THE DOYEN.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1878, 11 October 1913, Page 12

THE DOYEN.

0P N.Z. WIOKETKEEPERB.

[Bx GTBO.I

Broad smiles have lit the faces of old cricketers in these latitudes since some of oiir Canterbury friends began the difficult task of reconstructing oricket history. Fowke, Arnold Williams, and Boxshall were New Zealand's beat wicketkeepers l —that Is a current Canterbury statement. One is inclined to mop his brow, and pause before that statement, and wonder how many New Zealand wicketkeepers that ' Canterbury writer has seen. Wicketkeepers are very muoh like Abraham . Lincoln's estimate of politicians : Some of them take. the whole of the chances Some of the time, and some of them take some of the chances the wholo of the time, but how many of them take all the chance 9 all of the timeP Tho present writer has knocked about New Zealand from Auckland to the Bluff for a lone time, and' he can only recall two "back-stops", who could snap the chanoes practically the whole of the time. One of those waa Currio, of Otago, a lightning hand behind the stiolcs in the early In five seasons Currie lifted nearly every oatch and stump that came his way. But five years, after all, is not a long spell when compared with suoh a career as that of R. C. Niven, of Wellington. As a mero stripling, young Niven was included in tho Otago team chosen to do 'battle against Lillywhito's English Woven, but elected to give way to J. P. Spring, a player'who had just arrived from Dublin after a brilliant career in the Phoenix Park C.C. of that city, i In 1878 or '79, however, he played against D. W. Gregory's Australian team. Injury sustained in a subsequent match—they all get hurt, these wicketkeepers—kept him out of the game for no less than eight or nine years, but trust your true oricket war-horse ever and always to sniff tho battle from afar, and to pine to be baok, and in it. Niven "oame back" in 1888 as stioks-minder for ' Otago agaipst Canterbury, and l , of his performance, one press oritlo said:—"lt speaks volumes for Niven's wicket-keeping > that there was not a single byo in the first innings. In the second innings he caught two men out,,and took tho ball from the field renjarkably well," Next year ho had the doves on for Otago—again against Canterbury. In the courso of an innings which produced no fewer than 370 runs, only throe balls got past him. Four chances to get rid of opposing batsmen- presented themselves, and he mado no mistake, stumping two and oatohing two. It was really a case of fivo scalps to the wicketkeeper, for one Cantabnani —Cottorill—had (on his own admission) to be oaraght out twice before the umpire finally made up his mind that it was time for him to go. Both Canterbury papers, on that occasion, placed Niven's showing very high. One admitted (though guardedly) that "ho was a slight improvement on Fowke." This was from the pen of "Jumbo" Barnes, who was at the time both cricketer and j>ress critio. In 1890 tho subjeot of this notice ■pas in the Wellington representative eleven, and. with few intermissions, he took his old post at tho wickets up till about 1902. During this time ho played against such combinations as Trott's Australian eleven (the strongest that has evor visited these shores), Melbourne Club eleven, New South Wales, (twice), Fijian eleven, and the provinces. Some of his feats wore remarkable enough—too many indeed to enumerate.

During bis long career Nivon has "back-stopped" to such bowlors as Upham, Fpth, Dowwm, Dirden, Fitzsimmons, Holclshin, Hope, Carson, Claffey, MncCormack, Parker, Ashbolt, Ben bow, Taylor, and Holdsworth. Some of those wore very fast and.others exceedingly tricky. One way and othor it is a great record.