M.C.C. AT INVERCARGILL

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 4, 6 January 1936, Page 11

M.C.C. AT INVERCARGILL

RUNS AT A FAST PACE

(By Telegraph—Press Association.) INVERCARGILL, January 5.

Brilliant weather prevailed for the opening day of the cricket match M.C.C. v. Southland at Rugby Park. Conditions for playing were excellent, but tfife wicket was inclined to be tricky. The M.C.C. team batted all afternoon, and in scoring 489 runs in 310 minutes gave the Invercargill public a taste of the type of cricket which has won the side its popularity throughout its tour in Australia and New Zealand. The great majority of the runs were scored at breakneck speed, there being only one or two patches of comparatively quiet batting in the whole innings. There were individual achievements, too, of great merit.

J. H. Parks, one of the soundest batsmen in the side, scored the highest total of the tour so far, his 201 being a mixture of very solid batting and carefree aggression. He took no risks whatever until he was well into his second hundred, and then apparently decided that he had been at the wickets quite long enough. E. R. T. Holmes lived up to his re-

pulalion as a free-scoring batsman, and his 100 in 75 minutes was perhaps Inc most delightful feature of the days batting. ~ J. Langridgc provided the .other three-figure contribution, his 118 in l-so I minutes including its sensational moments and always being free and versatile cricket. Southland's performance in the lieia was patchy. The bowling did not include much variation, and it was never really hostile. The ground fielding ! generally was good, many brilliant pieces of work more than offsetting occasional lapses due to vagaries or the turf. The wonder of it was thai more mistakes were not made. I Of the bowlers. N. MeGowan. a lefthander, was easily the most successful. He kept a fair length and occasionally got one to pop up awkwardly. He started well by holding a soft catch back down the wicket from D. Smith, the tall left-handen.whose.ls6 in Dunedin was the best individual score of the tour up to that stage. He was always bowling for the wickets, . and earned his success of five for 96 oft 26 overs. J. Purdue, the only bowler in the side with anything approaching pace, was expensive. In his opening overs his direction was not consistent, but he bowled Read with a very good ball. L.M. Uttley was definitely the steadiest bowler in the side. He adopted the leg theory with four fieldsmen fairly close in and two back on the boundary. This was successful in that it curbed the rate of scoring, but only for an over or two with the new ball after 200 was hoisted did he appear to be at all likely to get wickets. PARKS AND HOLMES. The fact that Parks spored 201 in 284 minutes speaks for itself. He started quietly, scoring 35 singles in his first 70 runs. His half-century took 95 minutes, but during most of that time Holmes was playing everything with the greatest enjoyment at the other end. He ignored Uttley's leg theory attack, but he drove and civ everything else unmercifully. His cheery enthusiasm and polished strokemaking would make him popular anywhere. He was out just before lunch. He hit four sixes and 10 fours. Barber was the only batsman to swing at Uttley's leg side bowling, and the gloss of the new ball was responsible for an intended six being skied just a yard or two inside the chalk line. Hardstaff began aggressively, but made a very unorthodox and unprofessional slash at a slight swinger from Purdue and was skittled before .he could get into his stride. MitchellInnes started driving straight away, but lofted one to Brittenden behind the bowler. , Then Langridge and Parks, both batting soundly, but scoring at a fair rate in the early stages of their partnership, added 230 for the sixth wicket in 165 minutes. The last 100 of these came in a torrent, the fieldsmen being kept racing round the boundary or retrieving the ball from the crowd. This was a stage at which five or six simple catches went begging. Langridge went first, having compiled his hundred in 105 minutes, and his additional 18 having included two>or three chances. He hit one six and 11 fours. Scores: — j

M.C.C. First Innings,

D. Smith, c and b McGowan 14 J. H. Parks, c Tapley, b McGowan 201 E. R. T. Holmes, b Scandrett .... 100 W. Barber, c Anderson, b Uttley .. -^ J. Hardstaff, b Purdue ••••■•••••■ & N. S. Mitchell-Innes, c Bnttenden, b McGowan :-v,---_" n5 J. Langridge, c Tapley, b Purdue 118 Human, c Tapley, b McGowan .... 4 A. G. Powell, c Brittenden, b McGowan •••• ' | H. D. Read, b Purdue jM A. D. Baxter, not out J Extras (byes 5, leg-byes 1, noball 1) ...'. J_. Total 489

Bowling:—J. Purdue three wickets for 136 runs, N. MeGowan five for 96 L. M. Uttley one for 82; J. Scandrett one for 39; G. Brittenden none for 56; W. Sothern none for 42, A. W. Wesney none for 15, W. Spence none for 19. SOUTHLAND. First Innings. W. Spence, not out 0 A. W. Wesney, not out 0 Extras ■' ° Total for no wickets 0