NEW ZEALAND CRICKET

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16487, 28 February 1914, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND CRICKET

AN AUSTRALIAN AUTHORITY’S IMPRESSIONS. SOME WEAKNESSES. Laver, the manager of the Australian cricket team,,, is a potable figure in the world’s cricket. Probably he can speak with more authority on the game all round than any member of the team. To him ,yesterday went an interviewer for his/.ojSlniqijs on New Zealand cricket, but found, the veteran a somewhat diffident subject;, to interview, and one who positively declined to mention names. .rf

“If you were pshpd to put your finger on the weakness' of New. Zealand cricket,” he was-teked; “ what depart-ment.-would you start on?” “In the bowling!”; 1 lie replied, after some thought! for hpvis. a; big. deliberate man, “I should;say that they want a little more perseverance. . If they get hit a little;' they should; not mind that. In the present Australian:team there are world’s charngion'batsmen', and the local bowlers must’f not., go to i)ieces after they haye’ '. beenhit a ittle.

“They must have matches'against other teams sucli as Australian teams to improve their cricket,.’-’ said Mr Laver, “and to learn "what can he done with the ball.’ 1 ' Ho haid : that the Auckland fast bowl# had /performed very accurately, and. would; bo fast on a fast wicket. 'lncidentally .the Auckland wicket was the /slowest he had played on so far, though'; very good. New Zealanders in contact with other teams could get to jkpOw what the batsmen could do, and the bowlers could find out ivhat they could do and place the field accordingly: ' “ Placing the field is a matter of the greatest importance,’’ continued Mr Laver, “when you get men of the style of our team who can place the balls where they like. Then you must have men to save the fours. Without frequent matches yon cannot tell how the field should be placed. The field in Australia during the last few years lias undergone wonderful changes. For instance, point is often dispensed with altogether.. In fact, you can hardly, name some of the new positions. The old orthodox dia'gram of the field is no longer recognised, because new strokes have been cultivated. This change is continually going on. The on side : placing lias been totally altered.” In reply to a question as to New Zealand batsmen, Mr Laver_said that a. number of the New Zealanders had not done themselves justice. They appeared nervous, and, instead of making the strokes that they would use in ordinary club matches, they simply blocked or let them go without making runs off them. Mr Laver laughingly recalled the New Zealander who declined to hit when some soft stuff was being tossed up for him, and was quite persuaded that there was something sinister about the visitors’ tactics. Frequent visits to or from Australia would remedy these defects. The New Zealanders in Australia had been han- j dicapped because the wickets were much faster than they were accustomed j to. They must make their strokes differently. In Australia forward play: was tho game; in New Zealand tlie wickets had made back play more general. ,

Mr Laver was approached on the subject of the. Board# Control’s alleged objection, in. the.‘fi;’Bt;place,/to the visit of : the present .. team; but! he waived the matter aside with the remark that a cricketer was not a chattel, and could visit New Zealand individually or collectively if he liked. Board of Control affairs, he remarked, were adjusting themselves rapidly, as the players themselves showed an inclination to take hold themselves;

Mr , Laver asked leave to express his appreciation on behalf of the team of the libspitality that had been met with on the tour. The members', he said; were enjoying themselves thoroughly.