ matoh began, and he states that ft Sandman- would only hit out in matches as ho does At tho nets, wo would sco a now Sandman altogether. ; : ■ . '/ . In the Shield match Sandman has now dono so—with results, , Indeed, he only got out when'ha fell back on scratching for the last few runs needed for his oen- • tury. It seems that ho would liavo done better if ho had kepi on hitting. Now! Could not some of our good Wel- ; lington.hfttora— wo-havo somo—start out in bolder ■ fashion • and do the same -as . Sandman? " : " '

.Will, Wellington, go After the Shield? ; ■ Cricketers, will .no doubt bo • interested ito hear ;that (now that Canterbury, havo lifted the) Shield) Jithera' is muoh'probabv: ility :<Mt Wellingion /will g'o out; 'after it. and matoh lwiU'lbo .played in Christohurch:,'.'against Canterbury. i Ar- , rangmonts are,.of course, vague andnebu- > 'l#Us.• at.»thia early stage,- but it. seems likely that a Wellington team will travel 60uth.. Ifs a good idea. ,

, A.Too Discreet Batimnn. , Bookless run-stealing-. is : often- to bo' , Been in (local cricket. . . The opposite error v. is not so'common,- but a shining example of it was provided by .Blonlcinfiopi when Ho . was. playing for South o,gainst North'on - , ■■ Saturday..! '.V:.;:;*..-.?-'- -.'■••• v Blenkirisbp batted . Jwtter than any other;, . , player. on his side,' but ho showed . anaffection "for, his .• own.-end 'of tho pitch' that was positively Schmoll ! ,on ; ono occasion; hit. what ..should have ! * been an easy- single, rand ygot half-way down tho pitch after tho run,.but had to ,go back tecaUse.Blenkmsop .had'., not started out. ... -.7' . . Tho same tendency,-to 'linger "was shown I by" Blonkinsop Hvheri'h'e.was partnered '' with Keys..--Caution is all very well, , . . I but a batsman should not -need adeputation or a. brass band to induce-him to i ■ ; stir out of his crease. - I JFlnljhlng tho "Tall." „ ' Luckfol'gavo 4.neat exposition' 1 of ■ tho 1 oseful,-though comparatively humble, art ■ of./'cutting.,off the tail" on Saturday. Playing for. North against: South, ■> ho came on while the latter eleven'had still I ■: ■■■■■ two' -wiokets in hand: -One of .them was | - , ' Blonkinsop, who'had made ft good stand I ■ _ \ against tno bowling of.-Soutball ' and J 0 Casoy. Luckio, bowled three overs. jTho first over was a-maiden;, -Two run9.wercr I hit off the second-over, and as many , oil I -tho. third, but thia last saw Blenkinsop 'i clean bowled.''. With the sooond ball of-1 >: Ws4tit k pver;Luckie took Sflhmoll's wic-* 1 - kotr and ended tho lnniags and tho match,.

Two 'Good t Catches. ' . Tho fielding of North in their match . : ogain3t South', on Saturday was, .in 'the main,; a very Creditable exhibition.- ... ;!]y',exj3p4jiWoJj, was displayed in"tho v'out- .... hold, and 'returna to tho wicket :were ' • 6mart and clean. Berendsen did well . ; behind the wickots, and stumped tffo of ■ tho best South batsmen, Patrick and-Bur-ton. . Ono or tiro catches wore dropped,- but ■ others were gathered • in in praiseworthy fashion.Wilkinson took a very, difficult . i catch from Fenton, in tho outfield,-.and 1 , , f . .Ifiddlestone,; fielding at'.mid-eri.vwas resj. ■ : 1 jporisiblo for a. still. more notable i'perform- . ance. Ho had to exert himself so to get ■. hold of a; catch'from' "Walters that ho rolled overall the turf. In spite ofhiS .-.■■ tumble, ho mado no.mistake about hold.mgon to tho ball. . . ■■;■' .• '. ,

' A Tricky Bowler. *- <, i Southall, . who iwas' mainly. responsible'for the downfall of South, is a left-hand i bowler witli a remarkably puzzling ) delivery. 'Ho has an excoptionally flexible r forearm and wrtet, and gots alot of work . on to tho ball,' but his deliveries aro at . times erratic;' ''A.- M' His prinoipal asset Is a leg-break, 'but' ■ hooan also turn a bit from tue off. On' :, Saturday he bowled a fow wides, but his ; work in -general: was • destructive, ■ and ' \ Blenkinsop was tho, only batsman; who Btood up against it with any great suc;j; isess; ■ ... :V,v.

:,MTh'ey Did Not Like It., ; -T ■ .'Victoria' College -v. Fast ' B match, at : the Basin on Saturday, ■ did ■ not cause i muoh excitement among cricket enthusiasts, as.the game..was, exceedingly, slow, ;the, .only redeeming feature " being the close finish,- -'Varsity relied mainly upon, 'Saundefsj for. the 'attack, V and • ho. wifi fairly .successful.jVHowe, behind tf« • , etumps .for College; saved hiaeide'a 16t, : •' hia,.work being,particularly smart. ■ College expected a victory; and''DempEey, the : secretary for Victoria College,, . apparently felt- the loss of tho • match keenly. It was ,a lucky win, and neither. . Dempsey nor the other Collegians seehied to liko it very much. Some of them ■ Boomed quite "riled", at the finish, Interesting Notes-, from : Central men are," improving in form . evory week, now, arid most' of tho ' tried men have' already got-moro than'one good score to their credit this season. And they aro keeping up, their net practice in a way, that compels respect.' -, ■: Fresh-from;their victory over East A,' ■.. they are now very anxious to have their , revenge" on North,, and every man in.the • team hopfcs^tha^Central will" meet North ■ again .'Jaoforethe^easoi'clpMs/iahd-'hopea, to! be'atithem. /, \ •, It has already been stated ' that Jack- , 6on, tho promising batsmanof last year, will bo back in the team for,next match, : which mil bo next Saturday, and besides ! lum , tho club has another recruit a ■" iVIOW.. " ■ . ' ■

The new mail in prospect is Coyno, a' Western Australian, with inter-State credentials.' -,Hb. is living in the Central district,' and he: will; probably play.i for' the club. v. : An index of the batting strength, of the eide can bo found in tho performance of two Central men, Kinvig and Blamiros, Jast Wednesday, Playing; for their respective clubs, Kinvig scored 115 run out, and Blamires 89 not out.''' ' Omlasion.of, Hazlltt. - : G.'R. "Hazlitt was among tho men avoilabltr for selection in tho New South Walos team; but-lie is among; : the slaughtered (says the "Ai.tow'.').. Hazlitt'a form with tho Lall was shown at Waverlcji last Saturday, when ho had theilocaV batsmen "at sea" on a good wickot. His record was 23 overs, 7 maidens, 39 runs, and 5 wickets. : Ho,bowled.pretty. well through an innings of 198, ono mail, E. Davis, scoring 112. This is the man who captured 101 wickets at an average cost of 18.06 'runs on his first visit to England, the only other man to secure 100 wickets being W. J, Wlritty, who took 109 at 10.08 apieco. . .Among tho feats of G. K. Hazlitt in tho Old laqd were soven for '25 against England in the Test match at Konnington Oval, fivo for 17 against "Yorkshire, and four for 11 against Oxford University. His omission from tho team with bowlers of class in good wickots so scarce, is in keeping with tho omission of A. Mailey ir<iin the ".'team ' which met South 'Australia; > It only-proves that collectively 'our' selectors' iii'39l2-13 are no irioro successful than their collective predecessors. Good for the Game Hera. „ Canterbury's decisive victory .over the South Melbourne touring team on Monday v; ! l! Ijp very welcome to supporters of the rime iii- Ciiristch'Ui'cli, and will enhance (•„, of Xow Zealand cricket very " r in Australia (says "The.NaIli'j'"Weekly Press")., This is.a I i tVs'. ; ;t»r cricket; .••Australians nave

A WEEKLY RECORD OF SPORTS AND OTHER PASTIMES,

never held a high opinion of our play, and this has rendered the task of getting in*' .torchangos .of . visits .between Australian and New Zealand teams very difficult/ The present watch,,will go far, therefore, to rehabilitate our players in' tho eyes of tho Australian cricket authorities. The South? Melbourne meneaythoy are agreeably surprised at tho high standard of our play,-and'that it is fur in advance of what they we're led to expect. Their visit, therefore, should result in somo permanpnt'good being.done tho game here. That Tangle by tho Scorcrj. ; Tho. chief topic of conversation among Petono cricketers this week—at least up till tho time that tho association gavo its decision—was: Who won tho match—Hntt or Potone?"With only ono run to 'coino and go | on, tho position was indeed a queer one. • Much'eloquent argument by both sides, (iftor the game, did not bring matters much forward. . Hutt's'caso was tha.t the totals must be taken from the bowling analysis, while Potpno Woro'omphatio that the cdrreot scoro, should lxi tallied from the batsmen's figures. Now the decision J>as been given,, and Hutt loses. Tho only man that should tako a large share of the blame for tho close score is G. . F." ; Judd. He vfent in about the seventh wicket, and played brilliantly right till the end of tho innings, when ho forced an impossible run, and was run out. Had he waited for an oyer—an easy thin? to do under the circumstances—ho oijuld have got a couple of . boundaries, and the matoh have been beyond doubt. Hull Really Deserved to Win. Hntt really deserved, to win for the magnificent fight they put up. "With oulr four wiclcots to fall, when play opened, and the scoro at 79, and then to finish at 210—well, they, indeed honestly: deserved to win. ■; ■ .. . •' .Staples,, who partnered Judd for a good space. of the time, is a" sotnfd bat.,' : He may not be. a very fast run-snatcher, but ho is an excellent man to have in any team, • '"' ..' Inoidents generally, in .the Hutt-Petone gnmo were not frequent. One,' however, was outstanding: That , was a catch by Brico. A hot one came from Isherwood to , tho off, and Brice,'nsing his length, ' readied up, ' stopped ;.tlia loather, and eventually caught it with the other hand.

A Young Playcr Cominb to Light Again. ; Cnototcrs:i-g«'norftlly>.jmu4- , tho Hutt.rwicket;- dad last Saturday, it was; in,-, bettor, (playing form than: ever: Anyone who could ■ bat ; at all simply bauJd-,not help making runs. - ; Finlayson,. Petone's bowler—onoe known as "Eangi" in his bravo old Karori days—, is,.:ge(tting his name 'tip for big hitting. Last Saturday his score, 68, included threo sixes, two fives, and quite half-a-dozen "fourors." . :

i Tregeai and Hardham also had a day out with tho bat. The Slump li\ East Stock.

. .Most of the cricket which eventuated on the Basin last Saturday was dull; Several of the North batinnen provided the brightest sport of: the afternoon, and East B and College wound up a slow uiatch - with' a ne'ck-and-niiok 'finish;. ,

Of the thief fixture of the day—East A Tr. Central4-ths .principal - thing calling for remark is the heavy fall of East A. Central may have been looked upon before the matoh as,likely winners, but few .thought that East'A would suffer a tenwickets defeat.

. Th 6, Easterners' downfall'waa due in a (treat. measure• to; tho failure of their bowlers • when Control went to the wickets on the first day of the matoh. Central knocked up , 242 in fEe first ;iri'.nings, and then sent-, East A,;to the credse iri ; a bad'light, with'j tho-result that three good East batsmen -were disposed of for 57 runs. With 105 runs up tho whole teom was accounted, for, and was forced to follow on. , . •.

, Poor batting- form ; .was , qhown; in the ■second venture,'and when this innings was closed the teams .wero even—242 runs eaoh. -. Of:course, Central easily got the ono run needed for them to win. ; They 'got the necessary single iii tho first over,' and thus scored a ten-wickets victory. ■ i