N.Z CRICKETERS

Hokitika Guardian, 3 July 1931, Page 2

N.Z CRICKETERS

AN ATTRACTIVE SIDE

JESSOP’S THIBET!

COMMENT 0!N NEW ZEALAND TEAiM.

LONDON, May 29. Complimentary references to the New Zealand cricket team tire to bie iouiul :n : almost every newspaper. j Under the following display head-1 ings :—“New Zealand’s Team ’ ; ‘‘.unit be Watched;’’ “Danger of Under-rat-: mg Them,’’ the “Manchester Evening 'News” publishes an art.cle by' Gilbert \j. Jtssop, the former English crick, ter. j Practically the same article appears m ’ ihe Jit 1 last Telegraph” and the t “.Scotsman.” Tire writer say's;— ! “After the astonishing nature ol the. defeat of Sthe M.C.C. by the New Z=a-| landers, one had to .stop and think. Con- j sidermg that the team which confronted tin m at headquarters included as many as tight players who have at some time or other figured in Test matches of a sort, their victory augurs well for the future, 'this second New Zealand team is unmistakably a good ali-round combination, and, even at this stage, shows distinct improvement on the side which visited us a season or two ago. "This New Zealand team, so ably captained by Tom Lowry, appeals to me as a side approximating to the j strength of South Africa. On wet wickets, judging from their perform-! ance at Lord’s, they are indeed a for- i midable organisation. We have yet to j see in what fashion they will shape j on hard and fast wickets—which must j surely soon be due—but their batsmanship already suggests that at least in this department they should not fail. Nor, indeed, in fielding, for in til's respect they are absolutely first-class. “The vulnerable point of their cricket is bowling, for there is a lack of variety which hard wickets will quickly' expose. Of the bowlers which aid service for them at Lord’s, \V. E■Merritt, 'R. G. Blunt, and I. B. Cromb struck me as being a very useful combination indeed. ‘•’the two first-named are of the Grimmett type, and, like that famous spinner, possess an uncanny control of length. Upon 'Merritt, 1 fancy, the brunt of the attack will fall—as it did on the previous tour when a mere youth of 18—with gratifying success. “ ‘Googly bowling’ is not everyone’s meat as we saw last season when Grimmett made sonic of our batsmen look rather cheap, so that if 'Merritt ard ■Blunt strike form in the Test, the absence of a fast bowler will not be so greatly felt. Bowlers of a quick description they have, and one iii particular, Cromb, looks like feiukring very useful service; fdr he has an easy delivery not unlike Tate's, and similar to that howler's 'nips’ oft’ the pitch at a fare pace. ' ( U\]together the (Stew Zealanders look a very workmanlike combination, and playing the sporting cricket they do, should prove an especially attractive side to watch. It is to be hoped that we shall not once again fall into the ‘snag’ of under-rating our opponents.

WORTH MORE THAN ONE TEST

The “Observer," last Sunday, commented -“The New Zealanders have quickly shown that they are worthy of more than one Test match with England's best. The team which the M.C.C. placed in the field against them, though with cue exception an amateur side, was regarded as nearly up to Test match calibre. Yet the eleven were put out twice 'in one day' for a full total of 180 runs, and beaten by the overwhelming margin of an innings and 122 runs. The 'M.C.C. may have had 'the worst of the wicket, but ft it was by good bowling and excellent team work that the tourists’ victory was won. “The fielding of Che New Zealanders won high praise from experienced judges who witnessed the play from the Lord’s pavilion ; and no better testimony to merit can be looked for. The ’ match demonstrated the potency of real spin bowling; also the limit of feebleness to which batsmen of repute can be reduced by it. D. R. Jardine put h : s Test match brethren to shame with a score of 19. The next highest contribution was M. J. C. Alfom, and he was allowed two innings in making 9. “Five weeks must pass b> fore the one Test match with the New Zealanders will take place at Lord’s, and presumably the English selectors will not publish the result of their labours move than a week or so in advance. Meanwhile, we know they are getting busy exploiting the land for unchartered talent, as well as noting the form of players in the public eye.”

WORK OF THE COACHES. '

The “Sunday Dispatch” said:— ‘'Although the New Zealand cricketers were naturally gratilit d by their success against the ‘M.C.C., they by no means exaggerated its importance. ‘lt is a very good thing to happen, so early in the_ tour,’ one of those mainly responsible for the victory said, ‘but we could hardly expect to do the same thing again.’ The members ot the team are full of praise for the work done by the professional coaches who have gone out to the Dorn. moil between' seasons here. Bowley, and h:s successor, Wensley, have had a lot to do with the development of Auckland cricket. “Between them they managed to change A. M. Mntheson from a fast bowler with an action "Inch was freely described as the 'world's worst, into one who was sufficiently good to be sTect'd tor the present tour,