MERCANTILE LEAGUE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 134, 3 December 1938, Page 23

MERCANTILE LEAGUE

NOTES AND COMMENT

Amalgamated Bricks are rapidly putting themselves into an almost unassailable position in the Mercantile League's A grade competition. Last Saturday they made an excellent start with their batting. Pickering, Liddicoat, and Ward, with 43, 48, and 16 respectively, seemed to have laid a good foundation for a big score, but the subsequent wickets fell cheaply, and a total of 146 did not look too impossible a task for a side like Taubmans. F. De Clifford, however, was in one of his most aggressive moods, and, finishing up with the excellent tally of eight wickets for 40 runs, was mainly responsible for Amalgamated Bxucks winning by 62 runs. Amalgamated Bricks are now six points in the lead, with Working Men's Club (by a win over Prestige) now in second place.

The way the Working Men's Club defeated Perstige Hosiery was almost identical with Amalgamated Bricks' defeat of Taubmans. I. Ramsay, Kemp, and Prosser laid a good foundation, and the rest of the side failed to build upon it. The Working Men's Club team had trouble in passing the Prestige total of 147.

Woolworths defeat of the strong-bat-ting Harbour Board side was due to a great bowling performance by Jeffery and Goodson, and also to a sterling innings of 74 not out by Jeffery. With 192 as their total, it did not appear that Woolworths had given the Harbour Board too great a task, but Jeffery and Goodson were in winning mood, and, evidently inspired by good fielding, got rid of their formidable opponents to win quite comfortably by 45 runs.

Hannahs suffered their second defeat of the season, going down to Taxes Department. In spite of a solid innings of 75 by R. Allen, Hannahs were only able to reach a total of 166. Beveridge, of Taxes, took seven good wickets for the small cost of 17 runs — an average of 2.42 per wicket.

Customs Agents lost to Jasco by a narrow margin, the game in its later stages proving very exciting. Customs Agents batted first, and the batting against the accurate bowling of Stone and Gibbs was at first desperately slow. With the advent of Tilyard, Fitzmaurice, and Wynne the pace was speeded up, and the total of 202 for seven wickets was reached when the side's batting time expired. Frank Kilby and Clarke opened the batting for Jasco against the bowling of Jennings and Bryant. The bowling was excellent, and, if the batting in Customs' innings was slow, -Jasco's was slower. Only one run was scored in five overs. Kilby, however, was playing himself in, and so was Clarke, and both plodded on and took much of the sting out of the bowling. A total of 100 runs had been scored before the first change was tried in the bowling, and it was in this long delay in changing bowlers that the Customs Agents practically handed the victory of Jasco.' When Fitzmaurice and Rogers came on wickets began to fall, but the thrust was too late to do much good j

for the Agents, and they once more suffered- defeat.

In the B grade competition the meeting of the two A grade teams of last year, Gasco and Celtic, was interesting. Celtic won by 36 runs and added three much-needed points to their tally. '

Justice secured a second five-point win for the season against Smith and Smith, but this time they had to work for it. Their first five-pointer was the result of a default on the first Saturday of t%-^ season by Greys.

Niven-Clarkes also had a five-point win over Greys on Satudray. Pauling, of Niven-Clarkes,- had another good day, making 59 with the bat and taking five wickets for 11 runs.

The City Council team, G grade, seems to have been graded in too low a grade.