CRICKET

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 145, 15 March 1939, Page 14

CRICKET

New Zealanders’ Good Showing PROMISING PLAYERS (Bi Bub wood. ) The bright form shown by the New Zealand eleven in the one-day match against Sir Julien Cahn’s team in Wellington on Monday, clearly revealed thai there is little wrong with cricket in this country. The visitors, in AV. E. Phillipson (Lancashire), E. 2k. Watts (Surrey), T. P B. Smith (Essex), and J. E. Walsh (Leicestershire), included four regular hintclass county bowlers, but this did not prevent New Zealand hitting up 170 for five wickets in 154 minutes. A Good Colt.

Much interest attached to the first appearance with a New Zealand team of J. A. Ongley, the Wellington colt, and it was a tribute to the confidence I>. A. R. Moloney, the New Zealand captain, had in him, that be was called upon to open the innings with P. E. Whitelaw, the experienced and dependable Aucklander. Though Ongley was making a first appearance for his country, the importance of the occasion did not affect him in the slightest. Full of confidence, he was not afraid to hook Phillipsou and Watts’s fast deliveries off the middle pin if they were short enough. He scored, in finished style, 35 of the 57 put on for the first wicket, and it was a particularly good leg-break by Walsh which sent him back. Ongley has the right temperament for big cricket, and it is pleasing to see that the Dominion is producing batsmen of such distinct promise.

The New Zealand captain certainly gave his young players every encouragement, as be called up R. E. J. Menzies, Canterbury, who was also playing his first game for New Zealand, to fill the responsible position of first wicket down. Menzies, like Ongley, showed confidence, and at once hit two boundary shots, but after reaching 14 was stumped by Maxwell off Walsh. This experience will teach the Canterbury eolt that when he moves out to a slow spin bowler he must not miss the ball.

New Zealand’s Best Batsman. AV. M. Wallace, Auckland, strengthened his right to be regarded as New Zealande’ best batsman by playing a resolute innings of 54 not out. AVallaee headed the batting averages for the New Zealand team in England m 1937, aggregating 1611 runs in 43 innings, which, with three not-outs. gave him the good average of . 41.02. This is the young man who amazed followers. ot the game in Sydney by coolly walking up the pitch and hitting O'Reilly, the greatest bowler in the world, out of the ground for six. The Sydney people could not believe their ieyes. But this is a W this confident Auckland colt has. If the bowlers will only pitch the ball up to hnn, he will hit it, and hit it hard. On the New Zealand team’s tour of Australia in 1937, be scored 17 and 37 against South Australia, 35 and (53 against Victoria. and 32 and 58 against New South " ITiVwas on top of the English bowlers all the time at the Basin Reserve on Monday and was- just warming to bin work when the closure was applied. He Hit eight fours and every shot was well placed and had plenty of wood behind it.

An All-round Athlete. AV. N. Carson, the sturdy Aucklander, is one of the small baud of athletes who have represented New Zealand at both cricket and . Rugby football. He was a member of the New Zealand cricket team which toured England in 1931 but did not <lo a« well as expected with the bat, Bi-oring only <527 runs at an average ot 19 He hit up 40 not out and 27 lor New Zealand against New South AVales in Sydney in 1937 and on Monday he showed that he has come back to form by putting on 20 not out in quick time against Sir Julien Cahn’s team, out of the 25 scored while he was at the wickets. Carson can also take a turn at the bowling crease and captured one for 10 off two overs on Monday. He is alr<o a faNt-nioving helusman with a fast return from the deep field. Out of Fonn.

Though such a success on the New Zealaud team’s tour of England in IJoi, M. P. Donnelly has been unable lo uo anything right with the bat in big cricket this s-eason. lie had scored only four runs on Monday when he fell a victim to a slow leg-break from Walsh. Dounehy cocked the ball softly up in the air ami Maxwell, the English wicketkeeper, lost sight of the ball for a moment. -At last he spied it and. throwing himself full length, took a clever catch close to the ground. It is strange how that elusive thing called form comes and goes. Donnelly is one of the most brilliant batsmen in the Dominion, but has sadly lost form and confidence this season. His turn will come again.

A Sporting Declaration. Moloney made an auspicious first appearance as captain of the New Zealand team. He gave his colts every opportunity and showed sportsmanship in declaring tiie New Zealand innings closed at 2.50 when five wickets had fallen for 170 runs. 3'his threw out a direct challenge to Sir Julien Cahn’s team and they were not slow to take it up. Tile result was that interest, was sustained right up to the last ball and the Englishmen just failed by eight runs to get the number required lb win, the board showing 103 for seven wickets when stumps were drawn at 0 o’clock.

Good Bowling. It was a tribute to the steadiness of the New Zealand bowling that the Englishmen could not hit off the runs they required. J. Cowie, the /Auckland fast Iwwler, is not now bowling as fast as he did with the New Zealand team in England in 1937. when he captured 114 wickets at an average of 19.95 each. The Englishmen with Sir Julien Cahn’s team consider that lie is now two yards slower than he was in 1937. This is no doubt because he plays cricket only on Saturday afternoons and . has no chance of working up physical fitness. He would be possibly just as fast as ever if he were to go on tour again. He captured three wickets for 40 runs off 13 overs on Monday. and kept good command of the ball.

Pritchard, the Manawatu fast bowler, had to be content with one for 34. He appeared to lie a trifle on the short side, and those deliveries which did puss the bat Hew high over the stumps. He did good service, however, by clean bowling Dempster with a trimmer after the Leicestershire county captain was well set.

A Goad Bowler. J. G. Ashenden, the Wellington righthand medium-paced bowler, made an auspicious first appearance for New Zealand by taking two wickets for 45 off 11 overs. The Kilbirnie man can not only get work on the ball from both sides, lint can flight it in the air. He performed valuable service by clean bowling the Nottinghamshire and All-Englnnd batsman. J. Hardstaff. after he had notched a single. It was a tribute to the sieudiness of the New Zealand bowling that Dempster took 98 minutes to compile his modest tally of 14.. He got few loose ones to punch to the boundary.

Wanted—A Slow Bowler. New Zealand’s greatest need today is a slow bowler of the calibre of W. E. Merritt, who is now doing so well in Lancashire League cricket, but. unfortunately, slow spin howlers of Merritt’s ability are rare. Moloney did not have an over himself against Sir Julien Cahn’s team on .Monday, and 18 runs were hit off the two overs Donnelly bowled 11. G. Vivian’s absence was felt, and it will be interesting to see how the Auckland slow left-hander will shape against Sii Jnlien’s loam this week.

Wlicn Bradman Comes. '[’he confident manner in which the New Zealand eleven shaped against the touring English team on Monday strengthens the

belief that Don Bradman and his Australians will not have it all their own way when they invade the Dominion next year When 'the New Zealand team visited Australia in 1937, only two centuries were scored against them, C. L. Badcock hitting up 114 for South Australia and A. L. Hassett scoring 127 not out for Victoria. Don Bradman scored only 11 for South Australia before being snapped up behind the sticks by Tindill off Cowie. The day has long gone by when an Australian team can come over to New Zealand and send two men in to bat while the remainder of the team go off to the races. New Zealand has grown up at cricket and in future will give any nation a good game, either here or overseas. In the meantime we have to thank that good sportsman, Sir Julien Cahn, for bringing such a strong team to these shores to give our players a refresher course. Tiie summer game has been singularly fortunate of late, with Lord Nuffield’s generous donation of £lO,OOO to the South African Cricket Association being followed by Sir Julien Cahn’s sporting tour to New Zealand.