CRICKET

Hokitika Guardian, 18 November 1930, Page 3

CRICKET

RYDER’S XI. V. THE REST. (Australian Press Association.) MELBOURNE, November 17. There was no play m the Ryder benefit cricket match to-day, as rain .damaged the pitch. CRICKETER’S GRAVE. TEN THOUSAND FILE PAST. LONDON, November 17. There were remarkable scenes in the, Mansfield Cemetery, where ten thousand people passed the grave of the cricketer Whysall. The police lmd to be called to regulate the crowd. ENGLISH TOUR. NEW ZEALAND TEAM’S ITINERARY. WELLINGTON, Nov. 15. Tile tour of England by the New Zealand cricket team is now definite, it is practically certain that the players will leave via Panama on March 28. Hie revised programme is;— May 1,2. 3 and 4—Practice matches (not yet arranged.) May 6, 7 and B—v. Essex. May 9, 11 and 12—v. Leicestershire. May 13, 14 and 15—v. Hampshire. May 10, 18 and 19—v. M.C.C., at

Lords. May 20, 21 and 22—v. Worcestershire. May 23, 25 and 26—v. Glamorgan. May 27, 28 and 29—v. Oxford Uni-

versity. May 30 and June 1 and 2—v. Middle-

sex, at Lord’s. June 3, 4 and s—v. Cambridge Uni-

versity. June -6, 8 and 9—v. Somerset. June 10, 1.1 and 12—v. Gloucestershire. June 13, 15 and 16—v. Derbyshire. June 17, 18 and 19—v. Minor counties, at Gainsborough. June 20 , 22 and 23—v. Northants. June 24, 25 and 26—Reserved. June 27 , 29 and 30—v. England at

Lord’s. July 2 and. 3—v. Staffordshire. July 4, 6 and 7—v. Notts. July 8, 9 and 10—v. Yorkshire. July 11, 13 and 14—v. Lancashire. July 15, 16 and 17—v. Scotland, at Edinburgh. July 19 and 20—v. Durham. July 22, 23 and 24—v.. Combined Services; at Portsmouth. July 25, 27 and 28—v. Hampshire. July 29, 30 and 31—v. Surrey. August ), .3 and 4—v. Glamorgan. August 5. 6 and 7—v. Warwickshire. August 8, 10 and 11—v. Gloucester-

shire. August 12, 13 and 14—v. AVales. August 15, 17 and 18—v. Lancashire. August 20 aiid 21—v. Norfolk. Augiist 22, 24 and 25—v. Essex. August 26, 27 and 28—v. Kent. August 29 and 31 and September 1— v. Sussex. September 2 and 3—v. Gentlemen of England, at Eastbourne. September 5, 7 and B—v. An English eleven, at Folkestone. September 9, 10 and 11—v. An English eleven, at .Scarborough. September 12. 14 and.ls—v. e ir Jnlien Cahn’s eleven, at 'Nottingham.

N.Z. COUNCIL

ANNUAL REPORT AND BALANCE--7 SHEET.

The Management Committee has pleasure in submitting tbe thirty-fifth annual report and balance sheet for the season 1920-30:

FINANCE

The annual accounts 'lisclo.se a normal state of affairs as far as the Council’s own financial position is concerned. Following the usual practice. special and separate accounts were kept of the tour of the M.C.O. team during the 1929-30 season.

These accounts disclose that our anticipations of avoiding a. deficit on the tour were fully realised.

M.C.C. TOUR

The M.C.O. tour last season was i'iiost successful from every point of view. Dnleepsinhji and Woolley were great attractions, and the team was a powerful one in eve 17' department of the game. The success of the tour was largely due to the tact and courtesy of the captain, .Mr Harold Gilligan, and the Management Committee is very grateful indeed to Mr Gilligan for his advice and assistance, and for the fair and reasonable way in which lie met every wish and request of the Management Committee, except in one or two instances, such as the duration of test matches, where lie was bound by instructions from England. No better sportsmen have ever visited this country, and the tour will always be remembered by New Zealand cricketers with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction.

A substantial profit on the tour was made in Australia., but the Council was very unlucky irt th'e Test matches in New Zealand. In the first Test at Christchurch there was no play on the Saturday, and as there was tremendous interest in the match, the loss to the Council was most substantial. ’Hie second Test in Wellington showed satisfactory financial profit. and the weather was good throughout that game. The third Test in ~wl was comnletolv ruined by min. and no plnv was mumble on the TiYidav or Saturday. The Council r>rnhnhly lost £9OOO on the two wet Saturdays in Christchurch and Auckland. The M.0.C., recognising the very great , misfortune which had come upon the

Council, authorised’ Mr Gilligan to play an extra test iii Auckland, and this match was played and showed it satisfactory prout, but naturally there was not quite the same interest in the exra game. The Management Committee is particularly grateful to the officials of the Auckland Association, who assisted at very snort notice, and in face of great difficulties, to make tile extra lest match a success, and also to the Wanganui and Taranaki Associations, who promptly and readily agreed to a variation m the pfogVal.lime enabling tlie fourihi Test match to he played. Under our contract with the M.C.C. the pro.essionals’ fees were a first charge on the profits of the tour. These lees were £I6OO, and the profits were approximately the same amount. The result is that the Council will make nothing out of the tour, and would have made a substantial loss had it not been for the exceptional success oi the matches in Australia and the generous terms which the Board of Control gave the Council there. The performances of the New Zealand team against the M.C.C. were exceedingly satisfactory, except for the first 'lest at Christchurch, when the very fine fowling of Allont on a tricky wicket caused the complete collapse of the New Zealand team. The second Test in Wellington might easily have been won by our team but for several serious blunders in the field. 'lhe disappointing feature of the New Zealand play last season was the very poor fielding, and the complete absence of stock medium pace righthand bowlers. Our batting reached a, very high standard, and compared quite well with that of our opponents. Dempster was again the best batsman of the year, and his opening partnership with Mills in the second Test was one of the best performances in the history of New Zealand cricket. Lowry was a competent and mudfish captain, and no one could have done more with the weak bowling at his command, and on several occasions lie hatted with great resolution when his side was in a difficult position.

NEW ZEALAND TOUR TO

ENGLAND,

A very satisfactory programme has been arranged for our tour to England next season, including one Test match at Lord’s, matches against almost all the first-class counties, and two matches against several of the first-class counties. Taking into account the good impression that the New Zealand team made in 1927. it is hoped that the next tour will be a financial success, and the Management Committee proposed to finance the tour bv tbe formation of a company, as on tbe previous occasion. The committee thinks that we should make the effort to send another team to -• England while there are still available some members of the. 1927 team, and the experience which will be gained by our players in England next season will be of great benefit to cricket generally in New Zealand during the next ten vears a i' least. The confidence shown by members of the 1927 team against the fast and fast-medium howling of the M.C.C. team last season could he definitely attributed to Lssons learned by those batsmen in England. Tt is not proposed to send another team to England for at least eurht years. as the programme of Dominion visits to Enel and is now settled nine years in advance; next vear—l931 —is the only year open to New Zealand for five or six years ahead.

The committee nrnnoses to instruct the'New Zealand selectors that snerial attention must he paid to field mm and that no plover shall he side-fed whose fieldiim fails to reach a fair average standard.