A WEEKLY RECORD OF SPORTS AND OTHER PASTIMES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1995, 28 February 1914, Page 12

A WEEKLY RECORD OF SPORTS AND OTHER PASTIMES.

DISASTROUS

Brico In Rare Form. Central batsmen who, faced 1 "Stan" ■ Brice last Saturday are agreed that tho Potono howler was absolutely deadly. Ho worked up nearly as much paco as Robinson, and sometimes his fast ball came right across the wicket. The one that bowled Ityan, for instance, pitched on the off, and knocked down tho leg stump. His slow ball, too, car- ' riedf plenty of spin and swerve. On 1 tho day, the tall Potoneito 'reminded one very much of the redoubtable '"'Stan" that wo uso to see two or three years back.' .

Two .centraliTrundters,' It was a bolwers' affair all through— that match between Potono and Central. While , Brico did his.- . utmost for-- suburbanites, Kinvig and Hboinson'■ were ' in 'good liuckle for Central. Robinson 'only found himself when he was on with the wind. Bowling against it. he had 0 for 20; with it ho bagged four for 4. Kinvig showed his best form with, tho ball this'year, his swerve from tho off being very pronounced.

Soma Stray. Singles. Fred Midlano's batting average is now ,75.7. ' ' ' ' ,

Baker, Gibbes, and Midlane provided as pretty, an afternoon's batting on Saturday as anyone could wish'to see. ■ J. V. Saunders has almost recovered from a severe attack of influenza.

;; "Three capital innings were played in the mid-week'cricket by Truscott, Tom Taylor, and Billniari. 'lYuscott and Billman: are. .'.two of the> real'veterans of Wellington- cricket, and ; good ones at that. ' . r

Opinion is beginning to" grow that Kinvig, of Central, is worth a lot of consideration' when the next representa* tive team is chosen.

Howe keeps up his form as wicketkeeper.- ' Out ot live North -men who were " but"' on" Siitu'rt'lay,, the College wicket-keeper sent three back. Tell it :imt in. Oath: Tom' Southall missed a legitimate catch in the slips on Saturday. . ' .■! - .

WhoirCnllfige-darne.on to the ground on Saturday, they, found themselves with twelvo men.- It was cerainly not Fanuing's place to stand down, but he did so'voluntarily! "" "'

Tile catches in. the slips,which Bray got rid off (Toplin and Atmore are probably the "catches of the season" so far.

-I' only, one-half of Birch's stylisli strokes on the off touched the ball 'he would make 50 every Saturday.. He is a rare hand at punishing the air. ' That- puzzling;, off-swerve:;of. South•n'''s ;n.9,t only got rid of sis Collegians, but slowed their gait in scoring. Dick'son, for instance, was in 57min. for 23 runs. '

Two nice innings were played for ■North by Jones and Bray/ .The former was in just an hour for 40 when Howe stumped, him.. Bray, played patiently and solidly for ."liii"s4"'"\,"7. " '1 C. G. Wilson onacte.(i*the role of Jack Lyons for his -39 ■ got in 25mm. The writer lias seldomv&en-him so aggressive, and he is never slotr. ;

■ "Writer was shown the presentation ' .bat, . ivliicli ; M'fJirr ■received for best aggregate. iii Australian match. /It weighs just 21b. 4sOo.—a capital weight ipiid a .beautifully balanced, blade. Most of our club bats are far.too heavy.

Club Record Broken: ' L Who -will got the record aggregate in-grade matches' this year? Fred. Midlaue and "Wiri." Baker aro having a. duel -for.-it..'' The East.skipper has, 600. mark, and the colt is 'Well over - &()(). . Midlane, liowevei', has innings more than : Baker, owing to the latter'.? absence with the. representative team on the southern tour, -but,- ns-the Kast.captain will in alL.probs bility .Ixuabseut .from -tlie -next match, the colt will have.an opportunity of' getting oven with' 'his skipper. The former club record, held by C. A. Richardson, will he broken in two places!..

Good Business. .. Notwithstanding! a. very healthy membership, -the East Club is feeling the strain of the. finance. Tho club is fortunate inpossessing, two of Wellington's' leading vocalists ,in Messrs. Allwight and Hutton, and these enthusiasts are. a really talented concert, : with the object of putting the financial.position of their club on a firm footing.

The Big Games Ahead. tin account of the lato"strike, .the ■match between Wellington and Mr.' D. Reese's team had to be postponed carrier in the season.- Mr. Reese, liowj ever, has promised to' bring up a strong 'eleven at Easter. In.the matter of re- ' presontative matches, the public are being fairly well catered for this season. ' Ar'rangemonts have been completed for the return'match against Mr. Sims's Australian team. The match will tako • place on Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21... -

Answer to Correspondent. H; Ivernp, of Hastings, writes:—Will you answer tho following question through your paper? A batsman plays the ball, and. is run out in going for a fourth ruii. " Do tho '3 runs he has •completed count? This is the way I look at it. Supposing ho was the last man in, and they wanted four to win; they ran 3, and then were run out in going for tho fourth, would tho match havo been a tie? I havo asked several people, 'and no one seems sure )f they ' should be counted or not.

t . Answer: Seo Itulo 32, Laws of Cricket. The completed three runs in such a case count; the fourth does not.

• . Correspondent's Letter. v A correspondent writes Sir,—l am afraid you are not-an old "Wellington , ; cricket enthusiast, or you would have . .'been aware of tho fact that tlie'late Mr. G. F. Harris (father- of Mr. Vic. / Harris), when ho'was official .scorer'for '..tho Wellington , Cricket. Association in ■"tho bad old days", (when' good crickct was played), first introduced tho system of announcing tho. scores: of important . ■ matches on the side . windows. . .Two snutll boys (Frank Harris, another son, : - and Jack Hutchings) "wore the'recording ''..(iiigels. Tho glass'.ond of the "pavilion • . iicar the north bank was also' utilised; ■•Tlie materials used were small brushes, : 'and the family you •jimv know that Vie.,Hai'ria is otily !■ carrying' on his father's, mbtliods.—;l ; am, etc., _ .' 'A LOVER OF CRICKET.

. Tfis Canterbury ClutrnplonshlpV This year, tlie Christohureh cricketers ;]iave done themselves great;-«;edit;' and ■now that the; tennis - iii-tfte -Cathedral City have reached tlie"sdfiii-finnl stage ii note on their 'progress'may: bo of interest. Tlie following is 'taken from ''Tlie Native's", Weekly buclget:— "It.is perhaps fitting that tho semifinals should bo won by Sydenham and Ificcartou, for they wcro the leading ; teams in tho competition beforo the semi-finals were, cnterd,,,upon. And the opinion may bo hazarded thai they : are the best two teams in tho competition at the present' time. If there is <;onc team that' can challenge Riccar-■l-rin's place i.t ,is St. Albans. But theif. strength* is made up by about three 'men, and when Sandmairiyid Hickniott

were away for a considerable part of the season, tho Saints were a weak side, ftndiost their right to compete in the semi-finals. Even at full strength, I think St. Albans aro not. as strong as Riccarton, for tho latter's crack men aro supported by a better all-round side.

"Thero is very little doubt as to which is the best team in tho competition this season. Sydenham have amply demonstrated their position by po-. ing through tho season without a defeat. But I doubt whether they will' have any runaway victory over Riccarton in the 'final. ' Of course, much will depend on the ability of Whitta and Ca ( ygill—and perhaps Norman—to got going. If these batsmen have tho luck to' set the side a decent main, there aro several others on tho side capablo of putting up decent scores. On tho other hand, it cannot be denied that in Bennett and Sydeham have two of the best bowlers in New Zealand, and with a strong batting side, thero is no doubt that last year's champions will start dccided favourites."

To Meat Australia. Of the Canterbury team to meet the Australians, the "Weekly Press" says: "With Canterbury's big array of batsmen worthy of representative honours, everyobdy has boen saying what a difficult thing it would be to pick the Canterbury team for the next match. BuU it has been picked, and to my mind it was not so very difficult after all. Six .of those chosen—Reese, Sandman, Hickmott, Carlton, Boxshall, and.Bennett, were all members of tho New Zealand team that toured Australia, and as they all justified their' place, they could not be left out of a Canterbury team. No one ; would question the claims.of Whitta,, Woods, Wilson, and Bishop to fill four of the other five place's, and the last place would prob-ably-be between Patrick, Caygill, and Beal.' The first-named was a'comparative failure in Australia, but his century in Diuiedin turned the scale in his favour. Jf these eleven arc all fit alid well, I take it Monaghan will stand out. I imdurstand.ho Was included because Reeso and Sandman are both suffering from strains, and the side may on that account possibly want' another bowler. It is a good team, and one | that, in my opinion, could not have | been bettered. From what I have heard I this is the general opinion."

' THE SEASON IN AUSTRALIA, i Financially tlie Australian cricket season now approaching its closo has been disastrous (says the Sydney "Daily Telegraph" of February 18). That was the term applied to the position by Mr. ween,, treasurer of the New 'South Wales.Association, in making an appeal to that body for the exercise of strict economy. The association is not bankrupt bv any moans. It has still an accumulated credit balance of £1863 (over £1500 of it invested).- But' it bad £2560.; at tho beginning of the season; and despijo the exercise of care and the curtailment of outgoings generally the loss CfUmot but bo regarded as severe More than that, it is difficult; of explanation. hy 'should' cricket ihave attracted : the public less' tliis season than last? Tho cricket. generally has been as good and bright, and tliere has always been, the attraction that the star of tho. hour generally provides, in tbo phenomenal' Macartney. Young players §uch as Massie, Andrews, and Taylor have been there to claim attention. And there has also been the line old brigade Hf'dsley, and Kelleway. Lite question -'Why?" was put to'tlie secretary of the association. His reply was, "Yon can't explain these tilings. It is only a temporary slump. Cricket will revive again." There is/no doubt> that .there will lie a revival' provided there are no more squabbles, and that an English team comes to Australia the season after next.

. losses this year have been particularly noticeable in the big interstate fixtures. A comparison of the profits of this season and last gives the following figures•

1912-13. 1913-14. L r , & s- <J- £s. d. '•V.Queensland... 71 19 4 51 17 .] V. S. Australia '545 2 2 231 i 3 V. yictoria 748 11 2 425 9 5 Tho season's losses weie:—Colts' match, £12 7s. 5d., as against £8 10s. 6d. last year— Tasmania, £25 16s.'9d. There was a. clear profit of £193' 15s. Id. on the Now Zealand match,' the New Zealand, Cricket Council taking the whole of that sum. The' losses, compared with last year, were:— „ i £ s. d. V. Queensland 20 2 3 V: South Australia 314 0 1] V. Victoria 323 1 9 I Total . . 657 411

If tho amouats lost on the colts' and Tasmanian matches are added tho total becomes £695 9s. Id.

Tho season was commenced • with a crcdit of £2566. and to-day that credit has been reduced to £1863. It is estimated that about £240 will be required to bo spent in carrying on to June, so that the credit at tho cn<i of the financial year may be expected to aggregate about' £1623.

A survey of the figuros of past years affords somo foundation for hope that this condition may not'be long continued. Cricket profits havo tariod widely. Somewh<yo about 20 years ago tho profit on a match with Victoria used to exceed £1000. But tho later figures, except ill IPO9, have not approached that, as this list of profits shows:—

Match " Match against against .Victoria. S. Australa. £ v £ 1906-7 :. 382 ' 248 1907-8 629 172 .. 1908-9 935 358 1909-10 174 • 140 1910-11 306 174 1911-12 365 ... — Before tho association can hope to mako a recovery it must, expect to havo to make good somo of tho loss on the South African tour. The fact of tlie matter is that, as Sir Josfeph Carrnthers declared early in the season, tho New South Wales Cricket Association is practically relying on tho profits of English tours to tide it over intervals of dwindling credit.). Bir Joseph suggested as a way of better financing the game that the control of the Sydney Cricket Ground and its big revenues should be secured. That matter is still being considered by the responsible officials of the association.