CRICKET

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 116, 15 April 1940, Page 8

CRICKET

LEADING AVERAGES. REPRESENTATIVE MATCHES. The leading- averages in Manawatu representative matches for the season now concluding have been compiled by Mr J. Gallichari (statistician). During the season six matches were played, one as a challenge for tlie Hawke Cup, two in defence of it, and three friendly matches. Manawatu won three outright, two on the first innings, and lost one on the first innings. The matches played were: —Versus Hawke’s Bay, at Napier, lost by 69 runs on the first innings. Versus Wellington, at Palmerston North, won by 117 runs and three wickets on the first innings. Versus Kilbirnie. at Wellington, won by 34 runs on the first innings. Versus Waikato, at Hamilton (Hawke Cup Challenge match), won bv 9 wickets. Versus Wanganui at Palmerston North (Hawke Cup match), won by an innings and 124 runs. Versus Bay of Plenty, at Palmerston North, won bv an innings and 30 runs. BATTTNC AVERAGES.

This is an innovation in those statistical reports, and they arc, of course, only the statistician’s opinion : Best innings: C. AlcVicar’s 76 versus Waikato, at Hamilton. Best bowling: T. L. Pritchard’s 6 for 34 and 6 for 23 versus Bay of Plenty, at Palmerston North. Best holding: F. Collis’s, at cover-point, versus Kilbirnie, at Wellington. Best wicket-keeping: W. K. Norris’s versus Bay of Plenty, at Palmerston North. Best catch: W. Pollitt’s when ho caught Andrews at backward-point, in the Bay of Plenty match. Best. team per formance: Versus Kilbirnie, at Wellington. SURVEY OF THE SEASON. A survey of the season's representative matches, particularly those for the llawke Cup, reveals that, although we are entitled to look upon ourselves as the premier Minor Association in New Zealand, we arc by no means as strong as that would lead one to believe, says the statistician. Wo will remain strong only so long as tiio endurance of T. L. Pritchard and T. A. Downes lasts. Without cither of them our three reliable batsmen, C. MeViear, S. McVicar and W. E. Norris would never be able to take our total past that of the other teams, because the other teams would be able to score too many runs. The llawke Cup team of this season is nowhere nearly as strong as those of other seasons It is a five-man team. To illustrate that fact there arc some interesting figures. In our three llawke Cup matches Manawatu scored 573 runs off tlio bat. Four of our batsmen scored 466 of them. The other nine (Manawatu used thirteen batsmen in games) scored 107. Manawatu bat. Four batsiSn between them averaged 155.33 per match; the other nine aycraged 35.66 per match. The opposing teams lost 60 wickets against Manawatu. Two opposing batsmen were run out, and so our bowlers took 58 wickets. Two of our bowlers took 51 of those wickets between them. The four other bowlers tried took 7. One of the two successful bowlers was also one of the four batsmen who scored all the runs. Therefore it can be seen, after a study of these figures, that only five of our present season’s Hawke Cup players are anywhere near our past llawke Cup standards. The position is aggravated by the fact that, outside those in the Hawke Cup team, there are no young players coming to the front, us there has always been in the past. The history of Manawatu cricket shows that the standard of the game here has been raised to such high standards in the past because of the •act that very, promising young players were coming from the High School into local cricket. The standard at the High School seems to have fallen buck somewhat in later years and it would be of inestimable benefit to future Manawatu cricket if the standard at the school were to improve. Our cricket owes a tremendous amount to the High School and to Mr W. P. Anderson, who coaches the young players at that institution. It seems obvious that, to help to regain the former standards of our representative cricket, we must first of all give every help and assistance to the boys at the High School and to Mr Anderson. Wo have not obtained the services of a conch to help the boys who do not go to High School, and until Hint time comes the game here will always be a secondary school one, and it will always be dependent upon the material that is offering at the High Schotl. High School’s success will always mean the future success of the representative team, and we must realise the fact that it is the High School ami Mr Anderson who have been in the main, responsible for the high standards of our recent llawke Cup elevens.

(All Matches.) Ins. N.O. R. II. S. Aver. S. Me Vicar 4 1 208 100 69.35 A. S. 11. Cutler ... 1 0 67 67 67.00 C. Me Vicar 4 0 217 84 43.40 W. Pollitt 6 0 194 91 32.33 B. D. Millar 3 1 58 46 29.00 T. L. Pritchard .. 3 0 81 43 27.00 W. K. Norris 3 0 67 34 21.50 10. J. Edwards 2 0 43 31 21.50 L. J. Cookery 2 1 21 21* 21.00 G. B. Northover .. 2 1 19 18* 19.00 .1. Gallichan 2 0 35 32 17.50 ■J. A. Scator 3 1 35 17 17.50 F. Collis 7 1 102 51 17.00 (Hawke Cup S. McVicar 4 Matches.) 1 203 ICO 69.33 C. McVicar 3 0 110 76 36.66 T. L. Pritchard 3 0 81 43 27.00 W. E. Norris 3 0 67 34 22.33 L. J. Cockcry 2 1 21 21* 21.00 T. A. Downes 3 2 10 7* 10.00 B. P. Spclman .. 3 0 21 8 7.00 E. Collis 4 1 20 12* 6.66 W. Pollitt 4 0 20 12 5.00 G. A. Robertson ... 1 0 5 5 5.00 i. F. W. Hearsay 2 0 7 7 3.50 A. Carlisle 3 0 3 3 1.C0 C. E. Barraud 1 0 0 0 0.00 *Not out. BOWLING AVERAGES. (All Mulches.) 0. M. R. W. Pritchard ... 67.6 12 156 32 Downes 103.4 16 297 28 Cutler 0 0 41 3 Shailer 26.4 3 127 8 Spelman ... 19 6 49 3 Iloarsev ... 23 4 68 4 J. Gailiehan. 14 1 106 5 Millar 18.6 0 89 4 Stuart 9 0 46 2 (Hawke Cup Matches.) Pritchard ... 67.6 12 156 32 Downes 60.4 13 128 19 Spclman ... 19 6 49 3 Henrscy ... 23 4 68 • 4 Ocekery 2 0 7 0 Barraud .... 5 1 23 0 BEST PERFORMANCES. Aver. 4.87 10.61 16.66 15.87 16.33 17.00 21.20 22.25 23.00 4.87 6.73 16.33 17.00