CRICKET.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2104, 1 February 1908, Page 2 (Supplement)

CRICKET.

(Notes by “Short-Slip.” Tim Tokomaru eric holers have como and gone, and have 101 l behind them tlio best of impressions. 'The fact Unit struck ono immediately on seeing tlio visitors was. tlio youtiifulness ol their players. With tlio exception of the Rev. AV. Robinson, they were all youngsters. Crickets elevens have as a general n'lilo so many “old bullors” and veterans in their ranks that it is quite refreshing to meet a team ovory member of which is in tho very morning of life, and whose fresh, young faces are glowing with health and good spirits. It augurs well for the future ol the game oil the Coast that the young 'mis are so well forward and are taking such a wholesouleil interest in cricket. AVlien Reginald Jlnllanioie, Boh Carey, Hugh White, Jim Lang, and the rest of the present day exponents of the game in Gisborne are learning to grow old with grace, and gout and tho other ills which attend tlio approach of that stage which means a retirement from notice participation in the game compel them to join tlio spectators in tlio pavilion, the members of the Tokomaru eleven which have just been with us will be in tlio prime of life, and will he able to worthily stiqi into tlio gaps made in the ranks by the ravages o'ftinie. A tribute must be paid to the excellence ol tho howling ol the youthful team from the Coast. Tho score put up by the Thursday eleven (JOB) was by far the highest total scored a"a i list them. The Friday eleven could only scratch together _9B anil 29 for one wicket, while the Saturday team could dnlv laboriously compile 75 and 105 for six wickets. This, it must bo admitted, speaks volumes lor the steadiness of the 'Tokomaru howling. CJ Oates. J. Reid. P. Temple. Rev. AY. Robinson, AV. Oates, Claydeii and Jollv all bad a turn with the ball. The two first-named bore the brunt of the attack, and their length was excellent .throughout. None of tlio Coast trumllcrs got any work on the ball, but relied on length to get the wickets. They kept- pegging away at the sticks the whole time, and in tlio end they were rewarded. I would advise them to vary t,hoir deliveries more. If you send down the same ball to a good batsman over after over, lie knows exactly what is coining along, and your deliveries cease to have any terrors for him. To George Oates, Reid, anil Temple, I would say, as a hoary-headed old veteran who may be permitted to give a word of advice to three youngsters for whose promise as bowlers he lias great admiration : “Mix them iq) some! Try. and vary your pace and length without changing your action ! Send down all occasional one just outside the off stick! Never mind trying to hit the sticks with cvcty ball you bowl! A good length ball just outside the oil’ stick will tempt the best of batsmen to have a cut, and as every player knows it is a dangerous ball to score from..’ “ft must lie still fresh in your memory, my young Tokomaru friends, how frequently George Ilarker brought vour best deliveries round to tho square-leg boundary. Aon mado tlio mistake Of sending down the same ball every time. George quickly discovered this, and your line length and precision were unavailing to prevent your best length halls being hooked ancl pulled to the boundary as easily as if they had been long"Thero was a delightiul recklessness about tho batting ol the visitors. A short and merry life’ seemed to be the motto of tho majority, the Rev. W. Robinson, Jordan, and L. Reid were the only men who thought- it- at- all necessary to act on the defensive at mines.

“You will never make long scores, my young friends, until you combine Uulenco with aggression. Even Cotter, Jessop, Lyons, and Bonnor-.found _it necessary occasionally to act on the defensive to an occasional good one. iou can all hit; well, now, rid yourselves of tlio impetuosity which makes yuo absolutely on tenter-hooks to bang every ball sent down over the fenco. Perfect your defence, learn to discriminate in picking the- balls to hit, and the combination of defence and aggression will make longer scores for you than all the reckless slogging in the world. Desperation strokes are no good. A bojvler 'knows lie has a batsman on toast when ho sees him lotting indiscriminately at good, bad, and indifferent deliveries.” Union and Common, Shelton and Co were the contending elevens in tho competition match at Victoria Domain on Thursday. -. Tho latter had a strong team in the field, and were expected to make no race of it. The Union batsinon aro in splendid batting form fit is season, however, and again gave .. capital exhibition. J. Lang won the toss, and took I). Miller in with him to open tho innings. It will bo remembered that this pair put on 122 for tho first wicket against To Ran at Victoria Domain a fortnight ago. In the match on Thursday, Lang and Miller again gave their side a splendid start. Baxter and Brown wero the howlers, but Miller was in his best aggressive mood, and punished both the fast bowlers unmercifully. The first fifty appeared in half an hour, Miller being responsible for tho lion’s share of the runs, while Lang was batting quietly, but soundly. It was not until 60 runs appeared that C. iS. and Co.’s skipper made a change in the bowling, W. Gibson relieving Brown. With the total at 80, J. Lang went out to the slow bowler, and was cleverly stumped by Hallaniore. Lang had batted well and soundly for his 23. J Gibson joined Miller and tlio ’fair took tlio total along to HI, when Miller skied one to Bowman at long-mi. Tho young Unionist- gave a bng.it and attractive display of free anil 'stvlisli cricket until he readied tlio liaif-cciitiirv. He then appeared to got reckless, and made many prude and iincrickei like strokes iu attempting big hits, fie scored 71, and could easily have got- liis three figures hail he exercised a little restraint. He was liadlv dropped in the long field by Maude oft Gibson at 60. Miller lias scores of 59. 65, 93 and 71 to his credit this season, and must be admitted to be the most consistent run-getter m the district. As I before pointed out, when he learns to keep the ball down, and restrains liis tendency to make too many gallery hits, lie will bo a firsl-lliglitcr as a •batsman. j. Gibson (35), Austin (13), Emanuel (22). and J. Doyle (18, not out) all gave, the bowlers trouble, and, with two men absent the total reached 200

It was impossible to follow the reasoning oi the Union captain, J. Lang, in hanging on to the wickets until S.;JU. and not declaring when his side had 160 up. It will lie remembered that the Union captain did exactly tho some thing against Tc Ran, when Union scored 122 lor the first wicket. In that instance, as in the match under review, the Union captain threw away .an almost certain chance of winning by not declaring earlier, it appears that the Union captain overrates the batting strength of .his opponents, while he considers his bowing weak. If he follows this custom, his team will never win a match if they score 300 every time they go to the wickets. To remain at the wickets so long, is tantamount to making your opponents a present of a point and taking one yourself. It seems a pity that after, two suclj fine performances as Union •made with the hat against Te Ran and C- S: and C'o they should he no higher on tho list than if they had scored half tho number of runs they did. Don’t be frightened. Jim; lot) takes a lot oT getting, and ill forcing tho pace batsmen are very apt tin Jose their wickets. ' .

The cup competition will be resumed to-d iv. V\ andorers journey out to Tariflievu and United and Te Ran meet at Victoria Domain. After all it is club cricket that keens interest in the same at its

highest pitch. Keen rivalry is tlio best spur to progress ill any branch of sport and there is an interest taken in tlio local competition that causes each club to strain every nerve to put its best eleven in tho field fit and well. , . The Ran are at present loading. It. AV. Gary, their captain, left Gisliorno on Saturday lasL lor Auckland, intending to be absent a week, and reUi<rn- via Now l/lymoiitil ana Napier. Owing to Uie Motu trip being postponed, the Cricket Association decided to go on with the oup matches. A wire was despatched to the To Ran captain advising him ol tlio alteration, and like a wise general ho returned to Gisborne by 'Wednesday's boat to marshal his forces siiHl put them to solid work at the nets. Such loyally to liis team deserves to bo rewarded with success, and if the To Ran captain leads liis men to victory in the match commencing to-day everyone will admit that liis devotion to tlio interests of liis club thoroughly -entitles him to the laurel wreath. United will be without the services of G. Trafford Reynolds, who is at present surveying at ’J.'olaga- ’Buy, and J. Lang, who cannot get leave on Saturdays. Nevertheless, they have a strong batting side, and il .Hutcheson, L. Coop and Yeats can be depended upon to do the bowling they should make a great light for victory. . . . Wanderers h ive been disappointing their supporters by their recent performances. They have a strong allround combination, but when it comes to a stern chase their players have an incomprehensible knack or collapsing and going to pieces. Still with such bowlers nr ilarker, Babb, McColl, fc>. Wilson, and Adamson, and with George Marker in liis best batting form they iye a team to be seriously reckoned with at all times. The Tarulieru team is a most peculiar combination. Up to the present, their eleven has Trail to rely on- three men to do all the work, and right well have they risen to the occasion. These- three —A. Y-’oung, G. Lasker, and J. Charles—are veritable demons, and opposing captains aro in holy terror of them. Young and Charles think absolutely nothing of sending a strong batting side to the right-about in ail hour and ahalf, while Young and Laskor may bang the best of bowling to all parts of the field and cause a hundred to appear on the board at any time inside the hour. If Tarulieru could depend on C. Fenwick, A. H. Hodge, AA*. Slurp, and Murphy playing regularly, I should fancy their chances of carrying off the . championship more than any team in the competition.

The Motu trip has been postponed until the middle of 'February, and it is now proposed to play the match at Motu on Saturday, 22nd hist. It was originally arranged to play on February Ist, but none of the office hands could get leave for the end ot the mouth. Gisborne players a'e looking forward to the- trip, as the hospitality of the Motu cricketers and residents is proverbial.

Roger Hartigau is not, as claimed in some quarters, tho first Queenslander to represent his State in test matches. 11l 1895 A. Coningliam aas -selected and jiroveil a very useful member of the team. Apropos of li-artigni and his meritorious . erformanco ill making a century in his first test, the following list of playcw who have achieved a similar feat >• II prove of interest to lovers of the game: 0. Baiuierinaii, 165 not out, at Melbourne, 1877. TI. G-riliam, 107, at Lords, England, 1893. R. A. Duff. 101, at Melbourne, 1902. R. Hartigau. 116, at Ailel-i' le, 1908. AA : . G. Grace, 152, at Koimingco.'i Oval, 1880. K. S. Ranjitsinliji, 15-1 not out, at Munches! or. 1896. R. E. Foster, 287, at Svdiiov, 1903. THE THIRD TEST MATCH. ENGLISHMEN BADLY BEATEN. CLEM HILL MAKES GREATEST INNINGS OF HIS CAREER. "When the game was resumed on Wednesday with tho temperature at 110 in the shade, ther'Englislimen were a beaten team. The left-handed batsmen was still sustained oil soda and milk, but lie batted as though lie were never so well in his life. linrtigan suffered a reaction from the previous day’s great effort, and gave a couple of chances in making 11 more, after which he was dismissed. The Queenslander’s was a great innings. Even forgetting for a moment the circumstances in which the runs were made, he played fine high-class cricket. His defence was sound, and his strokes all around the wicket were well-timed and clean. What one admired as much as anything else was the way in which he stepped out to drive on both sides of the wicket, always using his feet and getting well over tho ball. He showed a disposition now and then to go a hit- too much for ttlie off theory, but -liis partner constantly checked this.

Carter again played a useful innings, while Hill, hatting as forcefully as ever, added 54 to his score. Just before ho got out he gave a chance, but such a chance! Ho banged a ball past mid-on, which went clean through the arms of Young, who was standing close in. A technical chance, of course, but probably the man never lived who would hold it. Fortunately for Young the ball did not strike him. Hill’s 160 was undoubtedly the greatest effort of his career I saw him tort years ago make his 188 in Melbourne and get tho Australians out of trouble. That was a perfect innings, but lie was young then and in tlio pink <>l condition. Hero lie was ill and weak, but the stout heart in him overcame all physical disabilities, and bo made the bowling look cheap by bis hard bitting to the on and beautiful placing oil the off, all the time never losing the chance to steal a run. No wonder the crowd rose to him when lie returned to the pavilion. , Little need be said about the laiglislimen’s innings, winch was begun on Wednesday, and limshed off in an hour oil Thursday morning. J he wicket was cracking in one or two places, and one long crack gave an opportunity to O’Connor, which be utilised, and none of the batsmen nbiyeil him comfortably. Tho Englishmen, apparently, did not make a serious attempt to win tho game. r l bey bad given no the ghost, and most oi them cave chances which led G> their downfall The Australians this tune fielded magnificently, and two catches were made which were quite memorable The first, which was by Macartney, dismissed ILanlstaff. J he Notts 'batsman was playing brilliant cricket, in striking contrast to Ins stonewalling on Saturday. Finally, lie lifted a. ball from Saunders away down to long-on. Macartney ran irom oo to 40 yards, then got the ball'shoulder high in both hands over the left shoulder, and bold it, amid the plaudits of the crowd. A catch which seemed to me to he almost equally meritorious was that Jiv Armstrong, which dismissed Rhodes. I lie batsman mule a bit over tin* bowlers head, and Armstrong, with bis ponderous •weight ran to meet it. He got in near, stretched out both bands m front of him, below the level of the knee-—any cricketer will 'know what it. means to hold the leather in such circumstances —and gripped the ball securely. Besides Hardstafi, Biaund was the only other batsman who shaped at all well. O’Connor and Saunders each bad a golden chance, and availed themselves ol it. oaundeis, however, sent down a groat many loose ones, and ought to have done better than be did. When the game, was oyer, the Englishmen were bitterly disappointed. They reckoned, of course, that the game had been. thrown away, and probably in that they were right. They also thought,/without disparaging the magnificent batting of Hill •and Hurt bran, that' Hip tprriffio beat,

had had' much to do with their defeat. They left Adelaide quite dispirited, and if the fourth Test match Hail to lie begun next Friday, many of the visitors would start feeling that they had a hard up-hill fight to face.