CRICKET.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 446, 9 March 1912, Page 3

CRICKET.

G. J. Thompson left Wellington last week on his return to the Old Country, and before his departure gave a representative of the Star his opinion of the game in Auckland, and also New Zealand. As far as Auckland was concerned, Thompson stated he was very pleased with the hatting, which was exceptionally good, and had improved wonderfully since his last visit. It compared very favourably with the batting of the South Africans as he knew it. On the other hand, the bowling was very weak, and this department had been woefully neglected. This was proably due to the fact that too much attention had been given to the batting, and to improve the bowling it was absolutely necessary that it should receive the same amount of coaching as batting. The game in New Zealand generally had advanced fully one hundred per cent, since he was last here, and if a couple of fast bowlers could be unearthed, and the present talent well coached, there was no reason why the Dominion representatives should not compete against any cricket of the present day. One thing he was certain of was that a team from New Zealand would do better than did South Africa on their first visit to England, owing to the grass wickets. Another matter that wanted careful consideration was the placing of the field. It was absolutely necessary to place it so as to block strokes, and also in anticipation of certain strokes. This was a question that should be given a lot of study. In concluding, Thompson said that Auckland had nothing to fear of the future, owing to the number of colts coming on, provided that the present system of coaching continued, and that the Association were careful to engage coaches with the thorough knowledge of all branches of the game. Wellington Cricket Association has decided to suggest to the New Zealand Cricket Council that the Plunket Shield should be awarded in the same manner as the Sheffield Shield in Australia; that all associations should play not les3 than one home and one out match every season, and that the team securing the most points should obtain the shield; three points should be allotted for an outright win, two for a first innings, and one for a tie or draw; three points should be deducted for an outright loss, and two for a first innings loss; and in the event of a points tie, the shield to go to the team averaging the most runs per wicket.