COMMENT ON THE PLAY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 73, 28 March 1933, Page 12

COMMENT ON THE PLAY

THE ENGLISH BOWLING

(Special to "The Evening Post.")

CHRISTCHTJECH, March 27.

Today's play was approached in a somewhat different spirit from that of Saturday. Then the feeling was one of apprehension —there was the possibility of the Englishmen running up a big score (as they did) .and dismissing New Zealand for a .small total. Today, with the sun shining, brightly, and with1 the fine stand made by Weir and Kerr,. and, in a less degree, Whitelaw, fresh in the memory, it was felt, despite the bad news about Badcoek and Vivian, that while a win was quite out of the question, there was at least more than a sporting chance of pulling off a fairly creditable draw. ' When it was seen how confidently Page and Kerr tackled tho bowling, high class as it was, and backed up by fielding more energetic than that of Saturday, it was felt that there was a good day's cricket in prospect. The batsmen made no attempt to force the pace, but were content to go quietly along, and during the twenty-five overs they were together not half a dozen balls got past them. Those were on the leg-side. Indeed, during the whole of the New Zealand innings there were a great many balls on' the leg with which the batsmen failed to connect. Even James, who is usually so strong in this direction,-missed them regularly. . SLOW BUT INTERESTING. Bpth Page and Kerr put the bat hard against the ball even in their defensive strokes, so that although the scoring was slow the play during their partnership was never uninteresting. Kerr was the more aggressive, and when the rare loose one came along ho gave it short shrift. A full toss from Verity went smoking1 hot past Tate to the square-leg feneo, the big' fellow making a smart duck. The bowling was accurate and. the field weil placed, with the gaps hard to find. The partnership- had lasted 65 minutes and added 33 runs before Kerr made his first mistake in chopping a rising ball into Hammond's hands. He had never been troubled during the morning, and had taken. advantage of every opportunity of scoring. . BATTING OF THE "TAIL." With 186 for four (although this was really equivalent to five), the situa»tion still looked good, but James was I j ever at home, and began to manifest Ifome uneasiness. As has already been I indicated, he failed at his strongest I point, "on the on-side, and it was no surprise /when he went.

_ Smith was quite a different proposition. He opened confidently, getting, well behind the ball every time, and as long a.B he and Page, were together there

were still posibilities of prolonging the innings.

Allen was bumping them now, and, although Page turned some of them to leg and slammed others down the gully, he tried the cut onee too often, failed to get over a rising ball, and was caught. He had batted just over two hours, and hrfd played the right game. He drove well on both sides of the wicket, but found it difficult to penetrate the field, and most of his runs came from shots to fine leg and through the slips. BADCOCK'S PLUCKY EFFORT. With his departure, the writing was on the wall, for Smith soon went, and although Newman showed unexpected staying powers Freeman was manifestly nervous, and not to bo recognised as the boy who had batted so well for the Country team in Wellington a few months ago. When he went there were left only Newman and the wounded Badcoek, but the latter batted pluckily for a quarter of an hour, and so far from being content to hold his end up, made some clean, square cuts and leg hits. The partnership came to an end. with the dismissal of Newman, who had batted for thirty-five minutes —a good performance for a tail-ender against Tate, Allen, and Voee. The last five wickets had put on only 37 runs, rather disappointing after the good start. Whitelaw and Dempster opened again, and both batted with quiet confidence under a grey, lowering sky, with,clouds of dust, and rain in the offing. ' When stumps were drawn at 'i o'clock weather conditions, despite the cold wind, were really not such as to make play impossible, but no doubt the umpires were guided by the fact that there was a boat to catch and that a draw was inevitable. ATTACK HELD NO TEREOES. Whitelaw again batted well, and the match served to demonstrate that, whatever would have been, the position had Larwood been playing, the rest of the English attack presented no terrors to the recognised New. Zealand batsmen. The leg theory was not tried, Voce and Allen bowling with a normal field. One or two bumpers were sent down, but were satisfactorily dealt with. Allen was once again a bundle of energy, and,a fine type for a budding- fast bowler to copy, while Freer»an might do well to note that Brown for the most part kept them well up on the middle or off stump and turned them away from there. Hammond, who had an over ,or two in the second innings, made-them, run away from the batsmen, and bowled an occasional fast one which was not difficult to detect. NEWMAN'S FAILURE. The selectors have relied on the saine team for the next Test, despite the failure of Newman and Freeman. So far as Freeman is concerned it is perhaps good policy to persevere with him with a _ view to the future, but Newman might well have been dropped. Smith needs to learn to bowl with more accuracy for longer periods, but as his batting shows such' promise not much fault can be found with his retention