CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1722, 12 April 1913, Page 18

CRICKET.

" v :. —-4— ,[By THE iJiIEAKER.] ■0 . . ~ 1 s,' : ■ -, . 3. The Big Match Now On. [s All things ■ considered, the . crickot on [0 the day of .the big match North v. East a A was good. - The batsmen had no partioulat- advantago from tho wicket, but n several of them opened out in great style, ,n and-the bowling - averages suffered acw -cordingly. Granted a full summer afterto noon to make, tho'attempt/ in', East A ;u might mnko a forlorn-hopo dash for a y,. tlirco-poiiit : mn,.land bo stand level with ig North :at-.tho: head of the championship ladder. 111 point of fact, Hast will prob--10 ablv find the clement-' of time as potent »s a factor against them as tho opposition k, team. m Littlo moro than two hours and a half le 1 were available for-play oil Saturday, anil id \yith the days in as ,'t'hey now ct 'are, this period will no doubt bo appre--10" ciably cut down .when tho game is .con- ■" tiiiued-.'- • to The'w-isdomiof tho Wellington Ci'icket it. Association in'imposing a charge for adso mission on Saturday is very much open' ly to question. Tho "gate" realised was so ss poor , as'to bo hardly worth collecting, a ly result tlmt might easily have been fere-

seen, in view of tho lateness of tho season and tho existenco of competing attractions. . Considering that tho number of days upon which a chargo can be levied for admission is strictly limited, it might havo been wiser to wait until opening day or ,somo other suitablo occasion in tho early part of next season. To expect tho summer garno to produco a galo at tho fag-end of tho season, when .interest'in tho) competitions has died away, is to figuro on impossibilities. Batsmen of the Day. - Baker was tho batsman, of the day. Ho has often dono more rapid scoring, but probably has never played a steadier innings in his life. I'or an hour or more ho mis content to feel tho bowling, and hit an occasional single, and oven later on when 110 becamo more aggrcssivo and did somo hitting his play was temx>ered at all times with caution. Now and then ill his forward play. Baker over-eached himself a little, ami lost power in his strokes as a consequence, but his defence nover faltored, and it was very rarely that 11 ball tecmod to give him any particular trouble. WhiJo he took no chances that could bo avoided, Baker was alert to boizo every advantage, and his running between tho wickets, particularly in tho- later" stages of tho game, was admirably brisk and well-timed. . Baker will eventually blossom out as a top-notch cricketer, one is inclined to think., A fino point abojit him is that lie plays his own game, iiiid barkens not to the niultitudo of self-constitutcd coaches, who aro always' bombarding hiiu with "advice." What there is to bo found out about battine'ho i.s apparently going to find out for himself. The right temperament for cricket. Wagstaffo's Showing. Wagstaffo also gave .a good ihccount of himself with the bat. Ordinarily his play is somewhat careless, and ho often fails to do himself justice, but on Saturday he gave few openings, and his batting at times wqs brilliant. He has a fino command of strokes, and at the height of his innings simply "whaled" the bowling, \ O'Shea and'his Style,. There was a time when John O'Shea was a .very dashing cricketer and his batting still has a spico of devil in it. .He can, generally be relied on to hit out emphatically, \ and knock up a reasonable score, about wasting any time over it. On Saturday he was in characteristic vein, and pulled oE a score of ruhS abput a3 rapidly 'as any batsman engaged. He made at least one beautiful stroke] .a glance to leg for four, perfectly timed and delivered. His dismissal, due to his lifting a rather easy catch to midon, brought' to light ono of his faults as a batsman. He got mixed np with his feet.