THE DAY & THE PLAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1974, 3 February 1914, Page 5

THE DAY & THE PLAY.

AT THE,CRICKET MATCH. WEUINCTON & ITS FORTUNES-

[Bv Stko.]

The "pour" oh β-atttfday morning d»ißl>ed more than the Basin; lteserte. Most gave the'cricket match nji-ns finished. The Wellington captain called on the Auckland skipperin the morning, "No chance, M'Cormick," ho said, "it's from the soutli. , It means three days' rain— perhaps five!" Fortunately the Fates proved better.

Undemonstrative 'as- a Wellington crowd usually is, it fetched' loose wheii Robinson's ' magnetic•• batting 'begaij. When he went out through the gate tiro dropping of a pin could hare.been heard, so tense-was the expectancy, jt witu ■cheer split, the' sifciino- wlien ' ho dispatched jiis first ball, like 3 eaivnon-shet to the boundary* The secoftd ball travelled that way, too, but was picked up and returned for a single. Thejourth' brought up another "foures-," and the'girth flew go fast that one of the Auckland sentinels out .. on the % track got. ■it ■ "before a. mm- * eould be ' registefedi' Ho ' reck' etfced mio ■ the corporation, shrubbery, and the crowd'fairly rose at the batsman. The eighth and . .ninth. balls were, dispatched with. stunning ctouts, one striking the.careta,k;ci" , S shed. Robtwepn.only. got eleven balls, hut, like the little wound that lot out Sfereutio's Wβ, ■"it was enough; it served." Sβ was well out to the .bait. that got him. Perhaps it was just as well for spectators with weak hearts, for, by that time, the crowd had gone fraiitio. •

Trust tho crowd: When Quinn "smote his last smite, ,and called SJidlano, he moved itisD a-yardand'then-'stood stock still. Midlane, travellilig very fast, came straight' ind totb batsmen were at the sanid cnd;.ivhat ttmo the Auekloiid wicket-keeper'was kneokin.g off the. baiils.at. the other; ■ Though the Wellington skipper crossed Qtfinn, he seemed'to be uuctor the" hnpression that ho was out, ai'jdi' parted to leave. "Go back! go baeli)" roared the'spectators,, "it's not you .that's out; it's QutMiP So it was. ...

Tho "Admirable Orichton- , of the day . wa,s Grimiriotfc. While. Wellington's, fortunes wore see-sawing, Grrimnxstt sat in tho scorer's.box, wrapped in a raincoat and shivering with the cold. As ho Went out %lr. C. G. Wilson addressed a, few earnest words to him,. •. What Mr. Wilson said was inaudible, blit GriiiW meti roplied; "Too" .'tfue, 'Father' '(everybody, calls. ."Father"), that's, just .the game : tp'play." • And . then tho solid little. East mo,n took block and played'it.' Ho was; notoait at tho finish, and never Jookd like getting out. Wellington wants but little to ititike it & shield eleVen—it only .wants a few Jtiore Gi'inmietts., •'.*'■ Tlio ni-ateh. retained its: element of ese-uement. right' -up to* the last, far Saunders niaife a stand with Grimmott. Both men seojned partial to a forward defensive stroke, and firimmett . tra-S----spivuking an occasional-boundary shot. Unfortunately for Wellington, *}t was that, forward stroke that got Saiindors out. ■ • * ■ Fred,' Midline's bulldog innings beean at 4 p.m., and iinisheil at 5.10 p.m. : He went in '.'three dowii," and seemed to bo burdened.: with tho responsibility of being botk enptaiit eitd -chief batsman, for lio scored much slower tiian usual, Tic pitch seemed.tod slow to suit his usu.il timing. The tall that at Igst got him must have come mi fMm leg. y far, ho .tunied round,..quite fonfidenllj;,,.,;to wish jt that. way. He received--sMiet they call aa "ovation." wlien liij came * Might hot Midlane pension of that : pick chop of his? It IS not .a cut; it is not a likely icoriug. shot; apd it- is : , always & possible- chance for t-jio slips. A finished Australian . 'bowler would bowl for it all- the time. . .Tlie Auckland cs-ptdn. told the writer that- the game had been ft very en joyable one. ' When it begun- he thought tho rcaul-t quite open. "I certainly thought," Ire added, "that We would do better in tire batting, even although wo recognised that we were a.gsmet a strong bowlijig hiucJi stVonsor bowling side-than, ours." 'Asjted how he felt nbotitit on t.hq, last day, the AMcklander said frankly: "Oh, we felt quite- β-urenf a Win." Horspool, J.rCormictt, a-iid Slomaii belong to the powerful Sraftou Club, and are all -bat-smeii to be/, reckoned with. The Ancklandors think that Horspool's. batting intliis ..malch will make- it difficult far the selectors to tcavo him out of tho ne.xt N-e* Zealand team. v, .-*. M'Oormick has a,. club. aggregate of 422, find an av-eToj?e,.of''3-10,.' Questioned'as to h.!s indifferent )uc-k 'here, tlio Auckland captain replipd: "Oh,. that's buito simple to es.pia.ui. Robinson's first o4et is always his. fastest, and. I got that."' It Was a •■■very true re-, ■mark. .*. . - ..-■■■■■;' - Tho timo-Sionoured cricket fcastom,, "the ballto the last, m.an," was observed on Saturday.. V.When Ola-rko cau|tiit and U.o-wled.. Saijnders he pvvt ■ tli© bail in his pocket- . . Promotion' seems to ha** come rapid-. Jy to Claike. Two' years* ago we saw : liim hero on a visit*,, play ing _ for the "New Zealand team-in liouse matches. ' . '• , F ■Brook, of the Auckkml toanii is ii resident of Wha.ngarei; \iM an ex-VK-torian. When lio was h\ Jfelbcftirne he pliived in the same club , as J; V. Sannders. Ho hns. the repftitatiQii. of being' en* estra good Ka-iuS in tile slips. f'Yoitr bowlers?" said iho writer toj the Auckland slcinper when ilie gama j ended. "Is there anything to savf'. "WelL". replied .M'.CotWiek th.o.ughtfully, "if it's"of any -nteresK you miclit meiition that Bi-ooke-Smrtli bawled up iitto the wind, hung." and broke in from the off. He'w.aS oiir best. Taylor, who plrtirs for UrtiWkity, * has very tiw teur-. , Ho Wales both ways and comes Wi\f& off tbe pitch. Tins, to mf mjud, is_ tho chief qualification in an* bolder. Uoods (Pcmsonky-JBlnb) b tricto;*. , 'Henses Ins head, felyinK larßely o : n longtli a : ud nip. afF tire pitefc He tons both wars, but tho turn is only*"very slight one. He only raiiUs β-s*.a- tsn*anpe bowler, but lie got'Midlarie and Robinson. The batting speed of ...the' Wellington side was less then a,-rnn a romutp. Thirty wcro lift in 30' ttmutee, 60 in dO'minutes, and-8® in 80 nsjuutes.>Thcn it began t« read i« 93 mmutes, 100 in..iO4-.mm«te ai 110 in 112 MiHitos. 120 mm minutes, 130 m Ito minutes, HO- 150 in 140 minutes (Kobinson i.n),;i6o in 143 wnutee, 170 in 133 minutes,- 180 m 109 minutes, 190: in-168.; mrmvtes, Bieaverage was about fonMjfths of a run tt minwte. ' ' . " ' ! Changes' in tiw «*tae*k by tlio Auckland euptain during. ttw after, noon this wayr-2.0T p.m,, Taytor and. Clarke; 3.26 ?•«»■., Woods and ClarKis; 340 p m., Wootto "Biii Bropke-Shlith; 4'lJiP.rt)., ftnd Taylor; 4*3iJ p.m., Brooke-Smith and Horspool; 445 p.m., -Clarke nnd'Hot'spopl.! 5.5 p.jn., Clarke and .-Woods; !5.10 p.m,, Broolvß'Smith and Woods; 5.W p.m., Clarke and Taylor.