N.Z. CRICKETERS

Hokitika Guardian, 4 November 1931, Page 3

N.Z. CRICKETERS

LOWRY’S IMPRESSIONS

HOW THE PLAYERS SHAPED

AUCKLAND, Nov. 1. Questioned with regard to h : s impressions of English cricket, T. C. •Lowry, captain, of the New Zealand cricket team which returned from England to-dny, said that of the newcomers they met they were most impressed with Verity and Bowes of Yorkshire, and Brown of Cambridge University. Of the old players, Tate, Freeman and Parker were the best, arm many p,f the touring side thought these three better than, the younger bowlers. The team was disappointed at not meeting Larwood, who was regarded as the best bowler in England. “Nearly all the star batsmen made centuries against us, and some of them two' or three,” continued Lowry. “Sutcliffe and Jardine -are the best of the correct batsmen in Engi’and, and are very hard to get out. They possess wonderful temperaments and immeasurable patience. “Dule-epsinhji was in magnificent form this year. He is a law unto himself, entirely brilliant and unorthodox, and it is impossible to keep hi.m quiet wli le he is at the -wickets.

■ “Hammond and 'Woolley played’ bril-liant-innings, -making their runs in : front of the wicket and hitting many . sixes. Airosa, Htendrcn and Ley,and are probably the best of the other batsmen Li 'England. ■BRILLIANT HOBBS. i “We played against Hobbs at Scarborough and he made 150,” said Lowry.' “This was, I think, the most brilliant innings against us. He was at the wickets with -Sutcliffe, and both their -scores were 60. Hobbs then proceeded to 150 while Sutcliffe, was still in the sixties. George Gunn, of Nottingham, probably the greatest stylist and exponent of footwork, made a cvntuiv against us, but as he is over 50 years of age he has lost much of his -speed. “It is impossible to discuss an English cricket tour without mentioning the excellence of the umpiring,” said Lowry. “By having complete confidence i.n the umpires a batsman is able to' play more shots. He can attempt to shore off many balls which without confidence in the umpire he would have to stop for fear' of getting out leg before wicket. If a young cricketer is continually given out leg before by- an umpire he loses confidence .In himself and also is unable to utilise i many scoring shots and concentrate on defence. This makes for dull cricket. The public, upon whose support the game is -so vitally dependent, demands bright cricket and many runs. By a correct interpretation of the . rulers an ,unipire can do a tremendous amount toward this by giving a batsman confidence. Messrs Chester and , H’U’dsfcaffe, recognised as the best, ump/ref. in England, officiated in the three tests we had. Even the best umpires makemistakes, but they make the fewest.”

NEW ZEALAND BOWLERS. “Our opening bowlers were steadim than previously, but our change bowlers were not so effective,” said Lowry. “Crornb bowled really well and for long .periods on- six or seven occasions. He alw ys b owned weli at Lord’s; possibly the slope on the wicket helped him, as the top side of the ground is eleven feet higher than the lower side. “Merritt started the season splendidly, arc! had sixty wickets by the middle of June, but after that he failed to keep length or direction. Maybe he was over-bowled, but nobody else seemed able to get wickfets. Blunt was not so good as previously. Matheson was never really fit, having a permanently weak wrist and ankle, but he bowled well on two or three, occasions. Talbot and Weir both bowled fairly inexpensively, and .for long periods at times, hut they' were unable to spin the -ball and. so .snake use of wickets. Allcott should have shown to great advantage 'on the/wet wickets, but he'was unable to spin the ball.’ He bowled steadily and inexpensively, but far too much outside the off stump, thereby allowing the batsmen to leave three or four balls in each over completely alone. - Alicott and Vivian were the only two bowlers really able to keep length in the last two months of the tour. Vivian showed great promise and ’should be a wonderful help to New Zealand cricket as a bowler for many years in future.

DEMPSTER OUTSTANDING. “Dempster was the outstanding batsman, being in splendid form throughout the season,” Lowry continued. “He w.a.s never in difficulties on any wicket, and must compare, very favourably with the best we have ever seen. Blunt finished with a fine burst of' form and played- his true, confident game in the last six weeks only. Mills always timed the bah 1 well and was very stylish. “Vivian played several brilliant, dashing iimitigs. His 132 against Yorkshire was almost the best knock of the tour. Toward the end of the. season too much bowling no ■ doubt interfered with Ins batting. Kerr never timed the ball so well in England as in New Zealand, but always showed solid defence. M eir played many useful innings and dis-

played splendid defence, but a paucity of scoring shots. , IMPROVED FfELOiyG, “The fielding of the si,do was better than previously. The catching was decidedly improved, but st'll not good. Page was a very good first slip. The vrouml fielding was poor, but was helped quite a lot by the snow nature of the wet grounds, the ball not travelling '■so fast. “James's wicketkeeping was of a very high grade throughout the tour. Still, he iiS not so fast as he was some years ago, but he is still very reliable, and we did not see anyone much better. Kerr, Vivian, and Dempster .fielded well in all positions.”