IMPRESSIONS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1678, 19 February 1913, Page 8

IMPRESSIONS.

THE DOMINION'S CRICKET, No. 3: FIELDING. ITS STRONG AND WEAK POINTS.

[By G. H. S. Trott.l

[Specially Written for The Dominion-."! What has impressed mo during our present tour is the iino fielding of your representatives. Even in tho f mall ct unify centres which wo have played in- it has been just- the same—we havo had to earn all our runs. Your players know how to field, and, with very few ciceptions, it has been quite up to Australian form. I "can safely eay, without fear of contradiction, that not more than three catches havo been missed by your representatives during our tour, and, by the list of run-outs in our batting lecords, it will be seen that your fieldsman havo been prompt to take advantage of our bad*running between the wickets. Dearth of Good Wicket-keepers. The most important man on a cricket side, in my opinion, is the wicket-keeper, and I give the following reasons to back up my contention:—lf you havo an ordinary keeper, you will find' that he misses more chances of catching a man than any other fieldsman. He will also give more runs, away in sundries than even a; bad fieldsman at inid-on will do. Then, again, he always has tho chance of stumping a man, and last, but not least, has the responsibility of helping_ g:eatly in many of tho -run-outs. That is why he is the most important'man in the f.eld. Your wicket-keepers—those whom I have seen—aro not first-class, and it is the came in Australia; they will not piactise. Who ever sees a wicket-keeper donning his pads and gloves of an' evening and having a "go" behind? No one, ind that is the reason,why wicket-keeping in Australia and New Zealand is deteriorating. Boys, won't you niake an effort and practise at this the most important place in the field? ' - ,

John M'C'arthy Blackham, the princp of wicket-keepers, told mo onco how ho became proficient •in this -position, and I intend to tell it to you. Every morning at daylight ho would get,up and v.ako his bosom chum. With pads and gloves on he would make for the local cricket ground, erect one stump, and let his friend "shy the ball at him" as hard as he liked. What was tho result? He went to England with the first Australian Eleven as, second wicket-keeper, and came back as champion wicket-keeper of the world. Arid I /"might add that his equal, so far, has never been coen. In Pilling, of England, Sher,'ffcll. of' South Africa, and Jarvis, of South Australia,' ho has' had men who have ap-. proaehed his standard, but never quit© equalled' dt. In New Zealand this particular art has, I fancy, been neglected. We have 6een, no young wicket-keeper of ability. Boxshall was a good man, but when a young fellow cannot usurp his position now that he is over 50 years of age, makes one think that there is not much "go" in tho boys of New Zealand in this line at least. Our Other "Out Cricket" Capital. In every other placo in the field New Zcalanders can ,hold their own, and in returning tho ball to the wicket-keeper, they are champions. In both our matches against Canterbury tho. team was up to championship form, and I have no hesitation in saying that it was their fielding that was the main causo of our failure in the second match. ■• In Wellington pick out men who would be worth*'aim est playing for their fielding alone. Naughton, Phillips, Beochy, Blamircs, Midlane, Blackloc'k, Grinimett, and Robinson are all men who tako an interest in and try to do'their best when on the field. ■ • . ■ Tho public always pay to see good cricket, and I: do not think a finer sight can be seen than a good * fielding side. One thing I am sure of: It goes more towards winning matches, than either good batting or good bowling.' If a good fielding sido ia of them— it makes the opposing batsmen irritable. They, are having their* best strokes repeatedly stopped arid'they are inclined to lift tho ball and thus enable the fieldsman to catch them out. It also makes a moderate bowling sido a good one, for they accept all chances given,- and last, but not least, it gives the public the value for their money. . • High Pralso for> Canterbury. In Canterbury, during the progress of both our matches, I do not think that I have ever seen better fielding throughout. In our first match during the second innings wo had only 145' runs to mako to ;win, but wo had to earn every, run. Every man- on ,the opposing 6ide strained every nerve and • sinew to avoid defeat, and tho situation reminded mo very forcibly of the trials which I had been previously through with Australian Elevens in the Old Land. Ono cannot help admiring the keenness shown by the Canterbury boys, and I feel certain that, if they always play the game with the same spirit, they must eventually como out on top in the shield contests. Perhaps it is wrong to individualise the best performance in the field.in our matches, for the whole side fielded well. Even "Joe" Bennett seemed to be imbued with the 5 spirit of his, confreres, and was, repeatedly cheered for some fine stops. Some Other Contros, At Dunedin the players there 'wow almost as keen in the field, some very fine work being shown. Hopkins, Tuckwell, M'Farlane, and Condliffo were particularly good. On the rough ground at Tapanui the same keenness was exhibited by the country players there, and their throwing-in from the outfield was especially good.. ■ ' At Ashburton, although ithe fielding was not quite so good, somo specially fino work was done by Bannehr, Cusdin, Chapman, Armstrong, and Fryer. With but ono exception, the outfields on tho different grounds have been splendidly adapted for fielding, and this must be put down as the cause of the form shown. Give the players the grounds to show their ability on, and they will do so. If the batting and bowling can be improved in the same remarkable manner as the fielding, then New Zealand should presently have a team worthy to take its place in tho "test" series.