NEW SOUTH WALES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 654, 12 February 1859, Page 5

NEW SOUTH WALES.

CUICKET MATCH BKTWTJJN NEW SOI/TII WALES AND VICTORIA.

The great intercolonial cricket match, to which attention in both colonies had been for many weeks directed, commenced in Sydney on the 20th nit. The following account of the first day's play, which we take from the ' Sydney Morning Herald,' indicates that the match was an occasion of holiday making not only to cricketers but to all classes, who suspended their own occupations, mercantile, legislative, or otherwise, for the sake of gathering round the wickets. We first give a list of players and officers:— VICTORIA. NEW SOUTH "WALEB. Mr. J. M. Bryant Captain Ward A. Burchett Mr. J. Adams T. Morres J. Kinlock T. W. Wills • J. Morris G. Marshall J. Beeston G. Elliott G. Gilbert E. W. Whitlow • H.Hilliard J.Thornton G. Howell T. F. Wray ■ O. Lewis W. Hammersley W; C. Still* B. Grindrod ' N; Thomson Captain, Mr. TVW. Wills Captain, Mr. G. Gilbert Umpire, Mr. J. Rhodes Umpire, Mr. W. Tunks Scorer, Mr. W. Fairfax Scorer, Mr. R. Driver Emergency-man, Mr. J. B. Thomson. If there .be anything that justifies and ennobles what is termed holiday-making; if there be anything that instinct and reason combine to plead"4br a temporary casting away of hard every-day duties, in favour of an enthusiasm for sport, which seems to renew the youth of a community engaged in it, it may be fairly found in one of those friendly contests betwe.'ri colony and colony, town or"town, in the pastimes which have grown up with us; which have shared in the recreation of our youth, and which, surviving the thrall which.lite and its chain of sorrows-and distractions impose on us, restores even temporarily to us the cheerful vivacity of our younger days. Of such a class of holidays—for it Avas kept one 7 pretty generally throughout the city .—.was.that which commenced yesterday.

. _. Cricket has now become an institution in this 1 dolony. It lias been one' in England for a century. We doubt whether the classic honours, the' highlywon educational reputation of our Eton, pur Harrow, our Eugby scholars reign in the memory of the ! most affectionate and. distinguished amongst them more proudly, or more serenely, than the triumphs "which, from time to time, from epoch to epoch, their elevens obtained with the bat and the.ball in the field.? Byron'has made his school days at Harrow eloquent of 'cricket, and the great Robert Peel, in thY pride of his mighty career of "■statesmanship, turned half regretiully, half exultingly, to the success of his youth at the slips or at the stumps. "...' . . ' " But it is seldom that any sport can be called purely.1 national; all these emulative contests of a friendly character have an essentially local, bias, and though-imbued with a deep and enthusiastic feeling of love, for the game, cricket is not par"&-.■' I cellence. ,the national, pastime , the citizens of Sydney^ Aquatics bear , the sway, and claim, the ascendancy in the.impulsive competitive amusements of our fellow-colony. . " Not that they love the wicket less,. But love regattas more." This is a feeling that has naturally enough grown up in a community surrounded by a harbour distinguished so pre-eminently for its romantic beauty, and the advantages it offers to the lovers of boating. IniSydney every, little ■■boy. of ten or a dozen years . "of age is ripe for his place as batter, bowler, or field,;and is accurately versed in all the vocahulafy of the field., which involves the. mystery. of the1, game. But he considers an exciting boat_raee:as something higher, and paddles away fronitheturfed arena to the bold and glittering racecourse which the waters of. Port; Jackson hold out to him. This is natural—it. is right, it 'is. fortunate, it-gives variety to amusements of the higher and more na-• tional character, arid leaves a chance of eminence in its line to all competitors. Now, our friends in Victoria, if we can trust what we see and what we hear ; of them, live, move, and have their being in an'atmosphere of cricket. The good citizens of Melbourne care as little to forego their favorite sports after business hours, as the gourmand can spare his morsel of Stilton after dinner. Every one.belongs to a cricket club at Melbourne ; everybody talks learnedly and eruditely about the game ; and, what is more, everybody identifies-himself with the fame which its champions of the hat and ball have achieved either at: home or in friendly contest with their neighbours. The consequence is that practice, whether in contemplation of a great match or not, is continuous and perfect amongst the. Victorians, and it. follows necessarily that they acquire greater precision in the game-than its-more desultory devotees even aspire to in Sydney. To this .must be attributed, to some extent, the prevalence, which has existed, for the last week of the conviction that the Melbourne eleven must come off victorious in the great contest between Victoria.and New South Wales. Whether there was any good ground for this feeling-, remains to be proved ; but this we will say, it certainly was not diminished in any- way by -the appearance of the elected champions amongst us. A finer body of men never stepped forth to do. battle in .the friendly^lists of athletic competition, and never did spirits more genial, more kindly, more sensibly under the influence of brotherly goodwill, strengthen -the hands and inspire the intelligence of the combatants. Although, as we have before said, cricket holds only the second place in Sydney sports, yet fora long time past the " coming match" has enlisted all. the sympathies of our sport-loving friends. Every man's mind was. made up that it should be a holiday_ to tell of, and no mistake. The name and renown of everyone of the Melbourne competitors seemed to; have become, almost intuitively known to our'jacketted urchins, and contentions and discussions., as to tlse comparative merits of Elliott and Ward,. Wills and Gilbert. Bryant and Beastori, have beeu incessant and,, nil prevailing, ' * All classes joined in the general feeling of good honest contest, in a fair, honest, and manly game. One of those games in which the spirit of free com-' munitios. when reposing from the sterner duties of life, luxuriates and strengthens. Our legislative body made a show of coy reluctance to devote the public time to such trivial sports, but it took good and substantial care to secure to itself the tfiost complete enjoyment of them, crowned with all the luxurious accessories of creature comforts, which are the sure attendants on an Englishman's holiday.

All thearrangements were successfully, if not satisfactorily made on the eve of the great occasion, and tho sun set quietly and benignly, on n glorious afternoon, which gave way.to a more glorious moonlight. The morning of the eventful day, too, dawned hope-, fully, though the close and intense heat and gathering clouds to the southward awoke apprehensions in "the minds of. the most hopeful. At lensjth. about ten o'clock, the thunderstorm .which, to unprejudiced observers had for some time been plainly inevitable, burst over the city, and for an hour and a half _ the rain descended in torrents; and so little probability did there seem of any permanent clearing up, that it becamb matter of consideration whether the play

•; should •v gtei6fi"^.rhcft. JSve'ftVii&tjJfwU w*? >:e«olv*d f. f to wait tUbiioon, -anil-see what hie rprospecb -v/Ml •■■" then. Abtmfc* 12 o'clock the ftunsh'ine playeillin the; heavens,-and >&s there was every promise of aifine .-nt'ternoHU, it was resolved to commence the'match,;' ~and->prtfiiinißftries«f rollingthe ground and pitching; <the crickets were 4&t once entered on. The day ■■ » hiid/.however, amved to that periodvwhon another ? preliaiinapy 'became absolutely essential—that of -'luncheon, and this important-matter occupied its • ;fuU .share of consideration, tit-was not, therefore, >mntil;three o'clock that theiists, being all prepared, were entered *y the-competitors. Tiie Victorians, -who had the choice, vand who at first had decided to •go to thewj&kirts, reconsidered their decision, and -.sent jthe^Nev South -Wales players -to the stumps.; -The-Victorians, on taking the field, looking most in their light and pretty uniform, were cheered, which theyri-etiirned before repairfcinjfto their allotted stations. Although the weather had still a somewlifttithreatening aspect, the splendid ground now began to bear an excited appearance. Thousands and thousands -were grouped in the circle without the enclosure, whilst the number of ticket purchasers, small compared with what it ; would .have been under more auspicious influence, • was very considerable. The various refreshment booths were well filled, - and the .proprietors seemed to be doing a profitable •' " business. Precisely at five minutes past three o'clock the game commenced, by the New South Wales going -the" wickets. [The 'Herald'then describes the play, and .proceeds:—] The following is the score:— v NEW SOUTH "WALES. ■ First Innings. Capt, E. W. Ward; c Bryant, b Elliott ... 5 G. Howell, b Wills 3 «. Hilliard, c Wills, b Elliott .... ... J ,| W. C. Still, b Wills ... 3 J. L. Beeston, b Bryant 18 „ • G. Gilbert, b Bryant 1 ' P. Adams, c Thornton, b Bryant 14' O. Lewis, b Wills ....." ...13 N. Thomson, b Wills ... 0 ~ J. Morris, b Wills 0 J. Kinlock, not out ... ... ... ... 0 Leg bye, 1; \vide3, 3; no ball (f.) 1 ... 5 , ■' .--.. ■ ■ «3 The fielding altogether vras tolerably good, though not equal to what was anticipated. Several chances vere missed, and in each case the lucky batsmen; •were afterwards successful. Wills, even after his ?flnger was broken, which is on the right hand, bowled with remarkable precision, and lowered two -wickets in one over, without a run being obtained. The universal feeling in reference to the small score seemed to attribute it to the skill and tactics of thjs player, who i 3, by the way, a native of Sydney, and has had considerable practice at cricket in England. The wicket keeping of Marshall was again the theme of general commendation, and he seems to have much improved since his visit two years ago. A singular circumstance in the innings was Vthe fact that, though there were 268 balls bowled, and about one-third passed the wicketkeeper, there was not a single bye, through the excellent long-stopping of Thornton. This is the first grand match he has played in, and the above augurs well for his future career. ■ Elliott bowled extremely well, but he was by no means up to his' usual standard — his complaint being that thp rain had caused the ground to be too dead for his bowling. Bryant was successful and managed to bowl some of the best wickets.,, Morres is a very fast bowler, with a gpod delivery, but he did not continue long, the object l>eing to relieve Wills for a time. There was nothing remarkable about the fielding of others, and though & r few mishaps. occurred, as is usually the casein a cricket match, each appeared anxious to perform his part well. We understand that it is intended to resume the /match this morning, at eleven o'clock, when the representatives of Victoria will take their position at the wickets, and there is every probability that the contest will continue through tOrmorrow. During the afternoon telegrams were despatched to Melbourne giving the state of the game at the fall of the wickets, the honorary secretary to the Victorian Eleven haying received a very polite letter from Captain Martindale, R.E., giving him permission to despatch messages as often as desirable, free of charge. This will doubtless prove a great boon to the Melbournites, and afford them an opportunity of posting themselves Jip in the match as it proceeds.

On the next day, urifavouraTile weather pre- ' Tested the match from proceeding until one o'clock, when the first innings of the Victorian Eleven commenced. The score on this side only amounted to 38, and Uew South Wales went in for a second innings the same afternoon, and ~by half=past six had peered 60 with only four wickets down, one man (OI^ewis) .having scored 40 to his own bat, not out. Tlie.match would be resumed on the 22nd, Saturday, and would no doubt be concluded on that day.