CRICKET

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 7, 9 January 1932, Page 18

CRICKET

■vB"NOT Out" &!. PLUNKET SHIELD

-: A MEMORABLE MATCH

Averages of t the teams

Wellington's holiday cricket carnival, t|hich provided two Plunket Shield matches at the Basiu Reserve^ has ended, and from the point of view of results.. it has placed Wellington in AfVery/satisfactory position. Conditions a% times during the matches with Auckland/and 'Canterbury were not always favourable, but there- was any amount of -time- for really good cricket, and tiiis -was supplied in great measure, especially in i the Wellington-Canterbury Tnatchif Many notable achievements •we're made during this.match, and these have/already been dealt with fully in various articles covering play and players and the performances registered^ by the teams arid their members'. For all'that was accomplished, by Canterbury as well as by Wellington, the match was a memorable one, and some erf'the: achievements will be discussed for; many years to come. Wellington's sqiuhd performance, against Auckland •Wa6 repeated against Canterbury, exc"ep_t.:that there were- some blemishes which marred . a great performance. Missed chances in the field and some iather.poor ground work at times were very costly, far more so for Wellington than for Canterbury. Even so, a magnificent display of eyen; scoring was given by Wellington in. their first innings, and to this Canterbury made a titemendous reply, largely by reason of two outstanding hands. Both these innings rank-with .the best in inter-pro-vincial "cricket. They meant that most of-the bowlers had a solid time of it, but that, to some extent, was due : to titti excellent state of the new.OamaTU sdil wicket, which proved to be all in fiavour of the batsmen. Interest is now Cfentred in the Auckland-Canterbury ijjatch at Aufiklandy and if should reach Its, peak when Wellington and Otago meet in the final of this season's Plunket Shield series on 19th February. ~ While ' ptago, Canterbury,; and Weir Hiigton have each topped 500 for an innings in this season's Plunket Shield Series, Auckland have gone to the other Extreme in being dismissed for 56 For all that is happening, this season's series is taking shape as the most eventful in the history of Plunket Shield cricket. Team Totals and Averages. ".;.- Although there is little possibility of team averages coining into the reckoning in deciding the holders of the Plunket Shield as a result of this season's matches^ the scores made for and against and the averages per wicket are of some interest. The only, need for averages deciding the issue would be ipithe event of two teams finishing up ■with an .equal number of points, and # far as this^season's matches are concerned this result would only be TiVbtight about if Canterbury defeated Auckland on the first innings and if Wellington lost to Otago... on the first ihnings. Canterbury and ; Wellington would then be, equal in the lead jwitii--14 points, each. ; ' ■■ •' The scores' for and against >; in the matches played to date are:— ST::'■'%■■ '■':p''l-::fi.'.',^ol^ '•■Hi. ;:-Against.''£''■ "-; Buna; Wkts.'f1 Riihs; Wkta. % Auckland 2TT. 1& ;J' 164 10 .. ,-> -.-:.-.. ■ 182. i: . 285... 10 .' y: Cintertury .. 553 10 ' 2TS '>10 . ■c.-.. iS x .'' ' 52 6 8 :i Totals 1051 25' 1251 38 CAXTEBBUJtY. t. Otato ....... 472. lb :. 161 10; i 279 7 589 10----v. Wellington ». 276; 10 553 10 ":'■•■' -""'' '• 525-> &';■ ■■■'■ 45 1 '■"■ ..... Totals .....I0S5; 35 OliGO. p ■ .f■•,.-' , T. Canterbury .. 16L' -10' *%>"-. ■472^V.>.-'HJ-^ ■ .'. ■ . 589 .-■ 10 ' -'• '' 279,':' ''T T. iucklanil .... 347 10, • :2DOC. 10 198 10 S "23?' vlO !-;:TotalS:;i.v.v:l29s 40 1189 37 ; ATJCKLi^D. r.' Wellington ..164 10 271 ,10 285, 10 182 -..- :4, % Otago ...... 200 10 347 ;-'lo' ;.-. 238 10.. , , 198 ,;"'{l(K".: ; Totals 887 40 998 ''/ySiKThe averages per wicket are as follows:-^; For. Against. , ■Wellington 42.04 32.92 .',' Canterbury ...... 44.37 43.48 .' : Otago 32.37 32.13, : Auckland ..22.17 29.35 . These give Wellington a distinct advantage en the net averages, which are:— . WellUigtoß Plus 9.12 Canterbury ........ Plus / 0.89 Otago Plus 0.24 , Auckland .«,...... .Minus 7.18 Individual Aggregates. ~ V t .; " ... .The big .scoring ;taking'pla.ce. in this season's Plunket Shield matches places J; S. .Hiddleston'srecprd aggregate for Shield, cricket .'in "danger-of "being/exceeded by more ..than; one -of the pre-sent-day cricket representatives. On his retirement Hiddleston had compiled the great aggregate of 2571 runs' in Plunket Shield matches,, and total waa;;far;'and-;away^« above that. made by-any.other playeji VDnring last season, however^ ;two m6re*piayeTs, El C. Blunt and \H.; M. McGirr, achieved the distinction -^of sthe 2000 mark, and they are now : withi% striking distance o| theiecordl .Blunt received a;particularly big lift, with his 338 against Canterbury,' and his aggregate' in Shield cricket is now only 124 runs short -of.-that of Hiddleston. McGirr still requires 29?j to equal the record. HvVholds'a special distinetiba in that he is; third onv-the batting aggregate listj^and is at "the top of the bowling aggregate^—a notable all-round performance. .. G.. S. Dempster is making good progress towards the registration ote2opO;runs:in ; Shield:matches..-,:; Hei came in much later than those with nigher aggregates, but he has now almost reached the 1700 mark.. , M. L. Page took his total beyond 1500 during the Canterbury-Wellington match, and J.-li. .Mills'a total is now .just over 1400, mth.T. C.Lowry almost touching that mark. IV T.. Badcock is little short-of 1250, and-K. C. James is apprpaching 12OO.: H. D. Gillespie and G. L. Weh have each passed the 1000 mark this season.

As already indicated H. M. McGirr holds the record-aggregate in the bowling department, his present "bag" of Plunket Shield wickets being 133. Next on the list are-; S. G. Smith with 121, B. Bead -with 117, and W. S. Brice with 108. F. T, Badcock ,has increased his ' 'bag "to over 100 -this season, his present total being 103. ,W. E. Merritt is still well short of the, century— he requires 21 more wickets.,. E; C. Blunt has not yet taken 50 wickets in Plunket Shield cricket, being now three short of that total. .H. N. Lambert (47 "wipkets) and A. M. Matheson (46) are Hearing the half-century mark. Auckland Changes. Commenting on the team selected to represent Auckland in the present match: with" Canterbury, the "Auckland Star-!' stated:—"With J. E. Mills, A. P.ostleß, and O. F. W.'Allcott not available, the selectors had an unenviable, task, especially "in ;the i light of ,the Auckland team'side*eat-:by Wellington and another disappointing Bhowing against. Otaep.; .-' t actvthat a-, greater nnmber of changes have>iot been made in the selection ii|;probably more' a confession, by the selectors that there are few others with outstanding claims for inclusion in the side than a gesture of complete confidence in the team as orig-1 JwiJij peked»v Theiaosence of Auck-,

land's opening pair, Mills and Postles, will be greatly felt, but for private rea-1 sons neither was able to see his-way clear to play; The selection of. Clark and McMiilah will cause considerable surprise in some quarters. No doubt the selectors,' in dropping Hay. and Lyoiij were influenced somewhat by the fact that both those players have been suffering from injuries. Clark is a right-handed batsman who has : done, well for Ponsonby. With 196 runs for fight innings he is, with McCoy, fourth on the list of Auckland club batting for the present season. He has a sound defence. McMillan only recently returned from England, where he performed well both with the bat and ball. In two innings with King's Old: Boys he made 89 runs, the games being against Eden and Parnell, two of the: strongest teams in the competition. Like Clark, he is a useful change . bowler. If Cleverley can reproduce the bowling form that he showed against Wellington in the first innings he may give the Canterbury batsmen . some trouble, although it must be admitted that he is not as sound a batsman as Lyon. Frater is an experienced batsman, although not.up to.Mills' standard. The Eden man is also a better-field than the V.M.C.A. representative, '■': who twelfth man in the two Shield'games already decided. ;•:';• ■'■ ... ■ . • ,; ; The "New Zealand Heralds comment was as follows; —"The selectors have effected four-changes.in,the team which was defeated by Otago. Postles and Mills were unavailable, and; iLyon and Hay have been omitted, the newcomers being Frater, McMillan, Cleverley, and Clark. "The side's: bowling will be considerably strengthened -iby the inclusion of Cleverley, who gave such a fine display in :Weliington,'while the batting standard, which suffered a severe 'drop when Mills and Postles notified 'that they were ' unavailable, should- bo: considerably; raised ( by the inclusion of McMillan, Frater, arid Clark. All three have been doing very well in club cricket this season and are worthy of a trial." Otago's Talent. . ; : In view of what Otago has accomplished on tour—a great recovery against Canterbury and an outright win over Auckland—and because of the fact that Wellington is to meet.Otago in the Plunket Shield final at Dunedih next month, the following notes :on Otago's cricket representatives, made by an Otago writer before the Shield matches-started, are of interest: — V "The side is brie of. the youngest that} has "represented Otago for many years, and it is believed that it will do something to. retrieve the province's cricket prestige. Present indications point to either W. A. Priest or J. McHaffie occupying '? the position of twelfth man, but McHaffie is more likely to occupy that place. He may be regarded^ by; some.-"■■■a's - being a trifle lucky to gain inclusion, but he has shown on more than one occasion that be is ; a cricketer of rear talent, and he made'a big name for himself while attending the Palmerstori North Boys' High School. This season his highest score has been only 14, and iais average 6.50, but as a' boVvler of medium pace he has taken ten wicketsfor 2o;7O.ruiis apiece. Priest ?is a-soli'd. and consistent batsman,who;has -shown improved form jsinco he went from Carisbrook to the'■ University eleven. Last season he put together, some useful' scores fbr Carisbrqoki and this season has '.scored 161 runs with an average pf 40.25. He has a good range of scoring shots, being especially.strong on the off:driye. ;;:;- ---; "At least seven recognised., bowlers are included, these being Dunning-(who .is the captain), Badcoek, Smith, Moloney, Elmes,. C6uplarid,fiand.Bluntt^i'?lf well handledjsthel:;bpwliiJg JcanSbe'(put good iiSc^though the'aliserice biiGeorge Dickinson will be a big loss; As far as the pace is concerned, D. Smith will have to be utilised to a certain extent as a'change, and a good deal of the work will , fall upon the stalwart shoulders .of John Dunning. ;■ .V';|'The coach,;}^. T., Badcock,- should beSftpf immense:;salue, because he seems to^have struck''Sis best form in batting anfl bowling, and has prpvepjhat he/is' undoubtedly'-anTopening' batsman. ;He ha'S*scored 279;runa witK.an average3bf 55^0 iriv&Ub*!ina^che££tfcte^^ h® fourteen wickets Tiave cost 12.57 runs apiece.- C^Elmesjhas-been a disappointment in big cricket, but on his day the left-hander is a dangerous member Jpf. the attack,'and is also a good -fprcing-'bat.^:.;;;;,:;;■;";. ','''':^ S v ;||Cpuplarid, the;;- exjs^a)aganui and Southland reprMeritativ?jS?-'has ',• been taking soundly, tliis ye^:^nd,itvis un: dei|stood that thev?selectors"haye;beenimpressed by his bowling; at practice, even though he 'hasfnot-'had. mtich luck in the club games. •. Probably, in good company,; he may shoT^ something of the form that won him praise when he obtained .such fine, figures:^pr:Southland, against the MJGXXJ:£s^<sfrf&i&uiilia?bt\ years ago. \ D"'A;; made no big tallies:this season; bitt h'if ability as a .b'a^£fi>^'Md p M%f«3?'Y>H». has-ttsfine- variety':?;oi ' stroKes/ii, :his repertqire;:iand.is:'e^p^jßtc^H6'I-'^p:;-.Sroil^6ii northern^wickets. . -.;Hp'sloivl;'bowling has been of'immense ;?:ad vantage ; stp: Ca.risbrqok, u and^iis"3eighteenv -vvickets have been;^'-<>fy&iJieA^,i± of- 7i72 'runs apiece. ; He inay/be??bno^of 1 most successful members bfthp attack iri the' north. _-.'■,'■ ':';!■■'-."'^~:',:-.'r.'- ■'-'■■t:' •■-!•.•: ;. "Roger Blunfehas shown glimpses of his Jbest, fjjrjn■'.-wjith and is: one 'tb'ttiing^tieim^j^i^^^uigy.no^adaya'.'ia of more' doubtful; .qualityj .however, on account of his injured, finger w!hich prevents him-fro)n (spinning; thi; ball in. ;he .way that he ; 'did';fprmeriy,: but he has bowled 'with; fair;.success^ in/ the club games. He has put. tftgether,9s runs in two completed innings- with'an average of 47.50.- ''■'%:^;-^J- '-B ':'/■■ -,;'-.' ! ''Alex.Knight,'is Another of the ei-' perieneed■;''membersyi.iwhb 'fi\ has fairly earned his place-Jb'y soundisbatting and first-class r-vforlt; in the;neid. '■'% He .has been giving hisinaturkl^liatting, talent full play, andinTfive'innings .^twiee ;npt out) has made 163 runsvwith'aii ayeragi of 54J33.' Beg; 'Chlerry^as been ibatting aqiindly and' consistently, V.and in big cricket was one of the few who met with any success for Otago last year, being w,ell suited for.the position, of opening batsman." . ■':'■■ It is reported as likely that G. Dickinson and'J. Shepherd, two players who have; served Otago well,in; the past, will be called upon to- assist, their province in the match with Wellington, i " Notes.; ■■•".■ ";'"'■; ;.;'•'■'.: "X-\^.. ■■'■'; Articles published in : "The Post" recently gave brief details of many "of the matches played .by Wellington against Auckland and Canterbury. Space, of course, did »ot: permit ;'of complete details being -given; J Attention is drawn by a correspondent to bne notable performance which Jwas; not included. In a match between;. Auckland and Wellington on .the Auckland Domain in December, 1893, C. H. Dryden (Wellington) took ; seven' wickets for 24' runs. The Drydens were good •bowlers, and it is worthy of note that in. the 'eighties Walter Dryden, playing for the Surrey's in a junior cup match with the Ashley's on No. 3 wicket at the 'Basin 'Eeserve, took seven wickets "for no runs—all "clean bowled. ;: ■ ; Barracking was raucous 'during the second Test iniSydney. >The 'Africans were exhorted "to "Put the New .Guard on to -'em. in order to remove the stubborn batsmen; and one \vag' suggested that they' should ?"getaJack Lang;' to put 'em inVthe Upper 'Ousel" But -they were a sober-minded crowd, for-.all-,that—tho election-day lay prohibits the opening of hotels (says the "Beferee"). Evidently one spectator hadn't forgotten the fact. "Open the pubs," lie yelled, "and you'll get 'em all out!" The laughter swept Tight round the ground. \ ; ' '■'■~: ■ ;•