CRICKET.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2086, 11 January 1908, Page 6 (Supplement)

CRICKET.

NOTES BY “SUOJiT-SUB.”

It wars a change to wo APieiorin Domnin occupied by country plivms oil Saturday last., and everyone v. ill admit that the only way m v limn to guage tlic calibre of country l layers is by getting them into •wn on a good turf wicket. Perform Dices put up in the country are oilcn misleading. 01 course, it must be venu inhered that country wickets are raiely of the billiard-table order, and O at every run scored oh them is inovrugnly earned. But then the quality of the bowling is often lamentably weak, and hence it olten happens that when a batsman wlm has a big reputation for long scores m -*>3 country is pitted against a st'ong bowling side lie frequently tails to sustain that reputation. 1 should like to see more of these count'y matches arranged, .nd \ letona Domain become the M.G.C. P'o.i id <• Poverty Bay, where the eoun ry oil from Motu, Mangatu, \Vaing..Ue, 1»hva Bav, Tokomaru, ami \An,p‘Jc could meet for a country week once or even twice a season. B\ ° means, the selection commi.tee ot tl-e Poverty Bay Cricket Assoc,-..-on could arrive at wn exact emimate oi the cricket strength ot die thst -l, and should be able to Pick ■« 1 sentative eleven which would take « lot of beating. A In Boys, AVellborne,_ and Jianon, the Mangatu Club have three men who would be readily included m any New Zealand club eleven. Boys very favorably impressed me as a fast bowler. He is of line physique, powerfully .built, and stands about 6ft 2in in height. Pie talus a long run, and bowls with a delightfully easy swing, and his appearance -rives one the impression that lie could last- well. -Besides his capabilities as a bowler, he proved by his innings of 52 against AVaingake on Saturday last that he is also a sterling batsman. He has a fine oft-dnve, between forward-cover and mid-ott, which brings him many runs, while his on-driving is well timed . .md powerful. I should unhesitatingly nominate him as a certainty ior representative honors. 11. G. "VYellborne, the Maugitu captain, also demonstrated that ne is a capable batsman, with a variety or good scoring strokes. He can bit powerfully, and his hitting on Saturday was beautifully clean and accurate. He hit 19 off one over—three fours, a sixer, and a single—•mil every stroke was made on the dnv.ng part of the bat. He jumped out to the third hall, and got fairly < :i to it on the half-volley, and sent it out oi the ground over the Childers-road fence. He uses his feet, well, but has a tendency to got in trout when forcing to the on off his legs, winch nearly caused 'him to lose his wicket to Beynolils’ first ball in the second innings. The ball pitched on the leg pin, and it was only the umpires verdict that the break would have just taken the ball clear ot the off stick which saved AA'ellbornc going back lbw to the first ball. H. AY. Barton is well known to Gisborne players, and used to play regularly in the competitions as a member of the old County Club. He is a useful all-round man'. The manner in which he. put together his 32 against AVaingake proves that he can bat as well as ever, and his trundling was also as steady as of yore. He keeps a good length, ami semis down a. medium-paced ball which always has a. sting in it. The AVaingake players do not appear to have struck loan this season. and their weak displays igaiust C. S. and Co. and Mangatu have been a great disappointment to their supporters. . They have three useful men in the brothers Coop-—Leslie, George, and Dick. Each of tlie brothers is - u all-orunoil man, they are equally good with ball or bat, while they are as keen as mustard in the field. They are enthusiasts whom it is at all times a pleasure to meet on or off the tie]'.!. Then there are the Parker brothers. This family could easily place an eleven in the field themselves. Dan, Bob, Joe, and Pat were the only four available for the recent matches. They are all useful players, and if they got regular practice would develop into good all-round men. Jim, Frank, and Dave, who used to play regularly with the old Baiiganui Club, have taken up sheep stations on the AVairoa side, ami are lost to local cricket. In J. H. Dennis the AVaingake Club have a capable and enthusiastic secretary 1 who'keeps the club alive. He is a' sound and steady batsman, and played a couple of most useful innings in the recent games in which his club was engaged. He also mddcd brilliantly in the nntcli against C. -S. and Co. at point."'Oiie particularly briHiaiit bit of work fairly brought down the house, Oibspn get on to an off ball with all fl- ' behind the ---• wood B'- ~ve, and cut it along

ground at terrific pace to Dennis left hand. The ball was beautifully taken with the left hand, and the batsman had all he could do to scramble back into his ground before the ball was returned almost as last as it had gone. 1 should like to give a word of advice to the AA’aingake bowlers, particularly Reynolds and George and Dick Coop. 'The former is ajnediumpaco bowler, while the latter are medium slow. “Place your field deeper, AVaingake trundlers ! Many of the. fourers scored against you would have been wickets if a sure catch had been in the deep field.” To Reynolds I would say: “Place a man at deep mid-on. A'ou know the cunning wav in which they nip across from leg. AVell. pitch them well up .and sooner or later the batsman’s patience will give out. He- will lie tempted to Irfc yon. and deep mid-on will gather them to his bosom.” ('. Trafford-Reynnlds has been doing phenomenal work with the ball tills season. He is a medium-pace! left-hand bowler, and must have taken more wickets than any other howler in the district this season. On Thursday afternoon Te Ran and C. S', and Co. had to fight their battle over again, as in the last m itch between these elevens the former club played unregistered players, and on the matter being reported tin* Poverty Pay Cricket .\«o>riutioii ordered the match to be replayed. The bye-law which compels clubs Ui register players before they can take part in Cup competitions is one wh eh gives general satisfaction amongst td ivers, and prevents clubs “ringing in” prominent men who may be in town for a holiday. This practice has caused heartburning in the pas' - , and the compulsory registration oi players is admitted on all sides to In*

To Jtali wore o\ w• , j>Lly delenmm d to make no ui-isi ike about winning the match on Thm . day last, and selected a strong cleien, including C. Tasker and A. Toiing, the well-known Taruhoru cracks. - the former did not roll lip, however, and the latter was so late in arriving at the ground that his bowling w is not utilised m (J. S. and Co.’s fust innings. All through the game the bowlers had the upper brunt. The brothers Wack wero cntrurte.-l with the Te Hau attack, and both howled capitally at the commencement of the game. These players hail from Broken Hill, and .are noth reliable bowl-

jack Wack bowls with a peculiar body action, which causes the ball to get a natural break from leg with a medium fast ball. He beat Hardstick with this particular ball, which pitched outside the leg pin and found the olf stick. Harry Wack has time and again put up good bowling performances. He bowls a medium-paced hall of capital length, with a useful off-break. He pitches them well up, and varies p ice and length with good judgment. He employed the yorker with deadly effect- on the less experienced batsment, and captured six wickets for 22 runs, while his brother Jack bagged four for 34, but should have had better figures, as two or three catches were dropped off his bowling. CJrinlinton was the only G. S. and Co. batsman to stand up to the bowling. This young player is showing great promise of developing into a sound and reliable batsman. He has excellent defence, and was at tlie wickets upwards of an hour for his 17. Uridge also made a useful contribution of 9. It was small, certainly, but was made at a critical time, and as events proved just won the match. With only 70 to face, the Te Rau men were confident or victory. It is always better at cricket to have the runs on the slate than to have to get them, however, and so the Te Rau men found to their cost-. Brown and Baxter bowled lently, .and kept the Te Rau\baismen vigilant throughout. Young* was shaping confidently, but succumbed to his old weakness of getting in front of the sticks in forcing t.o tho on, and was out lbw. Jack Wack came very near winning the game for his side, and played a spirited innings for 19, but just when 9 runs were wanted to win he essayed a cut olf B iker, and was easily taken by Harry Maude in the slips. Brown quickly settled the last two batsmen, and as Tc Rail were a man short C. S. and Co. gained a victory by 8 runs. Though the bowling was good throughout, there was unmistakable evidence of sad lack of form on the part of most of the batsmen. Get to the nets, men !

At -call of time C. S. and Co. had scored 71 for nine wickets. Hardstick (21) and Baxter' (11) were the only double-figure men. Young bowled remarkably well, and got on a lot of pace, lie created a panic among the less experienced batsmen, who were Out before they came in. He also scared wicketkeeper Cary away from the sticks. Cary was standing close up as usual, but after getting a. 1 bump or two fioin Young’s express deliveries, he went about ten yards back, and even then was unable to take Young’s fast stuil’, byes totalling 16’. The Clip matches will be resumed this afternoon. United meets "Wanderers at Victoria Domain, and Te Ran proceeds to Taruhem. . How are the mighty fallen ! The representative Motu • eleven which visited Gisborne last month were challenged by eleven dkeonsolatcs on their return, and the.rejects won lay over an innings. Tin’s proves that cricket in the .Motu mist be a good deal stronger than ever Gishorneites supposed. and the . Gisborne team which proposes to' visit Motu at the cud of this month nay have to figlit a B iiinockburn, ayifli the Motu men sporting the thisf.e. Ernie Derecourt and Bill Recil mjy be even now digging pits against .'lie coming of the invaders.

Mr. It. Cole stood with Mr. B. Thelwall as umpire ij the match on i luirsday. It was a pleasure to see this old player on tie field agaTn after .an absence of about six -ears from the arc .. fid-timers will remember “Dior;" Cot; as a prominent member of the ok Gisborne Club. " hat time Arthur Ee»s, Massey, and Hussey formed sup) * powerful combination. Mr. Colefs now headmaster of the 'Mailgap® a school, and let us hope that 'his .jinoa ranee on the field as umpire witi-be but the prelude to his again 'ogularlv donning the flannels as an ajpivo player. Cole was a capital bat wfitfli ‘at his bc.it, and lus rare t\,. n 0 f speed made urn invaluable m | lO bold, |>o - to cover a doM ef ro , d had a sass paif- of ti.-i - ,e he C|iiick amf accurate ~d a very