CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1959, 16 January 1914, Page 4

CRICKET.

NEW ZEALAND TEAM ON TOUR. The New Zealand team on tour in Australia has won five matches and lost two. In the two chief games, against New South Wales and Victoria, the- tourists were heavily defeated. At present they arc engaged against South Australia,. and on the 21st and 22ud they play a team from the Melbourne Cricket Club. On the 24th. they sail from Sydney for Wellington, and they are due here on the 28th. . • ■ . . i Reepcctiny; the match against New South .Wales, in wWsh our cricketers were annihilated, it. is of interest to recall that it was fourteen years ■ since-a' representative team from New Zealand ■had played.in. Sydney. The. only members of the present team who were in tho 1899 combination aro Boxshall and Reese. . In those dnys Reese was somewhat juvenile, but Boxshall was even then no new chum at the game. The veteran Christqhurch wicketkeepev its now 51. Both Cood Thrashings. 'The Sydney "Referee-," in avoiding a comparison of the two New Zealand teams, says:—"ln each, match New South Wales totalled over 500 runs, and got rid of the New Zealanders very cheaply. It is difficult to enter into a comparison, of the strength of tho two teams; and 1 do not intend to do so. Tho present team, I believe, showed nothing like their best form with the bat; and owing to the fact that several "of them are quite young—save the portly Charles Boxshall, a veteran—the experience should be highly beneficial to New Zealand crickot. As far ae one can judge, with the exception of D. Sandman and D. Reese, the "batsmen, or a ■majority, wore disposed to play too nuicii 'according to the book' ; but, of course, this may be not a correct view, since the men to whom 1 refer, as a rule, did not 'havo the. pleasure of bocoming set and thus swinging into their best form. Sandman and Hickmott aro young ones of muck ability. Sandman was the. best bowler, and Hiokmott, I thought, might havo been used more with advantage, to judge by his form on Saturday." Good Fielding. All followers of the game here will be very pleased to hear that tho fielding of the New Zealanders throughout the match was really good. It has been the subject of much favourable comment in tho Sydney Press. Young Hickmott, of Christchurch, had earned a reputation before leaving here of being a very fino field; in Australia he has enhanced that good name considerably. His runningout of Scott in the match against New South Wales was novel and clever. Scott had completed his 'half-century in 40 minutes. As in the Queensland match, he was batting very ably, with Jlacartney going great guns at the other end. f hey put on 100 runs in 48 minutes, despite the fielding being good and all the nien trying keenly. The first hour added 168 runs to tho score—a pace rarely equalled in first-class cricket. Macartney completed his 100 in 68 minutes, and shortly afterwards 400 appeared after 3J hours' batting. At 405 Macartney played a ball from Hickmott three or four yards down the pitch on tho offside, and the pair, who had been running cleverly between wiokets, went for tho run. But Hickmott flew down tho pitch faster than Scott, and, fielding tho ball, coolly threw down the wicket with an underhand throw of about five yards. It'was very smart work by the bowler, who had shown the. pair what ho could do a few bveVs but it was unheeded. Scott eeemed sure to' complete hie second century in firstclass cricket when ; this occurred. He made. 100 against Queensland two weeks earlier. Mailer was run out through ,r smart piece of fioldin{s at (ine-leg, by liflmus, who returned in smartly to the wicket-keeper.

£200 Profit. In ono respect the recent match against New South Wales was more satisfactory than that played by our men in 1899; tho "gate" was bigger. Tho visiting team cleared about £200 from tho match last month. The honours of the New Zealand share of tho match went to Sandman, who won the bat presented by Dug Hay for the best performance in tho New South Wales contest. Sandman, by tho way, had the honour of clean bowling Trumper, who. tried to hit him and got his bat tangled tip with the ground. A strange thing was that, in the first innings, Sneddon, Hcimis, and Tuckwell, tho first three batsmen all went out for "ducks" and in. the second innings the trio were disposed of for 7 each. . Of tho ground on which the match was played one of the members of the team says: "Tho Sydney cricket ground is beautiful, and .when ,wo consider the fact that £'250,000 lias been spent on it wo cannot wonder it is so perfect."

-joj oi(i paAiawi Bi»n OMominco pire '^μ} ■ ELEVENS FOR. SATURDAY. Tho following team will represent East B against North at Basin No. 2 to-morrow: —G'rimmett, Hutchings, Bowles. Carter, W. Smith, Hughes, Dooley, Cornfoot, O'Shea. Central v. Old Boys (No. 1 Basin Reserve) : Kinvig, S. Hickson, C. Hickson, Saundors, Ryan, Burton, M'Cardell, Paterson, Tilyard, Naughton, and Jackson. East A v. Htitt (train leaves 1.10 p.m.): Midlano, M'Girr, Baker, Gibbs, Watsons Nash, Johnston, Young, Gini, Henderson. The following team will play for North Juniors against East on the Basin Reservs on Saturday:—Galloway, Barker, Berry, Jones. W. L. Wilson, H. Wilson, Thomson, Eton, Rosengrave, Hanratty, Shelley.